Monday, July 4, 2011

Reboot

When I write, I often wonder who will read my words, and how it will inspire them. Since I am such an influential person, and tens of well... tens of people have read this blog, I envision that I must be really important. I received a bit of a gut check earlier today, and figure I may as well write about it... who knows, maybe it'll help someone.

My wife and I have been struggling in our pursuit of Debt Freedom, ala Dave Ramsey. The last month in particular was crazy because of mom and her choosing to go on Hospice and then expiring little over a week later... but really for several months now we have been all over the map with our money. Then, yesterday, in Sunday School, I was praying with a friend who is also trying to follow Dave's plan. I uttered something to the effect of feeling like I am just sitting here waiting for God to do something to accelerate this process. I managed to shift the blame! When I later recounted this to my wife, she commented that, with the way we've been financially living, there isn't much of anything for God to accelerate.

That idea stung me enough as it was, but I followed it by re-reading some of my earlier posts and came across one about waiting on God. In this post, I railed against people who sit around and wait for God to do something, instead of joining God in what He is already doing around them. Never thought those words were going to be meant for me.
Then I bumped into a very recent post regarding feeling like God was telling me to get back to the things He called me to get to work on in my own life... weight loss, and debt freedom. This ran head-long into a conversation I had recently in which I told my wife that I felt like my mom was nearing her death, and that God had been laying on me that I needed to get our finances and my health in line... I just feel like there is so much that is in store for us that we need to be completely prepared for it and that I needed to lose some of the excuses I would use.

Took me back to 3 things:
1) I am to be in a state of Missional Living, being always ready (physically, financially, emotionally) for whatever service God calls me to

2) I am to set the example of this lifestyle in my home

3) The only thing stopping me is myself

With that said, we are embarking on new weight-loss strategy (starts tomorrow), and getting back to business with Dave Ramsey! After receiving the news of an anonymous donor clearing our Church of debt, I am reminded anew why I was so stirred by Dave's words in the first place. It also reminded me that God is going to use our church for bigger and better things, and I am to be a part of it... so I gotta get crackin'... time to reboot and do it right

Pray for me and my family as we recommit to these goals in our lives so we may better serve Christ, and lessen our excuses.