God's cares about how we make/spend our money

So I definitely need to push myself to start applying for jobs but I think it just feels so surreal that this long journey of being in school is coming to a close. Plus, I have been shown so much lately that God is looking out for me and providing what I need to feel confident that He has not forgotten us. When the primary (pretty much only) family that I babysat for moved to Korea this January I was so sad to see them go because for one thing, I really cared about them and enjoyed seeing them on a regular basis, and for another, they paid really well and it hardly felt like work. I put feelers out for more babysitting jobs but in this economy, people just didn't seem to be going out and certainly don't seem to be interested in paying for it. I was amazed when the day the Barker's left, I got an e-mail from a lady saying that Pattie recommended me and she and her husband were in need of a regular sitter. Then I was pleased when that turned into one card making job for her twins birthday and now I just got a call that she wants more for a different party...woohoo. Then today I got an e-mail from her regular nanny saying her friend needed a last minute sitter and he was willing to pay extra so fortunately I was free tomorrow and here's to hoping his kids are good, but at what he is paying it doesn't matter. All that and guess how I am spending my Friday night?! Filling out paperwork for the new job. Yeah, I'm cool. So, maybe not, but with all of these extra jobs I haven't had time this week and would love to turn it all in Tuesday so I can get started with a "real" part time job in addition to babysitting and card making.

All this is to say that God is good and I think He's pretty much on board with our commitment to paying off all of our debt this year. I am also feeling very hopeful that He has a job lined up for me in His perfect timing. I have a few leads thanks to family friends like working at Hospice, as an advocated for Wounded Warriors, or possibly joining mom's team at the community service board. In this economy having family and friends in places that are hiring in areas that fit my skills is so nice!

I just thought I would share that in a world where all the news talks about is people losing jobs, there is hope. I left my job as an Assistant Pastor at the end of August 2008 because I realized it was just going to be too much with school and my internship and I wanted to actually see my family. It was perfect timing for the church because the budget was getting really hard to meet and my leaving freed up some room for other great programs at the church to continue. It was probably the scariest decision in my life and yet I would make it again in a heart beat. The truth is between my summer and side jobs I probably have made at least half of what I would have killing myself at the church the 21 months it will have taken to finish up my dual degrees. God has been so faithful to us in providing ways to save money and managing surprises that have come up along the way. We are so fortunate to have been able to continue giving to others during this time too since it is such a big part of who we are.

I am not writing this post to brag or rub it in, but to encourage you that no matter what your financial situation, God wants to be involved and a part of your budget. Whether you need to curb your spending, start saving, pay off debt, look for another job, or start giving more, He's interested. If you have a job and don't feel fulfilled by it or if you don't and are tired of looking, He's interested. I hope you will join him in giving thanks for whatever you have and in being responsible with that which comes from his blessings and bounty.

Here is one possibility for the next card order from the twins mom:

Bird-day cards

I have expanded my card making business for the first time in a while since I usually just do them for friends and family. The twin's mom happened to be talking about looking for invitations for the first birthday and I love her style so this card was modeled after their bedroom theme of pink/green flowers and birds. I just got that bird punch and it could not have worked out better with her order.

Today has been really great at school and I am finally taking my lunch break so I thought I would share this since I am excited about how they turned out. I have been doing so much scheduling stuff today my brain is about to burst. There is a lot of school/internship stuff to fit into the next 10 weeks (I have a love-hate relationship with group projects). I am trying to fit as many meetings as possible in when Ryan is gone since he has two drill weekends a month and a two week Army class in April and we both want to spend as much quality time with each other and friends/family before he heads to his first stretch of training. He will get to come home for two weeks in June before he officially deploys and I am so excited that we will actually get to spend our fourth anniversary together since he was at Army schools for the 1st and 3rd and will probably still be deployed for the 5th (noticing a trend on the odd years?!). I think we are going to keep the get togethers to a minimum when he comes home for that short bit because 14 months is a long time even with an R&R at some point.

Off to go meet with some more students and here's to knocking out some papers tonight. I am hoping for another snow day tomorrow but I know that is probably unlikely. Sure would be nice to have the extra time to fill out the massive pile of paperwork for my new job (but you won't hear me complaining).

Update from prayer requests

My cousin's baby finally got to come home today. She is a week old and adorable. I hope they are enjoying their first night at home as a family of three. I can only imagine what an incredible feeling that must be.

And...I took the job! I was concerned about the time commitment before Ryan left but it turns out we get to choose what clients we take on and the hours are fairly flexible. Some clients may need only 4 hours a month where others may need 30. Even then you work with the family to decide which nights and weekends so that is nice. The pay is way better than I thought it would be and it just sounds like a really great opportunity. It's a new program that was just starting when I was finishing up my internship with this therapeutic foster care agency last year. They offer home based mentoring, counseling support, and family visitation supervision to varying degrees. Each client has different needs for services and different treatment goals so those are all disclosed before I would take on a case. There is the possibility of my running some social skills groups which I have enjoyed at my internship this year and the mentor position comes with a stipend for taking the kids to do fun things. I think it's fantastic to see the agency stepping up to the call to provide more in home support to offer the kids the best chances possible of staying with their families. In the cases of supervising family visits it sounds like it is mostly observing how things are going and taking advantage of teaching moments when appropriate. All case notes are court records for those and I might have to testify in court depending on the case but even that would be an interesting experience.

Overall, I just feel really fortunate to have something other than babysitting and cards to help pay off all of our bills. Everyone on the team has a full time job or in my case, full time school/internship and they find it manageable/worthwhile to do this so I am excited to be on board and I hope to keep up with it after I start working. I'm not sure when exactly I'll start but I have a lot of paperwork to fill out and a few things to make sure I am up to date on.

On another note, my first dual degree class was definitely worth the drive to Richmond. I am really encouraged by others who have felt called to pursue both degrees and by the discussion that we had today about integrating the two fields and the challenges we face by wearing both hats. I love how the professor put it: "you are called and privileged by God in a peculiar way." We are the minority in both fields and yet the two fields need each other and feed into each other so well.

Back to making some cards and finishing a paper. Here's to hoping the kids are good for me tomorrow.

Here is a picture of Laura with her finished wedding invitations:

God among us

My mom always said that God was sending a message that he was among us when we saw deer. Today as my parents were leaving my house after a visit with the Samster after church, Sammy started barking and sure enough, there were deer across the way from us. They were beautiful and strong and a nice reminder of God's presence among us. Today's church service was a reminder that we cannot go about this journey alone. Another great point was that we are called to be peace makers, which is different from peace keepers. Our call is to bring peace but not to bend over backwards or compromise ourselves and our values to keep it. I love how honest the pastor is about the things that we all struggle with and the ways that God can use us and our imperfections. I was reminded of how God uses our trials to teach us things, to grow us, and that we ought to use our testimonies from our trials to encourage others. I don't think we can hear that message enough. I am really excited to get more involved in the church and to be starting a small group at the house soon. I am so thankful God brought me there and that it has helped me get to the place where I am right now. I feel mostly at peace and I am working to get all the way there. I feel like many of the hurts in my life are healing and that I am recommitting areas of my life where I had drifted away from God. I am also so thankful that God brought my parents to this church with me and that they are getting so much out of it as well.

I just had to share that testimony before getting back to paper writing and then working on wedding invitations with Laura and her sister-in-law for a few hours. I need to find my motivation for these papers and finish strong at school and not sloppy as I am so tempted to focus on other things. I would also really appreciate prayers about my starting the process of sending in job applications. Part of me just wants to go back to work where I did this summer and then start looking but I know I need to give God the opportunity to work in finding me a great real full time permanent job before deciding if that is the best option for me or not.

Review in Blessings for the Week

Sammy and I enjoyed a nice Saturday while Ry was at drill. After catching up on some chores since this past week was kind of crazy, Christen, Tom and Carter came over. Tom fixed our shower so now everything in the townhouse is perfect and Christen and I played with Carter downstairs. Sammy was thrilled to have his favorite baby over but Carter isn't going to be a baby much longer. He is such a good walker already and I just can't believe how fast the last 10.5 months have gone by. I had so much time with Tate when he was a baby but my move and injury happened right after Carter was born and even though I have seen him a good amount since my ankle got back into shape in September, it still doesn't feel like enough since he is growing up so fast.

In any case, I better get back to paper writing, but I just wanted to share some praises from the past week:
1. My first research interview went really well.
2. My kids were great this week and a student I was concerned about is holding up really well since her husband left for basic training.
3. My first time babysitting the twins went fairly well. I think parents of multiples are saints after just a few hours with them but they are great babies so it will be good training in case Ryan and I have twins one day.
4. I have more card projects than I know what to do with. The mom of the twins wants birthday invitations and I have Carter's birthday invitations, my grad party/Ryan's sending off party invitations, and Easter cards coming up.
5. I got to see a picture of my cousin and her husband with their new baby Claire and all look so happy and wonderful. I am really looking forward to meeting her and I hope she can come home soon.
6. I had a great night out with Mom and Diana.
7. I lost four pounds since last week and am really enjoying some new workout DVDs I got. I definitely recommend Kim Kardashian's Fit in Your Jeans By Friday. I love using my new step and I am really feeling it.
8. A beautiful Ash Wednesday service at church. Ryan was exhausted but he still came and we were both very thankful for the midweek worship and the reminder that it is from ashes that we came and to ashes that we will return. What we do in the middle is for God's glory and not our own.
I forgot to get a picture of him while he was walking but it was too cute I just couldn't look away to grab the camera.

Ash Wednesday and reflections on life

Since our weekends always seem to get full with other stuff, my mom, Diana and I decided to have a girls night last night. It was so nice to catch up over a bowl of soup for dinner and to go shopping at Home Goods together. We kept losing each other in the store because they have so many cool things to look at. I love going there and I managed to walk away without buying anything so that was nice too.

We went to see Dear John after that. The movie had made my little cousin mad and I realize why now. The girl makes some interesting choices and I try not to judge, but it is hard to rationalize them. It is a reminder that we don’t know what other people go through and why they make the decisions they do and sometimes what looks selfish is the most unselfish thing and vice versa.

The movie sent some strong messages about the military. It showed how hard it is to have them go, what it is like being away from each other, and the challenges of the soldier choosing service over their loved ones. I hope that people who go to it will think about what the soldiers and their families have been through since this country has been at war for almost a decade now.

Diana was worried about my seeing a movie in which we all suspected the main character, a soldier, would die. The truth is every soldier’s loved one knows that could happen and they also know their loved could come back a completely different person physically and mentally. It is something you can’t let yourself think about but for me, I had to accept that God would give me the strength come what may and push those thoughts from my head and heart.

Today is Ash Wednesday and Ryan and I are looking forward to going to church tonight to see how they commemorate it. I have never given anything up for Lent. I don’t see the point because I don’t believe God wants us to suffer for our sins but rather desires for us to reach out in love and service to others. I know others may feel differently and that this may be a significant part of their journey. As for me, I plan on continuing to stop eating after 7 and to think about what I am eating and whether it is good fuel or not. Taking care of the temple of a body God gave me is the best gift I think I have to give right now. In addition, I hope to get the small group started before Easter and to finally adopt a child through Compassion International. We became regular donors to the ASPCA on Sunday after feeling like we could not see another sad commercial without doing something. We love Sammy so much and wish we could take other animals in but one is plenty for us and at least this way we know we are helping animals get ready to be adopted. Animals are God's creation too and Ryan and I feel so blessed to be in a place where we can give back to two organizations that do so much good.

Last night Ryan and I started doing devotions together again. It’s been too long. He had his Bible on the dresser when we woke up yesterday and said this was something God put on his heart to do. That meant so much to me and we read three chapters out loud to each other last night. I asked him if we could record these times so I could hear him reading the Bible to me while he is gone and he said he would do some separate sessions so I could hear different parts of it. I am fully capable of reading the Bible myself but I think getting to hear his voice while he is gone will be so meaningful.

Last thing, my cousin had her baby girl yesterday. She was 8lbs 14oz and my cousin had her naturally after 17 hours of labor. I am so proud of her and I look forward to hearing what she thought of natural labor after she is rested and recoved from it. Hopefully she will get to hold and bond with sweet baby Claire today since there were some complications yesterday and here is to praying they both come home soon.

Prayer Request

Last week I decided to check in with my old supervisor to see if the therapeutic foster care agency I have done home studies for in the past was in need of any more. They are really interesting to do and a great way to make some money on the side while also getting to do most of your work from home. Well, they don't need any right now but they offered me a job as a part time counselor or mentor for their home based program. I'll find out more details when I meet with the coordinator Tuesday but I am definitely going to be praying about whether this is God's will for me or not. It would be great in terms of extra cash as I finish out school and after I get a full time job but with Ryan leaving soon (even though he is frequently gone or busy with Reserve stuff until then) and then with no one else here to spend time with Sammy when I am at work after Ry is gone, I have to pray about whether it is worth it. I used to think that we should take advantage of every opportunity God sends our way but I have gotten smarter about praying about what the opportunity is supposed to teach me and if it is really a good fit.

In other news, it looks like I am going to be hosting a small group here soon for our churches youthgroup. They have a group that has been wanting to meet but hasn't had a leader or home and I think it would be nice to fill the house with kids and the Lord. Here's to hoping that works out and that I can manage my schedule wisely with these new opportunities arising.