Day 55, well I went to bed early last night so I could get up and write before work, I am very happy about where my life is today, I have checked on Cynthia's blog but there are no new inputs, I worry about her and Steve, I hope that they are okay and the best I can do is to keep at what I am doing to show everyone there is life after drugs and alcohol. I have come a long way in a short time and see a wide open road with no speed limits on it right in front of me, there's no way I'm going to turn down any of the side roads, I'm sure that if I did I would find nothing but trouble, and that goes against everything I'm trying to accomplish. So straight ahead wide open that is what I will do.
I would like to talk more about my finances as I didn't get started till late last night and was in a hurry which leads me to forget what I want to write. It seems the journey from Tennessee to here has matured me even more, I don't know how in such a short time but it has, when I was in Chattanooga I was making ok money but was still staying broke, I couldn't seem to hold on to what I had and ended up borrowing money before I got payed. So when I did get paid it wouldn't be enough after paying back what I borrowed, it didn't feel much different than when I was on drugs, always broke. My mind started telling me, what's the point, you can't get ahead whether you're on drugs or not. The days seem to be extra long when they are not going the way you want them to, at that point in my life it seemed after work I had nothing to do and know here to go and had to battle my own mind from thoughts of hopelessness. Well I made it through that battle unsaved but I did not realize until now that my financial situation played a very big part in my will to succeed, it seems the better I do in life the less I want to escape from it. I went through some pretty hard times getting to where I am in the last couple of months but I am so glad that I have not given up, at this point my life is grand, I believe that is the first time I have used that word to describe life but that's what it is, grand. Well it is now six forty five and I must go to work, I feel much better about my writing this morning than the rush job of yesterday, James
Hey-i'm still here and reading you every day-life got in my way the last couple of days which i hope to share soon-but im still hanging in here trying to find my way back to the land of the REALLY living-take care-the pictures look great-Cynthia
ReplyDeletehey, finance is HARD. It is especially hard when you have two dollars worth of bills and only one dollar! I remember when I was younger and less secure that I always had to borrow twenty dollars for gas two or three days before payday. It is a learning process that most go through. It looks like you are learning. Life is good!
ReplyDeleteJim, Money is time, and time is money. If you waste your time, you're wasting your money. If you waste money, you're wasting your time.
ReplyDeleteHere is a principle that has helped me greatly through the years. Everything we are or have belongs to the Lord. It is His by creation and redemption. We are only stewards of the the things and means we possess. God only asks us to return 10% in the form of tithe in order to support the ministry of the gospel, plus a free will offering of any amount you feel led to give for the support of the poor and other worthy projects. I have found through the years that I live better off of 90% of my income than I ever did on 100%. For one thing, I'm a whole lot more careful about the 90% than I ever was about the 100%, but besides that, the Lord has promised to prosper us if we will be faithful to Him in our giving. Here's what He says:
"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Luke 6:38
I have paid a faithful tithe, plus free will offerings now for thirty plus years, and I have never gone hungry. I haven't always been debt-free, but usually the debt was for things we didn't really need. The interesting thing is, the Lord challenges us with these words:
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Matthew 3:10
For what it's worth.
Blessings,
Jack
As you get more and more focused on your life the money problems will be easier to sort out. You make more in a week than a billion people on the planet make in a year. As you slow down and figure out your priorities you will find you have more than enough. The only thing worth more than money is time and you can buy time with money. You are only now seeing the possibilies of what to do with that time. Love you man. ~dg
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