Simple and Specific

i'm not going to apologize about the length of my previous post and then write just as long in this one. so i am sorry for how long the last piece was and promise to just get to the point.

something so interesting happened. my wife and i experienced a wonderful blessing the other day.

we're taking this financial course to help get our lives in line. save money, reduce debt, and prepare for the future. so we have been implementing these principles into our lives and our spending habits. and one principle this course has shared was going back to the old fashion cash envelope system for certain budgetary items to help prevent overspending. but in order to make this work, you have to be stubbornly disciplined - otherwise your budget won't balance out.

so we budgeted $150.00 for groceries for this first pay period. we planned to spend $80.00 the first week and $70.00 the second because there were a few personal care items (conditioner and toothpaste) that we needed to purchase. so we head into wal-mart with $80.00 cash. that is it. we calculate every single item as we go down the aisle. we finish and the grand total was $75.55 - with milk and granola still to be purchased. we were going to buy milk at rite-aid because its cheaper, and granola at another grocery store because they have good stuff there :).

we go to rite aid and buy milk. and now we only have like $2.50 left. so leigh and i decide to can the granola idea because we know that it is more like $3.75. it is really good granola. but we must stay accountable and NOT go overbudget. just for once. we can't do it. so we just decide to be ok with frosted shredded wheat each morning for breakfast.

last night we go to our marriage class with three other couples. when we leave, our leaders hand each of us a bag of home made granola for us to enjoy. inside i was floored. God came through when he didn't need to.

so simple and so specific. the hand of God is in all things. he blesses accountablity and responsibility.

granola. so simple and so specific. and that is why i love God.