Giving

So, God has been working on my heart about going on a foreign mission trip for awhile now.  I've loved mission trips ever since my first one in 7th grade, but I've never had the opportunity to go out of the country, to another culture.  It always seems like the money just doesn't work out.
I feel really blessed, because I've been taught from an early age that my money belongs to God.  When I got my first babysitting job in 7th grade, 10% went to the church.  My parents told me that's just what you do with your money, and surprisingly, I never had a problem with it.  They told me that God blesses faithfulness in giving, and I believed them.  Ten percent wasn't much anyway...
Then, when I was about 16, I got my first job.  Minimum wage was $5.15 then, and I worked maybe 8 hours a week.  I was going to play basketball at CHA, but since I was a homeschooler, it was going to cost me around $300.  Plus, I was going to get my license soon, which meant paying for insurance as well.  My parents wanted me to save about half of everything I earned (for college, a car, etc.), so I didn't have a lot of "extra" money.  Then, my junior year, I took economics with Coach Kufahl at CHA.  At the very beginning of the semester, we read a little book called The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn.  The book talked a lot about investing long-term--as in, eternally.  God will always provide enough for our needs today; we just need to trust Him  with our finances, and focus on the Kingdom of God rather than getting a pile of "stuff" for ourselves.
As I read, I felt God speaking to me.  I had really been stressing about how much basketball and my insurance was going to cost, and I had no idea where that was going to come from.  I knew God was telling me to trust Him with my hard-earned money.  I also knew that this trust couldn't just be words--I had to back it up with actions.  I felt like I needed to start giving an extra 5% along with my regular tithe.  Now, I know that doesn't sound like much, but to me it was a huge deal.  I prayed about it and asked God to confirm this if it was what He wanted.  (Funny how I have no problem rushing into something I want, but if it's something I think God wants--I'd better take my time and make sure!)  The next morning, my quiet time was about the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-30).  So, that was settled.
I gave 15% of my next paycheck.  That week, I found out that someone (I still don't know who) had completely paid for my basketball.  I also found out that my car insurance was going to be half of the original estimate.  I relearned an old lesson--If we are faithful, God meets our needs.
At the beginning of this year I read Crazy Love (Francis Chan) and Radical (David Platt) within two weeks of each other.  Now, both of these books are pretty challenging on their own, but together... whew!  My budget, and my life, got rearranged again.  Reading these, I decided that when I die, I want to be remembered for how I gave.  Not as far as big numbers go--God doesn't need my "millions" or my "thousands" or even my "dollars."  He wants my heart, my time, and my love.  Sure, that includes my money.  But it also includes my car, my phone, my computer, my education, my clothes--all my stuff.  He has given me each of these things in order that I may bring Him glory with them.  I want to be someone who gives out of everything I have been given.  And part of that means giving of myself and going out to love His people.  So, I'm probably going to be rearranging my budget again very soon, so that I can start saving for a mission trip.  God will provide--He always has and always will.  Could y'all pray that I will be completely obedient to everything He wants me to do?  Thanks :)

"No one can settle how much we ought to give.  I'm afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare."--C.S. Lewis

Stuff in My Purse

I stole this idea from meandmysoldierman, but I happen to know that she got it from someone else so I'm sure she won't care!  Basically, what you do is take EVERYTHING out of your purse and take a picture of it--you can't leave anything out and you can't add anything.  I'm one of those girls that carries everything in my purse--or if it won't fit, I carry it in my backpack (like, say, deoderant).  So...

This is my purse.  My wonderful brother got it for me for Christmas.  I told him I wanted it to be a color that went with a lot, and that it shouldn't, under ANY circumstances, be brown.  He did good :)

These are my "absolutely necessary no matter what" items.  Keys, cell phone, Burt's Bees, and sunglasses.  And, it HAS to be Burt's Bees--it's the best!

Glasses--I hate them but I need them. Cheap hand lotion--NOT scented--not sure why, but I've never liked the scented kind. Orbit--normally I like the sweet mint or the peach, but WalMart was out of both, so I got the whitening kind.  Wallet--crammed full of ids, my debit card, random business cards, and gift cards with like 37 cents left on them.  Notepad--I'm a list-maker.

Drugs--Advil and Tylenol, I keep them in 1 bottle because it saves space.  More Burt's Bees--I'm telling you, I'm an addict.  Checkbook--I'm like the only person I know that's under 30 and writes checks.  Calendar--I don't use it much, but you never know.  Camera case--usually the camera's in it, but obviously I had to take the picture with it.  Pens--Between my purse and my backpack, I could probably supply a good-sized classroom with these.

Nail file/case, mascara/eyeliner, a compact mirror, my flash drive, and yet another notepad.

Lip cream (it's like a cross between lipstick and lip gloss), makeup compact, case with random lip glosses and eyeliners that I never really use, a couple of emergency tampons, glasses cleaner, cuticle gel, and nail strengthener.  (I basically only use the last 2 things when I'm bored in class! haha)

Well there you go... everything in my purse!  Girls, what do you carry in yours that I don't? 

Catching Up...

Hey guys! School has been crazy busy, so of course blogging is the first thing to go when it's time to prioritize.  This isn't going to be a long post (and possibly a not very coherent one either.  I've gotten about 5.5 hours of sleep the past couple of nights).  My Daniel diet went pretty well--most of the recipes I made were really good.  My favorite was a stir-fry, which I made again with chicken after the diet officially ended.  I took pics so I might put it up here sometime in the future.  (I'm thinking that between now and the 2nd week of May I probably won't be blogging more than 1 or 2 times a week, if that.  Stupid school!)
Speaking of school... I enrolled at MidAmerica last week, and surprisingly, I'm excited about it!  I found out that pretty much all I have left is psych classes... 55 hours of them.  So, about 2 more years, which is what I expected.  I'm REALLY excited to be going back to a Christian school.  My experience with public college hasn't been horrible, but it was NOT academic at all.  I don't want my education to be boring and easy.  I like a challenge.  Maybe that's weird, but that's who I am.  (And, I know a big part of the problem was the fact that I went to a 2-year college instead of a 4-year college.  The expectations are a lot lower.) That said, MidAmerica is quite expensive, and I'm not sure where the money is going to come from!  Your prayers for God's provision would be greatly appreciated!
To be honest I wasn't looking forward to enrolling in another school.  I was seriously considering just taking my associate's degree and running with it.  But I'm not sure that's what God wants for me, and when I went to enroll at MidAmerica, I felt a peace, and even enthusiasm, about going there.  At this point I'm leaving it up to God--if He wants me to go, He's got to provide the money.  (And if it would be necessary to take out a loan for school... I'm taking that as His "No."  I know most people would disagree with me on this but I have several strong reasons for thinking this way... future post possibly??)
All right, well that's what's been up with my life lately.  Hopefully I will post again soon!