Mo' Money October

Photo Credit: kenteegardin via Photopin CC

If this month is No Sweets November, then last month was Mo' Money October. By that I mean that I spent most of my month learning and talking about financial management. Between marriage mentoring homework, wedding related expenses, and the sermon series at church, it felt like I was being bombarded with messages about how to handle my finances. (Side note: If you're at all offended by religious talk, now's the time to bail. Just a head's up.) You'd think that after all that talk I'd be completely sick of the topic and feeling crushed about my socio-economic status. Quite the opposite, actually. I realized how incredibly blessed and lucky I am!

• True Treasure (Matthew 6:21): I may not be tangibly wealthy but I am rich in relationship. I have a solid relationship with a wonderful fiance. He's more than I could have expected or imagined. I'm lucky to have parents that support and love me unconditionally. And future in-laws that do the same! I don't have a ton of friends, but the ones I do are quality. My relationship with Christ is something that will never end or be replaced. These are the things that really matter, that have true value in the end.

• Peace and Provision (Matthew 6:25-33): Fiance and I are probably considered "working class" maybe leaning on the edge of "lower middle class". Reading that still kills me a little, but I know that God will provide whatever we NEED. We may not get all of our wants (new house, truck, recording studio, staying home to raise kids, etc.), but God promises our needs (shelter, food, water, clothing) will be fullfilled. We have quite the abundance already compared to a basic list of necessities, so we can have peace that we will have all that we need to live, and probably much, much more! 

• Real Responsibility (Psalm 24:1, 1 Corinthians 10:26): We (Sorry for using 'I' and 'we' interchangeably; fiance and I did most of this learning together, have similar conclusions on this topic, and we're just about married financially.) learned that everything is God's so we need to be responsible with it. The house that I worked to buy, the careers that we earned degrees for, any money we make, our very breath is ours only by His grace. That means we give God a measly 10% and live of the 90%, it means sticking to a budget, communicating about financial decisions, and making wise decisions on how to handle our finances. We're so immensely blessed that we don't want to be wasteful even when it's easy or convenient. 

I know this is only the tip of the iceberg, we have a lot more growing and learning to do, but I feel like a burden has lifted knowing these fantastic truths! We are blessed, we are rich, my friends!