Now That The Warm-Up Is Over

Men are made stronger on realization that the helping hand they need is at the end of their own arm. ~Sidney J. Phillips

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. ~Thomas Edison

It is official, we are out of debt! This will be the first time in our married life that we have not carried debt. It feels surreal & freeing indeed.

Additional jobs have popped up for us to finish out strong. There are many lessons and blessings to be had by working off our debt. It’s one thing to just sit and hope for the best, putting the burden on others to take care of the mess we/I have created, versus finding grace and provision in the discipline of getting out of debt. I am thankful for the continued lessons learned.

It was a matter of engaging in difficult conversations of finances every day. It was a matter of saying no to big and little whims. It was a matter of eating pb&j sandwiches and beans and rice. It was a matter of saying yes to working on the weekends and nights, when we just wanted to sleep in and or hang out. It was a matter of seeking out counsel from others (past experiences, budgets, goals). We will continue in the same direction of these matters, knowing that we are now moving forward in our long term goals.

Tank Is Empty But My Heart Is Full

Yesterday, I was driving out of the parking lot from work and to my chagrin, the Volvo started to chug. It kept acting weird for another quarter of a mile. As I was pulling into the Home Depot parking lot, the car engine died, the power steering and brakes turned off, and all sorts of check engine lights went on. Now it may appear that all is lost, but here is why I am grateful:

1. Having a cell phone and not feeling stranded or isolated (thank you technology)
2. Being close to home when this happened, less than 10 minutes away (blurst case scenario I walk)
3. This could have happened when my parents were visiting and or it could have been Dave or I on the highway
4. Having both Dave and friends on the ready to help out
5. Dave’s understanding of cars
6. Having peace in the process and not being filled with worry or frustration about the car
7. Another blurst case scenario: car dies, but it’s paid off, we downsize to the Honda - we have a car so the inconvenience is minor

After discussing what transpired in that harrowing moment of maneuvering the car out of traffic, Dave surmised that either the gas was empty or the car was shot. We recently had maintenance on the car, and when the dashboard engine lights were fixed, it automatically reset the mileage. This wouldn’t be a big deal, but we use it as our gas tank-o-meter, since it is not working. Long story short, the belly of the car is full, the car is functioning again, and we are grateful.

loss for words

There are times my mind cannot articulate what my heart is feeling. I came across these words today:

“Please don’t feel the need to rescue me from my regrets. They are valuable feelings and I need to let them sink in deeply so I can recall their lesson the next time I am tempted to flee from relationship with another for the sake of my comfort. Regrets serve a purpose. I am feeling my soul shift towards healing by embracing my regrets.”

I am grateful for lessons learned.

Critical Heart Asking For Grace Of Her Own

from thebricktestament.com

Kelly Minter is teaching a series on fear & anxiety at church. I have always appreciated her sincerity and earnestness in the few interactions that I have had with her. She is one who is seeking hard after God. She referred to Numbers 13-14 last Tuesday night.

It still boggles my mind to think of how the nation of Israel questioned the promise land of Canaan. Despite all that they had gone through: freedom from the Egyptians, the parting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, a pillar of fire/ cloud leading them through the desert, they were still gripped by fear and doubt. Kelly brought up an interesting point that despite all of God’s faithfulness, because of the slavery and bondage that they had experienced in the past, it had paralyzed them to move forward with confidence in God. (If I am mis-remembering her words, I apologize in advance.) Their past blinded them to the blessings ahead of them.

I so often mislabel, cast judgment, take offense and criticize people in my heart because I am unaware of the past that they have lived. Unbeknownst to me, there are old wounds or insecurities left unhealed, festering, percolating and ready to spill forth. And all I know of that person is the crumminess or annoyance passed on to me in some shape or form. How much am I blinded by peoples’ past, so that I cannot see the image of God in them? How much of my own past is not enabling me to look beyond myself?

Help me Lord to have a heart of compassion, forgiveness, tenderness, strength and mercy to overcome my own insecurities. Fill me with wisdom and discernment to know what is holding me back, in order to move forward with people. May I learn from those who have gone before me and be filled with gratefulness.

Time With The Parentals

It’s not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can’t tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself. ~Joyce Maynard

One of the biggest lessons I am learning is how to grow up. I am annoyed at how this is a life long pursuit, rather than a window of time that I magically pass through. My parents continue to teach me about grace, laughter, the ability to be silly, appreciation for others, generosity, and love. I do not understand how they keep loving me, especially when I am irritable towards them. And yet, they continue to pour forth love into my life.

I learn from their example. I learn from time spent with them. I learn from their stories.

Mom & Dad, I love you! and thanks!

What have you learned from your parents lately?

Organizational Bliss Is More Than A Fairy Tale

I recently got wind of the Fly Lady through the magazine Organize.

I signed up, and for the past two weeks, my kitchen sink has been uber clean. You could say that dirty dishes piled in my sink are one of the many Mendoza’s that plague me so.

Despite the graphics, she is legit. She is an encourager indeed. She gives you simple steps that are both motivational and practical. I look forward to not being bogged down by the guilt of not having a clean and or organized life. It is in the baby steps that I can learn to breathe again.

Jamaican Me Sad

“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” (Christopher Robin to Pooh) -A.A. Milne

These are just a few of our last moments with Josh & Jesse. Their friendship is valued. Time together with them will be missed. Our prayers go with them. We look forward to hearing what God is going to do in their lives through Jamaica & the Peace Corps.

“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.” -Brian Meltzer

Waistband Size For Your Haus

Low impact living sounds like a passive aggressive ideal or just being apathetic at best. In reality, there is a website called Low Impact Living that allows you to see what kind of carbon footprint you and your haushold are leaving.

Our LILI is 58, what’s yours?

When I look at our stats, it makes me want to do more, so that we leave less.

The next two things I would like to implement/ purchase are a composter & a rain barrel. Funny that in order to reduce, I have to buy.

The Total Peanut Butter Sandwich Makeover

“I don’t want to walk across hot coals because it is fun, but if I can be shown how a short, painful walk will do away with the lifetime of worry, frustration, stress, and fear that being constantly broke brings me, then bring on the hot coals.” — Dave Ramsey, Total Money Makeover

“If you can’t control your peanut butter, you can’t expect to control your life.” -Bill Watterson

“To think that the handling of your personal finances is merely a matter of math control is naive. You must get better control of all aspects of your life. Until you do, [even the best advice] will have little effect but will instead be neutralized by the other habits in your life.” — Dave Ramsey, Financial […]

We are winning the debt race. Dave and I will be debt free between July & August of this year. This has been an uphill struggle, but we have learned much in this time. We recently tallied how many peanut butter sandwiches we have eaten for lunch. Does anyone want to take any guesses? 25? 100? 500? 1000? If you guessed 500, you are WRONG, haha! Yes, that’s right, we have collectively eaten over 1000 peanut butter sandwiches.

Perseverance, goal setting, discipline, and much grace was required (and a friend who made homemade preserves was a lifesaver). People’s comments of, “I could never do that!” would almost fuel our drive to keep eating pb&J because we knew it was a matter of choice in the end.

We calculated that we could have 3 peanut butter sandwiches (2 were Daves), chips, an apple, and an occasional soda (always purchasing the 12 packs for less than $2.75) for less than $1 each/ day. Just by not going out to eat, we saved approximately $3500 a year.

For those who are wondering, we did not gain weight- if you consider the fat grams in a combo meal or pizza to a pb&j sandwich, it is a no-brainer. We take the stairs and walk whenever possible. The little steps are what add up quickly.

We are indeed on our way. Although I am switching over to ramen. We’ll see how long I last, I may be returning to peanut butter.

Awkward Goodbyes, Even More Awkward Hellos

Tomorrow is my last day at A to Z. This is the company that my brother started, carried, and left. He brought much vision to the company. Even today, one of our state directors was commenting on how he still uses some of the writing material that he created. “He is a word smith,” was his comment. I concur. He is crazy gifted in so many areas of life: fatherhood, business, vision, relationships, organization…

This is the company that I have been with for four plus years. This is the company I used to give 70-80 hours a week of my life in the beginning. This is the company to whom I attribute the grey hairs now residing on my head (besides the fact that I’m getting older).

This is the company that I have grown with. I have learned about leadership, management, values, organization, and follow through.

This is the company that I carry both fond and difficult memories with. This is the company that I have grown to love many people. This is the company that I am saying good bye to. It is a bittersweet stage in our life, sad to leave, excited about opportunities around the corner.