Weekend Recap/Inspiration

This week is going to be so much better than last week.  I can just feel it!

I had a GREAT weekend.  And I'm actually starting this week off with something last week severely lacked - SLEEP - what a difference it makes!

Let's review my weekend.  BOUGHT A NEW CAR (more on that later).  Played softball, we won one of our two games and I got the game ball for the first game, yeah!  I play a mean 2nd base, what can I say?  Saw the beautiful Becky Barber.  Becky has the cutest apartment around and made a fabulous chicken/salad lunch.  It's always so great to see her!  Cleaned my apartment.  Like really cleaned it - oh, it feels so good!  Did every piece of laundry that was waiting to be done.  Went grocery shopping.  Went to church and was greatly inspired.  Relaxed Sunday afternoon (I actually sat on the couch and watched a chick flick I ordered off of On Demand, Bride Wars) I don't even remember the last time I watched an entire movie at home alone, without falling asleep!

The only things I didn't do this weekend that I wanted to do were update this blog and read my new Martha Stewart Weddings magazine.  Not bad, eh?

Let me share a little with you about why I was so inspired at church yesterday.  Isn't it amazing how God "teaches" (those quotes are to indicate my on inadequecies, not the Lord's) us the lessons we need, when we need them the most?

A little history - I have been consumed (ironic choice of words, yes) with money lately.  Making it. Spending it.  Saving it.  Worried about all three of those things, what they mean right now, how I've screwed them up in the past, and what it will look like in the future.  Some good has come of this worrying.  My habits really did need to change. But all of this worrying over the future is just nonsense.  It's not helping, it's just stressing me out, and it's actually becoming an emotional bad habit that I definitely don't want to carry into my marriage!

Enter Stanley Tam.  He's the 93 year old business man that spoke at church yesterday.  He shared with us about how he started his business, and how it was really built on FAITH.  This was not at all one of those "give all of your money to God and you'll be rich one day" sermons.  Not at all. 

A couple of things that he said that really stuck with me:

"There's more to life than making money." 

"There's more to life than solving problems."

"There are 2 ways to live life:  1. The secular way, 2. Faith."

I realized that my approach is all wrong!  I've been trying all I can ON MY OWN. (the secular way) That leaves me feeling really alone in this.  Like there's no way I can do it all by myself.  What Stanley Tam made me realize is that I'm NOT alone in this.  Yes, I have to be responsible.  I have to take that first step.  But it's a lot less intimidating to think that all I have to do is take that first step!! I don't need to worry about all of the other steps right now, I need to TRUST THE LORD.

Phew.  Nothing I haven't heard before.  You have heard it, too.  Maybe it's not the lesson the Lord is teaching you right now, but it's a big one for me.  I don't usually get all preachy on the blog - but this was a nice spiritual light bulb that went off for me, so I thought I'd just share it.

For what it's worth.

Now... that said, I do not plan to give up on reaching my financial goals.  I do not plan on stopping reading all of the financial blogs I've become addicted to.  I do plan to keep saving what I can, when I can, etc.  But, I want to approach it with faith - not the secular way.