Stop saying "I'm broke"

"We're broke," "We can't afford it," and "We don't have the money" are common phrases in my home.  

I have read books and blog posts over and over again by people who have stopped using those words, and their financial situation has turned around completely.  I just read another post from Jess Herself that spoke about looking around to see how abundantly you really are living, and I was truly humbled by that.  

If we were as 'BROKE" as we say we are, we wouldn't have 2 televisions, direct t.v., 2 laptop computer's, a piano, money for piano lessons, 4 game systems and games to play on those systems, enough food to feed our entire family, and the list goes on.  

My goal for the new year is to stop using the negative words, "I'm broke, we can't afford it, we don't have the money."  Because the truth is, we probably DID have the money but CHOSE to spend it on something we didn't really need.  When I hear myself or my husband say the negative words, we I am going to point out that we DO have enough money, and remind ourselves about how blessed we are and the things that we have.  Then we are going to rephrase our words to "We CHOOSE not to spend money on (xyz)"  or "Our money would be better spent on (that) than (this)"  or "We should save our money for (common goal)."

So...did I NEED 4 new lip balm's yesterday at the local drugstore because they were on sale?  No, I still have 2 or 3 partials at home.  That $6 could have been better spent by putting it in a savings jar.  Did I NEED new boots, even though they were deeply discounted?  No, I did not NEED them.  That $40 could have gone elsewhere.

I guess I need to make a list of our bills and priorities, and NO money gets spent until those bills and priorities are taken care of.  That way when temptation strikes, we KNOW we have to say "Our money would be better spent on (insert bills and priorities here)."  This is going to be a working progress, but I intend to keep you updated on our progress.

How did you stop being "broke?" 

Lessons From Church

I love going to church, although for the past year I haven't gone as much as I should have.  See, I work in health care and we don't always get Sunday's and Holiday's off.  Healthcare never stops, and the elderly are in nursing facilities because they can't take care of themselves.  Therefore they need me working.

I am always very excited when I get to go to church, and I feel like God gives me the lesson's I need when I'm there.  It's like our pastor is always talking directly to me.  Today was no different.  Pastor has begun a series on How to Receive God's Blessings.  It boils down to having to be in God's favor, and he outlined a few ways to get there.

Stop Complaining
Change your Attitude
Don't live in the past, reach for the future
Don't worry about your needs, Know that God will provide.  Anxiety is a self inflicted disease.
Don't wait on people or circumstances to change to be happy.  Be happy anyway, and if  you can't change the people or circumstances in your life, change yourself to handle them better.

I needed this today.  The past few months have been crazy.  Listening to Pastor today, I reflected on my life over the past several months and I realized that there has been a lot of Complaining, bad attitude, living in the past, worrying and anxiety, and trying to change people and circumstances but being unable to.

Looks like I have work to do on myself to get back in God's favor.  The blessings will come!!  And I can't wait :)