The Gimmies



There I go again! I have made the same mistake! A status on Facebook or a conversation about shopping gets me almost every time! Why is that? As Mama Bear Berenstain of the children's books would say, I get the "gimmies!" When I get "a bad case of the gimmies," I have to remind myself of these things:


1. Debt is bad, get rid of it.
2. Orphans in Vietnam
3. Women who chose life for their babies.
4. Hans Peter has a full belly in Haiti tonight.
5. Homeschooling my children.
6. Growing students to a relationship with Christ.
7. Supporting our missionaries
8. The more I have, the more I have to take care of.
9. If it is not broke, why replace it and if it is broke, why replace it? (no, that is not a typo.)

My frugal friend, Shannon's oven broke. She has searched for a used one with no leads. She remembered an old toaster oven her mother-in-law had given her in their camper. She has been cooking for her family for probably a month in a toaster oven! She made pecan pies in her toaster oven! This girl has some of the same points on her list as I do. Her dad called her one day to see if she still needed a stove. She got one, a green one. It is ugly, but it works and it was absolutely free.

I am called to be a steward of my finances just like Shannon. Do I have what I need? YES! Does that mean that I may have less then top of the line, like Shannon's green stove? Yeah, it does.


I am reminded of Luke 16:10-11 where Jesus said, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"

Do I want a new wardrobe, printer, remodeled kitchen, or a new vehicle? That would be nice! Would I rather be trusted with true riches? You better believe it!!

Comments

teachinmom said…
Such a good reminder......
October 29, 2009 at 10:11 AM
"Are These Kids All Yours?" said…
AMEN!!!! Need that reminder daily it seems.....we are trying soo hard to make this a real priority in our home. Not perfect yet, but we are at least making some progress :)
October 29, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Melanie said…
oooh that's for this challenge - and that's for the parenting book recs on my blog. I keep hearing about George Barna - got to read him! Do you have devo ideas or recs for doing with boys 10 and 14? That's what i'm looking for right now.
October 30, 2009 at 4:18 AM
Melanie said…
Okay - my tired morning mean to type thanks - not that's - on that last comment - oops
October 30, 2009 at 4:19 AM
Judy said…
Good post Melanie. In The Rabbi'a Heartbeat, Brennan Manning quotes Augustine, "There can only be two basic loves, the love of God unto the forgetfulness of self, or the love of self unto the forgetfulness of God." I am so thankful God does not require perfection!
October 30, 2009 at 5:25 AM
JottinMama said…
Ohhhhh!

I love the Berenstain Bear books! My mom read them to me as a kid...and now I read them to my kiddos. They rock.

What a great post! I needed that tonight! Thank you :)

Enjoy your weekend, friend!

-Kate :)
October 30, 2009 at 5:22 PM
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