...blessings along the way

I'm still waiting to hear from the VOPU Library...
[there was an interview today, so I may hear tomorrow or Monday...]
but as I continue on the path I've been on for a couple of years now...
[in reality, probably my entire life...]
some "interesting" things are starting to happen...

back in March, I attended a seminar for a "get out of debt" plan...
that seemed OK, but in reality was a scam, at least as far as it applied to me...
but I was desperate to find answers to my money problems...
and I was still dealing with the dislocation surgery aftermath...
so looking for a job was difficult...

when I realized that the program was NOT going to work for me...
I attempted to cancel my participation, as they had promised I could...
but the next month...
when another $250 was taken out of my checking account...
I turned to my bank for help and they issued me a new debit card...
returning the $250 to my account...

after WFB investigated further...
they informed me that they had "found in my favor"...
and that no further payments would be allowed to that company...
so I dodged that bullet, but was still in debt and unemployed...

then Fr Toolbelt told me about the plans he had...
to offer a Dave Ramsey seminar at the church...
beginning in August... it cost $100...
not at all sure that I wanted to open all the financial wounds again...
I agreed to attend...



there were 13 sessions with the final one yesterday...
[I missed 2 due to illness & my back adventure...]



we received a "kit" with the book, a workbook and the lessons on CD...
each Wednesday evening, we watched a "Dave" lesson on DVD...
[he's quite funny and the scriptural truths ring clear throughout...]
the lessons were well paced, entertaining & informative...



his program consists of these 7 "baby steps"...

at first it seemed so logical...
then the reality of my lack of funds hit me...
and I began to deal with much deeper issues regarding my attitudes & actions...
some of the lessons were very hard to listen to...
since I no longer have any retirement accounts or savings...
as well as massive credit card debt, my house is "upside down"...
and being unemployed meant that I was in a negative cash-flow situation...

Dave advocates,"sell everything, but the kids..."
but first, someone has to want your "stuff"...
and because of the economy, my "good stuff" had no market...
so I trusted and listened, fighting back the tears & fear...

but as things have progressed in the last couple of weeks...
I have felt a real change of heart in me towards the possibilities...
that I could, using these ideas, handle money properly...
& actually become a good steward...

an excitement, a real sense of hope...

I found myself wanting to be able to work to retire my debts...
Dave calls it,"gazelle intensity"...
[just imagine how focused you'd be if a cheetah was after you...]
and even as my last bits of cash were going out...
with no surety of anything coming in in sight...

I feel hopeful...

hopeful that I can not only retire my debts, honorably...
but also "earn my keep", without misusing credit...

AND rebuild enough assets to be able to give as I wish...
finally becoming a good steward, though it is quite late for me...

that a job doesn't mean a resumption of my former ways...
[no TV or major shopping in my immediate future...]
or even a "relaxing" of tensions over how to pay the bills...
but a chance to let God bless me with His abundance...
to trust Him to make "ends meet" if I'm spending His money properly...

to accept all the blessings that He wants me to have...
and pass them on to others in as He leads me...
because there is NO LIMIT to God's ability to bless us...
just limits on our ability to accept these blessings and pass them on...

after I began to understand these truths a week or so ago...
some "interesting developments" have occurred...



my bi-annual car insurance premium was due on Dec 2...
it was $575 last June and I needed to pay it in a lump sum...
'cause I didn't need another monthly payment to worry about...
but when I went to the website to pay it...

it was only $445 !! a savings of $130 !!
[I hadn't changed my policy at all, so I'm clueless as to the drop...]

but still, $445, is a lot at this point...
[property taxes are due 12/10...
I don't know when the health insurance refund will arrive...
and then there's the January $650 dental insurance annual premium...]

so even though the premium drop is good news...
it wasn't the only good news...



I had just adjusted my mortgage payment to the bank...
from weekly to monthly...
it had been weekly for a couple of years...

the change was supposed to take 10 days to go into affect...
so when I checked my statement...
I was surprised to see that my "next payment"...
was not due, Nov.1, but Dec.1...

so I then waited for a Wednesday to pass...
and looked...NO PAYMENT OF $300 WENT OUT...

that means $1200.00 I don't have to pay this month...
[because I've made extra payments in the past...]

so I CAN pay my car insurance...
AND the property taxes too...

now, if the Library job is God's plan for me...
I should be able to make it to the first paycheck...

I can't wait to see what happens next...



God is good, ALL the time...