Where Does God Need You?

This post is actually an extension of a Facebook post that I uploaded today..."Had a beautiful conversation with a stranger...thank you, God."

People ask me all the time..."How do you do ALL that you do?"  Before, I wasn't sure how to respond because honestly, I wondered the same thing.  Haha.  But I knew, God was behind all of it.  So the next time I'm asked that question, I will respond...

"It's where God needs me."

If God needs me to be a mother...

"It's where God needs me."

If God needs me to be a teacher...

"It's where God needs me."

If God needs me to be a volunteer at the jails...

"It's where God needs me."

If God needs me to be a Girl Scout troop leader (for TWO troops LOL)...

"It's where God needs me."

Today, God needed me to help a father.  

After I dropped off the girls to school, I had a meeting with my friend/other troop leader to discuss things for our upcoming Girl Scout meeting.  I love spending time with her.  We're both educators, so we both understand the challenges of working and being a mom.  So  of course, our what we say "quick 10 minute meetings" always usually last an hour.  I knew I had a doctor's appointment, but we were getting work done, and I was enjoying my time with her.

"It's where God needed me."

Afterwards, I rushed to my appointment.  As I was getting onto the elevator, there was a delivery man with a cart delivering hospital gowns.  He mentioned how he was glad it was Friday.  I said I'm still on vacation (being a teacher).  We chit chatted until the elevator doors opened.  We said our good byes and went about our way.

When I went to check into the doctor's office, they said I was too late for the appointment and to come back to a later appointment or I could go to Urgent Care later.  It was disappointing, but I also knew I was the reason for being late.  So it was what it was.  I went back to the elevator, and there again was the same delivery man.  We smiled with that "Hey, it's you again" look.  We continued talking as we went down the elevator and even into the parking lot.

Then, he told me his story.  How he has three children, two who are already adults and one 12 year old.  He seemed to be struggling with his youngest, but he told me all the wonderful things he was trying to do to continue to support her.  I was able to give him some advice based on my teaching experiences dealing with students and parents, while also giving my two cents as a parent.  But I felt more importantly, he just needed the reassurance that he was doing a good job as a parent, which came in the form of a random stranger who was a teacher...me!

"It's where God needed me."

Listen to Him.  He will let you know when to pull back and when to push forward with the confidence that He is with you.

So the next time things don't go as planned, remember that there's a reason.  Pray...

"God, where do you need me today?"

Your Street Cred Mama,

Arlyn

52 Week Money Challenge

Who wants $1,378 by the end of the year?  I DO!!!

I'm the first to admit that I'm no money guru.  BUT, I really am committing 2017 as the year I become more financially focused and work on getting my finances in a better place.

So I thought, why don't I challenge myself and set a financial goal.  I'm going to SAVE $1,378 this year by doing a 52 Week Money Challenge.  It's simple...each week of the year you save that number in dollars.  So since it's the first week of the year, you save or put away $1.  During week 2, you save $2.  Week 3, you save $3.  You get where I'm going with this?  Go all the way to the last week of the year (week 52), and you will end up with $1,378.  Pretty cool.

For you visual people, like me, here's a chart I created:

I, myself, get paid once a month, so I made a chart for that:

I know some of you may get paid Bi-Weekly, so here's a chart for that:

Now, you need to decide how and where you're going to save your money:

1)  Open up a separate share account.

This is the route I'm choosing this year.  I'm actually calling the account "Money Challenge."  If you open up a separate share account, you can make transfers from your own Checkings.  You can even set up automatic transfers.

2)  Transfer the money to a whole other separate bank account.

This idea is great if you don't want to see the money, so you're not tempted to remove it.

3)  Put cash in a jar (or container/box).

This may be old fashioned, but it works.  Take out cash each week and place it in your container.  Put it somewhere so you can watch it grow, or hide it so you won't take from it.

Pick a day of the week to make your "deposits" to yourself.  The above charts show Fridays as deposit day, but you can pick any day that works for you.

Helpful Tip:

I highlighted certain weeks on the charts to check your progress.  The whole point is to stay on the schedule but reality is we may not.  Life happens.  Use the highlighted weeks as "catch up" weeks or even put a little extra so in case you fall short later or even just end up with more money.

One last thing to keep you motivated:

Set a PURPOSE for your money that you will be getting.  Are you going to buy a special item?  Are you going to go on a trip?  Will you pay down debt?  Will you be donating it?  For me, I'm going to donate a portion to my church and a portion to a charity that my daughters and I will decide on.  The rest of the money will go to a special trip or adventure for me and my girls.  

I will check in with you throughout the year to keep ME on track.  Wish me luck!

Your Street Cred Mama,

Arlyn