Oh wow today’s message was not only shocking but depressing. It is something that we need to know for sure, something that we all kinda know deep down but do not really like to think about it – denial! Planning for our financial well being in the future is something a lot of us just think, I will do it later – well really, that will be too late!Besides the main message on planning for the future, the passage was great: 1 Corinthians 14:33 – For God is not a God of disorder but of Peace – and the realization made in the guided prayer of recognizing the areas of your life that are in “disorder” or are “out of order” are areas that we have not given over to God and are not under His Lordship. This was HUGE for me – it is the blueprint, the answer, the “wake up and smell the coffee” of areas to continue working on and to enjoy those that are in “order”.
Donna Partow really puts it in your face today – the way she shares about her mother and the amount of Social Security she gets each month, I know these numbers are true because my in-laws get $1,800 per month for the two of them to live on! I know this is a toucie subject for me, I do not like to talk about money another form of denial I suppose. I grew up not having enough money to “get” things but too much money to get assistance for school lunches or different programs the school offered – it was a weird place to be.
I started a 401k at one of my jobs, it was up well over 10k before the company folded – I moved it and we had the big drop in stocks, mutual funds, and stuff like that and it went down to 3k – it is now back up over 10k but hardly enough to do much for me or my family in the future. I contribute to it monthly, $50, isn’t that a joke – I guess I need to raise that up now that my personal income has increased. As always, timing is everything!
Speaking of timing – today in my devotional from Rick Warren’s Day Devotional in YourVersion, The Bible App, the topic today was Save, Invest for the Future – the statistics that blew me away were – Japan, the average savings is 25%, Europeans save on an average 18% and Americans spend 1% more than they made. It really helps point out on a grand scale where we ALL are contributing to the fall of our economy.
I want to pray today for the strength to get out of the “Instant Gratification” mode I have fallen into in life. I know I have done a tons better working to pay off the debt we have accumulated over time and we are almost there on two large Credit Card payoffs! I do need to up the amount of money going into my retirement plan and start looking into that. Move forward taking action on the other streams of income that Donna spoke of in earlier chapters and stop dragging my feet!
Dear Lord I Pray…Dear Jesus – Today I get it, I see the message you are sharing with me plain and clear! I need to take action on my future and pay attention to what is going on there! I pray you hold my hand to stay committed to taking the action needed and I pray that you will help me know what it is you want me to do. Thank you Jesus for sending the messages to me just in the right time – you are such a great God! I know life is great and it is a greater everyday!