I found this on tumblr & just love it!
Life has been full of challenges for our family the past few years, but it truly has made us aware of the need to lean on God every single day.
We would not be where we are today without His love & grace.
We've met so many amazing friends along this journey. You know who you are! We want to thank each of you for loving us so unconditionally & for standing by us.
Simply Living By Faith,
Bill & Stacey
Hello Friends,
It's hard to believe it's almost been one year since our lives were turned upside down due to the loss of my husbands business. We have learned sooo very much & I just wanted to share with you some of the things that have changed in our lives:
1) We learned we were living beyond our means: The Lord taught us greatly & is still teaching us today how important it is to live within our means. That means if you don't have money to purchase a big item, then save the money to do so. It makes you think really hard about how much you truly need something while saving for it. I've been saying to my boys lately & myself: Is it a WANT, NEED, OR DESIRE. That really helps me to put things into perspective.
2) We've learned we are spending waay to much money on eating out: It's amazing how much you can spend at McDonald's on Unsweet Tea. One Dollar sounds like so little, but truly if I have one tea each day of the week it's around $7.70 per week. Now keep in mind that's just for me. My son always wants a sweet tea - so double that price. We were just discussing this week how we need to make a weekly menu, so that we know what we are having each day of the week. Then we can shop for just what we need for that week.
3) We've learned how important it is to save money with coupons: WOW is all I can say about coupons. I've been blessed in finding coupons in soo many places. Each trip to Martin's Food Store I save between 40 - 50% off with coupons while also earning free gas points. A couple months ago we paid $1.66 for 27 gallons of gas! We were just elated. The best part is that we were buying things that we use to get these points and used coupons on top of that. It's a LOT of work, but soo worth it at the check-out.
4) We've learned the importance of family & close friends: When facing losing your income, health insurance, having to do Chapter 7, & going on food assistance you never realize how precious your family & friends are to you. They have been an INCREDIBLE support to us during this time. We wouldn't be here today without them. They have helped us by praying for us, by sending us anonymous cashier checks in the mail, by calling to check on us, by showing us love, & support. It truly makes you think about what is most important in this life. It's given us even more of a desire to help others.
5) We've learned to receive graciously: One of the most difficult things that my husband & I have had to learn is to take help from others. We were always the ones helping others. Now the Lord put us in a situation where we had to receive. WOW - it's beyond humbling to do. I have learned that I can still give to others & it doesn't have to be only by financial means.
Please share ways that the Lord has helped you in difficult times. Thanks soo much for taking the time to read my post today.
Resting In Christ,
Stacey =]
Hello Dear Family, Friends, & Followers,
I would like to take a moment to thank all of the beautiful people who have carried us through one of the most difficult times in our lives. Here are some of the ways God has used others to bless our family:
On December 3, 2010 a card came in the mail & the return label said "Heaven". I giggled because my son goes to a hair salon called Heaven. I opened up the card and found a cashier's check for $600.00. It truly was from HEAVEN! Thanks soo much for helping our family. We will never forget you!
Right before Christmas someone called us on the phone and told us to look outside on our porch. There was a large & very heavy present there. We opened it up and found a HUGE jar of coins :) Bill, Josh, Ben, & I took the jar of coins to Martin's to dump it into the change counting machine & as we watched the coins pour out into the machine a one hundred dollar bill came out of the jar. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for choosing to bless our family!!! We are planning to do the same thing for a family in need this Christmas :)
Our refrigerator stopped working in November right around Thanksgiving time. The cost to get it fixed was way too much for us. We have an old Coke cooler so used it for our make shift refrigerator, as well as a cooler in the garage. On Christmas Eve our dear friends Jim & Marianne blessed us with a check to help us get a new fridge. Then one of our incredible adopted kids, Jeremy blessed us with a check. My Uncle Willey said that he wanted to help us get a refrigerator and told me to come and look at Lowe's. My Sissy Krissy & I went to look and see what we could find. I always like looking in the scratch & dent are because you can get some REALLY great deals doing so. I looked in that area, along with the new ones. My Sissy Krissy went to use the rest room and came back all excited telling me that there were more refrigerators as she came out of the restroom. WOW!!! There was my dream fridge sitting there with an AMAZING price tag. It had some dents in the side, but who cares when nobody will ever see them. I asked for a further discount and they accepted. My Uncle Willey was able to get me the best deal every! Thanks to each of you for loving us soo much. Every single time we look at that refrigerator you are all remembered :)
These are just a few of the ways that God showed His Amazing Love to us :) I will share more next post.
Please let me know how I can pray for you today. Prayer is soo POWERFUL & I always am reminding myself - I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!!!
Resting In Christ,
Love - Stacey :)
