"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." Matthew 5:14-15

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." Matthew 13:45-46

Monday, February 25, 2008

Crockpot Blessings

I mentioned in my previous post that my mother had come for the weekend. She surprised me with a crockpot. Last time I washed my crockpot I noticed a hairline crack all the way across the bottom of the pot. I was discouraged when I saw it because I had planned to take it on vacation next week when we head to Florida. Funds have been extremely tight and I knew that I could not afford to go out and buy one. I prayed for God to somehow provide because that cookware was to be our main method of cooking meals while we are gone.

We leave next week to head to Pensacola Christian College for my eleventh grade son to see if that is where God is calling him to go in just a little over a year. We will spend a few days there and then head to the Orlando area for about a week. We have a time share that someone gave to us for the week, so that will be no expense. We plan on taking all of our food to make our own meals, so there won't be any extra expense with that. We have tickets for Disney World for one day that were left over from a couple years ago. We were told they would still be usable.

Our main expenses will be the gas for travel and the hotel for three nights in Pensacola. My mom surprised me with a check that will pretty much cover the expense of the hotel. We won't be able to do anything other than some free things, but we plan to take along games and just enjoy having family time together.

It shouldn't surprise me, but it still does when God provides for our needs (and wants) in ways that I least expect. We recently decided to get much more serious about having a budget and being good stewards of the resources God has given us. Since we decided that, our money has seemed to be stretched thinner than ever imagined. I cry out sometime to the Lord wondering what He is trying to teach us. We finally are at the point of making radical changes with our finances and then things get even tougher. But then again He surprises me with blessings of a little extra money and a crockpot.

2 comments:

Jennifer Goodwin said...

God is good, and He always provides!!! Isn't that just amazing?!?! I am right there with you, sister! I have a neat story about my mom, too. My husband underwent major surgery back in November, to remove a tumor from his stomach. Praise God the report came back good, but we were so worried what our bills would total. I broke down on my sister one day, and by the grace of our amazing God, she gave us some much needed money to cover some of our insurance deductible. Then, some strangers whom my mom had talked to about us, gave us the same amount, for the other part of the deductible. THEN, my mom and awesome stepdad gave us...you guessed it! All the other money that we owed. Can you believe that we have such an awesome Abba Father?!?! He is good, all the time, and His love NEVER fails! Praise Him for His provision for your family as well! Even something you may think is insignificant, like a crockpot. That is not a word in His vocabulary, by the way! I think He also rewards those of us who are good stewards with our time (spent in worshiping Him) and our money! Praise God!

MrsProverbs31 said...

Indeed, God is good. It's funny, but I posted something similar on my blog Monday. I think you will really enjoy it. Be sure to scroll down to Monday's post.