More Decisions

Decisions, Decisions, and More Decisions

          Well the time has come that my wife and I had to take a hard look at our life and decide what we could do to make it a little easier in our lives both spiritually and financially. You see if there is something that I have learned throughout my life and most recently my Journey is that these 2 things actually go hand in hand. Most couples in life that you see are financially straight and well off have a better overall spiritually strong relationship. I know that should not be the case, but in this day and age that is just the way it is. So we have decided to take a look at the things we have and start to downsize and determine the difference between what we want, and what we actually need. That transformation began yesterday with the purchase of a new car.

          I know you look at this and say; well if you are trying to downsize why would you buy a new car? Well I can answer that for you. First off my wife and I already had 2 cars. We were financing a 2009 Mini Van and a 2003 Suburban. We love both cars because of the size and fact that each one could carry our family as a whole when they are in town. What we had to look at is this really a necessity and if not what could we do to save a little bit of money. Well as far as if it was a necessity we realized it truly wasn’t. The van gets about 23 MPG and the Suburban gets roughly 16 if I am lucky. So ATM with the price of gas and the location of my work, I find myself spending about 100 dollars if not more a week to get back and forth to work in the Suburban, sure it would have been a little cheaper if I had driven the van, but not much and anyhow I like the cool guy car. What I truly needed to realize is that it is not always about being cool you know. It should always be about what is best for my family not my own personal pride. Of the two vehicles we have the van has the higher monthly payment and money owed, not to mention it only fits 7 and when my kids and all are here we need more space.

          So the first step in our downsizing was for me to go and trade the van in for a sedan that gets better gas mileage. So we prayed on this and yesterday I finally did it, and I believe we have made a good cost effective decision. So I went down to the dealership (which I hate to do) and started the process. I got pretty lucky, we knew going in we were upside down on the van but not by a lot. My wife had blue booked the van so we had a baseline of how much it was worth. Well the dealership gave me 18k for the van on trade in and started showing me some sedans. Our idea was to get a good used car but if you know me you already know what happened. Before I knew it they had a 2012 Nissan Altima in front of me, now I knew that the monthly payment on this was going to be right at or below what we pay on the van and that was my goal, not to go up in monthly payment but to save on gas. Well the Altima gets between 32 and 40 MPG so that was a plus. Then I got just about 3K in rebates off the vehicle and they dropped the sticker by a grand, so that just ate up my negative equity in the van so I believe the praying helped out. In addition we got our GAP insurance, 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, and a year of free oil changes thrown in on the deal. So in the end, we are paying the same as we paid for the van a month, and if we have done our numbers correctly I should save about 300 dollars a month on gas alone with this purchase which will definitely help out.

          I credit all this success to God. My wife and I have put all of our decisions in God’s hand. We now pray about everything that we do and follow the guidance that is put in our heart by the Lord. He will always provide for us, that is something that we whole heartedly believe in. There is never going to be just a snap decision that we make again. We will continue to seek out His guidance and help and do everything that we do to glorify Him.

The Bible says “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house, your sons like young olive trees around your table. In this very way, the man who fears the Lord will be blessed. May the Lord bless you from Zion, so that you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life and will see your children’s children!” Psalm 128:3-6

Even though this is our first step in downsizing I know it is one in the right direction. As long as we keep our faith in the Lord we can never be led astray. I love God, my family, and all my brothers and sisters. Thank you and God Bless.

G.E.D.D.

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The Decision

The Decision

            This is sort of a continuation from my last blog. It is mainly confirming the path that has been laid down in front of me. I had time to go home and talk to my wife and pray over the matter a little more. In addition I was able to attend another Bible study at my Church and talk to Pastor Greg. Everything I have talked about, prayed about, and have received answers for are all leading to the same answer. Go for it.

            I understand that the decision to change my schooling focus to Ministry is not one to be taken lightly. I also understand that it is not a career field that you go into for monetary glory or fame. My wife had asked me when I talked to her about this; do you know in your heart that when all is said and done, that this decision will be able to take care of the family not only spiritually but also financially? I can answer without a shadow of a doubt yes. I know in my heart that this decision is coming from a higher power, and as long as I am doing what the Lord is guiding me to do, then in the end all will be taken care of. As I learned last night going through our Bible study is that as long as I am pursuing LOVE everything else will fall into place. I might not understand that why at 37 years of age God has all of a sudden put this path in front of me, but it is my duty to follow that path even though I might not understand it. As long as I follow this path and put my faith in the Lord, nothing can go wrong.

            I already know that I am asking the world from my family. First off from my wife and children, I am asking them to support my decision in this journey. We will have tons of life changes in our household, all of which will help to strengthen our family as a whole. Secondly I am asking my parents, who did not raise me in a religious environment, to trust that I am doing the right thing and to believe in me. What is funny about parents is that no matter how old you get they always believe in you and will support you. Lastly I am asking my friends to trust and respect my decision to follow this path. In the end, if they don’t they are not the friends that I should have. I have recently reevaluated all of my relationships and have severed the ones that do not bring me closer to God. The friendships that I had that were destructive and not constructive are now out of my life. I only have a select few of my friends in the military that I still associate with, and those that I do are solid and reciprocate the love that I have for them. As far as my other friends, well that is simple, they are my Church family and as such are more than friends they are family, and I know they will support me.

            I know that this journey is going to test me all the way through, going to work full time and school full time simultaneously is not an easy feat. I know that I will be successful in this because it is what God wants me to do and God would not send me on a mission to fail. It is completely up to me to commit myself 150% to this endeavor and that is exactly what I will be doing. Please pray for me in this journey because I will be praying everyday about this. Thank you for taking the time to read and God bless.

G.E.D.D.

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Where Am I Headed

Something Is Calling

            Ok so for the last few weeks I have noticed that something is calling me to serve the Lord in a way that I never thought I would or could even fathom doing. When I attended my CONNECT class at Church we had gone over the GIFTS that we are all blessed with. For me the Gifts that jumped out at me immediately where Teaching and Knowledge. I had expressed this to my wife and basically we decided to take a step back and pray and see what might develop. Well I think that something spiritually is starting to finish that development and I will explain some of those things below.

            First off I have a passion for teaching. As a Non Commissioned Officer in the US Army it was one of my main duties to teach, mentor, and develop the young Soldiers under my control and in my Units. This is something that I thoroughly loved to do and one of the things that I miss the most about being retired. I don’t really have anyone to teach and mentor to anymore. I understand that teaching the Word is a completely different idea that teaching or training a Soldier, but it still is something that I definitely have a passion for. I have been working towards my degree in Homeland Security for a couple years now but the passion isn’t truly there for me to learn that subject so I kind of put my education on hold.

            Secondly, some changes to the MGIB have recently come to fruition finally that will allow me to attend school full time and still work full time. This is something that had never been a possibility before under the old GI Bills making it very hard for a Veteran to support a family while going to school full time. This change would allow for me to attend full time on-line courses and get paid a monthly housing allowance at a reduced rate, which would reduce some of the financial burden of attending school while working.

            Lastly my Love for Jesus and the Word are growing everyday and that thirst for knowledge (even though I know it will never be quenched in my lifetime) for the Word of God and Christ is something that is consuming me in a good way. I find myself wanting to know more every single day that I wake up. I always look forward to attend Church to see what we are going to talk about and learn about, I am volunteering to help with our young children’s worship, and I can’t wait for our AWANA club to kick off so I can be a part of that also.

            All in all, I feel something tugging at me to change my educational focus. To drop the school that I am currently enrolled in and change my major from Homeland Security to a Religious field. What I have been presented with yesterday and today alone has been guiding me to make this change. The one thing that I know that I am going to have to do is just dive in head first and at full speed. Not just take a class or two to see if I like it. This will take a 100 percent commitment which to be honest, is nothing less than it would deserve. I should be willing to give God 150% of myself which I am completely willing to do because I have this burning inside that won’t subside.

            So where does that leave me? I am currently waiting on a response from Moody online seminary school to let me know if they accept the GI Bill. If that is the case watch out world here I come. I will start my new journey into College as a student of God pursuing a B.S Degree in Ministry Leadership with a Focus in Preaching. This is not something that I hope comes to fruition; this is something I know will come to be. I know in my heart and soul that this is where I am being guided and I know it will only continue to strengthen my bond with God and Christ. Thank you for reading and God Bless.

G.E.D.D

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