Garbage to Grocery Bags

A reflection on Project Thanksgiving from Gin Gin Diokno:

There are a few things going on at church that remind me how lucky I am. I have a great job. In this economy, holding on to one, much less one you really enjoy, is such a blessing. I live in a comfortable home in a safe neighborhood. Apart from these material things, I have friends and family around me who love me.

Listening to the messages at Nativity also get me in a certain frame of mind. We are currently in the Forecast series which challenges me to be more God-honoring in my expenses. I must admit I still need to work on this so one of the steps I am taking is doing the Financial Peace Workshop. Yesterday, I also took a little step to rethink some of my priorities.

This time last year, I paid a neighbor to rake my leaves and put them in those big black trash bags. I was planning on doing it but I remember it was raining on some weekends. I worked one weekend, and then yes, I had tickets to a Ravens game and my sister and brother-in-law came from Jersey to go with me. Due to lack of time (and planning), I paid a teenager to do it. Yesterday, I had the day off. It was a little chilly but I got to thinking...why don’t I just do it myself? I could spend that money to buy the Thanksgiving baskets and have some left for the Advent project! So I did! And I was glad I did it. It might not be a lot, but it was a start. Behavior change is always easier said than done, and knowing myself, I needed to start with baby steps. I am a little sore today but I got a good exercise out of it. I think that was enough bicep curls for the week for me. And it was definitely worth it!

My prayer is that He grants me the strength of discipline as I tackle the path to financial peace. Amen.