Financial Future

The bill collectors are calling. When you are within the 10 day countdown, final payment is due on lots of things: cake, venue, photographer, flowers. People are getting paid for services about to be rendered. It can be overwhelming for the one holding the purse strings, because all of a sudden all your penny pinching, all you've scraped together, all you've saved is now flying out the window in many directions. Some big gulps are taken as you watch the savings account dwindle, then realize it's not over when you need a little here and a little there for those last minute bits. For some of us, you are left with little at the end, but hopes for a beautiful, wonderful memorable day.

Unless you have saved for years and years for this or are independently wealthy, this is the nature of the wedding beast, unfortunately. Weddings are expensive. There are many folks who go into debt to pay for them (not the best practice for starting a marriage and budgeting). But I know my kids. I know they've worked hard to make wise wedding choices and purchases and to stay within budget. And knowing it's time to ante up just means the wedding is right around the corner, and it's almost time to celebrate.

Post wedding you will have new financial things to think about:

1. Merging bank accounts and changing names on utilities and other now common responsibilities and property.
2. Creating a budget for the two of you.
3. Creating an emergency fund for when the unexpected pops up. Financial advisers recommend three or six months of your salary in savings for this.
4. Setting goals for your future. Will you start saving for a house or a car or vacations ... or children. What kind of retirement plan do you have?
5. Avoiding debt. Zero debt is the goal, but not always a possibility (especially with house purchases), but make every effort to eliminate outstanding debt and prevent new debt. 
6. Pray. Give God your finances and every decision you make with your money. Remember every penny is His to start off with. Ninety percent of it is yours to do with what you want. Those first fruits, the full tithe, is His (Malachi 3:10).
7. Be content with where the Lord has blessed you financially (Philippians 4:12) and be sure to give whenever you can. Know that the Lord has blessed you to be a blessing to His children.

Well, my darlings, we're down to the wire. We are keeping you close in our prayers, hearts and minds and look forward to finishing up plans and celebrating soon. Find joy in every moment of this last week before your wedding. On this day, in one week Rob and Ayla will join as husband and wife. And we cannot wait to glorify God with you in it.

And then start putting money away for the next wedding!

Discussion: Did you anticipate correctly how much your wedding would cost? How difficult has it been paying for parts of the wedding? Do you have a financial plan for after the wedding?

Prayer: Lord God, all we have is yours and we thank you for it. Father, we pray you are praised and glorified in the wedding. We pray your children in attendance will see you everywhere in be in awe of you. Father we ask for your direction on our future finances, that we are wise with what you have blessed us. In Christ we  pray, Amen.

Autumnal Equinox

Today is the first day of autumn. You know as beautiful as autumn is, I never looked forward to this season. Mostly because it meant winter was around the corner. I love spring and summer because I'm a naturally a cold person, so bring on the warm weather. And I just don't like to be cold. But we had a pretty hot summer, so I have to say I'm truly enjoying the coming of autumn. I think as I've aged, I've gotten a far better appreciation of each season. There is a purpose for every single one. And since Daddy and I are pretty much heading into the autumn of our lives, I think I'd better embrace it.

With autumn comes the gorgeous change in color, cooler nights and pumpkins. In the human body with the autumn season comes gray hair, wrinkles, the beginning of age spots, a change in metabolism, new aches each day and some sagging in areas that used to be ... well, not sagging. None of that sounds even remotely appealing to you at your young age. Honestly, it's not really appealing to us either. But it's the nature of things.

You young ones are in your summer. It's the prime of your lives. The world is fresh and beautiful and exciting and filled with new experiences and adventure, especially as you are about to marry and begin one of the greatest adventures. And you should delight in it as much as you can. A friend said to me recently about young marrieds, "Buy anything you want and go anywhere you want before you start having kids, because their needs will come before your wants after that." And there is truth in that. It costs a lot to raise children and for some folks causes them to set some limits for their sake. So it is a philosophy that works for many couples who choose to wait to start their families. Personally, we didn't do that because we couldn't have bought whatever we wanted or gone where ever we wanted anyways. And we didn't see our children as limiting. For us that was adventure! Regardless, this is the time to truly delight in your young, active and typically healthy bodies and make some wonderful memories.

You will see spring in your children and winter in your grandparents. Each season has so many blessings and brings so much joy - challenges, too. So truly embrace each as it comes ... in the calendar year as well. Breath in what God has created for your enjoyment. Delight in each change as it occurs. Worship Him for what He has designed as your environment. Pick apples, have campfires, select a pumpkin, examine fallen leaves, snuggle in a sweater as the temperature drops, collect pecans, catch a football and enjoy the autumn harvest. "To everything there is a season," Ecclesiastes 3:1 says. Now it's time for the autumnal equinox ... ironically and pleasantly, for us, in more ways then one.

Discussion: What is your favorite season? What do you love about fall? Name some people you know and love and say what season of their life they are in.

Prayer: We give you glory Father for every season of our year and our life. May we fully enjoy all your prepared for us and praise your name for being so gracious and generous with us. We thank you in Jesus name, Amen.