Friendship

Josh and I have lived in North Carolina for about three years and for most of this time he has been my only true friend. Not that I'm complaining about that. He's a great friend, but nothing compares to having real girlfriends. I had forgotten this important fact and I was getting pretty lonely without the support of other women. 


I had a few acquaintances in the area, but nothing that seemed real or relevant. I prayed for months that God would introduce me to new people and women who were at the same stages in life. Someone that understood the struggles I was facing and vice versa. God worked so gradually that I didn't even realize what was happening. He gave me confidence to join some mommy groups in the area and the strength and courage to make myself vulnerable. I know He continues to work in my life and relationships and I am so grateful for answered prayers. 


"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity" Proverbs 17:17


"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." 1 John 5: 14-15

Finances

My husband and I have never had a budget or handled our finances in an intentional manner. Like many people, we just buy what we want when we want. We do all this without much thought. After-all it doesn't take too much thought or effort to swipe a credit card.


When I said "we" in the previous paragraph, I kind of meant just me. I am horrible at spending money. When I'm bored...I spend money. When I'm happy...I spend money. Sad? Definitely going to be spending some dough on some clothes I'll never wear. I haven't totally put us in debt or anything with these types of spending habits, but I know it is getting kind of ridiculous. 


This past week I decided to keep a record of how much I was spending and where I was spending. So far I have spent 38 dollars in five days. The spending all occurred at restaurants or coffee shops. I surprisingly haven't made any trips to Target this week, and I think that helped keep my spending as low as it was. Not that 38 bucks is low, but you probably don't want to know how much I usually spend in a week (and neither do I). 


I know this is going to be a continuous struggle for me. To let go and realize that money isn't as important as I have made it out to be.


Hebrews 13:5
Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have. 

A Welcome and a Testimony

Welcome!

My name is Stephanie. I’m a mom to a 15 month old little girl named Lily. My husband is Josh and we’ve been married going on four years.

I want to start off by saying that it wasn’t easy for me to start blogging. I began brainstorming. It seemed like a good first step, but I didn’t get too far. I realized I wasn’t passionate about anything enough to write a blog about it. Everyone has a passion, right? I wanted to be passionate about something! This was beginning to feel like more work than fun. I decided that maybe this wasn’t what I was supposed to be doing in my free time. Why was I so worried about finding something to be passionate about? Then I remembered a favorite scripture of mine.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

And this verse reminded me that I am passionate about something, or rather someone-The Lord. I know it seems silly to think that God would care about something as insignificant as a blog, but I also know that God walks with us in everything. I don't know what the end result of this blog will be, but I do know that it will be filled with the awesomeness of God and his wondrous works.  

           ¹³ For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's          
           womb. ¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 
           your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139