Questions/Thoughts From My Heart

Wisdom
Today I am asking about wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. I remember as a pre-teen/teenager every night religiously I would pray that God would give me these three things above all else. That I would know HIS wisdom and that it would guide me. I find myself craving these three pieces again in my life.

God led me to the following verses today in my devotions.

Proverbs 2:3-6
If you cry out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as you would silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:11
Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.

Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works everything for his own ends even the wicked for a day of disaster.

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your path straight.

Proverbs 4:7
Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom though it cost all you have, get understanding.

The first verse seems pretty self explanatory. I get the image of a kid looking for a treasure or eggs on an easter hunt. The excitement and joy in pursuing the target thrills them. They leave no rock unturned to find what they are looking for. It also speaks of looking for silver and realize how hard we all work to make money or more money. Also the things most families sacrifice for the pursuit of it. This shows the passion we are suppose to have for searching and desiring insight, understanding and knowledge and how these things come from the MOUTH of God. God wants us to seek him with this passion to sit at his feet and listen like a child intently listens to their father tell a story. He tells us to cry out to him for these things but what does this mean? Is it simply devotional time, prayer time, worship time or coming with a heart ready to intently listen?

The second verse the Lord showed me has me thinking. "Discretion will protect you" What does that really mean. The Websters dictionary defines discretion as,

Definition

Noun

1. Freedom to act or judge on one's own.[Wordnet] 2. Knowing how to avoid embarrassment or distress; "the servants showed great tact and discretion".[Wordnet] 3. Refined taste; tact.[Wordnet] 4. The power of making free choices unconstrained by external agencies.[Wordnet] 5. The trait of judging wisely and objectively.[Wordnet] 6. Disjunction; separation.[Websters] 7. The quality of being discreet; wise conduct and management; cautious discernment, especially as to matters of propriety and self-control; prudence; circumspection; wariness.[Websters] 8. Discrimination.[Websters] 9. Freedom to act according to one's own judgment; unrestrained exercise of choice or will.[Websters

"I looked online for other variations and though the traditional versions of the bible use the word descretion other interpretations of the word mezimmah (discretion) are "hidden thoughts","wise purposes", "foresight", "wise choices". http://bible.cc/proverbs/2-11.htm

I love the description: The quality of being discreet; wise conduct and management; cautious discernment, especially as to matters of propriety and self-control; prudence; circumspection; wariness Knowing how to avoid embarrassment or distress. It points to how we act not just how we think. How people perceive us. What do our actions, our words, our thoughts say about ourselves and who we are in Him. Do we put ourselves in positions that embarrass ourselves, that show humbleness? Do we present ourselves as put together? Does the lack of these things throughout our lives put us in harms way? Does the act of discretion, modesty, self control, prudence give us a knowledge we would not otherwise have?

Proverbs 16:3

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works everything for his own ends even the wicked for a day of disaster. 


God can turn the worst things into a blessing. So many times the experiences we have had can be used to minister to someone else if we only choose to allow God to work through us, heal us. I think if we live our life even the small details for God giving him the power to use the good and the bad we will succeed. 


Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your path straight.


I love this verse but is also a challenge because do we really trust easily. Blind trust is hard for many of us. We are so easily let down by those around us that I think it interferes with how much we actually trust God. Despite what we want to do most of us have closed off part of our heart to trusting anyone. To trust we have to give up control of everything. To recognize and feel at peace that the Lord knows what he is doing and will never give us more than we can handle. This verse also makes me ask the question how do you know whose understanding you are leaning on your own or Gods. I think the answer to this is learn to listen. To hear the Holy Spirit speaking and guiding you. Always going back to Christ. Always give him credit. Always ask him what he would have you do. Talk to him every step of the way for the good and the bad. This friendship will guide you just as the earthly friends you keep guide you. 


Finally, Proverbs 4:7

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom though it cost all you have, get understanding.

This is a life challenge. A life pursuit. Something that should be nurtured in each of us. Sometimes this might mean through experience. A reminder to learn from our past and let it show in our actions. It is also a reminder to listen to those that are wise. I think without wisdom and understanding we can not fully understand or have the maturity to know God and his Love.

Godly Teachings

Beth Moore Wisdom Friends

Godly Teachings

Beth Moore- Wisdom in Friendship

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Beth Moore - Wisdom 5

Godly Teachings

Beth Moore - Wisdom 4

Godly Teachings

Beth Moore-Wisdom 3

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Beth Moore -Wisdom 2

Godly Teaching

Beth Moore -Wisdom 1

Finances

How to Start a Simple Budget

The first thing you need to know to start a budget is how much income you have coming in. Does this change from paycheck to paycheck or is this a set amount every paycheck? If your paycheck changes I would use the smaller average amount and create a category in your your budget for overflow from the other paychecks. This overflow would be your buffer for unexpected bills or paying off debt, or saving it to be able to pay your bills on the more expensive part of the month.  Do you have any other monies that come in from other sources ie. selling stuff, babysitting, odd jobs,  ect.? How much does this income add up to every month? If you do not know for sure but you are doing these things regularly start keeping track. The next thing you need to know is when does your paycheck come, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly? Write a list of all of your incomes and their amounts. Put this aside.

The second thing you need to do is figure out what bills you pay every month. Some things you might pay would be: mortgage/rent, electric/gas, water/trash/sewer, home/renters insurance, vehicle insurance (for all vehicles), Cable/Internet/Phone, Cell Phones, Blockbuster/Netflix, Car Loan (s) list separately, Misc Loans (list each),  Credit Cards (list each separately), Tithe/Giving, School, Gas/Grocery/Household, Clothing/Entertainment, Medical Bills, home owners dues, extermination, home warranty. Write down all of these and the costs associated to these things.

The third step is write a list of things you would like to save for. Things you would like to do or buy down the road. You should include an emergency fund in here enough to cover your bills for 3-6 months. Other things that would fit into this category are: Retirement, Travel, Savings, Purchases (I would make a list of the purchases you would like to buy and how much you think it will cost to buy them). Decide how long down the road you would like to purchase these items or have those amounts in the above funds. Then take the amount of the items/fund and divide it by that many months. That will give you your monthly budget for your Additional Funds.

Now that you know where you receive money and where you spend it either use a program like quicken, Microsoft money or a simple excel spreadsheet (table) to organize this information. If you do not have access to these types of programs a calculator and piece of paper will work as well, simply create a table.

Income
Paycheck	0.00
Odd Jobs	0.00
Misc. Pay	0.00
Bills
Mortgage/Rent	0.00
Electric/gas	0.00
Water/trash/sewer	0.00
Home/Renters Insurance	0.00
Vehicle insurance	0.00
Cable/Internet/Phone	0.00
Cell Phone	0.00
Blockbuster/Netflix	0.00
Car Loan1	0.00
Car Loan 2	0.00
Misc. Loan 1	0.00
Credit Card	0.00
Tithe/Giving	0.00
Gas/Grocery/Household	0.00
Clothing/Entertainment	0.00
Medical Bills	0.00
Home Owners Assoc.	0.00
Extermination	0.00
Home Warranty	0.00
Additional Funds
Emergency Fund	0.00
Savings	0.00
Retirement	0.00
Travel	0.00
Future Purchases	0.00
Income Total	0.00
Bills Total	0.00
Funds Total	0.00
Income total subtract bills total subtract funds total equals how much money you have after you have paid all of your funds.

Now that you know how much money you need and how much you make you have a starting point. The next step is to decide do you have enough income to cover the bills and funds you want/need? If yes, the next step is to set up a system and commit to it. Now this could be pulling your paycheck out into cash and separating it into labeled envelopes or file box for your various bills. Another way you could do this is open 2 checking accounts at the same bank. Move your money for the bills due into the second account. You can either direct withdrawal from this second account to pay the bills or simply pay from this account using checks or bill pay. The first account allows for any extra or overflow. I would then open separate savings accounts for your funds. HSBC does mainly online banking and provides a good interest for your savings.  I would then do a bank to bank transfer from your main checking into these savings accounts. You can then easily keep track of where your money is and how much you have. I do a direct bank to bank for my savings so I don't even have to think about it.


Now if you don't have enough income to cover your bills here are a few suggestions: Look at your grocery, clothing and entertainment, eating out bills. What can you cut out from these funds? Can you save money here? This may not be a permanent cut but could be just enough to sway the balance. If you are still short look at ways to lower your other bills, can you drop a cell plan to a smaller one and save 10 dollars or more? Can you be more contentious about electricity, water, gas usage to lower the monthly bills? Maybe canceling the cable/satalite tv or internet or going down to just a home phone or just a cell phone would be another way to cut bills. Try to eliminate the bills section first. Temporary cuts of extras may be a way to quickly increase your income down the road once those pesky loans/credit cards are paid off. This opens your budget up to make your other financial goals. Another way is to hold off on travel or future purchases funds. Or see if you can refinance or combine loans or credit cards to achieve a smaller interest rate. Before you do this you should make sure to do a lot of research, read the fine print and ask someone you know or a professional that understands this process. 


Figure out which plan will keep you on tract and run with it. If you start something and it isn't working tweak it and keep going.  Its about baby steps. Fixing your finances won't happen over night and it will probably take a lot of consistency, trial and error, and some sacrifice but the end goal of financial freedom will be worth all of the sacrifice. Always put as much extra monies on your debts starting with those that have the highest interest rates. Never pay the minimum balance on a credit card. Always pay what is actually due every month. This is an important step in setting up your budget. Budget for what the bill is not minimums. Preferable you should over pay your bill if you have a large balance. This goes for your loans too. A good rule is round up. If you payment is 160 pay 200. This will pay your loans off significantly sooner (a note would be is call your loan office and make sure that they pay on the principle when you pay extra, also that you do not have a early payoff penalty).  If this is an area you struggle with ask a friend for support that is good at saving. Have him/her keep you accountable.  


Always Remember:


 Philippians 4:19  And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Malachi 3:10  

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”