Open Sesame???

Alright. So we have been consistently honoring God with 5% at first, currently at 7% (with a 10% thrown in one week being wacky), and it's been rough. No lies there. Bills still aren't great, but they are getting paid. Making some financial mistakes, but that stupidity, and that's not really His fault. We have food and clothing and entertainment. We have been faithful, trusting we will not be forgotten and that our sacrifice will come back with abundance. It's been pretty easy for Kath - not so simple for me, but I am surviving (and still thinking I should dive after the bag once in a while).

It's possible, though, that first "return" may be a-coming.

For those that know, and those that don't, my wife has Parkinson's disease. Diagnosed about 9 years ago. Started as a tremor in her left hand and has slowly progressed through her body. Medications help (somewhat), but her "ON" times are less and less, she only works part time, and even that is a struggle. To be blunt - she hates this d**m disease.

Well, a couple weeks back, she caught this little report before heading out to work. She had me pull it up and I watched it. Mr. Optimist Me (insert sarcasm here) mentioned that the end of the video said it was a while off because the doc needed to write up his findings, apply for clinical trials, blah-blah-blah. And for those that wonder - Kath NEVER listens to me. For those that wonder - not listening makes her the smartest person in the world - and not just in this case. She actually called the doctor's office about this report and they took her information down for future callback about the testing of this possible treatment. Kath just told me today that she was called back and she's in. Testing hopefully starts next month.

So I will keep you all posted.

Way to go!!!!

I had a couple friends hear about my commitment and they wanted to high five me!




Ok....not really. :)

I gotta tell ya...

Last week I messed up. Ya see, the last two digits of my social security number is 65 (find the other 7 and you can exploit my credit. Good luck with that - my credit, not finding out my numbers). So with those digits, we received our stimulus check back on the 9th. Finally - those kids are paying off for us! :) However, on the 11th, guess which blog writer that you are currently reading forgot his checkbook?

As they say in sports "tomorrow is another day". Well, for honoring God, there is always a next Sunday, which by an amazing feat happened to arrive today. That's incredible! Also helps that your wife states "don't forget the checkbook". You almost can't botch it up. Almost.......

So we take in the stimulus check, my wife's paycheck and my own and it ends up being a heck of a giving. And one of the less painful ones as well.

Let me, here and now, mention that I married way over my skis. I got a woman that really cares and loves me and our kids, works her tail off when it is so very difficult for her, takes care of the house, keeps us organized and has a passion for God. She's the punk that lit our bottle rocket in religion. She completely busted her tushie last month and pulled in an amazing paycheck. Kath works in a school, but she doesn't work for the school. She's contract, which means that she earns when she works and makes nothing if she calls in sick. I'm not sure if she had extra work the past month or what, but that extra pay gives me a very relaxed feeling.

Yet, that same extra pay gives me the jibblies. With Kath being contract, and school not being a 12 month thing, we have 3 months to survive on my bi-weekly income alone. I really don't want her to work (for a number of reasons), so I am hoping to find a way to supplement my income so I can continue my promise to God.

What percent this week?

Take a guess:



Fears this week - need tires for my car and we are behind on a couple bills, so I had to step back from the 10% of last week. I wanted to have some progress, though. Lucky 7, right?

How?

Jobless claims surge

Oil profits soar

Foreclosures

Spending up as prices soar

Recession


How does one honor God with the first fruits in a world with these headlines?