God's Got This!!

"Don't panic. I'm with you. There's no need to fear for I'm your God. I'll give you strength. I'll help you. I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you. Count on it: Everyone who had it in for you will end up out in the cold - real losers. Those who worked against you will end up empty-handed - nothing to show for their lives. When you go out looking for your old adversaries you won't find them - Not a trace of your old enemies, not even a memory. That's right. Because I, your God, have a firm grip on you and I'm not letting go. I'm telling you, 'Don't panic. I'm right here to help you.'" ~ Isaiah 41:10-13 (The Message) 

Isaiah 41:10 is one of my favorite verses. Yesterday while dealing with some frustration over a situation I saw where I had this reference written down. I decided to look at it in multiple translations because... well... that's just interesting with the app. The Message put it in a way that helped me stay focused on how worth it it is to continue to do the right thing and keep the right attitude when the actions of others make it difficult. Whether someone cuts you off in traffic, tries to harm your family, or lies, cheats, and scams you for everything you're worth, staying true to God can never be wrong. As a good friend once said about a difficult situation... God's Got This!!!

Let It Go

My brother is a minimalist and will likely someday join the Tiny House Movement. While he was in town for Christmas he rubbed off on me a bit. No, I'm not going as extreme as him. We won't be selling our 4 bedroom/3  bath house in a quaint, family neighborhood for a 400 sq ft home. But when mom bought him some new Under Armour shoes for Christmas and he was excited that his one new pair of shoes would replace his running AND workout shoes, thereby allowing him to cut down from two pairs of sneakers to one, that really spoke to me. My family has entirely too much stuff. Yes, we do have two babies, and babies come with a lot of stuff. There's a high chair, bouncer, swing, bed for each, toys, educational supplies, etc., etc., etc. That stuff will stay. But I have a nice walk-in closet but still have to store about 5 or 6 large Rubbermaid boxes filled with off-season clothes. Our garage is so full of stuff we don't even park a car in it. And we currently have 2 storage units full of junk plus some stuff stored up at my parents' town. 

What does all this mean? You get to follow our journey to rid ourselves of junk. I have student loans and a business loan totaling a huge amount of debt. My husband has vehicle and recreational vehicle loans. We seriously need to rid ourselves of it, too. My plan? Sell a bunch of "junk" and start paying off that debt so we can relax a little more in life. If we learn tips and tricks, we'll share. If we learn what not to do, we'll share. If you have advice, please share!! Hopefully together we can minimalize our lives compared to what they are now.