When you ask God

When you ask God to show you something in your life-you better be prepared for what you will see. When you ask God to help you in an area in which you fall short, you've got to be ready to accept the challenge and make the change while trusting that God will help you along the way.

We've been at The 25 Project for about two and a half months now. When we first started we talked about our need and want to change our financial situation and our relationship with money. Simply put- we had some issues with spending (shopping) and saving (or lack thereof). Though we've made conscious efforts to change it hasn't been easy. I've shared my own experiences with the difficulty of actually NOT shopping and also with the obstacles I've faced and even the moments that I felt like tossing in the towel and saying effit.

The thing I love about things in my life (as I've experienced it) is that when I'm doing the things that God has asked of me, I get confirmation to let me know I'm on the right track. Being able to recognize the voice of the enemy when I was ready to give up was one thing, but the confirmation I got last night at bible study is a whole 'nother. Its actually wonderful feeling to get re-assurance that you are doing the right thing and going about it in the correct way.

Backstory: Just this weekend (after being snowed in for what seemed like an eternity) I was thinking about ways to be more effective in my "money journey". I'd spent some time watching a past series that my pastor had done concerning finances and I decided that I should look for a book that might help make some sense of things and push me into taking a more active approach to working this thing out. I also decided to seek out some seminars or talks concerning various areas of my financial life. Now fast forward to last night and my excitement to FINALLY have bible study after 2 months of break and snow. The the pastor said..."I won't be teaching tonight, instead we will have a question and answer period as we prepare for our next series on (insert drumroll) FINANCES!" He then went on to talk about the text that we would be using in conjunction with the bible The Power to Prosper by Michelle Singletary. Wait moment of disbelief. Here's the book I've been seeking. The funny thing is that I'd heard Mrs. Singletary speak at The Covenant with Black America years ago in Houston and I watched her show on television. I even read her columns from time to time in the Washington post. I came across one earlier in the summer and I remember saying to myself...I wonder what church she goes to (because her teachings are biblically based). Ok so turns out she's a member of my church. She's the ministry head of our financial ministry which pairs financially sound individuals with those who...ummm..are...not so much. She will be doing some teaching along with my pastor. I was literally floored. I (like the rest of the congregation) ran to the bookstore between service and prayer to get the book and I got THE LAST BOOK in the store.

Some of you may look at all of this as a series of coincidences. If you know me, my beliefs, and my God...then you know its much more!

I plan to start reading the book ASAP just to get a jump start and to make sure I am ready once we begin the series and the accompanying 21 day financial fast. I read the reviews on Amazon and looked at what people had to say about the book and the fast and it seems like something that will be a real challenge for me. One of the main principles of the fast is to only use cash during this time. I NEVER EVEr keep cash on me. So that in and of itself will be a challenge but the bigger deal is that during that time you are only to buy necessities. I've worked on cutting out the shopping. Yall know that I've worked hard, but this is something else all together. Either way, I'm excited for it. I am ready for the challenge. And while it may mean that I won't be going out a whole lot (unless I'm on a list and someone else is tabbing the drinks), I KNOW that I will be better in the end for it.

The fast starts March 2nd. I've got time to get my head wrapped around this thing so that I can go into it focused and committed.