Seasons of our lives

OK, I was wrong. I misjudged Lindsey...those werent her drugs! How dumb of me to assume they were her's. (WHATEVER!)

I forgot to tell yall some good news! Hubby got a new job. He turned in his two week notice at his job now on Monday. He really likes where he is now and likes the people he works with, but he doesnt like the pay or exactly what it is that he is doing. His present job is the first job he has ever had since we havebeen married (17 years) that he has been paid by the hour. He has always been salaried. We are struggling and he doesnt like not being able to support his family. His new job is, of course, more money and also a company vehicle, cell phone and credit card, plus a week's vacation when he starts. He says it is almost too good to be true. I just told him it was a reward for surviving the test we endured of him being unemployed and then taking a lower paying job. Not once did we get discouraged, argue and back-bite each other. I know that we are tested in our lives. We were. It wont be the last time, but this is the first time in a long time that he and I held together and didnt turn on each other. It felt good.

During this time, one of the lessons at church in our Sunday morning class was on "Weathering the Seasons of Life". Have you ever thought about that? About how we go through seasons in our lives?

Winter ~ Time to grow strong
Learn how to handle winters: economic, physical and personal.

• Use the winter to gear up for the spring, which always comes after the winter.

Spring ~ Time to take advantage
Expansion follows recession.

• Either we become good at planting in the Spring or we learn how to beg in the Fall.

Summer ~ Time to take care
Learn to protect what you have created. All good will be attacked.

• Every garden will be invaded. All values must be defended. Unless you defend what you believe in, come fall you will have nothing left.

Fall ~ Time to take responsibility

• Maturity can be defined by our ability to take full responsibility for the crops we have tended, either bountiful or meager. Accepting responsibility is the day you pass from childhood to adulthood. Disappointments are not special gifts reserved for you. The question is, what are you going to do about them? Every discipline, or lack of one, affects every other discipline. Build on this foundation to become all you are capable of being.

I guess I think about seasons being applied to my husband and I's finances. We havent always been good with our money. I admit that. We got in to a LOT ofcredit card debt. We could have opted and filed bankruptcy, but we didnt. Instead, we have been paying a big lump sum every month to a credit managing company and they make our payments for us. When one credit card paid off, we just took the money from that payment and rolled it in to the next card payment and continued knocking down credit card after credit card. We started at $25,000 and at least 8 credit cards. We are now down to two cards and less than $4,000. In about 9 months we will be credit card free! I feel that we will be passing from one season of our life to another when that debt is relieved. I am sure that is more about me than most of you care to know, but I wanted to share it. That is my free advice to any young couple getting married, do NOT fall in to the credit card trap! There are usually two main reasons given for divorce...sex and money. I know that money put a huge strain on my marriage and maybe now we are recovering we will have more sex! LOL

Ugh...yesterday daughter and I went to the dentist for our checkups and cleanings. Ok, so you may find this hard to believe, but I have a small mouth...very small. I get told that EVERY time I go to the dentist. If I got adollar yesterday for every time I heard, "You have got the smallest mouth!" Iwould have had lunch paid for. I have even had permanent teeth removed in order to make room for te teeth that I do have. My daughter was cursed with my small mouth. But thankfully, the size of mouths doesnt have anything to do with the amount of volume that can come from them! :-)