Embracing Him

Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate. (Mark 10:9)

I’m always intrigued by the interesting information I find while surfing around the internet and today is no exception. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, I learned a fascinating tidbit of information about the wedding ring tradition.

A poignant legend offers a detailed explanation and a thought provoking exercise to demonstrate why wedding rings are worn on the fourth finger. According to the legend each finger represents a familial relationship. The thumbs represent your parents, the index fingers represent your siblings, the middle fingers represent you, the ring fingers represent your spouse, and the pinky fingers represent your children.

To illustrate the span of these relationships, give this exercise a try.

• Open your hands and place them together, palm to palm.
• Bend the middle fingers and hold them together joint to joint.
  
• Keep the tips of the pinky fingers, ring fingers, index fingers, and thumbs together.

Remember that the middle fingers represent you. Now…

• Separate your thumbs. They will part because after years of nurturing, your parents will eventually open the door for you and release you into the world.
• Bring your thumbs back together.
• Separate your index fingers. They will part because you and your siblings will one day separate in order to pursue your own goals.
• Bring your index fingers back together.
• Separate your pinky fingers. They will part because sooner or later your children will leave your care and begin families of their own.
• Bring your pinky fingers back together.
• Now try to separate your ring fingers. You will find that they will not part. This is because God intends for husbands and wives to remain together all of their lives.

Though this explanation and exercise are based upon a legend, I love the message it conveys! Praise God for his gift of marriage and the joy He intends it to bring to both husbands and wives!

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. (Romans 7:18-19)

Ever since Adam and Eve nibbled on forbidden fruit, we have been battling sin. Even after we admit our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, our personal war against sin yet rages on. Paul notes that though we want to do the right thing, our sinful, human nature can make it difficult for us to do so.

None of us are exempt from losing control and misbehaving. Just last night, I snapped, made a poor choice, and was later left asking myself, “Why, oh why, did I do that?”

I was having difficulties uploading some information to my blog so I sought help from JT. In the process of fixing one problem another problem was created when I was accidentally locked out of my blog’s administrative panel for a while.

According to JT, what followed was “quite the shootout” as my anger met his stubbornness head on! Was it my intention to blow up at JT? Was it his intention to take a stubborn stance? Certainly not, but we both succumbed to sin and ended up doing things we ought not and did not want to do.

Last night, JT and I were both reminded that the battle against sin is ongoing. Sin is an annoying parasite that latches onto us, irritates us, bites us, and infects us. Thankfully, our Savior Jesus Christ is the soothing salve for our sinful short comings! We can’t rely on our own strength as we wage this war against sin. We know what we want to do, but God knows what we ought to do. It is only in His power that we are able to act in a manner that glorifies our Heavenly Father. Thank God we can lean on Him and not wage this war against sin alone!

Photo: Courtesy of PauloElias (Flickr)

e-Mom is hosting Marriage Monday over at Chrysalis and this month’s topic is 10 Tips for Frugal Living.

When I was a single gal, frugal living never crossed my mind. I was fresh out of college, excited to have a job, and eager to spend my money on the things I had been waiting to own. Though I didn’t spend my money too unwisely, frugality was not on my list of priorities.

Now that we have a family and I am a stay at home mom, I’ve become a real “Frugal Franny” (much to JT’s pleasure!). God has provided JT with a great job and JT does a marvelous job of providing for us. I strive to be frugal because I don’t want to waste the money he works hard to earn and because I want to be a good steward of what God has given us.

Living frugally isn’t as hard as some might think and over the past few years I’ve learned you don’t have to adopt unreasonable ideas or live like a pauper in order to save money. Here are 10 realistic tips for frugal living that have worked for us.

1. Pack your lunch. When JT goes to work or we have a playdate or a daytrip, most of the time we bring our lunches with us. Lunch usually consists of the previous night’s dinner or a homemade sandwich, fruit, and a sandwich bag of chips. Since lunch can cost anywhere between $5 and $10 a person, we save a good amount of money just by eating what we have here at home.
2. Make it yourself. We’ve saved money by making things ourselves. This includes food items such as taco seasoning, spreadable butter, birthday cakes, and pizza dough and household items such as cleaners and even window treatments. When you make things yourself, you don’t have to buy them and you know exactly what is in them.
3. Plan a weekly menu. I have found that if I plan a weekly menu, we are less likely to order take out. I already know what we’ll be eating and therefore can defrost the meat the night before so it’ll be ready to cook in the morning. Menu planning also prevents me from spending money on groceries we don’t need. My grocery list is based on the weekly menu and the staples we need to restock.
4. Venture into a thrift store. You may be surprised by the awesome, money saving deals you can find there. The Goodwill Stores in our area often sell new, overstock items from Target. Once I purchased a set of Corningware baking dishes from Target for $40. The very next day I stopped by The Goodwill Store and found the same exact set of baking dishes brand new for $8. Needless to say, I made a return at Target shortly there after.You can find a plethora of toys, books, and household items there for bargain prices. And if you can find a store in an affluent area, you may be able to score some high end and designer items at rock bottom prices.
5. Shop wisely. For me this means knowing where to shop and using coupons. Though warehouses like Sam’s and Costco can save you money, I’ve found the greatest deals at my local supermarket and drugstores like CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. When combined with coupons, you can save quite a bit of money. As I made my grocery shopping list for this week, I realized I’ll be coming back home with 2 toothbrushes, a bottle of Worcestershire sauce, and 2 sticks of deodorant for FREE! My grocery cart will also be filled with items I’ll get for 50% to 75% off just by using coupons. Grab a Sunday newspaper, explore those sales circulars, and start clipping coupons! You won’t regret it. For more shopping tips, check this previous post.
6. Surf the net. There are hundreds of great websites, forums, blogs, and groups online dedicated to money saving ideas. Most of what I have learned about frugal living has come from websites such as The Dollar Stretcher, Money Saving Mom, The Coupon Mom, Hot Coupon World, and The Hillbilly Housewife just to name a few. A simple chat with a few like minded Frugal Frannies often alerts me to ideas and deals I would otherwise have missed.
7. Use your library. We are well acquainted with the staff at our local library because we use the library’s resources so often. Not only do I find great books and DVDs there, I also find free educational activities for the girls there, and even some neat programs I can attend. Your tax dollars pay for the library, so why not put those dollars to work for you. (Just be sure to return items on time. Paying library fines is not frugal!)
8. Create and abide by a budget. (This is such a hard one for me sometimes!) JT and I sit down at least twice a year to discuss our family budget. We each have a set amount of money we can spend each week to cover personal and household expenses. When we stay within the budget we don’t overspend and both JT and I are happier.
9. Spend cash whenever possible. Whenever I use cash I always spend less. I’m going to take this idea and apply it to my spending this week. The envelope system (read more here and here) has been devised with this idea in mind. I will be using cash for my standard purchases this week and I’ll let you know how it goes.
10. Don’t keep up with the Joneses. While my friends and neighbors may take expensive vacations, eat out weekly, employ a housekeeper, and drive new fancy cars, that certainly doesn’t mean we can. We are living within our means and are happy to do so. Trying to keep up with others just for the sake of appearances can often lead to financial problems and is definitely NOT frugal!

Photo: Courtesy of RichSeattle (Flickr)