Blessings

I don't know if I previously mentioned this in a post, and for those of you who read this and go to our church, you already know, but we recently finished a series on generosity. It was really eye-opening and convicting. I wouldn't say I have a hard time giving, and I have always been faithful in tithing. However, the sermons and speakers talked about being generous, giving above your usual/regular, and most of all, being open and obedient to God's promptings. Now, this was a little more tricky especially since during this time, I was pregnant and taken off work. Yes, a small part of that was covered by short term disability as will 6 of the 12 weeks I am taking for maternity leave, but like I said, it is a very small part. Also, we had to plan for the hospital expenses and my cutting back my hours at work.

However, Todd and I had several conversations about not only our shortages, but also about this topic of generosity and how we could give. Not surprisingly, there were some opportunities that came up. Of course, it wasn't the easiest, but we decided to trust God and give. It was neat to know that we were blessing others by our obedience, but it was even neater to see how God blessed us. Here are some examples of ways we saw God work and help us financially.

I was taken off work the middle of Nov. Over the next month, I got a paycheck from when I was working that had several hours of overtime on it as well as a bonus for a professional recognition program I applied for. Also, in December, there are 3 pay periods. Talk about good timing.

We were expecting to have to pay about $25 in parking when we were discharged from the hospital, and when we left that Sunday (don't know if was because of the weekend or the snow) the gate to the ramp was up, and we didn't have to pay. Hey- even $25 is great.

Another cool thing is we had posted Anna's old crib bedding and room decor on craigslist a few months ago but got no interest. Guess what? Just last week, it sold! That's another $130 we weren't expecting.

Two things because Simon was born before the first of the year are
1) Our insurance co-pay is much lower. After Jan, it would have cost at least $1500 more
2) I guess I can say this since everyone else has, but now we have another tax deduction

Finally, we have had several people from church bring us meals at home. Of course, this is nice because not only are they delicious, but I have also not had to cook, AND, it has saved us money.

See, God will and does provide. We could have easily cut back in giving, or decided we needed it more, but when you trust, amazing things happen.