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Balance is an incredible thing. It allows us to walk down the street, drive our cars, climb mountains, ride a bike, do yoga, and yet it’s so taken for granted.

Today, in reading Colossians, balance was mentioned a few times by the commentary, a few thoughts on balance were that it’s rare to achieve it in our Christian walks, again, taken for granted. We quite, honestly, think that we can live our Christian lives focused on just one thing, even good things. Take for instance – the study of scripture, Scripture is incredible, it’s God’s word, it’s meant for us to love & enjoy, and dig deeper, it reveals the general will of God, but is it everything?

Or even service and volunteering. While it’s such a good thing to volunteer, and serve, it is once again not everything.

Obedience, while great, & fantastic when done in combo with the above two (knowing God’s word & service) might still fall short.

While reading a book today by Warren Wiersbe, on Colossians called Be Complete, a point that was brought back time & again was that of balance, of completeness. What is it that defines your balance in life?

Of course there are many aspects of life to find balance in. Physical, Mental, Social, Spiritual, Family, & Financial. How are these acheived in your daily life?

For most this thought process is overwhelming, that’s why books like Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley have become so popular. A book on balance.

A prior chapter Wiersbe writes about how we, as believers, can all too often get caught up the wrong thing, devoting our time & energy to that thing. A few things that He says that really stood out to me from Chapters 2 & 3 are these:

Human nature has the tendency to want to follow men instead of God – to want “something new” instead of the basic foundational truths of the gospel.

Saving faith involves the mind, the emotions, and the will. With the mind we understand the truth of the gospel, and with the heart we feel conviction and the need to be saved. But it is only when we exercise the will and commit ourselves to Christ that the process is complete. Faith is not mental assent to a body of doctrines, no matter how true those doctrines may be. Faith is not emotional concern. Faith is commitment to Jesus Christ.

Wherever there is a relationship of faith and love, there will be a growing hope.

a beautiful balance, that can exist, one that produces hope!

Another quote on balance, by Wiersbe

Knowledge, conduct, service and character must always go together. We know God’s will that we might obey it, and in obeying it, we serve Him and grow in Christian character. While none of us is perfectly balanced in these four factors, we ought to strive for that balance.

oh and one more… please?

Worship and service are not competitive. They always go together.

I will try not to bore you with quotes from Wiersbe, but I have been incredibly refreshed by his writing style, the way he brings scripture into full view!

I want to learn the balance, I want to be transformed by love. I want to have a growing hope, a strong relationship between the three. I want to grow in knowledge, conduct, service and character. This is my prayer.

Recently Jeremy and I, along with a few families from our church hosted a yard sale. It was a cold November morning, clearly the coldest morning we’ve had yet, and there we were out there – with all our yardsale-worthy stuff, for people to pick & wade through, determining a price for something that would have been long-gone to goodwill by now.

our yardsale

So people asked if it was worth it, I’m guessing they mean, did we make what we thought we would? Or better? For us, it was more of a simple answer -extra money! In November, you see, we had a few extra expenses, well with moving & the holidays. So we figured instead of a trip to goodwill, why not see if we could turn that extra stuff into cash!

I learned a few things along the way and I wanted to share them here, so that you or I could refer back at any point to gain insight to the fabulous world of turning nothing (your junk) into something (cash)!

Timing - it’s everything. You’ll want to host your yardsale on a morning that isn’t freezing cold (like we did), it’s best to hold a yardsale in the spring or summer, people will buy more if they are comfortable, and seasons and weather make a huge difference toward this. In our lovely city of Wilmington, NC our summer is HOT and our fall is mild, so depending on the weather fall months may not be a bad idea if you don’t like the blazing hot temps. Time of day is also important too, most yard sales in the summer start at 7am, but lately in the fall, I’ve noticed they are starting at 8. So, think about that ahead of time. If you want to take advantage of the hard core (ie early bird) yardsalers, you might want to set your time at 7, if every other yard sale is at 8. It’s the black friday principle. The thrill of the hunt.

Location – it’s important in real estate, and it’s important in yard saling. Make sure to have signage out at least a few days before, people driving by will take note.

Pricing - don’t be afraid to stick to your guns when it comes to pricing. This past yard sale, Jer and I had a table that we knew what we wouldn’t go below, and we stuck to it. Make sure to price the item higher (if it’s a big ticket item) so that when bargaining comes into play, if people go below the listed price, it still may be above your lowest price that you’ll take. The same is true for something you are shopping for, but reverse, know the price you won’t go above and stick to it. Since learning of the unreal deals people can get when shopping yard sales, Jer and I bought a washer and dryer at a yard sale. Cheaper than craigslist… just saying. When it comes to pricing books, dvds, go here.

our new (to us) washer & dryer! found at a yardsale!

Organization - It’s just important as the above, if people don’t know how much something costs (or if you don’t) it can make for an awkward sale, and if anything, you want it to go as smooth as possible. We grouped our items by price and had signs (instead of individually stickering). We did sticker some items that we had one of (like an electric can opener). You can buy stickers with prices already on them at Walmart, Staples or Office Depot for cheap! For more tips on organization at a yardsale go here.

Advertising - I’ve mentioned signs (poster board + stakes work just fine), but with technology, don’t forget to take advantage of facebook, twitter, craigslist, wilmingtonyardsales.com (or see if your city has a site like this). Make sure to list the HOT items, like kid’s clothes & toys, big items like furniture, or types of clothes. When I was searching for the washer & dryer listing on wilmingtonyardsales.com I did a command + f search to find the terms I was looking for. For our yard sale I even created a facebook event. But it’s obviously totally up to you how far you want to take it.

Partnering- Do you know of others that want to have a yardsale too? Why not do it together? It brings momentum, and more people come if they know it’s multifamily!

Being prepared- It is important to price your stuff ahead of time, but make sure you’re prepared ahead of time with petty cash, I wore an apron with pockets which helped tremendously, that way you’re not worrying about keeping up with a cash box. Arrive early, Jeremy and I got there a teensy bit late (due to my I-must-have-coffee-zombie-face) which made for a frantic morning, with people trying to pick through your stuff in the pitch black. Just be mindful.

Let me know if these tips help, or if you have more tips to add! Happy yard-saling!

There are 3 things with each new month that I look forward to… there are probably more than 3, but these are the TOP 3.

First, the budget. It’s new, it refreshes, my envelopes get re-filled with their proper amounts, I can have coffee out again, and more than likely we can go out to eat again.

Second, Amazon releases 100 more $5 albums to peruse, and to make me wish my entertainment envelope had a few more $5 bills inside.

Third, and completely free, smashing magazine has it’s new set of desktop wallpaper calendars, right Jessica Mann? Every month, there are several that I just love, and you can switch them out with ease. Here’s the one I downloaded for November…

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1200
• without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1200

There are lots of things in life that require discipline. Losing weight, running a race, studying for an exam, reaching any kind of goal requires this kind of intensity that is rare. I’ve found, not many people have it, or if they do it lasts only a short while.

Recently, Jeremy and I went to a Dave Ramsey event in Raleigh, NC. (I think I promised on facebook that I would blog about the event and break it down further, I can still do that if anyone is interested). The main topic was Dave’s 13 week financial peace program condensed into one 5-hour day. Although a lot of the things he talked about Jeremy and I have both heard before it was great to hear it again and have it ingrained. One thing he mentioned was that he can always tell the people who get it, there is something in their voice, they are determined, and they are going for it. Sadly, I know what he’s talking about… some people do not get it, and won’t until the time is right, perhaps when they are desperate.

Then he shows this video of this gazelle grazing, peacefully in the wild, and a cheetah comes along and tries to track it down. I’ve seen this video twice and both times I’ve watched it, I’ve gotten chills.

Just thinking of outrunning our debt, getting ahead, even in spite of such adversity. It was a goal, we were motivated. Really motivated. For a few months in a row we spent over half of our monthly income on Sallie Mae payments.

We finally felt victory. Last Friday, we made it, we’re DEBT FREE! An amazing accomplishment! We’ve cut up and cancelled all of our credit cards, we’ve sacrificed, stretching our dollar. We’ve dumpster dived for coupons (Jer more than I). We’ve cut the excess. We’ve learned to live simply. But, why does it matter that we’re now out of debt? This has come up in our small group, often, especially in light of the recent series at our church.

It’s not rare that I get requests from missionaries in the field wanting us to support them, or a friend participates in a fundraiser for a cause she believes in, or an emergency happens… (Murphy’s law states that they will happen when you’re emergency fund is not fully funded) but more than that, we’d like to be at that point where we could fully fund a mission trip for a friend, or give for a cause, whatever it is, we believe God has purposes for our money that reaches far beyond incurring more interest against us.

So now that we’re debt free, we’re onto baby step 3, 3-6 months expenses for a fully funded emergency fund. I realize this is not going to be easy, especially now that we’ve reached that ever-so amazing goal of debt-freeness!

To keep us accountable, Jer and I have decided to lead financial peace in our home starting in November. If you are interested let me know. Furthermore, if you are interested in gaining control of your money, but you don’t know where to start, I’d love to talk to you about it. Jeremy and I are available to talk with you about our journey and how these baby steps truly have changed our lives.

That’s amazing, that tiny phrase amongst other nuggets of wisdom. Here is how it is said in the Message:

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Phil 4:7)

But what’s most amazing about it, is when it’s lived. When you see that there is a peace that can surpass understanding altogether. Meaning, don’t try to get it, cause you won’t be able to. Just trust.

Jeremy and I started in Financial Peace about 5 weeks ago, and now, not only do we feel like we now have a better handle on our budget and where our dollars are going, we also feel like there is a Peace that now exists in our household. If you’ve followed our story, you know that we’ve been married close to 8 months (we know it’s not long, we’re not bragging) and we’ve had our share of trying to figure out finances on our own,  something just didn’t click.

We needed another authority, we needed community, we needed the Church (big C).

If you’ve followed my blog or twitter for any amount of time, you know that I love coffee, especially the kind that is prepared in little cafe’s that I can sit and read, journal, and work in. There’s something about it. Well, one of the things that had to be trimmed down, was inevitably my coffee budget, I knew it was coming, I fought it hard those first 5 months of our marriage. I was used to buying what I wanted when I wanted and I knew that was all about to change. Then it did.

I have a meager coffee budget of $20 a month (if you’re not a coffee drinker, you cannot understand the significance of this number). An iced caramel macchiato at Starbucks (my fave) is close to $5. A latte of any kind is atleast $4, and the list goes on. How would I make it a whole month on 4 coffee drinks? I prayed, (maybe I shouldn’t have) for coffee gift cards at Christmas time, and got several (it almost doubled my coffee budget for January!) but then February hit, what was I to do? Lucky for me, I had spent only $2 out of my coffee budget and my gift cards… then it hit me.

I’m doing it, just by having a budget, and knowing it, I’m sticking to it.

Now granted, I was still going over a little bit, I mean, a teensy, tiny bit, less than a dollar. Jeremy gently warned that I had still gone over. So that amount was subtracted from the next month. This month, I am in the envelope method, and I am only HALF WAY trough the month and my coffee money has depleted significantly. I have ,$2.37 left in my coffee budget for the next 15 days. I guess I need to figure out a way to ration better next month.

But then, God reminds me ever so gently how he’s providing for me.

• Starbucks has free coffee today if you bring in a travel mug.
• Port City Java has continually hooked me up with free coffee recently from facebook and from the Twestival. (Did I mention PCJ is amazing? They make such a difference in the community, too!)

I need to remember these things, because there will be more. He is providing and He will, even in the small things, even in the trivial coffee budget things, He cares about us and gives us peace that surpasses understanding.

Those interested in learning more about financial peace, here is the introductory video

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLX3wUY1xGg&feature=related[/youtube]

it’s being offered at Port City Community Church:

• 06/13 – 07/04/10 | Financial Peace Registration Begins – Sundays in the Lobby
• 07/14/10 | Financial Peace small groups begin meeting @ 6:30pm in The Living Rooms

Hop on this, it will change your life.