Hey guys,
2014 is coming to an end and I must admit, I am probably the worst blogger in the world. Allot of changes have taken place in the last year and a half and I am super excited for what 2015 has in store. My goal for next year is to have at least one post a month, and to read a BUNCH more. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Saturday, June 1, 2013
The shackles are gone
Ashley and I just submitted our last student loan payment! It has been quite a crazy two and a half years of paying back this debt, but looking back now, I have no doubt that we made the right decision on our approach to the situation. So here is just a recap on how things got to this point:
After our time at Biola, we had around $50,000 in loans owed. We had thought and prayed about things for a long time and we continually were reminded of Proverbs 22:7 where it says "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender." We also took into account how long it would take to pay back based on our occupations and living situations. Looking at getting married and how we would survive starting our lives together, we made the really hard decision to start off moving halfway across the country to Texas. The reason we chose here is because of the higher job availability and lower cost of living compared to California. This was not a easy choice, leaving both of our families and setting out with no support system besides a few friends. But boy was God ever faithful to us. We found a church home where we could be in community with other newly married couples and we could freely share our hurts, habits, and hangups. Part of the process of this group is to share budgets and we were scared of being judged about how we spent our money. Nearly any free penny we had was being put towards the debt, and this led to missing lots of nights out with friends, as well as restrictions on travel and spending money. We would tell ourselves every once in a while that it was worth it but I know there was times where I was envious of what other people had and what they did. Our community group encouraged us through such times and were such a blessing in how they lifted our spirits. That brings us to where we are today.
We are obviously very enthused to no longer have any financial obligations. The temptation now is to spend money on whatever we want because "we deserve it" for paying off this debt in two and a half years. But we both know that money is a tool and now we have an even greater responsibility to steward it well to serve God and others. It all ties together in why we made the decision to pick up and move, so that we could be more generous with our time and money sooner. Let me again stress that it was a really hard decision to leave our families, but we (and hopefully they) understand why we did it. We never want it to be about us, it is about Him.
After our time at Biola, we had around $50,000 in loans owed. We had thought and prayed about things for a long time and we continually were reminded of Proverbs 22:7 where it says "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender." We also took into account how long it would take to pay back based on our occupations and living situations. Looking at getting married and how we would survive starting our lives together, we made the really hard decision to start off moving halfway across the country to Texas. The reason we chose here is because of the higher job availability and lower cost of living compared to California. This was not a easy choice, leaving both of our families and setting out with no support system besides a few friends. But boy was God ever faithful to us. We found a church home where we could be in community with other newly married couples and we could freely share our hurts, habits, and hangups. Part of the process of this group is to share budgets and we were scared of being judged about how we spent our money. Nearly any free penny we had was being put towards the debt, and this led to missing lots of nights out with friends, as well as restrictions on travel and spending money. We would tell ourselves every once in a while that it was worth it but I know there was times where I was envious of what other people had and what they did. Our community group encouraged us through such times and were such a blessing in how they lifted our spirits. That brings us to where we are today.
We are obviously very enthused to no longer have any financial obligations. The temptation now is to spend money on whatever we want because "we deserve it" for paying off this debt in two and a half years. But we both know that money is a tool and now we have an even greater responsibility to steward it well to serve God and others. It all ties together in why we made the decision to pick up and move, so that we could be more generous with our time and money sooner. Let me again stress that it was a really hard decision to leave our families, but we (and hopefully they) understand why we did it. We never want it to be about us, it is about Him.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Grace
So my first blog in forever. Summer is almost here and I am upping my reading. I just finished "On the grace of God" from Re:lit and superbly authored by Justin Holcomb. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of it. Tracing the grace of God and how that extends from Genesis to Revelation and beyond is so great to see and treasure. Knowing full well how God's unmerited favor upon us is constant that there is nothing we can do about it. Everything He is an extension of His grace and we stand on the promise of who he is. I hope to do some more in depth book reviews this summer so I will keep you guys posted.
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