I am usually a very optimistic person but I could tell yesterday the cranky part of me was coming out. I saw that the stock market had gone up a lot and my first thought was "at least someone is getting good news". Then my second was that the stock market is still going to crash further so they'd better not get too excited about the numbers. Hmmm... pass that woman some chocolate and caffeine! :)There seems to be an overwhelming heaviness in the air these days. Not just in my home where we struggle to keep financially afloat but in many families. I suspect among conservative Christian homes, there is the awareness that change is in the air and it isn't necessarily good for us. Then there is the obvious economic chaos that has become a world wide event. Sigh... and double sigh.
Isn't it odd how different people handle difficult times? I was watching the evening news recently (which, in itself could bring the gloomies) and they were showing how Halloween sales were up since last year. Halloween is now just below Christmas for the amount of money spent by households. They showed a family who had just spent $1,500 for a Halloween themed birthday party. Um... that's just one party... for one evening.
They admitted that was a more than they had planned to spend but, after all, this was a birthday party so it was well worth it. Reminds me a lot of the old saying of "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die". That attitude has been behind many a bankruptcy when the event was put on their Visa Card.
I don't know, perhaps I was being cranky and judgemental. After all, it has been one of those "weeks" (hmmm... months?) when I have felt guilty spending $40.00 at the grocery store and we've just found out we need a third major car repair in three months. It's not that I'm unthankful for the miracles He has accomplished by always providing for us.
I just want to be able to spend $1,500 on a Halloween party with no regrets. Um... Brenda... you don't celebrate Halloween. You'd also never be able to spend that much money on any Holiday. Are you in chocolate withdrawal or something?
Okay, I know... I wouldn't really want to spend that much on a Halloween party but when one is cranky, one doesn't think straight. One wants to crawl on the sofa with a warm pillow, a throw, the novel one is reading, a cup of hot chocolate with mint... and mope.
So, I'm allowing myself a chance to mope and chill and pout and feel sorry for myself. Just for this evening. Tomorrow I must spend time in the Word and put on all the Armour of Christ... take a deep breath and march forward in His strength and courage.
But tonight I mope.
Pictures: Fairy Book Print; allposters.com
24 comments:
"I must spend time in the Word and put on all the Armour of Christ... take a deep breath and march forward in His strength and courage.
I took out the tomorrow because this is what I'm doing right now."
It's been one of those days for me also, and I've fought HARD not to break down bawling and stay down bawling. I so appreciate your wisdom and love that you pour forth through your posts..((hugs))
Angela
Well, unlike Angela, I HAVE been bawling. About lots of things.
I'm not usually like this, but I am VERY worried about this election. Yes, I know that God is in control but we live in a fallen world and we're human. If Obama is elected, I believe God's judgment of American (which we deserve) will be starting. While we deserve judgment and are overdue for it in my opinion, (I think the whole gay marriage movement has put the Lord over the edge, so to speak) I still don't want to go thru it!
When is the rapture coming??
I don't want to live in a socialist country, I don't want to give the government more of my dh's hard earned money, I don't want gay marriage shoved down my throat, I don't want...
So, I'm with you Brenda. I still pray but today I want to give in to moping. I'm feeling depressed and unsure of what God has planned and I don't want to not like it.
Sighing with you....
joanna, without a smiley face today
Brenda,
I hear you! There certainly is alot in our world to be discouraged about. I was thinking that isn't it interesting that we hold our elections during one of the darkest (literally) time of the year. That probably adds to the gloom, especially if you're on the losing side. (Though it's not over til it's over!) I so appreciate yours and others' blogs that help me to focus on the "simple" pleasures and gifts of home, etc. It really helps during these difficult times. Enjoy your aft/eve with your novel. Sounds nice.
~Silvana
I really get upset and even angry with what I hear in the news. I worked very hard at a very stressful job for over twenty years, and lived on a tight budget, with three kids to raise on my own, but I did it without any help from the government, and I managed to save for what I thought was my future. Now 55 per cent of my IRA is gone, and who knows where it will end. I'm not going to panic, and I'm not going to get depressed about a future I can't control.
As for foolish spending, I just read that Michelle O'Bama spent $447.00 on one lunch for two this month. How many would that have fed, for how many meals?
It's sad.
I understand. Sometimes it really isn't that you want to spend $1500 on a party. It's that you want to spend $40 and go out to eat and $10 at Starbucks and maybe buy a new book right off the rack at Barnes and Noble.
And it isn't like we are living on the street or anything but it's so HARD not to just WANT. To want to take a break from being so vigilant with the budget. To throw caution to the wind and *gasp* go shopping! At the mall!
Even as the world swirls in turmoil around us.
Monday was my down day. My constant pain got to me and all else seemed too much.
Thank you for sharing the good and the bad with your readers. It is so important to be as authentic as we can stand to be...otherwise it just seems impossible to live up to the impressions that some blogs give.
Blessings...
have some semi-sweet chocolate and pamper yourself this evening...I'd bring you some myself if I were closer.
((hugs to you, Brenda))
Becky K.
Brenda, I know just how you feel. We have been struggling since last July when my husband lost his job. He is now retired but it is very hard living on a fixed income. Yes, we were one of those who put things on our Visa when we had no money and have seen a bankruptcy attorney. He said that we are victims of a fallen economy and got burned. Another thing, I was just told three days ago that I no longer have a job. I was never one to spend money silly. I have always been frugal and it bothers me to see people spend so much on Halloween.
I've been moping around for three weeks, now. Only thing I can say is trust in the Lord. He always seems to get us through. Thanks for sharing.
ginny
Brenda,
Thank you so much for your honest words!!! So many of us are feeling down and worried and wonder why we lived frugally all these years to save for our future and then watch it all disappear.
Your blog is a place to go for encouragement and I thank you for that!!!
Love,
Beverly
Mope and then have HOPE!
xoxo
Diane
Brenda I hope tomorrow is a better day for you!
Manuela
Brenda~
I love how honest you are! It is so refreshing. I truly think sometime we need to allow ourselves to feel what we feel. It is so much better than stuffing those feelings.
I hope you enjoy your day - anyway,
Lisa in Texas = )
**THIS too shall PASS***...I spent a day crying all day...then got in and started reading Jeremiah...wow...talk about some reproof and correction...wow I LOVE it that GOD's WORD is alive....
Deby
Praying you a perking up Brenda.
Oh, Brenda, I'm sorry you're feeling badly. Praying for you...
Been there recently myself...seems to be catching... I am trying not to think about the upcoming Tuesday elections and what might follow. My husband is still not back to work but because we have always been bery thrifty and kept a pantry we are doing pretty good. We are tryng to take it one day at a time and not worry over what we cannot change...that in itself is hard. ;) Knowing ya'll are out there and we are not alone is a great comfort. Not that I want any of you to have problems ya understand... But ya get to feeling kind of alone at times. I know God Is In Charge and He knows what is happening on His earth. If you think we get sad think how very sad this must make Him. Feeling for ya Brenda. Fiddle dede ..Remember tomorrow is another day...and God is always right there with us. Jody
Move over Brenda...I need a seat on your couch too! I think everyone is feeling the weight of the world on our shoulders right now. I pray for better days ahead.
Sounds like you're having the same week I'm having. We had a $400 car repair today and didn't have enough to pay it all off (after multiple repairs too). I was down a bit yesterday, but I'm a little better today.
I've cut my grocery budget to $30/week now to accommodate other needs. I know God will see us through somehow.
God has been in control these last 8 terrible years, He'll continue to be in control no matter what happens.
I hope that tomorrow will seem a little brighter for you, Brenda. Hang in there. You are not alone.
Just sending you a hug, (((Brenda))).
I too have had a very disappointing week. I just gave in and curled up in a chair with my blanket. But today I must get up and go on. A co worker said the following to me: "Let's remember that our Lord has already won the victory!
We do not have to worry because he takes care of his own."
So whether it's the elections, sickness, money worries I want to encourage you to just hang on to your faith.
You have helped so many of us by sharing your wisdom and hope. I 'm glad to see it wasn't just me this week!
I think when we share the good and the bad it helps others to know we're real imperfect people not some internet presentation.
P.S. I turn off the news! And I read Hebrews 11 and have some dark chocolate. Hugs!
Brenda,
I second the sentiments of the reader who thanked you for being genuine. We all have our ups and downs! It's so nice to see someone who is honest about theirs, their humanness...
Also, if I can pass on a gret bit of wisdom (You already know that God is in control...that's the best wisdom!)
The second bit of wisdom is this: Turn off your TV.
No amount of watching and worrying will make things one bit better. Ever.
I hope you have a better day today :) Know that we are all out here, with you in our thoughts and prayers - you give us so much peace and strength each day! Hopefully we cn give that back even a little :)
Dear Brenda, I hope by the time I am writing this you are already back to your own more peaceful nature, but everyone has cranky times, I'm afraid.......I can only feel sorry for someone who could waste so much money on a party, even if that person were a billionaire, when there is so much need and sufferring in the world. I always think we are not to judge people, but we certainly have to judge actions, and that sort of foolish extravagance is not a good action from many points of view.
You are far far "better off" than the person who is such a poor steward. Your treasure is with the Lord and with your family, and I know you know this, so forgive me for saying it.......May the sun shine on you today!
I loved the reader who commented on the connection between the dark gloomy month of November and the national elections! I never thought of that, but it sure goes together, doesn't it. I, too, fear that we are in for tough times if this election goes the way it looks like it's headed. Thank goodness we have the Armour of Christ! And He is in control.
When there are folks who spend more on halloween than we spend of Christmas for our seven kids, their spouses, and our fifteen grandkids, we know the problem lies in the fact that we, as a nation, have turned our backs on Him. Yes, we need change......as in returning to the Lord! "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."
We all have days like that, so you're not alone. The important thing is to remember that God knows everything you're going through and hears every prayer.
May you be comforted by His love, and filled with His wisdom.
Many sweet blessings!
Brenda
I hear you. It seems this election has me in a tizzy! I hate it that our Nation is most liking going to choose someone who sat in a church with a pastor who clearly hates America for 20 years! It makes me like a pit bull one day and moping the next. My hope is in the fact that God is in control! Any my peace is that God is in control! Hope you feel better soon.
Hi Brenda :) Sending love and hugs today...
Doing a bit of catching up with you here. Love you! Q
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