Self Improvement Projects

To be completely cliche, I want to make some self improvements in this brand new year.

Over the past year, I've slowly become aware to how much I actually consume. Plastic cards and online shopping have made it very easy to spend without feeling like you're spending actual money. Take a scroll through my Pinterest page. Throw in some advertisements on all the things I "need" to have a life full of happiness and rainbows. And "SNAP" goes my self-control.

I've attempted to build and manage a budget for our household since we got married...four and a half years ago. I fail miserably at keeping up with it. Plus every month there is some sort of unexpected expense that only happens once every eight years that pops up and messes it all up. So I start and stop and start and stop and start and stop. It really hasn't been a huge deal because we're able to pay our bills every month, thankfully.

Through both experiences, I've felt a pull. A pull to get our budget under control in order to be more financially secure and to give more. God is calling me to live out my life as His disciple, in a way that honors Him. I am passionate about giving to those in need and helping those that cannot help themselves. This passage constantly comes to my mind, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." -1 John 3:16-18