Thinking About Life

Below is a post I wrote this morning to share with an internet group that I own. I felt this message needed to be shared here, too, and so here it is:


Good morning, sisters! I've been tumbling some thoughts around in my head this morning and decided to put them down in written format to share with you. I hope no one here thinks I'm pointing a finger at them, cause I'm not. This topic comes up at work a lot, so these are thoughts I've had before but never shared. I'm thinking about life: what we have, what we want, what we should be looking for. I've heard people say, "I ain't got nothin'." Then they go on to compare what they have with someone else--and of late, that someone else is often a recent immigrant to this country. In our area, it's the Hmong refugees that got pointed to a lot. Of course, now there's all this talk about the Mexican immigrants, particularly the illegal ones. And yes, we do have a sizable Mexican population here in Wisconsin, too. But what does Yeshua/Jesus want us to do? What priorities should we have according to the Word of God?

Matthew 6:30-34 (Amplified) But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear? For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all. But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.

1 John 2:15-17 (NKJ) "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."

1 Timothy 6:6-11 (Amplified) [And it is, indeed, a source of immense profit, for] godliness accompanied with contentment (that contentment which is a sense of inward sufficiency) is great and abundant gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and obviously we cannot take anything out of the world; But if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content (satisfied). But those who crave to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish (useless, godless) and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction and miserable perishing. For the love of money is a root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have been led astray and have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with many acute [mental] pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee from all these things; aim at and pursue righteousness (right standing with God and true goodness), godliness (which is the loving fear of God and being Christlike), faith, love, steadfastness (patience), and gentleness of heart.

Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified) Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] [Josh. 1:5.]

Philippians 4:6 (Amplified) Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

Philippians 4:9 (Amplified) Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.

Philippians 4:11-13 (Amplified) Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am. I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want. I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].

Colossians 3:1-4 (Amplified) IF THEN you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [Ps. 110:1.] And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth. For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory.

Lest you think that all of that is easy for me to say cause I've never been as financially strapped as you are and I don't drive a "rent-a-wreck" or whatever the details of your financial circumstances may be, let me share a little of my history with you. In my first marriage, we had very little money. We lived in a mobile home that was sadly in need of repairs. The last winter we lived there, we had no front door, just a blanket nailed over the doorway because the door had fallen apart and we had no money to replace it. We'd lost most of the basement wall under the north side (long side) of the mobile home the previous fall and could only afford to cover it with plastic and sheeting boards, so we couldn't keep the house above freezing even with the wood stove burning red hot. We had ice under the Christmas tree that year and I would take the girls to my parents' house all day, then at night my husband & I and the 2 little girls (Venetta was almost 4, Lois about 18 months) would all crawl into bed in their tiny bedroom with the electric space heater going and the door closed. We moved out of that home on our 5th wedding anniversary in Feb 81 as we had declared bankruptcy and decided to let the loan company have the mobile home and the 2 acres it sat on since we couldn't afford to fix it. The years following that we moved repeatedly, mostly because we couldn't keep the rent paid. In 1983, we had our electricity disconnected for 13 weeks in the fall, into late October with temps down to 18° above zero. By then I had 4 little girls. We'd all sleep together in our big bed with all the blankets piled on in order to stay warm. It was during this time that I was told by the county nurses that my children were undernourished. At that point, we applied for aid from AFDC and began getting welfare & food stamps. Things were better after that, but then in April 1989 my husband left our family. Now I had 6 children, with my youngest just about 3 yrs old. We lived on welfare til 1996, shortly after Tim & I married and Tim began supporting all of us. I didn't get child support because my ex got on SSI and the state cannot take child support from SSI payments. I always drove old, beat-up cars. I drove on bald tires and even drove without brakes for awhile in a couple of the cars we had. I never had car insurance--couldn't afford it. Lots of times the Lord used people in the church to help meet our needs. And even during the worst times we faced, the Lord was always there, always providing though it might not have been in the way or the time I thought He should. He provided the finances for the divorce so that I didn't have to pay anything to fight to keep my children. He provided so many times, in so many ways. I KNOW He is faithful! He has proven it to me over and over again! Then in 1995, the church gave us a Ford van to replace the station wagon I was driving, in which I picked up a couple of other kids besides my 6 to take to church; that car had holes in the floor-boards and only 3 brakes that worked (supposed to be 4). Another sister in the Lord paid to put insurance on the van. By the end of 1995, Tim & I had married. In 1996, we stopped getting AFDC and before too much longer we stopped getting food stamps and medical coverage, too. Along the way, the Lord enabled me to buy our house--me!, who had no credit and a bankruptcy and all kinds of small claims judgements. Things have not been easy even after Tim & I married. On paper, in black & white, the numbers never added up, yet each week, each month the bills would all get paid. My kids had to help. I made them give us 50% up to $300/month of whatever money they earned. I also made them tithe 10% to the Lord--and yes, I tithed 10% of what we earned, too. And slowly, through the years, the Lord has blessed us financially so that now we don't have to worry about whether or not we can pay the bills. I have excellent credit now--ten years ago I would never have believed it! We aren't rich by any means. I earn a little over $20,000 a year and Tim gets Social Security Disability, but it sure beats living on $849/month which is what I remember getting on AFDC at one point. Yes, we live in a big old farmhouse and have lots of room, but it needs plenty of money spent to refurbish it, too; I just ignore the holes in the carpets and the cracks in the plaster walls. They add character. :o) By my tax statement, I could not sell this house, with 3 stories and 6 bedrooms on 2 1/2 acres of land and get enough for it to buy a little one story 3-bedroom house on 1 acre in town. So I thank God for my old house, with a house payment of $230/month and taxes of $850/year. We couldn't afford to live anywhere else. God has blessed us so much with this house and property! And even in the worst of times, I have NEVER thought I was poor nor have I envied those who had more because I knew just how rich I truly was.

Sisters, it isn't about the size or condition of the home you live in or the clothes you wear or the possessions you own or the car you drive or how much money you make in a year or how much you have in savings (we basically have none) or how much you have invested for the future (we have none) or which side of town you live on or how you compare with anyone else in these areas. Our wealth does not consist of such earthly things. Our real wealth is measured in Jesus and all that He blesses us with. What did Paul say? "For we brought nothing into the world and obviously we can take nothing out of the world." This world is NOT our home; we're just passing through. Hold the things of this world lightly and keep your affections set on things above. We have a fantastic future to look forward to! We have all of eternity with Jesus to look forward to! There is NO one on earth who has money or material goods that we need to envy; we have all the riches of glory in the Messiah Jesus to look forward to! What does it matter if my carpet has holes in it when I am going to be walking on streets of pure gold? What do I care if there are cracks in the plaster walls of my house when I will be entering His new Jerusalem with walls made from precious stones and gates made from single pearls? So what if my clothes come from KMart or GoodWill? I will be clothed in a robe of white then. And all the money I earned here will mean absolutely nothing there. I won't need savings or retirement accounts or investments. In fact, the Word says that I should be laying up treasure in heaven where neither moth or rust consume. And so that is what I strive to do, giving thanks for all that the Lord has blessed me with and being truly thankful for what I have, content in the state I am in, looking forward to the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I hope and pray that you will also and that these thoughts encourage you (not condemn or criticize) to lay hold on that eternal life to which we are called and that all these earthly things that surround will become shadows in the light of Jesus.

Take care, dear sisters, and may the grace of our Lord Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah be with you!
Love in our Messiah,
Cindy in Wisconsin

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The LORD is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my songI give thanks to Him. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all thatis within me, bless His holy name. Yeshua the Messiah, He is LORD!