God is in control

God has been so faithful over the years to provide for Sean's and my financial needs.  There have been times in our lives when we've been living practically paycheck to paycheck, with very little money in savings (like right now), and yet He always provides for us.  We always have enough to pay the bills, and we rarely have to use credit.  (The only debt we're in right now is a small car payment, along with our mortgage, if you would count that as a debt.)

Sean and I have wanted to buy a dining room table ever since we moved into our townhouse at the end of February, but we never had enough money to buy one.  There was always something we needed to buy that was a higher priority.  Both of us really like the idea of eating dinner at a table, rather than while sitting on the couch watching TV.  We did have a small, 2-person table at our old apartment, but we wanted something that would seat at least 3 people, since we've got Christina with us now.  On top of that, we like having friends over for dinner occasionally, but it's a bit awkward without a table to eat at.

It just so happened that our friend Kena's boyfriend was moving in with a new roommate, and he needed to get rid of most of his furniture.  Kena told us he had a dining room table and four chairs that he was looking to sell.  We got in touch with him, and he offered us the beautiful wood table and chairs for only $50.  Of course, we took him up on his offer, and now we have a dining room table!  We've only eaten at it once since we got it, but it was great to just have a quiet dinner and talk about how our days went.  Now I'm planning to get a large, unscented candle for the center of the table, and maybe some flowers to use as a centerpiece.

I've also noticed that whenever Sean and I come into a large deal of money, that's the exact time that the car breaks down or we have some other expensive catastrophe.  Honestly, this is such a blessing.  God has always made sure that we have money before we have any large, unexpected expense.  We're going to get a large tax return next year, since we were first-time homebuyers this year, and the government has a program going on right now where if you buy your first home, you get $8000, which you pay back in $500 increments over the next 16 yearly tax returns, with no interest.  We've got a few big expenses that we're expecting around that time, like buying a new hot water heater for our place.  But I wouldn't be surprised at all if some other big catastrphe happens around that time that costs us a chunk of that money.  And really, I wouldn't mind.

God is so good to provide for us when we're in need, and make sure we're NOT in need when we need to shell out the big bucks for something.  He helps us to always stay pretty even as far as how much money we have, which is good, since:

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." - Matthew 6:24

and

"...if riches increase, do not set your heart on them." - Psalm 62:10