save big, bless big

There's no denying it now, ya'll. 

The holidays are upon us. 

Here in South Carolina, it may be 70 degrees but THANKSGIVING IS JUST DAYS AWAY. 

And with the Holidays coming, I can't help but think of...

joy?

peace?

Jesus?

family? 

YES. All those things, but I also really find myself thinking about 

MONEY. 

The car trips to visit family, the advent activities with the kids, the decorations, the gifts, the extra food, all of it. It costs dollas. And we're in a precarious stage of life with money. My husband has a wonderful blessing of a temporary job, we're fund-raising to plant a church, and our secondary income (naptime diaries) fluctuates mightily. 

But this year, I want to feel different about money. 

I don't want to be looking at what little we have discontentedly. 

I don't want to be feeling the exhausted hit of the bank account on the 26th. 

So, we decided to ask the Lord to help us do two things this holiday: 

SAVE BIG so we could BLESS BIG. 

We've now sat our kids down and explained to them, we're watching every penny from now till Christmas. No Friday sonic runs. No little new toys from Target just because. I've done my last thrift shopping trip of the year. No new books for Nick. A tiny coffee budget per week that has me missing my baristas something fierce. Making more gifts than we're buying. Really watching our grocery list with the knowledge that we'll probably want to save room in our wallets and our bellies for holiday parties and events. 

And our HOPE is not just that we'll get through the Holidays in the black, but that the Lord would help us shift our thoughts about what is good about them. That He'd open our eyes so we could open our hands to people who need more than we do. And maybe, just maybe be able to bless someone (or many someones) BIG. Be able to pay a friend's power bill, make a big adoption donation, buy a meal, WHO KNOWS?! Who knows what the Lord can do in our budgets if we make room for Him? 

So what do you say? 

Want to join us? 

What if once a week I did a save big/bless big post and in the comments we all shared tips & tricks for how we're saving during the holidays and ways the Lord is opening our eyes to ways we can all do a little holiday blessing? 

Let's do it. Well, let's see what He can do.