thank you!!
i picked her up this morning:) went for a drive after work today, we took our favorite back roads home, the smooth ones with lots of big green trees. her windows rolled down, music up, oh what a treat to be reunited. now safe and sound, sleeping at home in her own garage tonight. what trusting GRACE.
~~from our drive~~
prayer answered. for as long as i can remember i've wanted to be independent. i want to do it myself. grow up. be in charge. provide for me. to take care of myself. to be in the driver's seat and make the decisions. well. here i am. with plenty of chances to make decisions and pay my own bills. and the more decisions i am presented with, i learn. i need God, to steer me in the right direction, giving me purpose and light and truth.
financial wisdom. most of these new decisions i've been blessed with seem to revolve around ...$$$. i'm not a huge shopper/spender (... and i can hear my family laughing in my head..), but you can't live life without managing money. especially thinking ahead to when i have buy a new car (sad happy day), i pray God will help my heart know.. mostly, how much to spend. it's such a blessing to have this job... i just want to know how to be smart about managing my money so that i remain free to give and do whatever i feel like God is leading me to do.
work. ahhh work. i'm trusting God to lead me here. to know how to be professional and successful. to be a contributor to our project, and maybe just maybe even have a positive influence in the personal lives of my teammates and people i interact with. yeah... lots to learn there.
growing. as a christian. being intentional about it. learning how to grow. serving. to be responsible. in the roles i'm in. relationships i have. the impact i leave. loving the life that i'm blessed with. every day. pursuing God. and, putting him at the center of my heart.
perfect segway to the new song i heard on the drive (: Starts With Me by Tim Timmons :)
~~~Thank you God for the life You give us, the love you show us, and for your mercy as we make mistakes, hit road bumps, and strive to trust in You the best we know how~~~
Glad to hear that you have your "baby" back! I completely understand the connection you have with your car and the "sad happy day" that it will be once you have to get a new one. I'm hoping Jackie (my Subaru) lasts much longer - but realize more and more that she is in the sunset period of her life.
ReplyDeleteI'll be glad to share any of my financial experience/knowledge with you anytime. Just give me a call; I have a passion for helping people in this area of their lives. While I certainly do not have all the answers, I have studied and experienced a lot already!
Grace and peace,
JT
Thanks for the comment JT!!
ReplyDeleteAhh!! Jackie!! Do you have ideas on what you'll get when Jackie is no longer with us? :) I've test driven a few mid-size SUV options, and I'm leaning towards the Nissan Rouge or the Mazda CX5.
Thanks for the financial advice :) I just opened a Fidelity Cash Management account and applied for their Visa rewards Credit Card ... they had the best rewards rate of all the CCs I compared (even the very popular Chase Freedom). Also opened up the possibility for investing w/ the Fidelity account .. at some point in the future :)
All this grown up speak!! I can't wait for you and Katie to come visit me at my house. The kitchen table is getting delivered Friday, and I want to cook you guys a big lunch/dinner before you jet off on your adventure :))
If I had to buy a new car right now to replace Jackie, I would go with the Honda CR-Z. It starts at under $20k, is sporty, and still gets 36/39 MPG! http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-z/
DeleteFidelity is an excellent investment firm - as long as you know what you want to invest in. I "did it alone" for a while before meeting a financial advisor that I trusted (with Edward Jones). He and I (and sometimes Katie) meet quarterly to review our accounts [taxable JTWROS account and two ROTH IRA accounts] and discuss the market. It's totally free too, as he just gets a commission from the mutual funds that we invest in - the same commission that would go to Fidelity if we invested in the mutual funds there instead. So, it's kinda "free advice". (And, after painful experiences, we no longer invest in individual stocks - so we do not have to pay the ~$50/trade commissions for buying/selling stocks)
I still have a Fidelity ROTH IRA account in which I hold mutual funds. I would be glad to share the names of the investments, in case you want to consider them when you start investing yourself.
A big tip that I will share: invest through your 401k (preferably a ROTH 401k, if available). That way, you never "see" the money in your net paycheck. So, it is a lot easier to swallow than to cut a check or transfer funds manually.
Can't wait to see you Friday!
JT