Simple Summer

Seasons bring changes. I love summer's picnics with lemonade, carefree hours at the park, and sunlight till late. Even when it's a "chilly" 60 degrees, I think back to January's 40-below freezes and feel happy.

This summer is bringing other changes to our family as well. I'm hoping it will be a simple summer. I won't go into it in depth, but this summer our income will be less than during the school year. Much less. One of two things could happen. One--Jacob could look for additional work. Two--we could cut back (a LOT) and simply enjoy our family time. As of right now, we've opted for the second.

We already live frugally, I'd say, sticking to a budget and trying to sneak by with as little school debt as we can while Jacob finishes his degree. Now it's a little exciting to take a look at our budget and say, Now what can we tweak? How can we slim it down even more?

The greatest challenge to this, in my thinking, is my attitude (emphasis on my). When I see things in the right perspective and understand we're making a trade-off that will benefit our family, I'm content. But it's oh-so-easy to begin to covet other people's stuff. Or their ability to buy their stuff easily (without budget constraints).

I failed yesterday. Even though God's provided for us amazingly lately (and I only blogged about half of the praise reports), I fell into discontent and materialism and became quite a grumpy monster for half the day. (Thank goodness marriage is "for better or for worse," right?)

I'm grateful for God's grace and Jacob's forgiveness. I want to not only live out God's plan for me, but live it abundantly, with joy. I want to make choices that will benefit our family and our future.

Father, help me to see things clearly, not through the lens of my own envy or discontent. Thank you for the precious gift of being home with our girls, and for having so much family time this summer. May I make the most of it. And thank You for providing.