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pbaribeault -> RE: I need some major advice, I am in trouble (6/26/2008 10:06:42 PM)
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What are the chances of selling vehicle(s)? Do you live in a location where they are absolutely critical (out of town, beyond a reasonable bike distance)? How much could you get if you only kept the one that would be worth the least?
If you tried to sell your home, would it sell? Would it bring in enough to cover the mortgage on it at least? How much might you be paying for rent if you had to rent?
What would you be living without if you were living in "Little House on the Prairie" days? Could you cut your electrical and live on candle light, cold water & a camp stove, at least for the summer?
Before you buy groceries try and get some staples without cost - what about a food bank, food stamps or donation food box at your Church or others? As you buy groceries, try to remember that people with 'plenty' eat for both nutrition and pleasure. People scraping rock-bottom eat for nutrition, period.
This is what you need:
Oatmeal (the cook'em yourself kind)
Milk
Fresh Fruit (whatever is cheapest per serving, not per pound)
Flour
Yeast
Salt
Sugar
Cooking Oil
Butter/Margarine
Peanut Butter -or- Cheese -or- Sliced Meat (minimal amount)
Fresh Vegetables (whatever is cheapest - usually big carrots)
Brown Rice -or- Potatoes -or- Pasta (enough to serve each supper time)
Meat (cheap cuts, no more than a hockey-puck size per person per day, or less)
Vinegar
Spices
Popcorn (the pop it yourself kind)
Breakfast is oats with sugar, milk & fruit. Lunch is sandwiches on home made bread, with veggies (and salt) & fruit. (Learn how to make bread before you disconnect your internet). Supper is plenty of potato/rice/pasta with also plenty of veggies and a little meat, with milk. (Marinade cheap cuts in oil, vinegar & spices. Use ground when possible, or slice thin to seem like a more reasonable proportion.) Buy what you need to make this supper a meal, but never put more than $2 into an ingredient, sauce or side dish. Make popcorn (in a pot) if you are hungry for a snack, or have some fruit, or if you have more than enough to last you, use a little from your bread ingredients to bake some kind of sweet.
You do not need a cell phone. You might wonder if it might be possible to get by without a land line (if your husband has a cell for work purposes)... but not a good idea if you live outside of a town.
But, now that I've gotten this far, I'm going to tell you the most important thing. Shame and sick-worry have no place in the heart of a child of God. If you have been unwise, fine: acknowledge, repent, move on. Make the best plan you can, given what you face now, and be faithful to that plan. Feel strong in that faithfulness and forget about how you got into this 'mess'.
As you are doing that, lean on Jesus... trust your Good Shepherd. He never promised you a middle-class western standard of living, He never even promised you (or anyone) that their death would not come as a result of starvation due to poverty. Don't let anybody mess in your mind with that false view of 'God will provide for you.' He might show His love for you in that way... He does from time to time... but in my experience if that sort of thing happens, it is usually after the people involved realize that He has already shown His love for them in the only way that could possibly matter. He has restored your life and brought you, a rebel and a walking deadwoman, home to live in His Kingdom, beloved and whole and unshakable for all eternity.
Fear and anger are natural responses, and nothing to be ashamed of (don't fall into the stupid loop of feeling ashamed of your feeling) but you are the boss of your emotions, and you can give them a good stern talking-to (with sympathy & grace) if they are getting carried away. You know the Truth, no matter what you feel.
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