As Certain as Death

"...and had revealed to him that he would not die until..."

I like certainty.  I can handle a bit of randomness and spontaneity, but in general, I function just fine when things are certain.  However, when it comes to following Jesus, faith is required in daily living and a lot of time, it means there will be a lot of uncertainty.  I guess that is why this verse in Luke 2 stands out to me.  Would it be cool to be Simeon receiving a clear truth that will come to pass since everyone dies?

Spielbrick Films via photopin cc

Thinking back and re-reading the passage in context, I'm not too sure it was entirely cool. God is telling Simeon that he won't die until he sees the Promised One out of a prophecy from hundreds of years ago. Everyone in the culture is looking forward to this One who will fulfill the prophecy. It sounds much like stuff stories are made out of, like our present day Harry Potter, The Matrix or Star Wars. How hard would it have been to wait on this guy to show up?

The nature of knowing God's will and praying/waiting for it to happen is complicated and different for each person. It may require extreme patience or impossible things to happen before the prayer is answered. But I think the outcome is the same if we are faithful to God's process.  Simeon got to see Jesus in his lifetime and I'm sure what God is bringing to pass in your life will be true as well.

Questions that we wrestled through at our small group tonight:  What has God told you that He will totally come through on? Are you finding it hard to believing Him to bring it to pass? 

I Have a $25 Monthly Allowance

... and I'm 34 years old.

I started to have an allowance when I was in Grade 6 (I think) when my parents would give me a dollar a week. It was amazing- a whole world of 10 cent candies was opened up to me.

Life with no budget... you have no idea how things are going financially. Picture by kenteegardin

But now that I am in my thirties, I have a monthly allowance all over again and I couldn't be more happier and content. Why?

1. It means I budget. I didn't always budget - as long as my expenses didn't exceed my income, I was happy. But living without a budget, especially when married and have children, wasn't practical and does not lead to any savings. 
2. It is a guilt-free set amount for my use only.  When we didn't have a personal category in our budget, every line item was shared with the family (ex/ groceries, clothing, eating out budget, etc). This resulted in healthy checks of how my spending impacted the rest of the family.  However, it made me feel guilty when I wanted to buy something just for myself that was more of a luxury instead of a need. Now, there is no such guilt because it is built into the budget. 
3. It helps me practice delayed gratification. In this day and age, advertisers and culture want you to buy things this instant. I have a $25 monthly allowance.  Now, if I want something costing $70, I have to wait 3 months or, if there already, consider if it is worth using 3 months of funds.
4. It helps prioritize my hobbies and interests. With a set amount, I now evaluate whether or not I want to read an e-book (that can take me 3 days to 10 days to finish/enjoy), a video game (months), a board game (years) or buy some comfort food (10 minutes, if that).  

With something that automatically tracks our expense (we use mint.com) it is really easy to track and with the roll over option (results of one months budget carries over to next month) it has been rewarding to do. Keeping a budget actually has been enjoyable.


Do you have a personal allowance and, if so, has it been successful in helping you enjoy being financially responsible?  If not, do you think it will help?