500 blessings!

So when Anthony and I decided to get married, we also decided to make a huge step and I quit working. I worked as a nanny for 4 years and made good money to do so. Anthony decided that he really wanted me to focus on grad school for my last year and that meant he would take on all of our bills by himself. We aren't loaded down with bills like some are but we have enough that it is harder than it has ever been. Last year when my nephew passed away we used a great deal of savings we had built up to fly home in emergency and be there for my family. All of that to say this...we have been broke. I have been finding VERY creative ways to make a buck stretch including clipping coupons, finding ways to make money from home including writing lesson plans for an online tutoring site, reading email for money, and recycling *which we already did anyway*.

This has been more of an adventure for me than a burden and God is teaching us a whole new lesson on dependence. I mean, it was easy to say we depended on God when we made over 4 times the rent but now the rubber meets the road. Lately we have been having to lift each and every bill up in prayer and just really trust God to bring the amount about in our lives. We have had to really change our menu plans by not eating out, cooking economical meals and being ok with not having a whole lot of excess. I am proud to say we have really been growing through this. We are also noticing that God does things so differently than we expect him to.

As you all know, we got married about 3 weeks ago and because we went to Vegas and did not have the traditional exchange of vows, we kind of lost out on all of the great wedding gifts that people get you. That was ok with us as we have a fully furnished apartment now and don't really NEED anything other than money. We were making jokes for a while that we should have registered at AMEX, Mastercard, Visa, and the US Mint. It's not far fetched. It was hard at first that noone really sent us cards and gifts but again, we feel like we have everything we need and it would be nice if someone sent a gift but we really didn't care. Our friends and family that attended the wedding actually did bring gift cards and did nice things to help us out and that was special.

Well, last night when I got home from a long night at school, I stopped at the mailbox in our complex. Inside the box was 2 cards, one for my birthday (Same day as my wedding was) and one for our wedding. The birthday card was really heartfelt and wonderful and when we opened our wedding card, out fell a $500 check! We felt like our hearts might stop. To get $500 right now out of nowhere and not have to work for it was amazing. God went above and beyond what we could ever hope for, dream of, or imagine..as He always does!

So now we have 500 little blessings and our prayer time was amazing last night with praises for most of it. We plan to put that money in the bank and begin to build back up our savings and emergency fund. We also have been feeling God leading us to tithe of of it and also off of our income. It's interesting because I used to tithe when I was single but when Anthony and I started to share money I was kind of afraid to mention tithing again. I don't know why because my husband is an amazing man of God with a moldable and wonderful heart but it was hard for me if I wasn't working. I approached the subject with Anthony a few nights ago before the $500 and we came to an agreement that even if we did not know how the money was gonna get there for bills, GOD CAME FIRST! I am excited about what God is going to give us to help others with. We are excited to start pouring out our blessings on others! We have been praying about where to direct this though as we haven't chosen a church HOME just yet. If anyone knows any good churches in the Anaheim area, ideas are welcomed.

Anyway, we are totally excited about what God is doing in our dependence, maturity, growth, and hearts! It's not really about the 500..it's about the way we are growing and the way we did not just run to spend it but truly sought God on what to do with HIS money! I love the way marriage is looking on us! God is at the center of our marriage and true happiness and peace is finally in my house! :)

I love you Lord,

Erica Lewis