aliens among us

Well, I think I’m going to get to visit all the churches I couldn’t before because of her pretty adamant dislike of them. And we are suddenly more social and not at all concerned about crowds. So, tonight we hit the River fireworks and the Paseo district, and tomorrow she wants to go to At the Movies at Scott and Anna’s church so she can meet them.

Scott and Anna, hope yer prepared to “Meet The Paravanes” as a couple. (grin)

Us, not you guys. You know what I mean. Boy, is that an assumption. (grin)

Subtitle: justifying a comfortable lifestyle

My wife is really getting this whole faith in God thing down. The only problem is, her Daddy is a sugar daddy. If you knew my wife before she had dementia, you knew a woman who was frugal to the bone. She has lived at the poverty line before, and knows how to stretch a dollar until the ink almost falls off.

Her family nickname is the Bargain Queen. Every week she waits in high anticipation of the grocery store ads so that we can save the most money on the largest quantity of food and household items we can buy.

Freezer bricks. Know what those are? They’re items that have been buried so deep in the freezer that you can’t tell what they are under the ice and freezer burn. And they are hard as bricks. You don’t even bother to thaw them, you just toss em when you need the space. Justifying a comfortable lifestyle amidst and uncomfortable faith is never easy. “In the absence of martyrs there’s a presence of thieves” goes the song. “ Who only want to rob you blind
They steal away any sense of peace”.

OK, so there was a dark side to my wife’s frugal nature. She hoarded food against the “lean times” that might come at any moment. Still, to think that this woman wouldn’t squeeze the pennies out of dime at the store, was not to know her at all.

Now, she wants everything. I totally understand advertising now. It’s aimed at the young at heart who haven’t built up a shell against the constant barrage of you need it you need it you can’t live without this “thing”. But they don’t hold the purse strings, just your heart strings.

We spent $170.00 on clothing and items at the Family Dollar store. The woman I married would be horrified. We spent another $60.00 the next day, and around $50.00 on food eating out. I don’t know whether to stock the house with anything more than snacks or not.

Need. I try to explain to her the concept that we are on a fixed income now, and our “disposable income” isn’t as flexible as it use to be, and I run right up against her unwavering and new found faith that God will supply all our needs. Whether we actually need them or not.

I have to stop being Santa Claus and start being Mr. Scrooge. This is not going to be fun. But here’s the question of the day for you, boys and girls:

Do you say no often enough to your kids? How about yourself?

Do you know the difference between prosperity and grace? If you hadn’t noticed it, the wave of another depression is looming overhead. The problem with it not crashing down, is that it simply has more time to build. It could care less for the children gathering pretty shells in the newly revealed shallows.

Are you prepared for the difference between prosperity and grace?

You sing such pretty songs with such pretty lives in such pretty places. When you grow weary you can rest. Are you prepared to walk with all you hold dear only what you can carry? To watch the dirt cover all the bright shiny places and tarnish all the bright shiny things?

Do you know what it is you should be holding onto for dear life? Have you forgotten you belong to a jealous God?