BE PREPARED

Good morning to you on this blessed Tuesday!

I pray that you had a great night. After my husband came home we went to Knoxville to a short seminar on optimizing your social security. It is hard to believe that we are of the age to be thinking of that. It is funny how when you are younger you don't want to think about it so you don't. Then you get to the point where you have to and it is like you want to say "ugh! No not yet. Surely I am not that old."

I am going to tell you now that it doesn't matter how old you are, you need to be putting money away. Even if it just 5, 10 or 20 dollars a paycheck. Do it! Time gets away from you and before you know it you are older and have no savings. They say you should always have enough money stashed away to live for a month in case of an emergency. Three months or more is really the best case scenario. How many times have you had something go wrong with the car or the washer break down or something like that and you had no cash to take care of it? And credit cards can be evil unless you can pay them off each month because you end up paying so much more for the item you bought when you add the interest to it over time. 

 

We have been there and done that in all these situations. We didn't start saving money until we were in our 40's. Big mistake! Because by the time you retire you will not have  much to show for it and it will cost us so much more to live by that time. Think about it. Pray about it. Don't go out to dinner for a while and put the money away or take the money from one meal out a week and put that away.

 

The Boy Scout and Girl Scout motto is Be Prepared. God's Word says:

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man 

will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Matthew 24:44

 

Be on your guard; stand firm in the 

faith; be courageous; be strong.

1 Corinthians 16:13

 

 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that 

when he appears we may be confident and 

unashamed before him at his coming.

1 John 2:28

 

The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

Exodus 15:2

 

Are you ready not just for Jesus's return but for anything and everything that can come before us? Are you prepared for the worst? I once asked my daughter if they had a hurricane preparedness kit or box or room ready just in case. She said, "well, no." They live in south Florida.

 

God doesn't just want us to be ready for Jesus to come back but for any situation that we encounter. If we are not thinking ahead for a natural disaster, or anything that could possibly happen, we are going to be in poor shape if and when it happens. We are not to be frightened for the unknown, just prepared. And if nothing ever happens, that is awesome. But things do happen. Remember where we live, in April of 2011 the tornado came through our area about 3/4 mile from our house. So, it does happen. We were protected but many, many people were in harm's way and some had no insurance. 

 

Your part is to trust God no matter what happens.  God’s part is to take what happens and to turn it into something good. Our part is to be His witnesses and tell people about Jesus. His part is to change their hearts and lives. Our part is to be prepared so that it is easier for God to help us when stuff happens.

So, stuff does happen. Life happens. Be prepared. Put away some money for a rainy day. Put your trust in Jesus because He is our only hope. He loves you!

Have a blessed day!

Les (lesbear)