Wise Use of Resources

I've paid a lot of attention these past few years to wise use of my resources. That doesn't mean I have a lot of available cash. Resources, to me, are any sources that God has blessed me with which I can use to enrich my quality of life.

Sometimes it means putting money into fixing a leaky roof, putting two solar screens on the western facing windows, putting a fresh heat-reflecting coating on the roof, and similar projects. It doesn't mean I have a lot of free cash to do this with. It means that I am still running 2 months behind on utility bills, and still paying a few other bills late.

However, I've been blessed with this old '78 double-wide mobile home, and doing these things now means that I reap the rewards later. This coming year, I will likely be broke quite a few times along the way. I'd rather be broke but dry in the rain, cool in the summer, and warm in the winter, than broke and living in miserable conditions.

If I were still in an apartment, it would mean taking care of as many outside bills as possible so that I would have enough funds to pay the monthly rent, including usual increases, when due.

Paying attention to resources available doesn't mean I always make the best use of them. I remember 1998, when I was working horrible, horrible overtime hours for months on end. I was on an hourly basis back then, on a government project. I thought I was doing just fine. When I looked back, the following year, facing bankruptcy, I realized I was so tired that I had made the worst decisions ever about which bills to pay with all that extra money. I was too tired to make good decisions. The overtime proved worthless in the long run.

The next two paragraphs are from an article in my Busy Person's Prayer Book -
"...I realized I had skills that God had guided or pushed me into learning, I had a phone, a working computer, a wealth of ideas that sat idle while I procrastinated, software I had not used to the maximum, and free info on the Internet. I was no longer able to work “outside” due to care-giving obligations, but I realized I had time that I was not budgeting properly. I began to ask for help in using each and every resource that God had placed in my path. And, finally, I began to see doors that were open and had been open all along.

With you, there are other opportunities, long unexplored. Explore them! Ask for God’s help in “seeing” them, and in following them through."

I'm not superhuman. I make lots of mistakes. But I make better decisions now, on a lower income, than when I was dog-tired back in '98 with lots of money coming in and making bad decisions on how to spend it.

Father, guide me please, that I may use all the free resources you have placed at my hands, that I may use them as you intended.