Merry Christmas!!! Here's another picture of an adorable puppy...
Since it's Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or the Christmas Season (depending on when you read this), I wanted to share with you one of my favorite Bible verses...
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? (Matthew 6:25-27)
Matthew goes on to write about the flowers and the grasses in the field. He ends it with:
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34)
Matthew 6:25-34 is one my guiding principles in life and in money. DO NOT WORRY. So much easier said than done, right? Our minds tend to worry, and the more we don't know something, the more our minds tend to worry. That's why many of us need control and strive for perfection.
However, every time I would find myself worrying, I would remind myself of the words above. If God takes care of the birds and flowers, why wouldn't he take care of me? If I truly have faith, I wouldn't worry. A spiritual teacher I know says you can measure someone's faith in God by their list of worries. The longer the worry list, the smaller your faith in God. The shorter the list (or perhaps you're one of the rare few with no worries), then the bigger your faith is in God!
Whenever I've put into practice these words from Matthew, I've found myself taken care of, over and over and over again. I have a roof over my head, food on the table, my health (for the most part...still recovering from that "frozen shoulder"), an amazing husband, family, and friends. While I was a freelance TV producer, I worked consistently, with only a few months, at most, in-between gigs, and as a new business, I've continuously added clients until I was full.
So, how do you not worry about money, especially when it's inconsistent? Although, it may seem like a tall task. I gave a few pointers in last week's blog, and here are a few more...
- Stay present. Our minds tend to worry more when we're regretting something from the past or concerned about something in the future. If you do some of the things in last week's blog, it will help you stay present. It's also important to just be mindful of whatever you're doing, and what that means is to really take in the sights, sounds, smells, feelings and any sensory touch.
- Get clarity of your financial situation. Really know what's coming in, what's going out, how much you owe on credit cards, and what the interest rate is on those cards or on your car loan. Remember the more unknown something is, the more our minds tend to worry. So, the more you know, the less you worry.
- Create a clear plan on what you can do to make more money, spend less money and pay off your debts. Again, our minds want to know we've got it under control. Even if the plan veers off track a bit from month to month, just having the plan will help you to go to sleep at night.
I'm sending you lots of love on this Christmas Eve. I appreciate every time you've read, commented, and shared my blog posts with your friends and family. I've also appreciated getting to know those of you who have taken me up on the offer to get a free 1-hour financial coaching session and for those of you who've become clients. If you're interested in learning how to not worry about your money, I'm still offering the free 1-hour sessions. Just click here to sign up. Then, go to the Schedule Link at the top of the page or here.
Sending you so much Love & Gratitude,
