Money & stress

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
MONEY & STRESS: These two subjects have really been an issue in my daily struggles for the last month or so. So I decided today to blog a little bout them hoping it will be some sort of self therapy. lol
I try so hard to be positive, uplifting & fully relying on the Lord. But lately I've struggled with this in these two areas. The Spiritually part of me knows not to worry for God will supply all my needs. The Natural (flesh) part of me wants to just crawl in a hole sometime.
     My husband & I prayed for two years for a local job for him so that he would no longer have to work out of town & be away from our family long periods of time & also get custody of his son. Around October of last year, he got the call for his new job & a week after that we got the call to get his son! We were beyond excited!!! We knew it was going to be a huge cut in pay but was willing to make the sacrifices to have him home. Its been close to 4 months & we have had to cut every corner possible. We did get his son (THANK GOD) and my husband is now home every evening. We are so thankful for this time together & truly can focus so much more time together as a family.
     I have a few side jobs (cleaning some houses) that I do during the week but still our income doesn't match our outcome. We have little to no debt, it's just everyday expenses, monthly utilities & small bills that we are struggling with. Which makes it oh so much more frustrating to me. I know so many people that live beyond their mends, have lots of adult toys & charge every thing they have. We do not believe in credit cards so this is not our issue.
     Having 6 people in the household is a huge expense within itself! (4 growing, energetic teenagers, 1 grown healthy, hard working man & then me). lol I clip coupons, thrift store shop, yard sale, make our own homemade laundry soap & do many other frugal living things. Our auto insurance now including a 17 year old son is not pretty! Our health insurance is absolutely nothing but ridiculous! Then of course we do have cell phones (which I have dropped the plans down) and considering getting rid of them completely once out of contract.We have a fireplace so we don't run our electric heating unit much. I have a clothes line that I use to dry our clothes instead of dryer but i don't use it much in the winter. (but our electric bill this month was over $300!!!) Our kids take their lunches to help save on their lunch expenses & my husband takes his also. We try to plan all errands out so that we don't make unneeded trips to town & save on gas. Which is terrible for 3 vehicles! My husband commute to work is over 50 miles one way so its very costly. My son & I travel very little during the week. My kids have started riding the bus a few days a week to save on gas also.
     Together as a family we try to do cheap fun stuff. We really enjoy the outdoors together. (camping, canoeing, hiking, bonfires, grilling out, swimming, etc.) We are involved in our church & our kids are also involved in sports. I pack snacks for any trips & avoid concession stands, convenient store stops, etc.
     I do have faith that God will bring us through these hard times & I'm so thankful that we are all in good health, have a warm roof over our heads, food in the pantry (not much but enough/lol), and clothes to wear. We are truly blessed! I stress when I shouldn't. God has a plan for our family & a financially blessing is just around the corner. I believe with everything in me that all things work for the good for those that love the Lord. In our household we have Jesus as the center so I know he is there & watching over our little situation. He is an on time God & has never let us down so I don't know why I let the devil get me all worked up about money! My God is greater, awesome in power & I'm walking in faith knowing he is there! Thank you Jesus for transforming my mind right now! Hallelujah!!!!
If you are stressed about money today, try not to be. Put your eye on the Lord Jesus right now & know that no matter what, this life will soon be over. We must push through till time to meet our Father. Oh what a day that will be. I'm focusing now on my mansion that is designed just for me. I'm focusing on all expenses paid by the blood of Jesus! Are you focusing on what is to come? This life is that of a vapor! :)
May God bless you & your family!