Ok….so I have to do a follow up to my blog earlier this week – with several suggestions on ways to cut back to survive the looming economic crisis. (which by the way if you haven’t been following the comments – there are some great additional suggestions posted  – read them here)

While all these cost cutting measures may be effective – you could still find yourself stressed out by financial concerns and worries as well as having those months, seasons or even years where the ends simply don’t meet. Despite our “bare bones” living, we still have many times where the money runs out before the month does.  We have also experienced things seemingly outside our control like –  unemployment, loss of income, business going bust, unexpected medical expenses, housing depreciation (we bought at the top of the market in 1990 and our home lost value for seven years!) and other financial hardships that no amount of cutting back would solve.  I mean really, when you go from two incomes to none…you have nothing to work with.

So how do you survive an economic crisis at that point?

You trust God…

….not yourself, any man or woman, your employer, your company or the government!

Many Christians are quick to say, out of their mouths, that they trust God…but then continue on with their “laundry list” of fears, worries and concerns about how they are not going to make it.  I try to bite my tongue and just listen sympathetically but sometimes I just can’t help myself and I have to point out that they are really not trusting God. (ok, so sometimes I can be a bit forthright)

If we truly trust God with our finances then we should have complete peace, assurance and confidence not anxiety, fear and insecurity.  Now don’t start thinking that I have it all together or am judging you in any way if you voice your financial fears.  I struggle with trust as much as anyone….it is just that I have personally seen the Lord provide for my family over & over & over again when we have been in desperate and unimaginable circumstances and each time my faith is strengthened and I am stronger and more faithful with each hardship that comes my way. When friends say to me – “I wish I had your faith or I wish I had that peace”, I am quick to point out that the faith and peace are a result of the life I have lived, they are not just a personality trait, gift, talent or the “way God made me”. Actually I am no different than anyone else. Faith and peace have been cultivated and grown through our Biblical responses to the hardships in our lives. I guess you can say – “practice makes perfect”.  (Ie: If you want strong faith and a life of peace – ask God to bring on the hardships! LOL)

God has “proved” Himself faithful to us time and again. (not that He needs to prove anything – but nonetheless He has)   Over the years the Lord has provided in so many different ways  -

• being surprised with an incredibly low gas & electric bill
• getting an unexpected end of the year car insurance rebate
• a parent at the high school blessing us with a gas and grocery store gift card just in the nick of time and for no apparent reason other than to say, thank you
• a surprise Christmas bonus
• the neighbors who run a catering business asking us to “please” take their extras off their hands
• bags of groceries left on the front porch during very hard times
• dear friends who have seen a practical need in our home and decided to provide it for us (we were just recently blessed with new windows in our entire home, extra insulation & ceiling fans by someone who saw our problem and decided that they wanted to solve it)
• an opportunity for a “side job” like coaching, supervising Saturday School, doing handyman work or someone coming by and makes a large purchase from my CM business right when it is most needed
• someone giving us their used car when they no longer need it – apologizing that it probably will last just a couple more years (and then on faith & fumes it continues to drive for seven years – amazing!)

I could go on and on sharing both the little and big ways that God has met our needs (and even many of our wants) – but I really just want to encourage you that yes, He does provide.  It may not always be in the way you expect or look the way you think it should look – but He does come through every time.  And He always will.

He is worthy of our trust!  You can count on Him.  Here is His promises to us from the His word (Matthew 6:25-34) .

 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink ; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing ? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?

You of little faith! (Ok so the Lord is a bit forthright too!)

Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Amen! We could all use a little dose of this advice, heh?)

Coming soon – part 3, part 4 and perhaps even a part 5 to surviving the economic crisis….but for today let’s all simply….

Trust God!

In just a matter of days…. Joy will be toddling thru our house!

Yes…..”Joyful” our precious 11 month old baby girl took her very first tiny baby step all by herself last night.  And if you would have lived within blocks of our home……there was NO WAY that you would have missed out on this event as her 5 big sisters cheered & screamed wildly. (You would have thought they had just been told they were going to Disneyland)

The thrill & excitement of a baby taking those first steps doesn’t ever get old. (This is my 6th time around this block..and its still just as exciting as the first one!) It also doesn’t happen overnight.  She’s been walking around the coffee table for months & standing on her own consistently for weeks.  Her sisters have been coaching, coaxing & coaching her, practicing with her & cheering her on!  You can see the look of excitement in Joy’s eyes, you can sense her anticipation & wonder as she ponders taking those first steps…you can feel her apprehension & fear as to what might happen if she decides to just take off. And what seems like a HUGE in insurmountable feat today, will, in just a few short weeks seem easy & very doable…..in fact it will be as if taking those first steps were really no major accomplishment at all. In another year from when she is running through the house like it is her own personal race track…we will be hard pressed to remember this eventful day when it took everything in her to attempt one very small wobbly step.

This is just the first of many “steps” she will take in her life.  There will very soon be her first major fall….her first birthday…..her first real words (besides MAMA & DADA)….her first day of school….her first words read…..her first math problem solved…her first bike ride….her first time swimming across the pool….and on & on & on (and I don’t even want to think about her first day behind the wheel, her first day of college, her first love) Many of these will be preceded with that same sense of excitement, anticipation & wonder of something new ahead, of reaching out for a new goal or dream……as well as that same fear & apprehension of falling or failing or just plain uncertainty of what lies ahead. And hopefully she will continue to have her own private cheerleading squad that will coach, coax, & practice with her every step of the way & then cheer wildly with each successful accomplishment.

Are you thinking about taking your first steps with your business or towards a personal goal or dream? Maybe you’ve been at it for a while but have decided its time increase your pace from a leisurely walk to a steady jog or even an all out run. Or perhaps you have just had something give you a nudge or all out push towards pursuing your dream. Or maybe you’ve just made up your mind to make this the year you “go for it!”

You are filled with a sense of excitement.  You anticipate that great things are around the corner.  You wonder about all that may be in store for you in this upcoming year.  And yet at the same time you are filled with apprehension & fear.  What if I fail?  What if I fall down? What if I look stupid?  What if I am rejected?  What if I can’t handle it? What do we need to be able to forge ahead even through fear & uncertainty?  What will it take to attempt those first baby steps that will eventually turn into full confident strides?

I believe just like Joy last night we need 3 things.

1.  We need to really WANT to go forward! 

Our excitement and our hopes & dreams for the future must overtake our fear, apprehension & uncertainty.  Joy watches her older sisters run around the house….she sees the things that they can do….how fast they can go while she either sits in her high chair, or bobbles up & down in her bouncer or try’s to keep up with them through inefficient crawling. (and eventually begging to have them pick her up & carry her).  She really WANTS to walk.

Are you sitting around while others are doing, seeing & achieving the great things that you want for your life?  Do you know that it could as easily be you striding confidently through this life achieving great things….if you just step out in faith and take those first steps.

Do you really WANT it?  Overcome your fears, your apprehensions and your uncertainty & take that first small step today!

2. We need to press on and practice daily. (and expect to fall!)

The minute Joy got up today…the girls had her up on her feet practicing taking that one little half step.  And I’m sure they will not let her rest until she has taken 2 or 3 today.  I can already see a little frustration on her face as she struggles to attempt another step.  The excitement of yesterday as already began to wane & now the reality that this just might be hard work has set in.  And by next week just when she is making it all the way across the room she will then begin to fall……the reality will set in that in order to learn to walk….you must try, try & try again and that you will fall (& sometimes it will hurt!) over & over again.

We must do the same thing in our businesses and in our life…..practice daily.  This is most likely the hardest part. Taking one step & sitting down….taking 2 steps and wobbling over side ways…taking 3 steps and falling forward.  Our excitement of yesterday (when we first started our business…or got that first client…or scheduled that first home party… or had that first sale) begins to wane…we wonder why we are doing this anyway and we are frustrated both by our lack of skill and our regular falling down.

Yet if we give up now and don’t press through…look at all we will miss out on.  No…we need to keep picking ourselves up, keep pressing on and keep practicing daily.  (and don’t act surprised when we fall…it is part of the plan…no one can avoid it….so get ready for the bumps and bruises) Whether we are going for our first client, our first sale, our first promotion or our first incentive…..it is the same….we must practice, practice, practice & press on!

3. We need a personal coach and a cheering squad!

I think back to when my oldest daughter, Michelle began walking and wondered…did she have her own personal coach and cheering squad like Joy does?  After all there were no older sisters just Mom and Dad. Well…yes she did…..besides Mom and Dad’s complete focus (since she was the only child)…she had 150 teenagers at the high school I taught at performing the same service for her that the girls are now doing for Joy.  They coaxed and coached…they practiced with her and they cheered wildly with each and every accomplishment.

It makes a huge difference to our success if we are surrounded by personal coaches & a cheering squad of people who will be there every step of the way…..giving us encouraging words, providing great examples, giving us training, practicing with us and cheery wildly with each accomplishment.

These important people might be your family…as it is with Joy.  It might be close friends who are committed to your success….as it was with Michelle. If you are in direct sales it might be your upline, sidelines or downline.  It might be a life coach or business coach.  It might even be the books you read, tapes you listen to or meetings or conferences you attend.  You are really blessed if you have a team of coaches and cheerleaders from every area of life!

If you are lacking a personal coach or cheerleaders…take the time to find them today.  For those in business - call your upline or sponsor and set up a weekly call in phone appointment, sign up for the next sales meeting, call in to a training podium call or you may even want to hire your own business coach.  For life goals & dreams - talk to your family and/or close friends and tell them you need their encouragement, positive words and cheerleading. Find a life coach! Start each day reading a positive quote or inspirational story.  (This really works….even today as I scanned my card upon arriving at the gym…the computer spit out a greeting that read…”You look great!”  Wow!  What motivation it gave me to get in there & exercise.  Positive cheerleading can even come from a computer!)  Pair up with someone who has like goals & dreams and agree to cheer each other on with regular phone contact, emails & celebration lunches as you each accomplish your “firsts” in your business and life!

And remember “the first” that you accomplish today….will soon seem easy, doable & even come naturally and you’ll be moving on to bigger & better “firsts” in your life.

Gotta run……I can hear the girls cheering from the other side of the house…..”Joy just took 3 steps!” Take your first step towards your dream today! I’ll be here cheering wildly for you as accomplish them.