Anniversary

It has been fourteen years since we got married in California.  I was pretty young and inexperienced all those years ago, but Shauna has been patient and loving despite my bumblings and stumblings.  I cannot say enough good things about Shauna and all she had meant over the years.

We have had good times and bad times, but we have been able to learn and grow from those two young kids striking out in the world together.  I remember the day we packed all of our stuff in a trailer (it was a tiny trailer) and headed out to graduate school.  It is wild to think about all the adventures we had together and how much time we had on our hands before kids came along.

Like the time we drove up to Glacier National Park and found that it was on fire and you could not see or go anywhere in the park. Or the nights running through Manito Park watching the medieval sword fights; or playing soft ball with our friends.  The softball was far and away Shauna's favorite thing we have done. Ever.

It has been more fun than I could have imagined. Here's to fourteen and many more after.

Self-Reliance

Shauna and I have been participating in a self-reliance class through our church the past couple of months.  The topic is personal finance.  We meet with about ten other people from our neighborhood and talk about the various issues, troubles and successes we have related to personal finance.  It has been a really good class so far and we still have three weeks to go.  The topics range from how God is concerned about us and our temporal and spiritual well being, to the details of how to create and maintain a budget; how to examine and deal with debt; to considering insurance and what coverage you should have.

Shauna and I have struggled some with our spending over the years--never anything serious--mostly just differences in priorities.  This class definitely has shown us the priorities that need addressing first and gives both of us goals we can agree on.  We have both made some concessions, but it has made us stronger and more dedicated to the ultimate goal of self reliance.

Now when I say self reliance, I use this term to mean we are doing our best to take care of ourselves not that you should never need or ask for help.  There are things that we cannot control or mistakes that we make that need to be clean up--but if we do our best, we can have confidence that our Heavenly Father will be there to give us help and guidance.

I have to admit that I am a little like Scrooge--I want to save and I am at times a miserly dude, but I am learning to be more flexible and have more faith.  For me saving is the reward with the end goal looking like I am prospering.  The need to have and receive praise from those around us is universal and is not always bad.  However, if you--like me--sometimes imagine people looking at you for your worldly success, we are doing it wrong.  I need to re-examine this line of thinking and see what it really means to prosper.  It may mean different things for different people based on each person's circumstances and for me I see myself putting more time, energy and money into helping those who may not have had my same opportunities, or who have had one or more destabilizing blows spiritually, physically, or mentally.