matt ames blogs

Probably since the beginning of this year, I have had a gradually increasing financial burden.  I’ve watched paychecks come and go–good portions of them in the same day.  I have to eat and pay bills, and by the time those two things are taken care of, there isn’t much resource for anything else.

Matthew 6 makes it clear not to worry about what to eat or wear.  We are to make God our priority, and everything else will be added onto us. 

I’ve always loved using Matthew 6 as a teaching and advice reference.  I’ve recently found the lesson in it to be what God wants me to see when it comes to finances.

The further He’s taken me in my journey, the more He’s let me see where my heart is.  I’ve found myself believing that if I had more money, that would solve my problems.  Not true.

I’ve had some tough months lately, but more money is not the answer.  It may be the by-product of the answer, but my solution is fully seeking and trusting God.  He has lasted longer than anything, and He will always be there.  There is nothing else I can bank out with such a guarantee.

Whether I have a little or a lot, I am God’s, and He will ALWAYS take care of me.

I’ve been driving for seven years now.  One of the things I’ve prided myself on was having never been pulled over.  That changed Saturday night. 

As I was coming home from picking up dinner, I cut through the same neighborhood I do most of the time.  I also rolled right through a stop sign instead of braking until I felt the jerk like I was taught at age 15.  Apparently a lot of people have been doing this in the same spot lately, as some of the neighbors have been complaining about it. 

I saw the lights flash behind me, and I really wasn’t sure what I did.  I guess because it was one of those roads I’ve taken so often, I had that “I know it like the back of my hand” mentality working against me.  I pulled over immediately after seeing the flashing lights, and still wondered if they were for me.  When the officer parked behind me, the wondering was over.

He informed me I disregarded the stop sign.  Then, he asked me if I was in a hurry or just rolled through it.  I admitted to just rolling through it.  He told me he was going to let me off with a warning (praise God for that!)  From there, I let him borrow my license and registration, and he brought them back with a blue piece of paper with fun information like this warning is going on your record on it.

As I think about how this played out, I think about God’s redeeming grace for us and how it works.  For one, He’s not interested in how long we go without sinning , nor does He keep a record of our sins; He is concerned with the condition of our hearts.

A key factor in accessing the forgiveness God has for us because of Christ is admission.  When I confess my sins to God, I am acknowledging them for what they are.  Because Jesus is my Lord, that forgiveness is always mine. 

Also, the more I sin, the more I feel immune to the consequences.  I am not immune.  In the same way the officer pulled me over, I wait for God to do that a lot of times.  Maybe I try to get away with something until it finally comes up in a sermon, or until I finally get to reading it in the Bible. 

We should never wait until we get stopped to change our ways.  Next time, we may not be let off with a warning.

There are a lot of things in this world that are waiting to rip us apart.  Falling victim to deception, theft and deterioration is incredibly difficult.

We can go through life and constantly find ourselves weighed down by the pressures that exist.  These pressures can depress and leave us in physical pain even.  What are we to do when there seems to be no way to look?

Look up!

Wait a minute.  We’re so tired or so lost in our situations that even the thought of reaching out leads us to further slumber.  In turn, that leads us to further beat downs.

We need to remember that, even in our times of faithlessness, God is so much greater.  He came for us and He’s coming back for us.  There is hope, and it’s not just for the future.  God wants us to stand on His truths even in our most trying of times.

Acknowledge Him.  Fight past that feeling in your chest that holds you back from screaming for Him.  The God with us wants to be there for you.  He is all we need.

So, what is greater in your life right now: God or your circumstance?  Don’t mumble the church answer to that, but really examine your life.  Do a tale of the tape between the two.  God will win every time if we let Him.  Invest your cares in Him.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for everyone who has read these words.  We all go through things that can leave us sinking.  We struggle to keep our head above the waters of this world when you offer peace like a river.  Please give us that peace.  For those out there longing for you but can’t even get the words past their sternums, please break their silence and let their cries be heard.  Thank you for being so much greater than the things we take stock in.  May we give it all to you, as you are there to provide for us.  Thank you, my Lord.

On my journey of cutbacks and best value, the DSL has been hooked up at the house.  I really didn’t know what to expect from the connection speed, but I find that it isn’t that much slower than the cable connection I was paying more for.  It’s a mid-tier DSL connection, so I’m impressed that it’s only slightly slower than cable, if not as fast in some areas.

I took longer with the installation than any person should ever have to take.  This was my bad.  Actually, it had to do with the disc drive I decided to put the install CD in, but, since “computers don’t make mistakes,” I’ll take the fault for this one.  After a few million restarts, cold reboots and trying to connect to a couple of different phone jacks, I resorted to trying the self-install again in a different drive, and was up and running in no time.

Friday, weather permitting (I imagine), is the scheduled big switch.  This is when we’re going from a cable account we’ve had for 20+ years to satellite.  The commitment with our cable company and uncertainty about satellite have made this switch a little nerve-racking, but it’s definitely a step worth taking.

If I had to find a point in all of these “look at me” ramblings, it would be to tell you that not all cutbacks and changes are easy; even when it comes to the simplest of things such as cable and Internet.  As I said, some of the factors making them difficult are commitment and uncertainty.

Think about something that you’ve been wrestling with changing in your life.  This could be something as trivial as a TV option, or as meaningful as a life-altering decision.  If you have something in mind, what has been holding you back from making the switch?

Something interesting was waiting on me when I logged on to MySpace last night.  I saw there were two new blog posts from my friends with titles that fit hand-in-hand.  One post was was titled Expectations, and the other, Realizations.

Expectations was about a friend who got a better result out of someone than she originally thought she would.

Realizations was another friend’s examination of self, and the conclusions of what he discovered.

Isn’t it funny how expectations and realizations lead to one or the other?  We have an idea about how something is going to happen, which is then met by what actually happens whether we were right or wrong.  When we come to realizations, our expectations are often shattered and our focus is more on the nose than ever. 

How have you seen expectations and realizations collide with one another in your life?  What has the outcome been?

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I have been looking for ways to make cutbacks financially.  This has already led me to two minor sacrifices.  One will save a little money, and that is going from cable Internet to a lower-speed option of DSL.  I’m not too upset about this one though.  The DSL family has some good company.  After all, the Slowsky’s have DSL, so I will no longer worry about them yelling at me for having Comcast because it’s faster. 

The second update isn’t as much of a money-saver, but will hopefully get me more for my money.  I am scheduled for the satellite installers to come Friday afternoon and hook me up with what seems to be a pretty sweet deal.  I’ll actually be getting 200+ channels (which means about 20 I’ll actually watch), including locals, DVR for two rooms and a standard receiver for the others for about $2 less than what I’m paying for basic analog cable and digital converter rentals.  And yes, that is after their wonderful promotional price wears off.  Said promotion will be a nice break for six months as well.

Next on my list is looking at our landline plan and possibly switching to something like Vonage if such a move sees us coming out better.

As I was laying in bed attempting to nap before work last night, I really felt like God was giving me new insights on how to keep saving now that I’ve taken steps and done research.  It’s no special principle; just some simple budgeting in areas that don’t usually get it. 

It’s definitely true that if we desire to make wise financial decisions and are willing to take action, God will honor that. 

Maybe I’ll have a savings account again soon.  WOO HOO!

Lately, I’ve been enjoying an incredible since of community online.  I’ve had hour-long conversations with people I hardly get to see anymore.  I’ve seen more family and friends join Facebook and Twitter.  I’ve even been able to use this medium as a means of praying for others and submitting my own requests.  From which, I have given and received much encouragement and inspiration.  The power of prayer is one of the best things we can give to each other, and is something I can be in community abut with people hundreds of miles away.

At the same time, there is something to be said about what the nay-sayers say (if you want to stop right here and attempt to recite this sentence 10 times fast, be my guest):  Online community can be rather surface and fake. 

However, I believe it to be true that online community is what you make of it.  Even posting a status update or a blog post asking a question, I’ve been able to generate great and authentic dialogue.  More and more people are embracing this form of communication, and I believe there is a ton of benefit in it.  There’s not always time for face-to-face meetings or a phone call, but we can still be together; connecting, encouraging and growing.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the growth of online community continues to impact our lives; especially with ministering to others.

Two of my favorite things do are travel and take pictures.

With tighter finances these days, I’ve done more staying at home than traveling.

Does that mean my photography interest should suffer?

I don’t THINK so!

Just look at these gems I’ve taken recently…

The "Mama Said Knock You Out"

The "Please Help Me, I'm Emo"

The "I'm Laying on Sunshine" (and don't it feel good! OW!)

 and finally…

The "Does this Make me Crazy?" (possibly)

Well, it’s amazing where boredom, free time and a laptop with a webcam’ll get ya.  Now to post that last one on all the career and singles websites…

Speaking of dating services, what’s up with all the “Christian singles” advertising?

Ah… that’s another post for another day.

Have a great weekend!

This is the most I’ve thought about blogging.

Anyone else out there been whiped?

First of all, I will start by giving a shout-out to my alma mater, Augusta State University, for making it to the Elite Eight for the second year in a row.  GO JAGS!

Now that I’ve shared with you pretty close to everything I know about basketball, I’ll get on with the post.

It seems like no matter what we do–from basketball to data entry–we go through a lot of our work looking forward to time off.  Seriously, even the most gung-ho people I know who are head over heels about what they do for a living can view large chunks of their work weeks with a gloomy outlook. 

Once the weekend or a day off is here, we are usually so happy.

It’s the middle of the week, and there you are–thrilled to death to be at work, anticipating quittin’ time or somewhere in between.

Here’s what I want you to remember.  You’re working you are for a reason.  Even if you have the most tedious of vocations there is, something drew you to what you are doing now.

Focusing on the positive, and perhaps giving you a reminder as to why it is you do what you do–please list your job/position and one thing you love about it.