Graduation Gifts

Money is tight for everyone nowadays.  As a missionary, I am at the mercy of God's provision through people giving monetary gifts.  I have been a missionary for nine months now and God has provided for my every need.  Budgeting for me is nearly nonexistent.  One day I will share my budget or as I like to call it, my financial faith.  Due to financial strain, I am forced to get creative.  This is rather exciting especially with a website like Pintrest available.  

The end of the school year is fast approaching.  There are two graduating girls in our youth group that I have grown close to.  Graduation calls for a gift to commemorate the end of ones high school career.  For many, this means shopping.  For me, it is time to get creative.  

I am not sure where this idea came from, but I am sure it was somewhere on Pintrest.  I rummaged through  my acquired picture frames and chose two smaller wooden ones.  I emptied the pictures and started the quick process of turning it into a scripture board.

 

1.) Begin with a frame with no picture, scrapbook paper or paper of your choosing, scissors, and markers.  I used the permanent marker to outline the back and the Expo markers to write on the glass.

2.) Use the back of the frame to outline the paper.  Then use scissors to cut the rectangle out.

3.) Insert the paper in the place of a picture.

4.) Here is a picture of the two that I did.  The Expo marker was used to write a verse onto the glass.  A couple of Expo markers will be included in the bag as part of the gift.

5.) Here they are all wrapped up!

The total cost of the gift was probably around $1.  When I bought the frames, I'm sure they cost about a quarter.  The paper was a whole pack for $4 and only a small rectangle piece was used.  The left overs were saved for another day.  The Expo markers were accumulated over my teaching years.  The wrapping came from Goodwill which includes the bag and paper.

Super excited!  Two gifts for two dollars! Wow!  It was fun being a little creative.  What are some ways that you save money by being creative with gift giving?  I would love to hear from you. 

Life is like riding a bike...

Life is like riding a bicycle. 

To keep your balance, 

you must keep moving. 

- Albert Einstein 

Balance is something that most people struggle with on a daily basis.  Balance can be easily found in many areas of our lives.  It can be found in your check book, diet, and even your Christian walk.  Balance can also be easily lost.  A receipt can be misplaced, a diet can be forgotten, and we can stray from our Christian walk.

Today was my first attempt in many a years to ride a bicycle.  The Lord gave me this bike through my friend Sergey.  I figure God had a few lessons in mind for me in my bicycle riding experience.  With this thought, I felt it was best for me to practice riding alone.  I brought it home yesterday and tried a little.  It was a hilarious site.  Half an hour later, I decided that because of time restraints I would pray over the night and spend more time on it today.

This morning, I set up the bike close to the garage with the kick stand holding it upright.  With one hand on the handle bar and the other on the seat, I stood quietly and bowed my head in prayer.  The prayer sounded a little like this...

I'm going to need courage God.  I'll probably need a sense of humor.  I might need some band aids.  More than anything, I'm going to need you to jog beside me with one hand hear on my right hand directing my path and the other on the seat holding me up. 

 I think God is just like an earthly father when He has the opportunity to teach His children a thing or two even when they are in their late twenties. My attempts at riding reminded me of when my earthly father taught me to ride a bike a couple of decades a go.  My earthly father is over a thousand miles away but my Heavenly Father is always by my side.  

My experience with this bicycle riding business has been exactly what Mr. Einstein said.  After many attempts, I finally learned that I just had to go.  I cleared my mind of thoughts and just went.  The spotlight on the battle of courage and doubt had to be blacked from the stage of my mind so that I could focus on Who was there to hold me up.  

Once my confidence was nearly at a comfortable level, I began to make ovals in the driveway.  I'm sure I looked silly as I wobbled from side to side to keep the balance that would come and go.  The curves are a balancing act all on their own.  The trick is finding a happy median between two extremes. A balance must be established of confidence with caution; pedaling with gliding; and steering with driving.

As I type this post, my hand are raw and tired from the death grip I had on the handle bars during my practice session.  The death grip did nothing to help me learn to ride the bike faster, more confidently, or more skillfully.  So, why do my hands hurt?  The handles were the thing that I could brace myself with during this "out of my comfort zone experience."  The grip did very little to make me feel more confident in the bicycles ability to keep me from harms way.  My death grip on the handle bars of life should be exchanged for a tight hold to my trust in God. 





Lessons are taught everyday.  I will be ready for another riding lesson tomorrow.  By then, my courage will be replenished, my sense of humor will be renewed, and my skinned knee will be healed with the help of a band aid.  I just have to remember what I learned today and apply it to tomorrow.