Friday Fun: Why I choose to be Frugal & Choosing Contentment
12:00:00 PM
It’s been a while since I posted about frugality. So, as part of Friday
Fun, I wanted to post part of why I believe in living a frugal life, and share
some encouragement I found this week.
Earlier this week, I received my Compassion magazine. What’s that? It’s
a magazine put out by Compassion International, detailing some of the things
that the money I donate to them helps to pay.
If you don’t know what Compassion International is, basically, it is a Christ-centered
charity that combats child poverty around the world in a long term approach.
Not only does the little girl that I sponsor receive food and other necessities,
but she gets to go to school to develop an education that should better her
life in the long term. We are also encouraged to develop a relationship with
her through letters and pictures from the time we started sponsoring her (she
was 4 when we started) until university. I feel like I have another child on
the other side of the world. This is what the Compassion website says about
their programs:
Sponsor a Child — At Compassion we take a committed, long-term
approach to fighting child poverty. Our Holistic Child Development Model is
made up of four comprehensive programs investing in children from the beginning
of their lives until they’ve reached adulthood, and covering everything from
prenatal care to university-level education.
Our one-to-one Child Sponsorship Program allows you to
personally connect with a specific child and build a life-changing
relationship. When you sponsor a child, you have the opportunity to influence
that child during adolescence, one of the most pivotal developmental periods.
Three additional programs round out the Child Development Model.
Our Child Survival Program ministers to mothers and babies during the critical
first years of life. Our Leadership Development Program champions promising
young adults to continue their education and develop their leadership
abilities. Our Complementary Interventions address a variety of additional
needs that complete the other programs.
Source: http://www.compassion.com/
This program costs less than $40 a month. Part of the reason for my family
living frugally is to give us the freedom to help others. Even when my husband
lost his job, we were able to afford to keep sponsoring our Compassion child. I
encourage you to look into this program. You can afford to help them out. Even
if you don’t feel like you can commit to that amount, you can always give a
one-time gift, too. They are not a fly-by-night program—they are a member of
the EFCA and the Better Business Bureau. I encourage you to check it out.
Anyway, like I said at the beginning of this rambling post, I received
my magazine from Compassion. As I was paging through the magazine, I saw Crystal
of Moneysaving Mom fame! I knew that she was involved with Compassion, but I
wasn’t expecting to see her there! It’s always cool to find another blogger in
an unexpected place. Her article was about cultivating contentment. And I got to thinking that I needed to
cultivate contentment. When something kind of crummy happens, I have two
choices: I can grumble and fuss, or I can choose contentment. So here are a few
things that happened this week, and the ways I can choose (to TRY!) to be
content with my lot….and view these things as blessings:
One: My husband had a crazy week at work, with long hours, leaving me
to be basically a single working mom every evening. Choosing to be content:
Instead of complaining, I choose to do the best I can with parenting, and feel
blessed that he has a job when so many people do not, and that he was able to
find a job 3 years ago when he lost his job in the middle of the recession.
(FYI if you’re wondering why the posts have been light on the crafting side
this week, that’s why—I had my hands full without my husband!)
Two: I had my annual review at work this week. It went about as well as
can be expected—we are still digging out of the recession. Choosing to be
content: I have a job. Architecture has truly suffered for the last four years.
My firm is literally half the size that it was before the recession. I know of
firms that did not survive. (Just a FYI—I make it a policy not to complain
about my job here. We all have bad days at work, and I do not share this as a
complaint!) I am truly blessed to be able to say that I have worked at my
office for 12 years.
Three: One of the twins is running a fever. Again. No daycare for her
today. Choosing to be content: after a miscarriage and a high risk pregnancy, I
am blessed to have 3 healthy, normal little girls. I am pretty sure that fever
is just teething—it’s a low grade fever. So hopefully it’s nothing serious. I
am blessed to have family in town, and my mom looked after her this morning
while I was at work. And even better: when
my girls aren’t feeling well, they want to snuggle. I’ll take my snuggles where
I can get them!
So even the struggles can be a part of the family fun. And I find that
when I have a good attitude and choose to be content, the rest of my family is
more likely to follow suit!
I would love to hear how you cultivate contentment!
Sometimes I link up at the following places: Six Sisters Stuff, Tidy Mom, Finding Fabulous, MomTrends, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free , House of Hepworths, Positively Splendid, The Finer Things and I Dream of Clean’s Spring Cleaning Challenge, A Little Tipsy, How to Nest for Less, Sugarbee Crafts, Not Just a Housewife, The King's Court IV, The Finer Things in Life, and Organizing Junkie.
1 comments
I've been trying to keep a gratitude journal. I had forgotten it for awhile, but your post reminded me of it. Thanks! :)
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