Onward I Go Despite the Potholes

The past two weeks have been aggravating as far as making money goes.  I’ve been working, working, working, but it has brought in very little additional income.  The work I’ve been doing has essentially been, for the most part, either volunteer work or necessary work that I’ve had to do at home.  And, on top of all that, due to slow work, my husband has been laid off temporarily.  While I was sitting here a couple of days ago feeling sorry for myself, however, a thought occurred to me.  I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason, and that God works in mysterious ways. 

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:3

The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.  Isaiah 58:11

The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.  Proverbs 11:3

Scripture says to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10).  I believe that God has been at work here.  Even though I haven’t made a lot of money (so far, I believe I’ve managed to make an additional $7.00 from my penny millions), I have been learning a lot.  I’ve been reading a great deal and have been making notes about new ways to make money.  I’ve come up with several ideas (that I’ll share as I work to implement them) that I hadn’t had before.  Though things look a bit more bleak than I had hoped at this point, I am certain that this is just for a “season” (Ecclesiates 3:1)  Remarkably, I now have a great deal of peace.

I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendents begging bread.  Psalm 37:25

And my god shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added until you.  Matthew 6:33

I do believe, whole heartedly, that God is leading my husband and I.  When I started this I never thought it would be easy.  I knew that when I started this blog that I would be opening up myself for ridicule and certainly disappointment.  I realize that I’ve made a big claim.  But, you know what?  No matter what my family and I are facing right now, God’s Word will always remain true.  I’m not giving up.

and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”  Exodus 15:26

You have commanded usTo keep Your precepts diligently.  Psalm 119:4

I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.  Proverbs 18:7

He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.  Proverbs 10:4

The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.  Proverbs 12:24

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.  Proverbs 13:4

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.  Proverbs 21:5

Yesterday I put my nose to the grindstone and wrote several articles for Associated Content. I don’t expect to make a lot of money from this, but it helps. And, like I said earlier, I have several ideas for making money in the future. It’s really all a matter of time. I have to iron all the kinks out before I can begin implementing them… and I need to educate myself on a few things before I can move forward with them. I apologize for the secrecy, but I don’t want to throw it out in the world just yet.

A prudent man forsees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. Proverbs 22:3

Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts. Proverbs 24:3-4

But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if he has enough money to pay the bills? Luke 14:28

I’m reading as much as I possibly can right now. Educating myself, I believe, is the key to success here. I’ve made a lot of mistakes with money in the past and I believe that a lot of that was because I was naive about it. I am taking this step by step, however. I am not at the point where I can invest in stocks, so I’m not educating myself on that just yet. I’m still just a novice when it comes to money, so I am learning and implementing information about keeping up with my spending, cutting down on spending (see my previous post), and new ways to bring in income.