I'll take hope for 700 alex.

The dictionary describes wealth as: a great quantity or store of money, valuable possessions, property, or other riches. That is something my wife and I don't right now. As a matter of fact, at this moment we have a total income of... zip, zilch or Nada. Our bank accounts are dry save for a few dollars. We have enough money to pay our phone bill for one more month. Brittany is getting a few jobs here and there to bring in some extra money. Thank God for Jennifer asking her to help with weddings. Google just notified me that my first check will be coming in the mail soon. A whopping $20! Thanks for checking out the blog and clicking those ads folks. Brit, baby and I can use all the extra income we can get.

I am working on getting a job right now but I keep running into dead ends and lots of runaround. You would think for a newlywed couple being as broke as us that we would be fighting a lot more than we are. Granted the situation does have us stressed we aren't superheroes after all. It doesn't have us fighting or placing the blame on the other. It's not her fault that her job is on a hiatus right now. Her employers are thinking about moving overseas. They did not want to leave us high and dry if they had to suddenly pick up and move. That is something to be thankful for. They gave her enough money for us to pay last months rent and bills (almost.) That gave us some time get organized and formulate a game plan. Sure the future looks a little bleak right now if I look at it wrong. Sure, we might lose our town home that we are staying in right now. The power might get shut off, we might not be able to pay the rest of our bills. These are all possibilities, they aren't realities. I could give up hope and just accept that we could be out of here in December. But, its not so yet. The devil wants us to believe that its happening NOW. But a wise man knows it's not. Succumbing to that kind of fear can leave one feeling powerless, hopeless and scared. These are prime conditions for sabotaging your marriage, men.

How many times do we lose sight of the things we have when we focus on the things we want?

Given the situation I find myself saying, 'If I work my tail off just doing a job I'm comfortable with I can survive.' or, the translated version, 'If I sell my soul, time and dreams for 8.75 an hour I can work weather this storm, the world told me so.'

So what if I will hardly ever see my wife and soon to be child. Who cares is school goes to the wayside? At least right now, I will be comfortable. That kind of comfort is short lived. That's not the kind of comfort I want. For me or my family. God has offered us a better life. The only payment for that is that we trust in him. He will give us the peace and wisdom to sustain us in this time of tribulation. All we have to do is believe that He will.

"One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." (Luke 8:22-25 NIV)

My family and I are in a boat, much like the disciples. I can feel the angry wind on my skin and taste the sea spray on my tongue. The boat is rocking very badly and yes I am afraid that we are going to sink. How much longer will we be able to float?

I am reminded of a line from The Lord of the Rings, The fellowship of the ring. In the scene in which Gandalf the gray first arrives in the Shire. Frodo, says to him, 'Gandalf you're late!' The wise old wizard just looks calmly and says 'A wizard is never late, he arrives precisely when he intends to.'

God works the same way. I'm ready for a rescue right this moment, so i don't have to stay and suffer this annoying storm. But God uses these time to chip away at our imperfections and to temper us in his will. He is forging us into something stronger so we will be equipped to handle anything that happens in the future. And we know it will. There is no doubt in my mind that as long as Brit and I keep the faith and don't give in to the storm that we will survive. It's not the end of the world, even though sometimes it might feel like it.


The dictionary also describes wealth as : an abundance or profusion of anything; plentiful amount.

We will live with hope, that is our wealth.

"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:24-25)