Is Money Your Master or Your Servant? Shopping. Yorkie.

Money may be your master if . . .

• You avoid discussing finances because of the anxiety it causes
• Money is often the subject of family squabbles
• You spend compulsively
• You worry constantly about bills
• You are not sure how much you earn
• You are not sure how much you spend
• You are not sure how much you owe
• Your bills are often bigger than what you expect
• You often pay your bills late
• You are able to make only the minimum payment on credit card bills
• You pay your bills with money earmarked for other things
• You take on extra work just to pay bills
• You have taken out new loans to pay off old ones
• You use savings to pay routine bills
• You find it nearly impossible to get to the end of the month without running out of money
• You feel pressure to accumulate large sums of money
• You suffer physical and/or psychological symptoms resulting from money-related stress

Source: Money Sickness Syndrome, by Dr. Roger Henderson
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“To be sure, there is nothing wrong with eating, drinking, marrying, buying, and selling. The danger lies in being so absorbed in those things that we take no note of the urgency of the times.

So ask yourself, ‘Would God be doing us a favor if he were to bless us with the very things that would fill our lives with distractions?’  On the contrary, he would be doing us a great disservice. That is not the way of the God of love!”  —1 Timothy 6:17; 1 John 4:8

“However, God does not expect his faithful servants to be ascetics. Rather, he wants them to be content with life’s necessities so that they can focus on serving him. (Matthew 6:33) He, in turn, will see that their material needs are filled. Says Hebrews 13:5: “Let your manner of life be free of the love of money, while you are content with the present things. For [God] has said: ‘I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.’”
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Today’s Events:
I keep a notepad and a pencil on magnets on my fridge.  Each time I think of something that needs to be on the shopping list, it is right handy.  I tend to forget, so even if I am in the workshop, I’ll come in and write it down. (Unless I forget to do so!)
My list was getting rather long, so I knew a trip to Conroe was the order for today.

A friend of Claudia’s drove up as I was picking up Jay, and told us about a yard sale in the Conroe High School parking lot.  We stopped at our local small town hardware/grocery store to get drywall screws, (half the price there, than at L or HD), also it is a cheap place to get Jay’s cigarettes.  Then we dropped off my water bill payments, and were on our way down Hwy 75, instead of the I-45 freeway.

Lo and behold, our local High School was doing the same thing, raising funds for the girl’s soccer teams.   I bought a big red soft sided cat carrier for $1, and an enormous amount of blue fabric for $2 there.

At the Conroe school sale, it was starting to drizzle, so they were trying to pack up their wares.  A man handed me a big plastic bag and said I could cram it full of anything for $1.00!!

So I got lots of things;  two large china swans for my collection, two hiking knapsacks, big round Tupperware container with lid, a blue mug, two pretty plates, two glass cat shaped candy dishes, a travel pillow, 2 camera bags that go on a belt, a fancy gold fanny pack, three blouses, and a TV/radio that runs on 110v/12v/C batteries, but without the cords. 
That didn’t matter, as I have the cords from a similar TV that the channel knob no longer works!  I used to use it on the 10 C batteries when the power went out, either as a radio, or hook it to the cable for the TV.  It is only B&W, but when the power is out, it is better than nothing! During Ike the batteries lasted non-stop for the whole 3 days and nights, and they are still working!

The knapsacks are an Eastland with lots of pockets, and even pockets in the pockets, and a smaller GreatLand, with not many pockets.  The only reason I got both was that I already had the GreatLand at the bottom of the bag, when I saw the Eastland!  I love lots of pockets, to keep things organized. Everything has now been washed or Lysol-ed.

A quick run through Home Depot, then Krogers, eating samples, and crossing more off the list. 
When I dropped Jay off, his mother, Claudia, had been given a tiny female Yorkie.  Her previous folks paid a lot for her, but the little dog was picked up, and dropped, by a hawk, and is now terrified to go outside. 
Maddie, short for Madeleine,  peed on her carpet while I was there, even though we were sitting on the fenced porch and the patio door was open!  They sent an enormous package of PeePads with her, so Claudia had one down in the house, and one on the porch.  I don’t know if they will ever get her to use the doggie door into the back yard, or even the pads. 
Maddie is going to take a lot of love, re-enforcement and training, and I don’t know if Claudia is up to it.

The drizzle stopped and it turned into a great day.