Van Update..

So we got a confirmation that our Transmission is gone in the van and will need replacing.  Sigh… Mike has shopped around for a used one and thought he had found one, but it turned out to be in bad shape. He has another place to check tomorrow, but it’s not looking so good at finding a used one because the van is 18 yrs old, and most MPV’s have gone through two or three Tranny’s so there are very few out there. A new one is about $1600.00 so that is way out of our budget for a vehicle that is slowly dying.  We are trying to keep positive and trust God that he will provide for our needs, but that is hard when things look bleak some days.

Word to the wise..don’t be foolish like us and go without a savings plan for a rainy day. It has taken Mike and I a long time to wake up to the fact that just because God can provide for our needs doesn’t mean we can spend foolishly and waste the resources God has given us. I wish we had learned that lesson a long time ago. We are now trying to rebuild our lives after Mike’s recovery process, and finances are probably one of the hardest things to deal with. Years of poor financial decisions due to Alcoholism and bad choices do not go away instantly after the drinking stops. We are going to pay for this for a long time.

I know that God can and will do miracles, but we need to be doing our part too to use what God gives us wisely. We also need to be in prayer about how we can better use what we have. God does want to bless us, but we have to be walking with Him, and follow His plan for our lives to be blessed.

So, after my little soapbox about spending wisely…keep praying for wisdom for what we are going to do about the van.