Post 39: Vision Board Personal Statement, Part 11

Post #39 ya'll.

I can almost see the finish line!

Hope you're not expecting some spectacular birthday post. I ain't got the time. Hopping a plane the morning of my birthday. I around here trying to pack, and LadyTee is coming over later this morning so we can go hang out. So I better have all my ducks in a row, man! Not much time left!

So with that, I'ma finish up my personal vision statement. It's done me a WORLD of good to go through it with a fine tooth comb, and think about, you know, how I truly feel about it. Makes it more meaningful to me.

I've even added a line recently. I won't go into that, though.

As always, the portion hightlighted in green is the focus of the post.

"I am 100% healthy in my body, soul, and spirit. I acknowledge God in all my ways, and I seek Him before I make any decisions, big or small. I am a blessing to my family and to those that God sends across my path. I am an incredible asset to my friends. I am a good listener. I am an excellent employee, and I not only work hard, but I work smart. I take time to periodically evaluate myself, and I make changes accordingly. I stick and hold fast to the path God has charted out for my life. I accept and openly welcome constructive criticism, as I know it will help me become "a better me". I am a good steward, a fine manager over the finances He has blessed me with, to the point that God knows He can trust me."

A good steward, a fine manager over the finances He has blessed me with...

This is something in which I ebb and I flow. I'm a bit on the fence.

Yeah, I make good money. I pay my bills. I even tithe.

But I could be doing better with my money.

And I'm always thinking about that. I mean you will never hear of me running around whining about money. I do quite the opposite.

"My needs are well supplied. I have more than enough. God takes good care of me."

(Some of ya'll know who my pastor is. Uh, that has been banged into my head. I actually believe that...)

Yeah, my needs are met. I was thinking back the other day, that I have increased every single year. My pastor gave a very intersting finance seminar a few years ago, and I promised myself that I would always be involved in some type of finance group. So, I've managed to keep that goal, with some of my book club sistas, in being a member of the Financial Freedom Fighters, nicknamed the "Triple F Possee".

Yeah, we got a gang sign and all that, as demonstrated here by my lil bro Milk and Cookies as he happily lounges on my sofa...

I have to do things like that, because it all comes down to me being a better steward, a better watcher over my funds.

For there's a verse that I think of immediately when I think of being a fine manager of my finances:

Luke 16:10 KJV He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

Another version of that verse:

Luke 16:10 NIV "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."

The Message Bible version is more head-knocking:

Luke 16:10 MES "If you're honest in small things, you'll be honest in big things; If you're a crook in small things, you'll be a crook in big things."

That's putting it rather bluntly.

And ya'll know that's true. In finances and every other matter of life.

It's all a matter of being faithful in the very little things.

And that's my desire concerning my finances: to be faithful in the little things.

Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not. Nope, I don't go on spending sprees, and neglect my bills. Nothing like that. But I do need to concentrate on the little things.

I feel as though God blesses us with the ability to make money, get money, etc. He is responsible for 100% of my money in my hands. I should be consulting Him on what I should do with my money. It is a sign of respect and of trust. And it takes God trusting me with what He's given me to be a good steward over in the first place.

I plan to be more stringent about all of this.

I do tend to hum along... I don't make bold strides financially. For some very odd reason, my finance group thinks that I can just write a check and be down with my debt. That makes me sad. I wish I could do such. But I can't. But it I am glad that they think I have sooooo much money! lol

My thoughts about this right now are this: take a look at things, and just be honest with myself. I have a finance accountability partner, and my goal right now is to send her 3 or 4 small goals a week... I learned from my goals technologist blogger Aretha that I don't have to meet the goals, and not to get down on myself if I don't, but at least make the goals and write them dwon.

Just imagine if I could accomplish one small goal a week this year.

That's 52 goals accomplished. That's alot.

And it's all additive.

And it's a critical component of being faithful.

Another thing I plan to do to be a bit more faithful: take a scapel to areas where I do a little too much spending. Just be stringent and cognizant about those areas. Not all that hard, since we focus on such in our finance group. It's just a matter of me being consistent. And making the weekly goals will help with that.

It is my belief that if I'm faithful with the little I have, God will trust me with much.

I do believe that. And I will definitely continue to aspire to achieve the last line of my vision statement.

Well, that's it for my vision statement. It made up 11 out of the 40 posts.

It definitely gave me something to think about.

And it gives me hope for a good future.