A few years back Noah and I were discussing if we ought to go out to eat or not on a specific night. I remember telling him, "believe it or not, we have the money for it" - to which he responded, I'm not concerned about the price, more about the principle (we had gone out to eat for a number of meetings and such in the days leading up to this night).
This comment has stuck with me for years!
As support-raising missionaries, we are very aware of our need to trust God for our financial needs. We take great joy in budgeting, using the envelope system, and doing our best to live within our means. So the fact that we had money to go out to eat meant that I was ready to go. Why not?
When Noah brought up the idea of the principle vs. price, I was very taken aback. I didn't realize how much I base my decisions off of the price (as opposed to the principle). I'm realizing that BOTH are important considerations.
We live in a world where we can find great deals on great things- from consignment stores, to hand me downs, to clearance, to great online bargains, it would be very easy for me to pile up a ton of things for my girls that they would really use and love and not spend very much money at all.
But just because I can, does that mean I should? It's always puzzling to try to determine how much is too much? It's tempting to compare to those who have far more than us (and fail to think about those who have far less than us.) It's easy for me to say if it's free or really cheap, then why not? Just like that night I wanted to go out to dinner- we have the money to do it, so why not?
But I'm finding that oftentimes the principle is far more important than the price. It's not easy to determine how this plays out in daily life when it comes to making decisions on what to buy and what to forego, but I'm doing my best to seek the Lord and think about both the price AND the principle.
Especially when it comes to my little girl's second birthday this week! This time around we decided to not worry about the cost. We decided to (1) get something she will really LOVE, so we picked out the exact tricycle we wanted and bought it full price at the store (a very rare occasion for us!) and (2) to do something special with Ellie. We're taking her to Sesame Street Live tonight (coming to Assembly Hall in Champaign!!!) The only tv/movies she watches is Elmo's World and we can NOT wait to surprise her with this special outing!!! We have a babysitter for Josie and are looking forward to this SO much!!
So her gifts were a little more expensive this time around, but we're hoping that we made the right choice in thinking through the principle as well :)
Happy Birthday Week Ellie Bean!!!!!
This comment has stuck with me for years!
As support-raising missionaries, we are very aware of our need to trust God for our financial needs. We take great joy in budgeting, using the envelope system, and doing our best to live within our means. So the fact that we had money to go out to eat meant that I was ready to go. Why not?
When Noah brought up the idea of the principle vs. price, I was very taken aback. I didn't realize how much I base my decisions off of the price (as opposed to the principle). I'm realizing that BOTH are important considerations.
We live in a world where we can find great deals on great things- from consignment stores, to hand me downs, to clearance, to great online bargains, it would be very easy for me to pile up a ton of things for my girls that they would really use and love and not spend very much money at all.
But just because I can, does that mean I should? It's always puzzling to try to determine how much is too much? It's tempting to compare to those who have far more than us (and fail to think about those who have far less than us.) It's easy for me to say if it's free or really cheap, then why not? Just like that night I wanted to go out to dinner- we have the money to do it, so why not?
But I'm finding that oftentimes the principle is far more important than the price. It's not easy to determine how this plays out in daily life when it comes to making decisions on what to buy and what to forego, but I'm doing my best to seek the Lord and think about both the price AND the principle.
Especially when it comes to my little girl's second birthday this week! This time around we decided to not worry about the cost. We decided to (1) get something she will really LOVE, so we picked out the exact tricycle we wanted and bought it full price at the store (a very rare occasion for us!) and (2) to do something special with Ellie. We're taking her to Sesame Street Live tonight (coming to Assembly Hall in Champaign!!!) The only tv/movies she watches is Elmo's World and we can NOT wait to surprise her with this special outing!!! We have a babysitter for Josie and are looking forward to this SO much!!
So her gifts were a little more expensive this time around, but we're hoping that we made the right choice in thinking through the principle as well :)
Happy Birthday Week Ellie Bean!!!!!
