Does this page look like your life? Make it easier on others and yourself by pushing back the margins!

If you are married (or been to a wedding) you most likely remember hearing the phrase “till death do us part.” It may have been worded differently, but it’s a strategic part of the ceremony reminding us that marriage is to last our entire lives.

As committed as I am to a life-time of marriage to Joanie, I can tell you we never brought it up on our honeymoon… or for a long time after. That personal promise we made at our marriage is far more valuable to us now than back then.

There are a lot of things that we begin doing without much thought of the impact on our future.

Like a young man who gains 4 pounds the first year of his marriage. Four pounds isn’t fatal, but if he does the same for the next 30 years, he’s likely to hear his physician pronounce him ‘morbidly obese’ and warn that he may not make it to retirement!

It’s the same with debt. Surrounded by ghastly consumerism where the battle cry is “More and more, faster and faster,” a slipshod attitude toward debt leads to being owned and badgered by credit cards… sporting a figurative noose around our neck.

What surprises us (but shouldn’t) is how small things can make a huge dent in our futures.

The good news is the principle works in the positive direction as well. Small steps now can enrich our financial situations, can give us good health again and can really add some depth and excitement to our walk with the Lord.

So… this new year, begin immediately contemplating small habits to develop that will pay huge dividends in the years ahead

• Consciously begin to push margins into your lives where none exist now. In your finances, time and relationships, don’t fill in each page of your life right up to the edge of the sheet. Give yourself some relief even before you desperately need it. That’s not wastefulness, it’s divine wisdom. It’s why God gave us a Sabbath every seven days!
• Learn now to be content with less than the advertisers tell you that you deserve. They don’t admit to you that their consumerism can kill you emotionally, physically and even spiritually. Set your own standards of ‘enough.’
• Give the Holy Spirit the right to speak balance into your life, and then make sure you give Him the opportunity of speaking through life’s noise so you catch God’s intentions for you.

God has more for you this year than what you may think! Make sure there’s room for it…

“The blessing of the Lord brings [true] riches, And He adds no sorrow to it

 [for it comes as a blessing from God].” Proverbs 10:22 AMP