I've learned that just like us alive by inhaling and exhaling. I began using this concept with all areas of my life- marriage, kids, finances and it has always brought me great abundance in that area. When I try to hold onto things without letting it free, I end of choking and suffocating in that area of my life. Imagine inhaling and afraid to exhale because if you exhale that air in your lungs, you may not have any air to inhale again. What happens? You choke and could possibly die. Just like we exhale air out our lungs, we don't think about the inhale because we trust air is available to inhale back into our lungs.
This hasn't always been my mantra of life. It has taken time and years of observation to discover this philosophy. Here are two quick stories in the area of my finances where I was afraid to exhale (my money) but did and inhaled it right back in abundance.
MARCH 2014
We just moved into our new home in Ohio and needed a new washer and dryer. I was with baby Lisa and these 2 men came to set up the washer and dryer. We paid for the delivery and set up service in advance. As they were packing up to leave, I thought to pay for their lunch and I had a $20 bill in the kitchen drawer. Even though it was only $20, I was thinking "I did already pay for the set up service, I don't need to give anymore money" "why can't they buy their own lunch?" "It only took 15 minutes for them to set it up...$20 is a big tip for what they did?" "You have a big family, why would you waste giving $20 to these strangers" I mean my mind was racing over this $20 so much that I called my sister and asked if I should give $20 to pay for their lunch. I was really trying to hold on to this $20 that God planted in my heart to give. She always tells me, "You can never go broke giving." So I ran out the house with Baby Lisa in hand to give them the money. He said thank you and went on their way. I let it go even though before I made a big ordeal in my mind to even give them the $20.
APRIL 2014
In the mail, I got a $20 gas gift card for calling Allstate Insurance for a free auto quote-no strings attached. I called, got the quote and they activated the card. I didn't even switch insurance companies, they just gave me the $20 gift card for getting a quote. I was thinking, "wow, that's a surprise blessing" Then I went back to the last month and thought about the random $20 God put on my heart to give those men.
Then 2 weeks later, I got another gift card for $20 just to get another quote. I called to get the quote and got a 2nd $20. I have never before received anything like a no strings attached gift card like that ever. I knew it was the law of exhale, inhale.
DECEMBER 2014
The 2nd story was when I became a mentor at my church in our Value Life Ministry. It's a ministry that assigns a mentor to women and girls who are going through an unintended pregnancy and to help them any way possible. The ministry was awesome. The church would provide car seats, clothes, diapers for the first year of the child's life and the mentor would serve and helping them with taking them to dr. appointments, a lending ear to talk to, etc. So, I was a mentor to a woman who I started mentoring while pregnant and she just had her baby girl. We would go out to lunch to talk and run errands that she needed as she didn't have a car at the moment. One day we had a date to go eat lunch and she said she was all out of diapers. So I went to the store and picked her up some diapers on the way to her house. As I was checking out, I was thinking "this is crazy, I have 2 kids in diapers. I don't need to buy anyone else diapers" I really at the time couldn't justify what made me buy the diapers because I felt I was buying diapers every week for my own household. But I did it because I was led and I heard my sister's voice saying, "You will never go broke giving". I bought her the diapers and put it behind me.
Less than a week later, the church called and said we have a Christmas event at the end of the week where the kids come and eat Christmas cookies and we have a gift basket for the kids. I completely forgot about the event and I received a voicemail and another call asking me to come in to church to receive the gift for the kids. We went to a huge mega church so I assumed it was nice Christmas coloring books and crayons for the kids. I went in to pick up the gift and it was an envelope with $300 worth of gift cards to Meijer's and $75 gift cards for the Bookstore. I was so shocked! How out of all of the people in this big church did I get such a generous gift for the kids for Christmas?! I asked was there a mistake because I know everyone didn't get this. The receptionist said that someone always anonymously votes for kids and parents at the church to get money for Christmas. Basically, it was just a blessing from God. Law of exhale, inhale.
My last story is when I decided that every year around the holidays, our family will be dedicated to give to an organization or a group of people. We chose the Ronald McDonald House, an organization that helps house families so they can be close to their children while in the hospital. We decided to buy toys and diapers for the children in the hospital and their siblings that were living at the Ronald McDonald House. It was truly a blessing. Even though that voice would come into my head that I had my own children to take care of especially during the holiday season
These are a few examples, but there are so many more. I now know there is a flow of life- exhale, inhale... exhale financial blessings, inhale even more financial blessings, exhale love & happiness, inhale double love & happiness. It's just how life works. I try my best not to choke on money or blessings to people because I know when I exhale even more will be inhaled back into my life.