Jesus loves me....

Well, I did it. I put in my 6 week notice a few weeks ago, following in Pat's footsteps by giving PLENTY of notice. My last day will be January 2 (technically, it's the 30th. Using vaca time on the 31st and 2nd). I'm pretty excited for what's to come in my early retirement. I don't want to refer to it as "quitting" because it just sounds so negative! It's something I have prayed for for so long, but of course I am nervous. There are a lot of changes shaking up the company so it seems like a prime time to go, but then doubt sets in and I start thinking, "Oh, my gosh! Did I act rash? Did I make a mistake? What if they were going to give me a promotion and a big fat raise?" Then of course I snicker....of course they won't be dishing out a big fat raise. A "promotion" maybe, but that would mean more work at the same pay. My reason for retiring is that I am sacrificing so much for so little! Would I work longer if I made more money? Maybe. Not that $$ is more important than my child, but Marty is now paying an additional $200 a month in child support because, well long story short....Wayne County stinks. We had no proof that Crystal was lying about her income so up went his support. I guess we just pray that God takes care of it. But, really...HE HAS! This is so God's timing, but the enemy is also going to try to take the things that God is blessing us with and try to us it to destroy us! For example: we are going on vacation. Hallelujah, I haven't been on vacation since my honeymoon 5 years ago. We've never been able to afford it. About a week or so before finding out the support was going up, we found tickets to Fort Lauderdale for WAY cheaper than normal for the holiday season. We'll be staying with his parents, which saves us from paying for a hotel. BUT- we are flying to Miami. The 'rents hate Miami airport, and it is pretty much the worse in the country. BUT, it was much cheaper than Ft. Lauderdale. Well, after calling countless places for shuttle or car, we couldn't find anything under $100. There goes the spending money. Oh, but wait...that which the enemy was trying to use to bring us down, the LORD made good! My father-in-law drove to this train station near their house and found out that it was nothing like the terrible reviews it got and was actually quite nice. It will get us to them in under 45 minutes and the cost....$8 total.
Next blessing- I love performance. Plays, musicals, dance...always wanted to go to the theatre, but tickets are so expensive and well, I gave up on that. But then Marty surprised me with tickets to Nutcracker AND Wicked! I'm so geeked. We went to Nutcracker on Sunday, which I was pleasantly surprised, except the men in tights were a bit too much right in my face- we were in the fourth row and me being so modest and immature, couldn't look as they were doing toe touches in the air right in my face. It just seemed sinful to look. Gross. Wicked is in a few weeks. SO geeked about that.
Christmas- we are giving Alexis a dang good Christmas. Not overindulging, but she'll be 10, and most years we had to borrow or scrape to get a few decent gifts. But, without any pain to our pockets and the fact that we are saving up for our trip, we were able to get her plenty of items from her wish list. She really does deserve it! Sammy- well, his gift is a trip to Gram and Gramps! lol...we did get him some, but he is little and oblivious and doesn't need much.

So of course, the enemy has swooped it and said things like, "Sarah, you'll never be able to do this without you working. Sarah you're a fool for quitting. Sarah, you have to pay for Crystal's expensive truck and lavish lifestyle, you can't afford to quit your job...." and on go the lies. I prayed for this opportunity to be home more for a long time and now I have it. And you know what? We will be able to continue to live. There are things we can cut back on, but what I realized was that Marty has paid the bills, bought the plane tickets, paid for a good chunk of the presents AND is saving for a car. All while paying close to $550 a month in support. That doesn't even make SENSE to me! God must be tossing money in our account or something. So, PRAISE GOD for the opportunities. While the enemy has tried to attack our finances, our marriage, our sanity and our family, the Lord has continued to bless us for doing the right thing! I think sometimes we get so caught up in trying to control our lives, that sometimes blessings go unrecognized. You really need to stop focusing on the negative and what you don't have and start focusing on God and what you do have! Then, you will be truly blessed!