1/4 Full or 3/4 Empty?

Today we had a neighborhood garage sale. Over the past few months, I have been cleaning out our closets and selling anything we don't use to Craigslist or saving it for the garage sale. When I say "use", I mean we really have to be using it on a regular basis. That obviously cuts out a lot of things in our house. There are very few things that I am sentimental enough to keep when we are not using it. When I am given the choice of packing it up and storing it or getting rid of it....I choose the latter. I am proud to say that each of our closets are now only 1/4 full (or 3/4 empty :) )! It has been freeing and I really enjoy looking into our closets and not thinking about how I can organize them better. There is so much extra room that there isn't even a need for organization!

I guess the theme for my next few months is discipline. God is already teaching me a lot. Tim and I started FPU (Financial Peace University) last week to help us better prepare for being on a tighter budget and use our money more wisely. We have always been pretty good in this area, but we know there is still so much more to learn. We are going to try the cash system on some areas of our budget which will be really hard for us - Tim and I both hate carrying cash. I am typically more likely to buy a drink, snack, etc with cash than I am with a credit card. It's worth a try, though, when I have to dig it out of the special envelope and know there is a definite limit.
I also started a women's bible study on "Listening to God". We are held accountable in spending time reading the Bible and praying daily. I need that. Instead of just skimming through the Bible (which I sometimes get in the habit of doing to just check "quiet time" off my list), we have to write down things that we are learning. I am embarrassed to say that I had forgotten how much I could learn from just one passage or chapter of Scripture.

Atlanta News:

• We sent off our $2000 (gulp) deposit check this week to GFM. Our spot and apartment is now reserved! The good news is that we only owe $3000 more for our remaining tuition/housing. The bad news is that we have $2000 less in our savings...which should not be a problem since we'll be saving all sorts of $$ from what we learn in FPU, right?? :)
• We still do not have any serious leads for a housesitter/renter. Please be praying that the right person(s) will come a long so that we do not have the financial burden of our home while we are in Atlanta.