Money and a little embarrassed self-promotion

I have so many thoughts about faithfulness, money, debt, following God's will, etc. roiling around in my head that at some point I will probably need to write them down.  But I hesitate, because I can't quite figure out how to write what I want to write without it coming off as though I'm begging for money; as though I seem to think that other people should finance my life.  And since that wouldn't be my intent at all, I don't feel free to share those thoughts at this point.  Instead I'll just write out some of the questions I've been grappling with.

• Can God's will ever involve debt?
• Can the goal of living debt-free ever become an idol and stop us from pursuing God's will?
• Have I been guilty of not listening close enough to the call to share what I have with others?  (I can answer this one... yes!)
• Can we tie the funding of some endeavor to the faithfulness of the people involved?

I can't say I have the answers to any but the third question.  They are not easy, straight forward things to answer.  At least not for me.

But I can say that I am quite willing to work to raise some extra money.  I have started teaching piano again after a five year hiatus, and I am pleased to discover that I am really enjoying it.  It fills a gap that I was feeling when I stopped directing the children's choir last fall.  When I stopped teaching piano, it was because my teaching at that point was not the best choice for my children.  I no longer had my mother-in-law who would come and play with everyone while I taught and TM needed me to be fully attentive to him.  I can go back to teaching in a limited capacity now because I have decided to teach on Saturdays when J. can be home to mind the masses.  (And on the weekends when he is out-of-town, I have enough older children around that they can watch the littles for the small amount of time I'm teaching.)  I could use a couple more students, so if anyone in the area knows of someone looking for a teacher, I'd appreciate you throwing my name their way.

I would also be willing to come and speak to any mom's groups out there.  I have done a couple presentations at my own church's mother's group as well as at a homeschooling conference and they were well-received.  I think.  Topics I have something already prepared for are "Meal Planning and Pantry Storage" and "Child Training and Chores".  I could also easily speak on homeschooling, large families, or some combination of the above.  I'm a little embarrassed at even mentioning this, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Now I know some of you (and I'm the same way, so I understand) are now frowning into your tea mugs and wondering what on earth is wrong in the Big Ugly House to precipitate all of this.  And if you're like me at all, you have imagined the worst-case scenario and have us all starving and homeless.  No, things are not that dire.  We're actually fine.  But adoption expenses never end.  At least this is how it feels.

And since I have completely abused the trust of my dear readers already, I'll just go ahead and remind everyone to click on the link to my article on cooking with whole grains.  You might also like my recipe for Barley Risotto with Chicken, Peppers, and Chard.