Author: Tori Clement

As a teacher, these past five months have been filled with so many feelings.  Disappointment, confusion, frustration, and worry are just a few I can name.  And it seems that, depending on which headline you read, the interruptions, cancellations, and social isolation are far from over.  I know God has a plan. I tell myself that every single day. But some days I get so frustrated with the fact that I have absolutely no clue what that plan is! This next week some schools will begin to invite students back for a new school year. As I stood in my empty classroom yesterday, questions swarmed around in my mind. How many students will I actually have in this room? Will there be enough space to keep distance? How will I manage the mask situation? Will I be able to meet in small groups? How should I manage classroom materials? What are parents expecting to see in this room? Many more questions continued to fill my thoughts, but I had no answers.. I stood there, frozen, unsure of what to do next. I had absolutely no clue . Have any of you ever felt this way? You may not be an educator, but I know there are many of us who have been faced with the stress of not knowing what is going to happen next – especially in the past few months. 

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In January my church, Northcrest Baptist Church, advertised a new financial class that was going to be offered called “God Owns It All.”  My instinctive thought in response to this announcement was, “I don’t need that.” Even though my husband Heath and I were married just this past June, I wasn’t concerned about how we manage our money. I felt confident in our current financial state. Many people who know me personally know that I grew up watching my parents learn about budgeting through Dave Ramsey’s classes, and I even wrote an article about my thoughts on money management as a single woman in 2017 called “Money Smarts” (https://www.sharelife.me/money-smarts/).  While Heath and I were dating, I shared what I had learned over the years and showed him how I budgeted. We also read Dave Ramsey’s book titled The Total Money Makeover during our weeks of marriage counseling. When I heard about this new class, I truly felt we already knew everything we needed to know. We budgeted, we saved, and we tithed, so it would be a waste of time. 

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Life has a way of throwing things at us unexpectedly,  doesn’t it? You go through a period of time, a time of calm and peace, you might say, and everything seems to be going so well. Your boss tells you how much he appreciates the hard work you are putting in. Your sweet husband makes you breakfast. You have financial plans in place for all the things you want to accomplish in the future.  All of the pieces seem to be falling into place when all of a sudden, the car breaks down. Continue reading

When I was growing up, Disney movies were my obsession.  I would get hooked on one movie and have to watch it repeatedly for a week or so until I decided on the next one.  It used to drive my mom insane.  I was specifically obsessed with Disney princesses and still am to this day.  Continue reading “Waiting for Happily Ever After”