This is my mom. She is the smartest woman on the planet. The slightly hysterical look she has in this photo is because I am goosing her to provoke the correct timing on the smile since our camera has about a minute and a half delay.
She is also the best baker EVER. Her chocolate chip cookies will literally make you want to die and go to heaven right away because you know that you will never ever feel better.
She also serves up an excellent dish of crow.
For those of you who were waiting for me to retract my haughty and uninformed opinions about savings, this is not it. Well, not exactly.
But, my mom, while helping me clean up from my dinner the other night pointed out, gently, a few faux pas that I made. (What is the plural of pas? I don’t actually speak French.)
My parents do have savings and have put it do good and charitable uses many times. Having a savings has enabled them to help others in need MANY times. So while my savings article indicated that rather than saving, people should give extra money away, my mom pointed out that, if you can save with the willingness to give when God leads, that you are following the same principal.
Read the last sentence again because it is long and practically indigestible.
If I indicated that savings is always selfish, I must apologize. That was wrong on my part. I may have called it “bullcrap”. I’m pretty sure it was that unladylike language that alerted my mom to absolutism. That woman can sniff out unladylike language like a mom sniffing out a poopy diaper–probably because it is the same skill.
Absolutism is usually wrong. (I would have said ALWAYS, but that would have been Absolutism.)
Perhaps I was speaking in a reactionary fashion because many people assume that savings is always good. Truthfully, I don’t think savings in and of themselves are necessarily good or bad. Money is just a thing. It doesn’t have a soul. But we do. We need to follow GOD’s leading regarding how and when to use our money–not a guru or even katrinaryder.com (I know, it’s shocking). So, for J and me at this time in our lives, we feel that savings would be a way to trust in ourselves rather than God, but that is not necessarily what God is telling you. (I don’t know what God is telling you. You can ask him if you don’t know either.)
Then she delicately reminded me of a time when God instructed she and Dad to apply their savings to my needs.
And then I said to myself, “Hey Self, was that crow yummy? Can you get it down your throat. Maybe you would like to wash it down with a big glass of your own foot?”
So there you have it. I’m sorry. Leave it to my mom to remind me what a big fat self-absorbed idiot I am and how blogging has presented that fact to the world. ; /
I love you mom.
Can you make me some chocolate chip cookies? Eating crow is like a Dementor to my self-love, so now I need some chocolate.
I love your mom. 🙂
How about posting that recipe?!
Oh, Katrina, what a post! I was very recently able to help someone close to me financially only because I had a savings. But even though I kind of disagreed with the orginal post, I realized you meant *obsessing* about savings and not being willing to see the big picture, and your advice to not get caught up in that is very wise advice. So don’t be too hard on yourself 🙂
***Abosolutism is USUALLY wrong*** hillarious!
Love the HP reference.
Katrina, I think those cookies are the only reason you and I have been friends for so long. I’m totally joking, of course… can you please have some on hand next time I visit???
Danielle, I’m sorry to say that it won’t matter if she posts the recipe or not. Even if you followed the recipe to the letter, those cookies would still not taste as good as when Aunt Judy makes them. I figure she must spit in them or something 🙂
Teri & Danielle,
I am planning to post the recipe and pictures. I’ve decided to give it another go, but Danielle, Teri is right. ONLY my mom can successfully make these cookies. They never turn out for anyone else. (I thought it was her oven, but she made them for me in PNG with perfect results. GRRR.)
I think you made some good points in your first article. It is really easy to get wrapped up in our savings accounts and put our faith there. I wholeheartedly agree that we need more of a focus on giving rather than saving. I also like how you were brave enough to post a slight shift in perspective. It’s all about balance, right? (and not the balance in your savings account, lol).
Yes, balance, the ever-elusive! I think we should SAVE to GIVE rather than SAVE to HAVE. I guess that is what it all boils down to. Thanks for reading. 🙂