Surviving a Financial Crisis is easier with “Twelve Stones to Remember Him”
The last several years have taken a financial—and emotional—toll on many families in this country. Ours is one of them. About 10 years ago, my husband decided to return to school and complete his degree because he felt strongly that it was time for him to change jobs and the degree would make a difference for him. So we made the necessary changes to our lifestyle and he went to school in an accelerated night program for the next 18 months while he continued working full time.
By the time my husband graduated we had realized that the only way he could advance in his career would be for us to relocate so he began submitting resumes in other states. It took us a year, but he finally got a great job offer and so off he went to Colorado while I put the house on the market, optimistically believing we would be reunited in just a few weeks. And then the housing bubble burst in New Mexico.
And we spent a year living in separate states while the economy tanked, my business took a nosedive (both due to the economy and a pending move) and our home languished on the market. It was a rough time both emotionally and financially. We hated it, our kids hated it and our bank account REALLY hated it. Who knew we’d be almost entirely focused on surviving a financial crisis?
Well, we finally moved but it has taken us until this year to finally get ourselves back on solid financial footing. I wish that I had had Twelve Stones to Remember Him: Building Memorials of Faith from Financial Crisis by Teresa Hirst to read during our challenges. While it wouldn’t have solved our financial problems, it definitely would have helped me to feel less alone in our trials.
Surviving a Financial Crisis
This is a book about surviving a financial crisis, but it’s not about finances or budgets or how to tighten your belts and cut your expenses. It is rather, a guide to strengthening your faith and emotional resilience as you endure these trials.
Journalist Teresa Hirst shares not only her family’s story surviving a financial crisis, but also those of a number of other families. It’s not a rosy book of happy financial endings—real life rarely works that way—but it is a story of endurance and faith and overcoming. The focus is not so much the financial crises themselves, but the lessons learned, the focus on having faith, strengthening faith, keeping faith and learning to look for your blessings even in the darkest hours.
And that is what we learned from our own financial challenges. Knowing there was no easy out, no quick solution to a house that wouldn’t sell, to having to live in two states and to finally accept that only way to resolve our situation might be to be willing to give up all of our material possessions (yes, we were at that point when a buyer finally appeared) has completely changed my life, my perspective and my financial priorities.
If you are struggling financially, if you are still trying to figure out how to survive in this crazy economy (or if you know someone who is—and who doesn’t?), I strongly recommend Twelve Stones to Remember Him. This book will give you hope and help you to see that you are not alone. Not only are there others who are experiencing trials very similar to yours, but God is also mindful of your trials and, if you will only remember Him, He will bless and sustain you always.
Buy the Book
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Buy Twelve Stones to Remember Him by Teresa Hirst at Amazon.com
