This message is for People going through tough times and believe in God

[freshstart06]

Have no idea why I am writing this but all I know is that this message today will help someone out there. Someone like me that is going tough times and just don't know what to do. Someone like me that forgot her blessing, forgot that God has always been there, forgot to be grateful.

I felt as we hit rock bottom, my husband and I ended the denial and realize the only option for us at this point in our lives is Chapter 7. Chapter 7 can make the best of us feel like the worse failure. My husband finally has a successful career and I have a money making career. So what went wrong??? Tax problems, Garnishments, people suing us for greed ( this is the truth), debts adding up and payday loans cycle to top it off 4 kids under all 13 years of age and younger. Not to mention my health issues which prevents me from working at this time.

As I cried out to God... WHY!!! WHY!!! I can honestly say that if my time came today I could face him. I am no saint nor am I the most religious person but I have nothing to be ashamed of, He could be proud of me. I look at the Paris Hiltons of the world and they need nothing, they don 't have to work hard for anything but they appear to have everything. They lie, steal (not in material ways) take drugs, party, heck most do not even believe in God but has everything. Why are they "rewarded" and I am not. I work my butt off, try my best to follow your word and raise my kids to know you but yet I struggle and I keep struggling on top of that I suffer, I am in pain emotionally and physically all the time but I never turned my back on God. I admit, I stop speaking to him once but I never gave up...

Just recently, my family had to move from a home we were planning on purchasing all because the landlord freaked out and pretty much put us in a situation we had to move. In the last few months, my husbands paychecks would hit the our bank accounts and we still will be negative after everything that was pending came out but yet we still have bills to pay. Just recently, we were summons to go to court because a previous landlord wanted to sue us for option money for a home we opt not to purchase. Just recently, we find out that my husbands owes over $30,000 in back taxes. Just recently after 3 months my fractured ankle has not healed and because I have a condition called Charcot foot in the other foot, I can barely walk, I have to use a wheelchair for long distance. Just recently, today, I thanked God for all his blessings, I thanked God for my wonderful life and for giving me everything/

Strange you may say.... But it isn't.... The same God that I doubted and cry out to is the same God that has allowed me to live with Type 1 diabetes for 30 years ( I am 35)without any major complications. This is the same God that allowed me to have 4 natural kids, This is the same God that gave me the most wonderful Husband. Yes, my husband isn't perfect but nor am I but every night he is home.I don't have to worry if my husband is cheating on me, I don't have to worry if I am not feeling good the he will not come home from work and cook dinner and wash clothes then rub my back. God gave me my best friend for a husband. This is the same God that regardless of all of our struggles never let us see a hungry day, kept a roof over our head, kept my kids clothe, never let our utilities get cut off. He gave my husband a good job after many years of trying. God let me keep my vision after one eye surgery in the right eye and three in the left when at first I was left blind. God allows me to be able to walk even though painful at times, I just need to take the time to heal. God gave us money when we were broke. God gave us a bigger and better home for much cheaper then the last home we had to leave. God gave us two vehicles not just one. God is allowing us to get through the chapter 7 with our heads up because this will be the new start we need and relieve our stress because sometimes enough is enough.

Some of you may ask if God was really there why did you still have to go Chapter 7, well, we had to learn a lesson, We had made mistakes that God did warn us about but we did not listen. No matter what, even as much as God loves us and will protect us we still have to face the consequences our our actions. Similar like a parent has to punish a child. There was a lot of things I needed to see so God affected my vision for a while (and boy even though I was blind I could see) God needed me to stop and reevaluate a lot of things so he affected my feet so I can learn to move forward. My husband is going through what he has to to learn his lessons as well.

But to the "Paris Hiltons" I always thought they had everything but when you watch the News and see a famous celebrity kills themselves or overdose. When yet another famous person is in another scandal. Then you find out later that they were never happy, never had successful relationships, and in the end have nothing, I really love my life. And in the end because they don't know God they didn't know where to turn.

I live in a 3400 sq foot home, we have two cars (nothing much), food in the pantry and enough money to last until next pay day. Overall, a happy family once again. but yet I was the same person that forgot that God is still there and will not leave my side. We are the same family that was almost homeless, we had no money in the bank one day and I prayed to God, I had no idea where the money was going to come from but the next day we had over $1800 in our bank account which was just enough to move us into another place (Yes, God works tht fast, the previous landlord put our rent money back into account).

So for those of you going through things right now and you truly love God and believe in God he will never let you down and if you take the time to look around he never left you he is right there but remember he can't come in to help you if you don't let him in.

The success story to be continued..... Remember just ask and you will receive.

[jane taylor]

Not much time to write, but just wanted to say a very loud and resounding, AMEN!!!

I don't consider myself a "religious" person, but I am very spiritual and DO believe in God.

The past three years have been the hardest in my life. Health problems (both husband and me), job losses (husband and me), teenagers (well, just teenagers), and yes, some poor financial decisions.

I still don't know exactly why I've had to go through all of this, but know that it will benefit me and bless someone else and for that, it is worth it.

I do try to count my blessings and it does help.

Wishing you a blessed and peaceful day,

jane

[BKOnce]

Day of Sermons... Amen, Buddha!!... In God we trust, credit cards I don't!!!...

[freshstart06]

It is just weird, this all came to me. I was feeling down but then I realized what am I lacking???? Nothing.

[CoCoChanel]

I Just Wanted to Say "THANK YOU"....

Since I have been on the site, I have never seen a moving post like FreshStart06. I am taking the time to thank you. I am sure that there are many people who post here who have no belief in God and are not aware that even though they are going through these tough times, God is helping all of us in a big way. Some may feel offended that someone had the nerve to write about God in the same post as Bankruptcy, but I personally wanted to thank you. Right before I read your post, I had gone to the Bankruptcy Help Desk to get help.
1. I could not afford a lawyer, so I have to rep myself.
2. The helpdesk in my city had some uninformed person sitting there and they gave out incorrect advice and put down incorrect information on my bankruptcy forms.
3. I was already scared going in because I felt that a helpdesk with human beings working may or may not know all that is necessary to assist us who will file pro se.
4. My city has flyers that say you can speak to a lawyer concerning your case and get assistance with filling out forms, filing them etc at the helpdesk, yet this helpdesk person is not a lawyer and its not clear how you even get to see one.
5. Since I have never done this before, I am intimidated by all that is involved, but yet I still march on because I have to do something about this 25,000 dollars worth of credit cards and personal loans that I have.
6. I stopped paying all credit cards and loans and have received several letters about default, yet I am unsure if I should call these people to say I am filing BK or just let it go knowing that they are going to do something eventually, but if the paycheck does not cover the debt, what can you do but pray hard.
7. I felt lost today 7-23-07. I am sitting at my desk and its a bad day. Depression is setting in. I was just about to go overboard with this pitty party when I read your post and it pulled me back. We always think we have it real bad until we listen to others. Thank you. I will pray for your situation. Please pray for mine. And thanks for helping me keep my head up today. Just for today.

[freshstart06]

CoCo, we had to go prose as well. Yes, I called a few lawyers at first but we just could not afford them. That type of money can go into my household to pay for household expense, kids, medical, etc.

I prayed and interviewed a few BK filers and found a paralegal that works for a BK lawyer and she is in law school. I only paid $200. They are not supposed to give legal advice but it is not against the law for them to give advice (wink) always remember, they are the ones that do all the paperwork anyway.

Pray over your BK case and do not worry no more. Write down the results you want from your case and read it everyday, if you get stressed pray it away. I started to doubt my prayers then I remembered that God never let me down. Just for example, we knew we had to move after my landlord freaked out about the BK. We had no money in the account, well, maybe about $200. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was laying on the couch and I told God, I really needed money to move and I don't know how you are going to pull this one off. Well the next day, I wanted to check the balance of my checking account because I wanted to know how much would go to what.... Well I had $1800 dollars in there. My landlord returned our rent money (mainly because he wanted to summons to evict us) But it did not matter because now we had money to move. We looked around and we still could not find the "perfect" rental for our large family, we were just about to give up and the kids were starting to get down. I prayed and my Husband look down a street in this beautiful neighborhood, he said "lets just look down here" there it was our home.... It had a realtor sign in front, the home was for lease or purchase. My first thought, my goodness he is going to check credit (note, the BK was already on our credit report) I called the realtor and he told me that there was no credit check and gave us the code to the lock box. He told me the rent was $1500 a month. We loved the home and scheduled to meet to sign the lease. That evening while signing the lease the rent stated $1300 a month and this home is 3400sq feet on a very huge lot like 10,000 lot or more. Park in the back and school in the neighborhood right next to the hospital. This home is close to everything. Perfect. Here is the blessing, the home we just moved from was $2000 a month and you could fit that home into my new home. My kids met some great friends at the club they go to and now they live near them and when the time comes we can get first bid to purchase this home.

So no, I am not worried about my chapter 7 having problems because God has never ever let me down. God knows we need this right now. I use to work all the time (I am a mortgage Broker) I would be up at 5am and not stop working until it was time to go to sleep. I neglected my kids and husband so it was just time for me to stop and be a wife and mother, I almost missed out thank God my kids are still young and my husband loves me to death. LOL

If and when I go back to being a Mortgage Broker I will only work part time, when work is over it is over. I kind of like this housewife thing but we need the income. But that will work out as well. .

[whatamess]

Lovely

I love everything you wrote, Fresh start.
Thanks for sharing. It helps to get the important stuff in perspective and count our blessings. I like what you said about writing down the result. I am going to write it down now and post it next to my computer here. A little positive thinking cant hurt.
(Maybe I will write down, " my husband & I hit pick six and will finally buy or rent own home and move out from under mothers roof once and for all..LOL!!" That will be the day!!! I need to hope.....)
WAM

[freshstart06]

nothing is impossible, I would write down everything I want in life and read it everyday, don't doubt or worry how you will get it, just believe you will get it. See what will happen. By the way, stop hoping and believe, no matter what happens continue to believe.

[mommytima]

Amen Well said Fresh start That is the only thing that has and is getting me through these tough times I will be married 32 years this August and we have had tough times before and God has always gotten us through it .I just kept telling myself He is only giving me what I can handle . It's just another door closing and a new one will open .

[CoCoChanel]

CoCo, we had to go prose as well. Yes, I called a few lawyers at first but we just could not afford them. That type of money can go into my household to pay for household expense, kids, medical, etc.

I prayed and interviewed a few BK filers and found a paralegal that works for a BK lawyer and she is in law school. I only paid $200. They are not supposed to give legal advice but it is not against the law for them to give advice (wink) always remember, they are the ones that do all the paperwork anyway.

Pray over your BK case and do not worry no more. Write down the results you want from your case and read it everyday, if you get stressed pray it away. I started to doubt my prayers then I remembered that God never let me down. Just for example, we knew we had to move after my landlord freaked out about the BK. We had no money in the account, well, maybe about $200. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was laying on the couch and I told God, I really needed money to move and I don't know how you are going to pull this one off. Well the next day, I wanted to check the balance of my checking account because I wanted to know how much would go to what.... Well I had $1800 dollars in there. My landlord returned our rent money (mainly because he wanted to summons to evict us) But it did not matter because now we had money to move. We looked around and we still could not find the "perfect" rental for our large family, we were just about to give up and the kids were starting to get down. I prayed and my Husband look down a street in this beautiful neighborhood, he said "lets just look down here" there it was our home.... It had a realtor sign in front, the home was for lease or purchase. My first thought, my goodness he is going to check credit (note, the BK was already on our credit report) I called the realtor and he told me that there was no credit check and gave us the code to the lock box. He told me the rent was $1500 a month. We loved the home and scheduled to meet to sign the lease. That evening while signing the lease the rent stated $1300 a month and this home is 3400sq feet on a very huge lot like 10,000 lot or more. Park in the back and school in the neighborhood right next to the hospital. This home is close to everything. Perfect. Here is the blessing, the home we just moved from was $2000 a month and you could fit that home into my new home. My kids met some great friends at the club they go to and now they live near them and when the time comes we can get first bid to purchase this home.

So no, I am not worried about my chapter 7 having problems because God has never ever let me down. God knows we need this right now. I use to work all the time (I am a mortgage Broker) I would be up at 5am and not stop working until it was time to go to sleep. I neglected my kids and husband so it was just time for me to stop and be a wife and mother, I almost missed out thank God my kids are still young and my husband loves me to death. LOL

If and when I go back to being a Mortgage Broker I will only work part time, when work is over it is over. I kind of like this housewife thing but we need the income. But that will work out as well. .

FreshStart,
I am beginning to feel better. It took me a while to get back to this forum and start posting again because I was really going through. Mostly, I have been reading, but not posting. I got to get back in the game. I miss writing here. I went somewhere else and it was a disaster so I am back. I did make some errors in judgement. I left some creditors off, I forgot a creditor all together, I had some wrong addresses, I missed some messages of importance regarding my case. But guess what, god pulled me through. I am glad to say that those errors cost me time, but things are still working in my favor. Thanks for all the uplifting messages.

[jennyn]

It's amazing how when you are feeling down, He brings you to the place you need to be! Thank you, and it's refreshing to see so many people with faith.

[6ftladycop]

It's amazing how when you are feeling down, He brings you to the place you need to be! Thank you, and it's refreshing to see so many people with faith.

I think that all of us have a little faith. We forget sometimes that we possess it, but then just when we need to believe, we find that faith again. I can tell you personally that I know my faith in god was tested when I had to file. Its been over a month since I made that decision and even though its not a long time, back then it felt like an eternity. But thanks to all the wonderful post that are here, the whole experience does not seem so bad after all.

[redwritingmom]

BK can be especially hard on those who are Christians. I've kept the news from all but our closest friends for almost ten years because of the reactions I feared. But really, they know nothing of our situation at the time so I have to offer them the grace I would like them to offer me.

Sometimes, when things go down, we wonder why God didn't answer our prayers or why He let us down. What I learned is that God has never changed. All of His promises are true. It was ME who had some wrong thinking. I thought God should deliver me financially. Looking back, I can see that we had so many other things to learn about ourselves that had nothing to do with money. God is not really all that concerned with my comfort. He is concerned with my heart.

But here is the kicker. Ten years ago, we prayed for $100,000 to miraculously appear. It didn't and we filed. Disappointed? Yes. Disillusioned? A bit. But we had to believe that He had the big picture in mind.

Last summer, our daughter applied for a college scholarship and received it. How much you ask? $25,000 per year for four years. Does God answer prayers? Yes. Does He do it His way? Absolutely.

There is hope for you. <link removed>

[freshstart06]

I always have to remember what God has done for me, for this reason I started this post. I get so worried so fast but quick to forget. Before filing BK, we were paying $2000 for a rent to own home, driving two cars with major problems and having to make payments, was in a school district that I did not care to much about and did not have my daughter with speech delay best interest at heart, our home was a little too small for my big family and our electric bill was high. I can go on.

at first I was upset with God for allowing us to even get into this situation. See, we are the rare BK filers, we don't really have consumer debt, low cc debt and personal loans. I just have medical expenses and my husband has a huge back income tax debt. My question to God was why did you allow me to get sick, why did you not allow a stable job for my husband the previous years while I was going through health problems so the taxes would not have been so bad. Now we have to file BK, I use to be so proud that we never had to file bK with a family of six but now look.

However the answers....

1. I went through what I went thru as far as health issues because I had a few lessons to learn, God, knows I just run and run, he had to make me stop and take a look. I learn so much during my spells of detached retinas and fractured feet. I was never "ill" per say, my general health is good, I had set backs but I still have vision and I can still walk. Everything is not perfect but I am not broke.

2. My husband could not be in a stable job because I needed the help but during that time, no one went hungry, we kept a roof over our head, we still had cars to drive and some kind of way most important bills got paid. the Job he has now is family friendly, he can take off as much as he needs to take care of his family.

3. My husband tax issues is his fault God did not tell him not to file, however, the IRS never bothered us until my husband was in a stable job and was in the position to at least make payments.

After BK filing BK this is our blessings:
much bigger home and better school district.
New car with no down payment only $50 more which is okay
Able to catch up on the most important bills like utilities, car insurance, etc.
less stress
and I know more to come.

do I still worry, heck yes!!! but I am only human, I just have to remember that God has never let me down so if something does not go the way I want it too, it only means that God has better plans.

[gamom02]

redwritingmom, your post made my cry . God is good.
Just today I prayed for strength to call the trustees office to find out when they will be doing our final audit. After being on hold for what felt like an eternity, I was told my auditor was going to try her hardest to get the closing audit done today, and if so we would be cut a check on Sept 4 for the $4000.00 we have overpaid. And possibly be discharged as soon as next week as soon as the judge signs all the orders.
I pray if this is God's will, it will happen as she said. I've learned through all this also that there was a reason we had to go through all this.
Faith has gotten us through it all.