dumping money into passion

i know i probably sound like a know-it-all about money stuff at this point. just to be clear, i don't know it all. i'm just a huge nerd.

having said that, if i know anything about money management, it's this: passion is a money pit.

this fact is neither good nor bad, just impenetrably true.

let me tell you about my husband. he loves playing the bass guitar. music in general is one of his greatest passions. can you guess what he spends money on?

our house is filled with records, cds, and musical instruments of all sorts. it's fantastic. it's not bad that bryan is passionate about music-it's a quality i'd love for our children to inherit from him. and it's certainly not a bad thing that we have a bunch of music-related "stuff" in our house. some (read: me) might call it junk or clutter, but not bryan. to bryan, it's the most precious stuff he owns.

thus, in our family, music is a money pit.

i certainly have my own vices as well. and between the two of us, we've come up with some shared passions. these passions, in particular, are influenced by this money pit truth. in other words, we've considered the "money pits" that are most valuable and that we want to invest in the most.

so what are our passions?

parenthood.
i've always wanted to be a mom. and i've known for a while that when that day comes, i want to stay home with our children. we want to provide for our children all that they need. everyone knows that kids cost money and a lot of it. but it's a worthwhile money pit.

reaching the world with the gospel. 
this is an area where we are tested to put our money where our mouth is often. while we don't have any particular plans to move overseas, we know that God could put this in our future. we want to be available and ready to go if/when God asks us to and we want to support those who do have plans to go overseas. this is a money pit we never want to lose sight of-we always want to be passionate about the work that God is going.

investing in our community.
sometimes it's throwing a party, sometimes it's providing for someone in need, and sometimes it's the simple act of investing in our local church. we don't want to forget about those near and dear to us, and investing financially is a great way to stay connected.

being a light.
sorry for the small soapbox i'm about to step on, but has anyone noticed how cheap christians can be? bryan and i always want to be open-handed with our money. we want to pay our bills on time, give good tips to waiters, and pay a fair price for services or goods. we don't want to be known for always asking favors or taking everything we can get. this can be a struggle for me especially as "frugal" can quickly turn into "cheap."



what are you passionate about? is it a worthwhile money pit?