We’re finally home from Branson. Our plane arrived in Sacramento on Friday evening around 6:30pm. We had a lovely time. The time flew by way too quickly, though.  Thanksgiving day was such a blessing. My daughter has not seen her Grandmother for several years so she was so excited to spend Thanksgiving with her. Her children were so good and polite. I was so proud of them.

We had yummy, yummy food! My youngest son lives in Branson with his family so he asked if I would make my dressing and a cheesecake. I brought home 3 new recipes to make for Christmas. I hope to type them onto the website soon. There is a jello recipe, homemade rolls and a dessert. I’ll write NEW next to them and they will be listed under OUR FAVORITE FAMILY RECIPES.

I got sick the night we were supposed to leave for the airport. I ran to the hospital 2 hours before we were supposed to leave. I had a bladder infection. By God’s grace I was able to get meds and we made it to the airport on time.

I think that unsettled me a bit because I felt as if I was in a spiritual battle the whole time we were gone. I continually was bombarded with thoughts of fear and anxiety.

I heard a preacher on the radio today talking about spiritual warfare and how often we forget that we are in a spiritual battle. We go about our days unmindful that our enemy is seeking whom he can devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Our shield of faith can be let down so easily and unaware.

I was thinking about this a lot today and how much I dislike dealing with these emotions of fear, anxiety and depression. These are 3 common traps the enemy uses against women, especially.

I remember years and years ago when I was a teen and then a young Mother how I gave into these thoughts and emotions. I was a young Christian and had not been taught to fight against them with the Word of God. Once I began dwelling on the ungodly thoughts I would sink deeper and deeper into self-pity and sin. If I dwelt on the fear then it would be magnified and torment me even more. If I entertained the depression it would send me into more depression and eventually thoughts of suicide in order to escape it.

Oh, how I praise the Lord for His Word that shines LIGHT into DARKNESS and shows us the way to be set free from these paralyzing thoughts.

Eph 6:10-17
v. 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.
v. 11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
v. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual {forces} of wickedness in the heavenly {places.}
v. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
v. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
v. 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
v. 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil {one.}
v. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ungodly thoughts and emotions must be dealt with immediately or they will take hold and create ungodly patterns of thinking. At the first glimpse of fear, anxiety or depression our sword (the Word of God) must be pulled and used against the sinful thought. Our mind then is renewed by God’s Word and we can then put on godly thoughts and responses. This means that we must know what the Word of God says. Do we have Scriptures memorized and hidden in our heart to fight against fear? If not, then our sword will dull and we will not be fit for battle.

It’s an every day battle and I don’t imagine it will subside this side of heaven.

Hope you all had a peaceful Thanksgiving!

Hugs and blessings,

Georgene

My husband and I are leaving for Branson, Mo. early in the morning. His parents and a few siblings live there along with our youngest son and his family. My daughter and her family will also be flying back. We hope to arrive home safely on Friday.

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

May the Lord bless your Thanksgiving day with family and friends and may we continually give thanks for the greatest gift ever given…. our Savior Jesus Christ.

Blessings,
Georgene

My grandchildren and I have been adding ‘leaves’ to our THANKFUL TREE this week. I drew a large tree trunk out of a construction paper poster and taped it to the pantry door. Each day the grandchildren have drawn a picture on their ‘leaf’ and told Grammy what they are thankful for. I write down what they say on the leaf along with their name and the year. We then glue these leaves to our tree.

Thankfulness is not a natural response. We are sinful, selfish humans that need to be reminded often through Scripture to give thanks. So, do our children and grandchildren.

There are so many ways to encourage a thankful spirit in our children. We must first live it out in front of them. If their parents and grandparents are unthankful for all the Lord has done for them and given them then you can’t expect a child to rise above that attitude.

Children need to be taught that everything they own has been given to them by God. My grandchildren are memorizing short doctrine questions and answers that teach these truths. So, when asked the question each day before we make our ‘leaves’ for our THANKFUL TREE, ” What did God make?” The children respond, GOD MADE ALL THINGS. Gen. 1:1. So, who are we thankful to for everything… GOD!

Other ways of teaching thankfulness is by teaching children to say ‘thanks’ at the dinner table. We are blessed with so much food in America. Our children have no idea how blessed they are to have 3 full meals a day along with snacks. I was watching a documentary this week where people in India were so close to starvation. We have more than we need and thanks should be given to God for His blessings. There are prayer ‘poems’ that young children can memorize along with just sharing their thoughts in prayer. Godly habits that are established when a child is young will remain with them even when they become older and leave home. My Mom taught my Sister and I to say our evening prayers each night before we went to bed. This habit has stayed with me my entire life.

Another idea is to have a THANKFUL JAR. You can do this one of two ways. You can place pieces of paper at each dinner plate and have everyone write something they are thankful for and then place it in the jar. Or you can fill a jar with small pieces of paper and have your family fill it with thankful notes throughout the year of ways the Lord has blessed them then share it on Thanksgiving.

We won’t be having Thanksgiving at our home this year but here is something we try to do when we do celebrate  at home. Some years I put 5 candy corns  next to our plates. We then share the story of the Pilgrim’s first winter in the New World. Governor John Carver gave each person 5 kernels of Indian corn once a day.  When spring came, the Pilgrim’s planted some of this corn. The Pilgrim’s knew they would never face starvation again. From then on they placed 5 kernels of corn next to each person’s plate when there was a time of thanksgiving. What a contrast when we look at the 5 kernels of corn and then all the food piled on our table. It’s a time to be thankful!. 

 

 

Daily we are given an opportunity in our homes and in our relationships outside the home, to take up offense and hold grudges for seeming wrongs we felt have been done to us. The possibility for conflicts are thrown at us from all directions. We have daily opportunities to get offended at our spouses by their tone of voice, their lack of appreciativeness or their unwillingness to help us with our workload. We don’t have to look far to find countless opportunities to take up offenses.

Each time we are faced with a conflict we have an opportunity to either glorify God or sow to the flesh. When we respond to a conflict in a godly manner we are testifying to the greatness and power of a living God. How you may ask? By showing that it is far better to obey the God we serve than to live for ourselves. Our response testifies to the greatness of the God we serve and others can’t help but take notice.

Yet, when we respond in sinful anger to someone’s sin against us or their criticism, we have brought the enemy right into the midst of that situation. James 3:15 says that where there is strife you’ll find confusion and every evil work.

The battle begins at our thought level. When opportunities arise to be offended, IMMEDIATELY bring the thought into line with Scripture. Put off the old man and his ways and responses, RENEW your MIND with God‘s Word, and PUT ON the godly action. Eph. 4:22-24

So, let’s say for instance that your husband criticizes you for not keeping up with the laundry or doesn’t like the dinner you spent hours preparing. Immediately, you have a choice to make. Are you going to bring glory to God in this situation by receiving his correction or will you fight back and defend yourself?

Prov 15:1 – A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

There is nothing wrong, if done in a gentle, humble spirit to respond to a wrong accusation with the truth if you believe you have clearly done nothing wrong. But, first check your heart to see if you are responding out of an attitude of pride. Consider carefully what the other person is saying. Is there any truth to it? Have you been negligent? Did you do the thing that you are accused of? And even if you did not do it, can you learn something from it? Will defending yourself help the situation or only cause more conflict. There may even be times that you KNOW that you KNOW that you are right. But, you can see by taking a stand for your rights that you are headed for strife. It’s better at this point to gently drop the matter and if absolutely necessary, wait for a better time to talk about it.

Prov 17:14 – The beginning of strife is {like} letting out water, so abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.

Consider our Savior, who being found innocent endured the accusation of evil men without a word to justify Himself. 1 Peter 2

The puritans taught that criticism should be accepted as our dearest friend. Not an easy pill to swallow at the first thought of it. But, think this through. If we can accept criticism as our friend then we are embracing the fact that we are a sinner in need of a Savior. Many times we are blinded to our own sin but others, oftentimes, can see our sin much clearer. Oftentimes, the Lord uses others to correct and admonish us. (Gal. 6:1, Romans 15:14, 1 Thess. 5:14) This should be seen as a gift from the Lord. We do not want to continue in sin and bring dishonor to God, right? Criticism becomes a blessing if it’s received as if from the Lord’s hand, which in reality, nothing comes our way that is not first allowed from God.

You would have no power over me if it were not give to you from above. John 19:10-11

God is first cause in all things. Our lives will be blessed if we can receive criticism as coming directly from His hand. Don’t fear it. Keep your eyes off the person giving the criticism and see it as from God’s hand. Look at it… examine your life and your heart, praying and asking the Lord if there is any truth to it.. And then do what is within your power to change.

Rom 12:18 – If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

Prov 17:14 -The beginning of strife is {like} letting out water, so abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.

Prov 9:8 – Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you, reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

Prov 12:15 – The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

Prov 29:11 – A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back.

Prov 20:3 – Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, but any fool will quarrel.

May we live [coram deo] before the face of God!
Georgene

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m beginning to weaken so I thought I’d see if I could get some encouragement from you ladies. This year has been a lean one financially so I talked with my grown kids and asked if they had any ideas on how to cut back on Christmas. We all decided to draw names for the adults and give as usual to the children. We’re also going to have a ‘White Elephant Sale’ to have some extra fun.

So here we are… a little over a month before Christmas… and I find myself weakening. It will be the first time since my children have been home that I won’t be giving each one of them a gift. My husband said to go ahead and buy gifts for everyone if I want to but I know that I really need to do everything I can to stretch our money right now.

So, I’m wondering if you gals could share how you are ‘down-sizing’ for Christmas while still creating memories?

I’m looking over this link for inexpensive Christmas ideas. There are a ton of them.

http://www.night.net/christmas/ds-gifts-971030as.html-ssi

Hugs,
Georgene

 

I came down with a cold on Monday. My strength is pretty puny today so I’m resting in between laundry and meals. During my rest time I picked up a book about Helen Roseveare, who was a missionary doctor to the people in Congo. During her ministry in Congo she was taken as a hostage by the Simbas. My interest in her life was sparked so I did a search online and came across a few articles she has written. I wanted to share with you a few quotes that really impacted me.

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“It doesn’t matter whether I travel 6,000 miles or just twenty minutes from home. That has nothing to do with it. What matters is whether the people we meet matter to us as much as they matter to God. I have to ask myself, What will make me care? What will make them matter to me? What will motivate me to share Jesus with them?”

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“During the hymn sung just prior to her address, Dr. Roseveare stepped to one side of the podium and there dismantled a large (about six-foot), stylized, artificial forsythia branch. She first removed all the blossoms and leaves and then, from within the branch itself, removed a bright, florescent shaft. Dr. Roseveare then fixed a large arrowhead to one end of the-shaft. This transformation completed, she held the arrow up for display to the audience:

What is cost? – an entirely relative term that can only be understood in reference to the value set upon the object obtained. If I say that I have just been out and spent a thousand dollars, you would consider it an enormous “cost” if you thought I were buying a pair of fur gloves: but it would be an extremely low cost if in fact I were buying a sports car!

As you have watched me “destroying” this lovely imitation branch of forsythia – ruthlessly pulling off the brilliant blossoms (destroying its ability to breathe and feed); snapping off all side branches, cutting off knots and smoothing rough places (destroying its shape and form); and even stripping its very bark (its protection against rain and sun, destroying even that which gives it personality and the power to live) – what a pointless waste, you think, and at what a “cost,” especially in midwinter!

But wait a moment! As the stripping and whittling and sandpapering processes are complete, what results from the rough (though beautiful) branch? An arrow – a polished shaft, fit to carry the arrowhead direct to its target. A perfect balanced tool in the hand of an expert archer to achieve a destined goal. Does the “cost” now seem quite so high? Was it really a pointless waste? God says that he will make of his Branch (Is. 11:1) a polished shaft (Is. 49:2). And he longs to make you and me more “like unto Jesus,” conformable to the image of his Son.

Am I willing for the stripping and whittling and sandpapering, through circumstances, companions or committees, to make me into that perfect arrow to achieve his wonderful purposes in and through my life? “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).”

*~*~*~

Helen suffered much at the hands of cruel men in this foreign land. She was beaten, cursed at and raped. Yet, at the end of her torture she didn’t  feel that she paid a great price. To her the comparison of what she suffered was nothing compared to the privilege of sharing in Christ’s sufferings.

I thought of how little I give to the Lord compared to this missionary.  There have been times when I shrink back in fear of sharing the Good News of Christ’s sacrifice with strangers or even family members for fear of a disapproving look or sneer. I’ve  resisted the nudge of the Holy Spirit to share with someone at the grocery store because I’ve thought they would count me strange.  I’m ashamed to think of the times that I have backed away from sharing Christ for fear of offending someone.

 I think at times, when it comes right down to it, I’ve loved the praise of men more than I’ve loved God!

Most of us will never travel to foreign countries but we have countless opportunities DAILY to share His Word with our neighbors. We see the same people weekly and perhaps even daily in our neighborhoods.  Are we praying for their salvation? Are we watching for ways to minister to them? Do we really love our neighbor as Christ commands or are we too caught up in our own homes and families? Are we praying before we leave our home that the Lord will bring someone in our pathway that we can share the Gospel?  Our mission field is right outside our door.

Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Lord, work in me a far greater desire to share your precious Word with those who are lost… to search out those who are heading into an eternity of  torment… to go the extra mile to share the great price your Son paid for our sins. Replace my fear with your courage, my pride of what others think with your humility. Today is the day to share your Word… not tomorrow.. not next year… but today!

Blessings,

Georgene

*~*~*~*

If you’d like to read more of this article by Helen Roseveare you can find it at the link below.

The Cost of Declaring His Glory by Helen Roseveare

http://www.urbana.org/_articles.cfm?RecordId=572

I’m doing some reading this morning in Paul David Tripp’s book, Lost in the Middle: Midlife and the Grace of God. (Tripp also wrote ”Age of Opportunity” which is one of my favorite books on training teens. I read somewhere that he is the brother Tedd Tripp who wrote Shepherding a Child’s Life.)  

Midlife  has been a most interesting season of life. (I turned 48 years old in June).  I’m fascinated by the lure of it’s power to expose sin in this old heart of mine. Thoughts and beliefs are being exposed that I’ve never had to deal with in the past. I’m thankful for this! It’s always a  mercy from God when He presses us to deal with our sin.

I wanted to share a few quotes with you.

“We all tend to take the unrealistically demanding boss, the consistently rebellious child, the all too impatient spouse, the rude neighbor, or the gossiping extended family member as proof that the seeds of what we are harvesting, in fact, belong to someone else.”

“An angry father who has just ripped into his rebellious son will tell himself that it is vitally important for his son to respect authority. This justification recolors his sin of anger against his son. Or a wife, who has developed regular patterns of gossiping about her husband’s sin to her friends, will tell herself that she is seeking prayer and accountability. She now feels comfortable doing something that the Bible calls sin…. It’s an old argument that goes something like this, “His sin makes my sin not sin.”

“In our sin, we offer ourselves spiritual vacationland that is in reality a stinking swamp of sin. It gives us what anyone who is aware of his sin craves: Freedom from guilt.”

This really hit a nerve in me! Oh, let’s call it what the Bible calls it… it’s really exposing SIN in me! I was thinking back to when my children were in their teen years and some difficulties we were having. God began dealing with the way I was responding to my teens difficulties.  It wasn’t ‘fun’  … I didn’t ‘enjoy’ having my parenting flaws exposed. Especially since I had a ‘home schooling business’ and was working with other mother’s on a daily basis and was supposed to have some answers for them in training children. I was sinking during that time. I had no clue how to handle the difficulties we were experiencing. But, praise God I knew who’s hand I needed to be holding on to and where to turn for help. God was my strength and an ever present help in my times of trouble.  

Now, my children have children of their own. I don’t want to appear to them as mother who thinks she never failed and was perfect but oftentimes I wonder if this is exactly how I come across. I want my children to know that I KNOW I failed at times but that my heart was always to be the best mother I could be to them.

I praise God He has replaced my heart of stone with a heart of flesh. He mercifully exposes the sin in our hearts. Like an onion He gently peels one layer off at a time. The stink would be more than we could bear if He exposed the entire reality of our heart’s depravity in one moment of time.

 

Yesterday I went to spend the day with my parents. They live about 45 minutes away and even though we talk on the phone almost daily I get to where I just need to go ‘home’ once in a while. I’ve been blessed with wonderful parents and thank God that He has allowed them good health at 73 years of age.

Mom and I went through her cookbooks looking for recipes to add to my FAMILY COOKBOOK.  I’m putting together a family cookbook for the women in our family. I especially wanted to do this for my girls before some of my grandma’s recipes were lost. My grandma passed away nearly 5 years ago. I have wonderful memories of  grandma’s cooking. We used to spent all of our holidays on her farm. I was telling my Mother yesterday that I remember coming into her home as a child and seeing half a dozen pies or so lined up on her dining room hutch. What a memory! No one could make pie like my Grandma! She also made the best fried chicken, mashed potatoes and biscuits I’ve ever tasted. I have such warm, fond memories of her and her home and a lot of those memories are centered around her family table and the wonderful things she used to cook and bake.

This had me thinking about the gift we give to our families when we put our heart  and time into cooking. We are creating memories for our children each day. These memories, good or bad, will be carried with them into their homes someday. Hopefully, the impression our homes leave on them will be good ones.

I spent years collecting recipes to cook for my family. I ran out of room in the little recipe box I once had so I followed my Mother’s example and began placing them in notebooks. I have a large notebook for MAIN DISHES (which includes veggies and salads), DESSERTS, BREADS (which includes tea and breakfast breads), HOLIDAYS & RECIPES FOR CHILDREN and now a LOW CARB notebook. I also have a notebook for recipes I want to try. I place the recipes on a sheet of regular size paper and then tape the recipe onto the paper. I then slide the page into a page protector. Each section within the notebook is divided into categories. I’ve labeled each notebook on the outside edge of the binder. When I use a recipe I just take the page from the notebook over to the stove and place it on a recipe page holder.

Baking is just like any other area of our ministry to our families. It takes a dying to oneself to give what is best for those we love and watch over. A good cook who blesses her family with good, nutritious meals has to invest some time into this part of her ministry in the home. She has to learn the art of cooking and baking and planning healthy meals not to mention the discipline of making it a priority in her daily schedule. I’ve been trying to adopt Laine’s (Laine’s Letters) example by cooking my dinner meal in the mornings when I have more energy.  

Holidays are a perfect time to bless our families with their favorite foods and create special memories. I allow myself complete freedom on the holidays to cook all of our old, favorite recipes. We also love to have ‘family days’ when the children come home with their children and I cook up a storm. How blessed we are to have this privilege. May the Lord give us His strength to deny ourselves in this area of our homemaking so that our families will know how much we love them.  

Blessings,

Georgene

 

DOES MY HOUSEKEEPING BRING GLORY TO GOD?

Our Pastor has been teaching out of Matthew 5 (and now going into Matthew 6) for quite a few months. I love this type of teaching (expository). Not only does it help in avoiding the error of  taking verses out of context but it also helps in memorization because we are reviewing previous verses each week before we begin our new study.

So, in my daily bible study I have been reviewing these same Scriptures. This morning as I read verses 14-16, I began thinking about my influence in the home and in my neighborhood. Daily, our lives need to be examined by the Word of God.

Matt 5:14-16 - ”You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  ”Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

This morning my husband and I had our alarm set for 4:15 a.m. At that time in the morning the house is very, very dark. But, once my husband set foot out of bed and turned the light on, it dispelled the darkness and we were able to see clearly.

A Christian woman should be living in such a godly way that the light within her is so BRIGHT that it cannot be hid.  I was really meditating on this and became excited as I thought about it.

Think about what ‘LIGHT’ is able to do…

Light drives away darkness!

Light exposes things that are lost in the dark!

Light helps us to see our next step!

Light helps guide us, lead us, directs us! 

Light helps us to find our way when we are lost!

Light helps us find something that is lost!

Light is warming and welcoming…

So how do we ‘let OUR light shine’?

Immediately following the two verses above we are given a ‘how to’ of letting our lights shine before our family’s.

Matt 5:16 - ”Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

The word ‘works’ in Greek means to ‘work, toil (an an effort or occupation, by an act.

We are given many exhortations from Scripture as to what our ‘work’ is to be as a godly woman. Here is just one verse of many.

Titus 2:4-5 - That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

It’s sobering to think that by not loving our children or husbands or by not being a worker at home we may be dishonoring God’s Word. It’s sobering to think that I blaspheme God’s Word when I don’t subject myself to my husband.  Or that my housekeeping can dishonor His name.

Did you know that a ‘keeper at home’ means a ‘good housekeeper?’ (It has other implications, too). Here is the Greek definition from Vine’s Expository for the Word ‘keepers at home’:

Keepers at home: 3626  oikourgos: a guard,  a stayer at home, i.e. domestically inclined (a “good housekeeper”):

 The way I keep my home has eternal value! It’s considered a ‘good work’.  The way I keep my home can either glorify God or blaspheme His name. Think about it…. are you as likely to take counsel from a Christian woman if you see her home is completely out of control? Our housekeeping means something to God and says something to those who live in our families and in our neighborhood.

Just as light is able to bring hope to a dark world our disobedience to God’s Word can partially hide that light in a way that may cause other’s to stumble. Or just as frightening … that they not listen to our testimony of Christ.

I used to buy low wattage light bulbs to save on electricity. The older I get the more my old eyes need every ounce of light they can get to read and do any kind of close up work. The lower watt bulbs do not give out enough light for me to see clearly. So it is with our daily lives if we do not obey God’s Word. We dim that light so that it loses it’s effectiveness and may hinder the walk of those who are watching.

Our lives are being examined daily. Not just by our husbands and our children but by those who live in our neighborhoods, our immediate family and in our churches.  If our light is BRIGHT it will not only influence our families but shine forth from our home windows to impact a lost, dark world.

We may never go to a foreign land and teach the Gospel but in our own little homes God has given us the opportunity to live our lives in such a way that will impact all those who come in contact with us as we obey His Word.

Jesus is that light….

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.  ”For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you. “And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. “Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, and your daughters will be carried in the arms.

 Isa 60:1-4

 

 

 

On a more personal  and practical note….

I’ve declared this week to be NO SPEND WEEK! I’ve gone over my budget so I’m needing to pull back some. I’m already facing some challenges but it’s amazing what a homemaker can come up with in her own house if she is put to the test.

I ran out of facial moisturizer so I did a search on the web to see what I could use that I had in my pantry. Lo and behold I read that you can use olive oil. So, I’ve been trying it for two days and it’s working. The first night I put it on my entire face but I decided it might be better to just put it on my eyes for now. That seems to be working fine.

I also ran out of gel bleach which I like to use in my sinks but I had some Ajax so I’ll make do. I ran out of Kleenex in the large box but found I had some small purse size ones that will do just fine for now.

I got this idea from Cindy’s Porch.    I think grannyfox told me about them. Great site. They are challenging everyone to shop out of their pantry this week. I’m amazed how much STUFF I have that I’m not using. Time for that to change.

Cindy also challenged everyone to clean out their freezer which I did and found that I had meat that was too old to use. That’s a shameful waste. It just seems the days are so busy that I can’t keep up with everything but I’m going to try to do better on that end. I’ve been trying to approach my day to major on money saving duties first, if at all possible.

For instance, after my devotions and morning duties (bed making, dishes,feeding animals,laundry) are done I think of what I can do to stretch our income. Cooking is a big money stretcher because if you run out of cooked food at home you tend to want to go out to eat. I wonder if this is why Laine from Laine’s Letters cooks first thing in the a.m.s. instead of waiting until late afternoon. By that time you are tired and not in the mood to cook as much or stand on your feet as long. This is how my husband instructed me to run the book business. God always comes first but if I was stuck as to whether dust the shelves or do the trade-ins my husband would tell me to do what would make money first since we had to pay the bills. Of course, wisdom has to be used. We know we are to seek first the kingdom of God so if a Mama called on the phone or came in and needed prayer or help I would drop everything. What I am talking about is when you have menial duties to do and can’t decide which one to do next. Oftentimes I will choose to do what will stretch my husband’s income.

I also make laundry a priority because I can save quite a bit of money if I hang my clothes on the line or rack dry them. I never used to have a large laundry room so I would hang my clothes on racks in my bedroom. I rarely have to use the dryer if I stay on top of the laundry and don’t let it get behind. I can save at least $50.00 by doing this… maybe more. Once the clothes are dry I FLUFF them in the dryer for a few minutes so they won’t be stiff. This would be a challenge with a large family in the winter. But, a few loads could be done which would lower the electric bill some.

I’m going to pull out our little space heaters today. I put the electric blankets and pads on the beds last week to get ready for winter. Between the electric blankets and space heaters I find I rarely have to use my house heater which also saves us a ton of money in the winter. We also use our fireplace. I need to bring some wood up the house soon and drag out some newspapers and the log carrier for my husband.  

I read this in Psalms today and loved it…

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love.! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:5-7

He is faithful even when we are not. How often I take that for granted. I spend more money than I should and take His provision for granted. Yet, He continues to love me and provide me… He leads me ‘gently’ to repentance! Thank you, dear kind Lord, that you are a God who is longsuffering. Change my heart. Change my ways to please you. I hunger and thirst for your righteousness. Fill me!