**Update Kmart Deal On Clorox Wipes Not Working**

I just stopped by Kmart and the Clorox deal did not work for me. First I did not find any blinkies with Clorox cpns in the store. Secondly, when I cashed out the cashier only let me use 1 cpn. I had a .50 off 1 and a buy 2 G1 Free. He wouldn't let me use both. I used the buy 2 G1 Free. So for three 35 count Clorox wipes I paid $5.33 with tax. Around $1.80 each. Not bad but free would have been much better.
Also I did not receive any Catalina deal. If any one else gets this deal to work I would love to know!

Blessings,
~Michelle~

Another Great Shopping Trip!

Wow, Praise the Lord for another great week at Price Chopper. I am not a very good picture taker as you all can well tell, but there is a lot of stuff here and I only paid $59.70!:)

Here is the breakdown:

First I receive dbl cpns.

Danimals Yougart 2.49 $1cpn paid .49

2 cans PC corn 2/1

Northn Bath Tissue 4.99/6rolls $1cpn paid 2.99

All 2X laundry32 load on sale for 3.99 $1cpn paid $1.99 (Had 3 cpns)

4 Wholly Guacamole/ On sale for B1G1 2.99 had $1cpn paid .99 for 2 (Hubby loves this stuff)

2 Poland Water 1.19 each $1cpn paid .38 for 2

Boneless Pork Chops B1G1 8.32 for Both/ Sunday Meal

Yoplait 2 lb container2.69 had $1cpn paid .69

Perdue All White Meat Chicken Nuggets 6.99 B1G1 Had 2$1cpn paid 3.99 for 2 family size bags!

Russett potatoes B1G1 3.99 had $1 cpn off any 3 PC Items

Smart Bal Oil $3.59 had $1 cpn paid 1.59

Smart Bal Cooking spray 3.19 Had $1cpn paid 1.19

Dove Shampoo on sale 2.50 each had $1cpn paid .50 each

409 Antibacterial Cleaner 2.99 had $1cpn Paid .99

Dial Hand Soaps B1G1 2.29 had $1cpn off 3 got 2 offers paid 3.58 for 4 or .88 each

Ziploc Freezer bags B1G1 for 2.59 each $1cpn off 2 paid .59 for 2

That is the highlights! There are a few other items in there that I didn't mention. Mostly stuff I got on sale without a cpn. I also earned another .10cents off per gal in the PC Gas awards program. So for the last 2 week period we have earned .20 off per gal. You earn .10 for every $50.00 you spend after advantage savings. Here in Upstate NY gas has climbed about .24 cents per gal over the last few weeks, so we will take the extra savings.

With my cpns and advantage card I saved 106.04!! To God Be the Glory!!

P.S. There are a total of 5 dinner meals in that pile:)

Blessings

~Michelle~

kmart Clorox Deals

I just wanted to let you all know that I just read here, that Kmart is hosting a great deal on Clorox wipes. You all know my love for Clorox as a great cleaner and disinfectant. With cold and flu season here these wipes are very convenient and in my opinion quite effective. Normally I don't purchase these items unless I get them very inexpensively, which for me is almost free. However according to the above site, that is the deal. I will definitely be stopping by Kmart. I will keep you posted!





~Michelle~



P.S. I just printed 2 offers from the Clorox.com site without any problem. I would hurry though I can't imagine this offer would last long!

To God Be The Glory

October has been an exciting month for us financially. This month we were able to pay off 2 more bills. Personal high interest loans to be exact!

My husband and I embarked on this financial journey of becoming debt free about 5 years ago. It has been a long journey, but very worth it. We have seen God do great and mighty things.

You can read of our financial journey here , here and here.

I won't tell you that it has been easy. It has not. But God has been ever so faithful to our family. When I think of where He brought us from to where we are now, I am humbled and in awe of the awesomeness of the Holy God we serve.

O Lord we give thanks for all that you are. It is by His grace and for His glory that I write this post!

~Michelle~

He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30

Emphasis KJB

A Young Womans Heart

Recently my husband and I attended a Youth Conference in Southington, Conn. We had a great time and I got to meet a sweet young lady by the name of Rebecca. I have been following her
blog for quite some time. As a youth leaders wife it is a great encouragement and inspiration to me to know that there are girls out there that have a heart and desire for the Lord! I encourage you to check out her blog here.



My heart is burdened greatly for the spiritual state of many young (and older women too) that I meet. Ladies today appear harsh and hard. Many lack compassion. They lack a desire for things feminine. Modesty. That is a big one!! You can tell modesty through looking into a young woman's eyes. I have met some ladies recently who bore a hole right through you with their eyes!



I am not talking of unsaved girls here. I am talking of saved born again believers! Where is all the Christian training? The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine teachers of good things; I have emphasized teachers of good things.

I am going to be blunt here and guess it's because we, the aged woman, don't posses "the good things". To posses means that you own or hold in your possession. In other words you have to have it to give it.

God did not bless my husband and I with a daughter. In fact He gave us one child. A precious son. There was a time when a root of bitterness developed in my heart. I have victory over that ( a future post someday maybe?) now. I trust in God's sovereignty and that He and He alone holds our future. I do not claim to know how to raise daughters. I do know that the Bible gives us many examples as to how to do so. For the Christian, the Bible should be our final authority in all matters of faith and practice. The problem, most of us are Biblically illiterate. Before you start judging me, I hold myself in this group too. So many of us choose to run to all different sources when problems rearing our children arise. The Internet, (just let me say here Google does not have the answer to everything!), our Pediatrician, worldly thinking, Martha Stewart is not the only woman who should posses "good things" . Unfortunately the one true source of absolute truth, is the last resource we check with. The Bible. God's Holy Word.


It is my hearts cry to be the right influence on the girls the Lord allows to bring into my life. I must purpose in my heart to first find out what is important to God (Reading His Word) in regards to being the right type of woman. But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 1 Peter 3:4 I have underlined the word ornament. According to Websters 1828 Dictionary, the word ornament means to adorn, to deck, to embellish. To me that means a meek and quiet spirit is something that I can "put on" so to speak. Like you would "put on" your clothing. Which brings this scripture to mind, But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Romans 13:14 To me it is clear that if I am ever going to adorn myself with the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, I must first put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus was our ultimate example as teacher. To teach us to be a servant, He washed the disciples feet (John 13: 1-7) To show us the importance of baptism, He was baptized (Matthew 3:13-7) and to teach us a life of sacrifice, He became the ultimate sacrifice unto salvation (Matthew 27). Leaders must be willing to lead by example. Unfortunately many lack the character in our own Christian lives that we expect from those around us. (I am including myself in this group too)!



This post has become more lengthy than intended. I started out just sharing a few thoughts. I have shared a great burden on my heart. It is my prayer that I will be all that I can be , to first and foremost bring glory and honor to my Saviour, Jesus Christ. Secondly, there is a generation watching and following, and dear Christian I am fearful we are failing miserably.



By His grace,

~Michelle~





There are 2 websites for young ladies that I highly recommend. Both have been a great encouragement to me.

Miss Rebecca @ A Rather Unusual Maiden For God

Miss Jenn @ Blessed Femina

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

What a great shopping trip I had tonight! It has been some time since I have experienced such a great trip. This picture truly does not do my trip justice. Behind the brownies are many cleaning supplies that I really needed. Windex, Clorox clean-up and 409 just to name a few. I also scored three bags of Tyson Chicken for $3 each. These are the Family size so that will be 3 seperate meals. 6 boxes of Ziploc bags. Behind the 2 Orange Crush sodas are (4) 8 packs of Poland Spring aqua pod waters that I got absolutely free! They were clearanced at the Price Chopper in Granville for $1 and I had $1 cpn off two. Remember PC doubles cpns up to $1, so I got them for free!! I also got ( 6) 6 packs of yogurt FREE! 2 Boxes of Pillsbury brownie bites for $1 each. 2 Scope Mouth wash $1.50 each. The Grand Total for the above picture was $65.00! Between cpns and my advantage card I saved $112.00. Not bad for 2 hours worth of work! I also earned another 10 cents off my next gas purchase with Price Choppers gas reward program.
2 days ago my husband filled our car for .40cents off per gallon from my previous gas rewards that I had accumulated. The gas rewards program has been added savings because Price Chopper is always where I do the bulk of my shopping.
Tomorrow I am going to Walmart for some of the deals that were posted on moneysaving mom. You can read that here.
Our Church has been in Missions Conference all week and We hosted the Guin Family to Israel. It was a long week but what a blessing! I encourage you to read of the Guin Family here. It is such a privilege to serve some of Gods choicest servants.... Missionaries. This was a delightful family and we had a wonderful time .
I am glad to have my grocery shopping done and behind me for this week. What a savings. God is so good!

Blessings,
~Michelle~

Saturday Coupons

Dear fellow Couponers,
Just wanted to give the local readers a quick tip. Lately the coupons in our local Sunday paper The Post-Star have been very sparse. So much so that I canceled my subscription after months of little to no coupon inserts.
However a friend recently shared with me that the Times Union Saturday edition, is full of coupon inserts most weeks.I have been purchasing the paper now for several weeks and it is absolutely true! It is also .50 cents cheaper than the Sunday paper.
So for all of you frustrated coupon clippers grab the Saturday edition of the Times Union! You won't regret it:)
Blessings,
~Michelle~

Hello, Is Anybody Out There?

It sure has been a while since we all chatted!

As per my last post(all the way back in June) I have been recovering from what I now know to be a pretty big surgery.

At first things were great and I felt well. However it has taken me a while to get back on my feet full force. I am not one for sitting around much and that could have definitely contributed to it taking some time for me to " feel myself again".

I also have struggled with a few unpleasant side effects of my surgery. Insomnia and Hot flashes. Neither are very fun I have to say! When you are not feeling your best it is hard to cope when you have had very little sleep, night after night. And hot flashes well lets just say they are an entity all their own!

Around August, I was starting to have a rough time. I wasn't feeling well and not dealing with stress to great. As many of you know my Husband is the youth director at our church, and we take the Teens to camp every summer.

Usually I love camp as much as the Teens. I play the games and camp is fun! But not this year. I struggled in my flesh and yes in my spirit.

However God is in the details. I very much needed the great messages I heard at camp and God really spoke to my heart. I came home still weak in the flesh, but renewed in my spirit.

I spent the remainder of August staying close to the Lord. Doing what I could physically and meditating on God's Word. I have limited couponing and and I waned in my zeal for frugality. It seemed pointless to me to have 5 deodorants in my pantry when I had 14 loads of laundry and my house hadn't been cleaned in a week! I truly did not have the energy.

By God's Grace and mercy, I am feeling my old self again and have a renewed interest in couponing and saving money. So much so, that I have challenged my family not to spend any extra money in the month of October! We are planning on attempting to save in every area, from cutting down the number of loads of laundry each week (Yes that means that my teenage son may have to wear something twice in one week!) to keeping the lights off , to eating from our freezer and pantry, to what ever it takes to save!

I truly am looking forward to couponing and all my frugal activities again. Especially since winter is fast approaching, and for us that means buying fuel oil . I will be posting on our October challenge, so please stay tuned.......

I hope to be back to regular blogging and frugal tips.

P.S. Don't you just love the pretty fall picture. Here in Upstate New York the leaves are changing and it looks like it will be a spectacular parade of color!!

It is by His grace and for His glory,

~Michelle~

Relaxing.......

As you all may have noticed I haven't been around much. On May 28th I had surgery. I knew I was having surgery for a bit, but choose not to mention it to many. I am not much on fan fare.

I praise God for the bucket load of mercy that He showed me both before, during and after my surgery. As I have noted many times afore.. My God is always in the details.

I am healing and feeling much better. While my surgery was definitely necessary (and put off for much to long,) I am so grateful that it was nothing life threatening. All reports came back A O.K.!!! At present I am kicking back (Very hard for me to do) and slowly getting back into a daily routine.

I am so very thankful to my husband and sweet son for all the help they are to me. They have cooked, cleaned and everything in between.

I am looking forward to the canning season and have all ready started planning my entry into the County Fair. Do any of you watch Andy Griffith?There is a very funny episode where Aunt Bee enters her very bad tasting pickles in the fair. It is very funny and is one of my favorite episodes. Hopefully mine won't taste bad!

I pray all my blogging friends are well. I look forward to jumping back into the swing of things shortly. Stay tuned..............

~By His Grace~

Michelle

My Power Source

The light bulb. Amazing device. Incredible invention.
Even a small watt light bulb has the ability to light a large space.
There is no doubt that the light bulb has changed the American standard
of living forever. I don't know about you, but I have taken this little bulb for
granted. I have often forgotten it's incredible potential to light my way.

However, in and of itself this light bulb is worthless. It has not reached it's full
potential. In it's current state it is ineffective and frankly, of little use. There is nothing
I can do to make it shed any light. I can't will it to shed light. I can't put it with other bulbs hoping to make it produce light. In fact the truth is, the only thing that can make this light
bulb arrive at it's full potential, is it's Power Source.

However plugged into it's power source, the possibilities are endless. One small light bulb can shed light into an entire room. Total darkness is obliterated by the power source of the light bulb.

Our precious Heavenly Father is the Power Source for His children, through the saving grace of His Son, Jesus Christ. Until the day that I accepted the free gift of Salvation, I too was living in total darkness. There was no light. I had no power. I, like the light bulb was ineffective and frankly of little use. The day I accepted God's gift of Salvation, I tapped into my Power Source. I now have unlimited power for the Master's use. I can shed light where ever I go. However, I must stay tapped into my Power Source.

The Power Source I am referring to is the Word of God. The living truth. I am as ineffective and powerless as an unlit light bulb without it. See, I have no strength in and of myself. I must be filled with the Spirit through the reading of His word to have any power in my life. If I rely on my family, friends, church, etc. to meet my emotional and spiritual needs, I will be disappointed. My joy and strength must come from the Lord.

I must read my Bible. Digest it. Meditate on it. It is my constant source of strength.It is my comfort. My guide. It is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I am powerless without it. I shall defend it and uphold it as the final authority in my life in all matters of faith and practice.I will fight for it and not be ashamed of it. I will proclaim it and hide it's word in my heart. It is the most precious possession I own, and I am eternally grateful for it's life changing power. It shall take me eternity to praise Him for it. Men have died for it and Mother's have wept on it. Soldiers have carried it and Countries have been founded on it. I praise God that it's words will not come back void. It is my Bible, a love letter from my Heavenly Father. May it's words burn in my heart.

By His Grace,

~Michelle~

Mega Coupons In Sunday's Paper

It is being reported in the blog sphere that there will be 4 coupon inserts in this coming Sunday's Paper. So for you coupon enthusiasts, it will be worth hunting down a couple of copies!

Frugal Tip: Don't be afraid to let friends and neighbors know you collect coupons. People who don't use them are usually more than happy to give them away. Write them a thank you note and give them a small gift from all your great coupon scores! The blessing works both ways:-)

Happy Coupon Clipping
~Michelle~

A New Blog Find

Friends, I have found a delightful new blog that I would love to share with you. I have visited this site often and have been blessed each time I have stopped by.
This is a young woman by the name of Jen whose wisdom seems far superior to her years. She posts mouth watering recipes, and thought provoking content. Something to feed the tummy and the soul! If you follow the link here, she is giving away a delightful apron and handbag that she herself has made.
Above all, it appears she has a heart for the Lord. She has a very feminine blog and posts many lovely pictures. Her blog is truly delightful. For the Teen girls in my Sunday school class, this is definitely a site for you. I hope you all enter and win one of her fantastic giveaways!

Blessings,
~Michelle~

First Time Target Deals

I have to admit, I have not been a huge fan of Target. I

rarely shop there and on the few occasions I have, I have not found

many deals. Today I take all that back. Let me share my deals

with you. First I got the above candles. They were $5.99 each

but I had (2) $4cpn that I had printed off moneysavingmom.

The total came to $3.98 +tax. However I got a $5.oo Target gift card,

making them free + overage!

Deal #2. I kinda screwed this one up because I did not print

enough cpns @ home, but it was such a good deal I got it

anyway. The cereal is on sale for $2.39/bx. If you buy 5 boxes

you get a $5.00 Target gift card. I had only printed 2 cpns. But after

using the 5.00 gift card in Deal #1, I paid 4.95 for 5 boxes of Special

K cereal. Less than $1.00 box!!

Deal #3. Total OOP for this deal .77cents. I had a $1.50/2 on

the shells, $1.25 on the deodorant and a $2 cpn for the snuggle.

So for all the above I spent $10.19. I think that is pretty good. Thank you to Moneysaving Mom and A thrifty Mom for all these great deals. I will definitely be looking at the target deals a little more closely!

Michelle

A Must Read

I was surfing this morning, when I stumbled onto a beautiful post, at a blog, I've never been before (My God is always in the details). I am very careful to read the content and philosophy of a blog before I send any reader there. I Corinthians 8:12 "But when ye sin so against the brethren, and would their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ." I did not read the whole blog. However the post that I read spoke volumes to my heart. I encourage you to read the post here. If you venture off this post please do so knowing I haven't read this site.

I found the post inspiring and reflective......... may you be blessed.

Michelle

A &W Free Root Beer Float With Purchase

O.K., If you weren't hungry after the last post, here is another one for ya! You can get a free small Root Beer float with any purchase after you print the cpn here. I was able to print three for my family, so I don't think there is a limit. For those of you who live around here, there is a A&W in Lake George, as well as the Kentucky Fried Chicken which carries the A&W brand in Queensbury. Kentucky Fried Chicken also has a dollar menu, making an inexpensive treat for the whole family!!

Michelle

Dominos Free Pasta Bread Bowl Wed April 29th

It is being reported that Domino's Pizza is giving away a free Bread Bowl pasta from 11am-2pm tomorrow 4/29. However not all stores are participating. I just called the Glens Falls store and they said that they were not participating. I then called the Hudson Falls store and the man stated "yes I think we are". It probably would not hurt to call ahead anyway. We will defenitely be stopping by the Hudson Falls store to see if this deal works. I will keep you posted!

Michelle

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

The Making Of A Heavenly Marriage-Part IV

This is the final post in our Marriage Series. I pray you all have been as blessed

as I have, by the women who have shared their hearts with you on this very important sbject of making a God honoring marriage. This guest post is written by Kathy . She hosts the blog

In My Mother's Garden

She has been married (for soon to be) 23 years! I have been blessed by Kathy's blog and I pray you will be blessed as she shares her heart with us.

And They Two Shall be One Flesh

I would first like to thank Michelle for her heart for God Honoring marriages.

When Michelle first wrote me about writing a guest post on the subject of marriage, I felt very humbled. I was truly blessed from the last three posts in this series.

My name is Kathy and I am wife to my wonderful husband Doug. We will soon be celebrating our 23rd wedding Anniversary. We have been blessed with eight children ages 20-2 years old. We are a home schooling family and have home schooled for the past 13 years.

My husband and I were saved in 1992. Since then our lives have changed miraculously.

The Lord has done a great work in our marriage so I thought I would share a few things that I have learned along the way.

In the book of Genesis we read that God created Adam and Eve. We read that Eve was taken from Adam's rib and Adam states that she is bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh.

Do you know that we are also created for our husband? God prepared us for the exact man that he has chosen for us.

Ephesians 5:31 "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh..."

We are no longer single before God, but we become one with our spouse.

In Ephesians 5:21-32 the Bible compares marriage between a man and a woman as a picture of the Lord Jesus marrying His Bride the Church, and the type of relationship that we are to have with our husbands.

When we unite in matrimony, when we say those vows before God. We promise that this union is for life.

Ecclesiastes chapter 5

*4 "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it: for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed".

*5 "Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay".

When we make a vow before God we are to stand by that vow. Today's view of marriage is "If I do not like how things are going I can just throw in the towel and quit". This is not God's plan at all. When I finally realized this in my marriage it was a great turning point.

I thought I would share a little testimony from my life since my daughter said that this might be a blessing to someone out there who might be struggling in their marriage.

Before my husband and I were saved, our marriage was very different.

We followed the philosophy of the world. I should say that I did.

My husband was from a divorced home and this was something that

he had decided that he never wanted for his own life. I on the other hand

had come from a home where my parents remained married.

I must say I was young and so foolish. I did not love my husband as I should

and I was very selfish. I wanted things my way and I was difficult to please.

If my husband and I got into an argument, I foolishly thought that the best

thing was for us to just separate and get a divorce. The way of thinking by most people in

today's world.

After we were saved for a couple of years the Lord really began working in my heart

and life, and in my husband's. I started to learn what a God Honoring marriage was

supposed to be like and I knew that I had to make some changes in my life.

One afternoon my husband and I had a disagreement. I was upset and my emotions finally took over. I was ready to say those terrible words again "If you do not like it here you can just leave". Instead the Holy Spirit got a hold of my heart and I realized what I was about to say. I quickly changed my words to this- "If you do not like it here that is just too bad. The Bible says that you are stuck with me". My husband just looked at me , I think in shock. This is when I finally realized that I made this commitment and it was for life.

As I share this testimony, it is in hopes of encouraging anyone who is struggling to see that God has a greater plan, and that through His grace we can have a marriage that is heaven here on earth.

In our Church we heave a yearly couples retreat. I love attending these. My husband and I have learned a lot about having a God honoring marriage. I would encourage all of you to take advantage of such retreats, it will strengthen your marriage and your home.

Did you know that marriage can be a part of heaven here on earth?

Here are a few things that I have learned that have really been a great blessing to our marriage.

Share terms of endearment, My husband loves to cal me his Sweet Gal:)

Love your man-We need to stop looking through dark color glasses and start looking for the good.

Be his help meet-There can be great satisfaction in helping your man:)

Make him his favorite meal.

When he comes home give him a great big hug and a big smooch and tell how much you missed him. (Just a side note: Our children love to see Daddy and Mommy being affectionate with each other)

Listen to him and make him feel important to you.

Talk some love talk. You know, tell him how handsome he is. Tell him how strong he is and what a good provider he is. When I look at my husband in this way things really sweeten up in our relationship. How very blessed we are to have that special someone in our lives to share life with.

As I began to allow the Lord to work in my life, he also began working in my husbands life.

Through these past 23 years together things have grown sweeter as we grew closer in our walk with the Lord. May you all be blessed as you walk together with your spouse in the newness of life.

God Bless, Kathy

Michelle here. If you missed the first three posts in this series you can read them here, here and here. I pray you all have been as blessed as I have!

Blessings, Michelle

The Making Of A Heavenly Mariage Part III

The J.O.Y. Of Marriage

1. Jesus

Your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ must be your number one priority if you are going to be successful in all other relationships: marriage, motherhood,friendships,family, etc. God's Word teaches us how to treat each of these relationships so that we will succeed and have joy! But my relationship with Jesus Christ must come first.

In fact, if I put anyone or anything before Christ, I am not only breaking the first commandment, I also make God jealous.

Exodus20:3, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

Exodus 20:5, "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God..."

Exodus34:14, "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God."

My first challenge to you is to read your Bible and pray every morning. Let Jesus fill your cup to running over,so you will have plenty to give your husband, children, and other relationships. If my cup is empty when my husband comes home from a long, hard day at work, not only will I not be able to encourage him, I will place pressure on him to encourage me and fill me. That is not his job.

On the other hand, if I read my Bible, pray, listen to Godly music throughout the day, maybe even a preaching CD, and allow the Spirit of God to fill me and keep me full, when my husband comes home from a long, hard day at work, I have much to give. I will be able to minister and encourage my man.That is what I was made to do. The Bible says...

Genesis 2:18, "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him."

1 Corinthians 11:9, "Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man."

2. Others

More specifically, your husband. He comes second; not the children, a job or career, a hobby, etc. Remember, we are on the path to JOY!!! This is the Bible way and it is the only way to real JOY!

Once my cup is filled and my spirit is healthy and in tune with the Holy Spirit, I can now be what I was created to be: my husband's helper/completer. He needs me, and God created me with all the tools necessary to meet his needs. It is my job to learn what my husband's needs are and how to effectively meet them. My husband's needs will be different in many ways than your husband's needs. It is your job to learn about your husband.

I love the man I chose to marry! I love my marriage and desperately want it to succeed. I promised, "Till death do us part...", and by God's grace, I intend to keep my promise. But I do not want to be miserable in the process. The way to find true JOY in marriage is to go to the Creator of marriage and get some advice! His name is Jesus Christ, and His Word, the Bible,has all the answers! His advice cannot and will not fail! It may not be popular advice, and many might even despise it. II Timothy 1:12, "for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

The only way I am able to put my husband above my own self is to walk humbly with my God and obey His plan for my life. That is the only route to true JOY! Many wives seek their own "rights" first and desire for their husbands to help them reach their goals. That is completely backwards to God's plan and will result in much frustration, not peace and JOY.

3. You

You may come last, but you are not to be left out. Just because I am putting others before myself does not mean I neglect myself. Do not neglect yourself. When all is said and done, before there was your husband, there was you. Before there were your children, there was you. Your children will grow up and leave the nest. If statistics are true, your husband may die in old age before you. Then there will still be you. The Bible says in Psalm 139:14 you were "...fearfully and wonderfully made..." You are special and very important to God. he loves you! And so do I! I hope you will take time to invest in you. Here are some ideas:

~Walk with the Lord.

This takes us back to our original point of this article. You will be fulfilled when you are saved and walking with Jesus on a daily basis. You will feel loved when you, by faith, accept who you are in Christ and how He feels about you. You will experience the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in your life: love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. You are investing in you when you walk with God!

~Every morning, bathe, fix your hair, put your make-up on (if you wear it), and get dressed. You'd be surprised, but many homemaker moms hang out for the day in sweats, greasy hair pulled back in a pony, and feel gross about themselves! It's no wonder! Respect yourself enough to look great! Face your day with purpose. Use check lists and have goals to succeed at what you do!

~Plan to do something you really enjoy at least once a week. Treat yourself to a Starbucks; get your hair done professionally, or you and a friend do each others hair; go shopping for new kitchen towels, work on redecorating a room in your house, go jogging...whatever you enjoy doing! Choose a time that is convenient for your husband, and maybe he will even watch the kids while you go! :)

The J.O.Y. in Marriage is putting Jesus first, your husband second, and then yourself. It's God's plan, and it works!

God Bless,

Teya

Teya is wife to Joshua. They have been married 12 years. She is a busy Pastor's wife and homeschooling Mama to 4 children. I have the privilege of not only having her as my Pastor's wife but as my friend. I pray you are blessed by her post. Michelle

This is an awesome deal. I recently tried this and really loved it! You all know my trick of watering down fabric softener. If not you can read about it here. This softener is highly concentrated and I didn't notice any difference when I watered it down, and it lasted twice as long! Sign up here to print your $2 cpn!

Thanks, Money Saving Mom

We Do

I promised Pictures................

Rich, in taking the woman whom you hold by your hands, do you promise to continue to pledge to her your complete loyalty, devotion, love & affection; and do you pledge to give special honor to her as unto the weaker vessel; to dwell with her according to knowledge and understanding; and forsaking all others, to keep only to her lest you sin against God and blaspheme His Holy name?

Michelle, in taking this man who holds you by his hands, do you promise to continue to pledge to him your complete loyalty, devotion, love, and affection; will you strive to be a crown to his life and acknowledge him gladly as the head of your home, and forsaking all others, to keep only to him lest you sin against God and blaspheme His Holy name?

And do you both solemnly swear that you will never seek to end this marriage in a Court of Law by divorce?

WE DO!

The Making Of A Heavenly Marriage Part II

Wanda, a dear friend of mine, is married to her husband Mike, of Seventeen

Years. She is also Mama to 3 boys. She home schools their 2 oldest children. Mike and Wanda's youngest son in autistic. Wanda has been a woman in my life, God has used to

teach me about faith. Wanda is a constant encourager to those around her,

and truly has a servants heart. She serves is many ministries of our church and is

always seeking to be a blessing to those around her. I hope you are

blessed by this post.

Hello Ladies. I would like to tell you how honored I am that Michelle has asked me to post on her blog, regarding this very important subject of marriage. I first and foremost would like to give all the praise and glory to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for anything that I may say that may be a help to anyone in their marriage. For it is by His grace and mercy that I am able to do anything.

My husband is an aircraft mechanic. His job takes him away from his family four days out of the week. He works out of state and travels by car and plane to get to his job. If there is a need or an emergency at home, he cannot immediately get home. Sometimes I can not even reach him. He does this to provide for our family.

Is it difficult to have to be separated?

Most Definitely!

We have 3 sons. Two Teens and One Pre-teen. I home school our Teen boys and our Pre-teen is Autistic. Our Autistic son is non-verbal, (he does like to babble a lot) and requires a great deal of his needs met in many areas. It can be quite draining and challenging at times. However he is a tremendous blessing, as are all our children. They are a most precious gift from God.

Is it always easy to care for the needs of our

Autistic son, while also meeting the needs of

my other children?

No it is not!

Would my husband prefer to be at home more?

You Betcha!

But (big but here), we don't do any of it in our own strength. We would fail every time. We are nothing more than two sinners, saved by grace. We struggle with our flesh daily.

II Corinthians 12:9 says, "My grace is sufficient forthee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness".

The source of our strength, and center of our marriage, is Christ!

He guides, protects and shows us the way within our lives and marriage.We all have circumstances in our marriage that can destroy our marriages, if we chose to let them. We have chosen to trust God for our marriage.Let me just say our marriage is far from perfect. We do have our moments of "intense fellowship", but when we took our vows of marriage, before God and man, we meant them. Not for just when things were going good, or when everything was fun and exciting, but until death do us part.

I was made for my husband. That is my role- my husband's helpmeet. Genesis 2:18 says,"And the Lord God said it is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him an helpmeet for him". That's me!!!!

Whether my husband is at home or not, I am doing my God ordained job and loving it and my man! The caring and nurturing for my boys falls largely on me-as it should.That is my role, Keeper of the Home. (Titus 2:15) I must remember I was made for him, not him for me.II Corinthians 11:9

Because of my husbands schedule, the time we do have together is precious and we try to make the most of it. Here are just a few of the things that we try and do together:

We go on dates

Attend Church couple activities

We play together(Wii bowling for example)

We laugh You must be able to laugh together

Most important we worship together. Our church and church family are very important to us. my husband teaches junior Church and I assist him in this area. He is a wonderful teacher and I enjoy spending time helping him in this vital ministry. He is teaching the future Preachers, Teachers, and Missionaries!

You must pray together, and seek Gods will for your marriage

I could choose to be bitter about the circumstances that take my husband away from me, our boys and our home. But I choose to LOVE! love is a choice.Just as accepting Christ as your Saviour is a choice.

The world's view says if your marriage isn't going along as you like, get rid of it. God never forces us to do His will- It is a choice. Joshua24:15

My husband and I have chosen to chose God's way. Matthew 19:6 says,"Wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder."

I pray that you would first spend time on your knees seeking God's will for whatever situation it may be. Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call unto me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

Don't stop communicating with your husband. You are in this journey of marriage together. I pray that your answer to these difficulties, or whatever situation you may be in, would be......

Forever And Always No Matter What

I'm Loving my God and I'm loving my man! I love you all and I am praying for you and your

Marriages!

Because He Lives

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow

Because He lives, all fear is gone,

Because I know, He holds the future

And life is worth the living

Just because He lives!

Because He Lives............

I have an eternal home in Heaven

when I called upon the name

of the Lord Jesus Christ

Because He lives...........

You too, can also have a home in Heaven when you die

Have you ever trusted Jesus?

"He is not here:for he has risen, as he said. Come, see

the place where the Lord lay."

Matthew 28:6

I

Romantic Getaway Pics

We had a wonderful time on our getaway! This
is a rear view of the castle. From the balcony you
had a breathtaking view of Lake George.

A gorgeous view:-) The lake was nice too!
I love you sweetie!!

This is an outside stone fireplace. This is lit around
dusk. Very romantic.



A family of ducks swimming by. You can't see it
in this photo, but there was still ice on the lake.


A picture of a chandelier in the bathroom. Can you
imagine having a chandelier in your bathroom at
home?



We were relaxing a bit in our room after dinner,
when I noticed this. For those of you who know
my husband, this is so in step with him. When I
mentioned the fact to him that his socks didn't match,
His reply? "Really these aren't the same color?"
I love sharing my life with this man.



The man of my dreams!

He is my King and I love being His Queen!!

The Makings Of A Heavenly Marriage Monday

Welcome to The Makings of A Heavenly Marriage Monday Series. I am thrilled you have stopped by.


First I want to share that our Series will run every Monday through the month of April. I have asked some dear friends of mine to guest post during this series, so I feel like I will be learning right along with everyone else.



I pray these posts will encourage, strengthen and edify the marriages of those who read this blog. I pray that God's divine plan for marriage would be uplifted. So without further ado let's begin.


Please Note: These are only suggestions that I am sharing that have worked in my own quest to have a heavenly marriage. The Word of God, Your husband and of course your Pastor are the best forms of Godly counsel.



Do Not Compare Your Marriage With Another

Just as we are all individuals in our walks with the Lord, so is our Marriage. God's word states in 2 Corinthians 10:12b " But they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." What works in one marriage, may not work in another. It is easy to look at the perfect couple on Sunday Morning and "imagine" that there is something lacking in your own marriage. You may think they never argue, never struggle and that they live in paradise. You measure your marriage against theirs, and you come up lacking and feeling unsatisfied. It is easy at times to look at another marriage, especially if you are struggling in yours, and feel you don't measure up. Don't be deceived by the Devil in this area. Your marriage is the one your living and your control lies in your reactions. You do not know the struggles another marriage faces. Some people put on a good game face, when in reality the struggles in their marriage may be far greater than your own.



Do Not Become Your Husbands Holy Spirit

When my Husband first got saved, I failed miserably in this area. There were many times I thought my Husband wasn't serving as he ought to, or giving enough, or reading his Bible enough, whatever..you fill in the blank. By God's mercy, I learned that God is more than capable of growing my Husband into the man He created him to be. I had to learn, to lift my Husband to the Lord. When Rich, first got saved He made a mental list of jobs in the Church He would not do. He was never gonna be an usher. "I hope they never ask me to teach a Sunday school class", etc., the list was endless. I thought I knew best and often attempted to influence him to my way of thinking. Ever been there? God started working in my heart. After reading and studying God's Word and reading books on marriage, written by some very wise women, I learned that if I could trust God with my eternal soul, then I could trust Him with my Husband. I started earnestly praying for Rich. I prayed God would burn a desire in His heart for His word. I prayed He would have a burden for lost Souls.I prayed He would desire to serve Him in whatever God did call him to do. And you know what, God did exactly that. My Husband now does all those areas of service that He said He would never do, and then some. He also is now the Youth Director of our Teen group. God did a mighty work,...... when I stepped out of the way. See, God knew all along what He was to have Rich to do. I was hindering the work of the Holy Spirit. He couldn't hear the Lord, because I didn't shut up!! I truly do not try to influence my Husband in the areas God has called him to lead. If He asks my opinion, I give it. If I don't completely agree , I let Him know. But I don't lead, and I strive not to influence His decisions. I do tell him I am praying, and I know God will lead Him to what is right for our family.



Do Become Your Husbands Biggest Encourager

Ladies this area is so important. It has been said that behind every great man there is a great woman. I believe there to be a large amount of truth to that. I believe scripture supports that. Look at Timothy whose Mother Eunice and Grandmother Lois, were a great influence to the young Timothy. Look at Hannah. Look at Ruth. Women have tremendous influence, especially over their man. Do you encourage your husband to be all he can be? Do you tell him often how wonderful you think he really is? Do you tell him you think that he is a great leader? Do you let him know that you believe in him? Really believe in him. I am not suggesting that you give your husbands empty flattery. I am suggesting that you pray specifics for you husbands. Every man has been called to lead. He may not lead a major corporation or become a Pastor of a Church. He may not even ever hold a supervisory position at his work, however your husband has been called to lead...... his family. God Almighty has placed the man as the head of the wife and home. "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church:" Ephesians 5:23a. Your husband desperately needs your encouragement, although he probably will never ask you for it.


Do Date Your Husband

Do you remember when you and your husband were first dating? The excitement you felt when you knew you would be seeing him. Do you remember how he smelled? How he held your hand? How you would spend hours preparing for your dates? Maybe none of those things happened to you. They sure did me, and you know what, I still get excited when I know I get to spend special alone time with my hubby. Plan special time with your husband!! I know times are tough, but there are many things you could do that are special right at home. First, greet your husband when he returns home from work. Be excited to see him. Remember he has been away from you all day. Greet him with kindness and a tender kiss, let him know, through your kiss, that you have been "really missing him" . Can we stop here just for a moment. Some people are uncomfortable discussing physical marital relations. The world has perverted sex. God didn't. He is not shy at all about discussing it, and even dedicated one of the 66 books in the Bible to it. The Song of Solomon is a very literal book on the love relationship between man and wife. Ladies start kissing your husbands like you mean it!

Give him what he can't get anywhere else! A whole series could be written in regards to the marriage bed. Don't let the world steal what God created in the bounds of Holy matrimony. You have a license for that. Wow him with your love, encourage him, kiss him like you mean it, and watch the miracle start unfolding right before your eyes!! And don't forget date your hubby!!

Do Put Your Husband Before All Others

"Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband." 1cor 7:3

My husband usually calls home at lunchtime to check how things are going in our day. He often checks on our home school progress for the day and if we have gotten the mail. We have call waiting as a free option on our phone/computer package. Many times a friend of mine who home schools as well, and I would be talking. It would be break time for both of us and a good time to call one another. I wouldn't always tell my Husband that I was on the other line, but He almost could always tell by the tone of my voice. I didn't really think it to be a big deal, as in my mind He was never really calling for anything specific. However that was not at all how He felt. He felt I was choosing her, over him. Silly? Maybe to you, but it wasn't to Him. I do seek to please my Husband and I immediately apologized and don't do it anymore. I take my Husband's phone calls over any others that I may be engaged in. I tell the other person that my Husband is on the other line and I must go. That does two things: 1. It tells my Husband that I prefer Him over all others and 2. It lets the other caller know that my Husband is important to me. Is there someone or something that your husband thinks you prefer over him? Don't be afraid to ask your husband. If he tells you something, take it seriously and do your best to make sure he knows he is your #1!


My Husband and I have just celebrated 15 years of marriage, and while our marriage is not perfect, we strive to have a God honoring marriage. We both work diligently to become the wife and husband God has called us to be. I pray this series will be a blessing to you. I am praying for you.
Blessings, Michelle

Aldi Colby Cheese on Sale

I was in Aldi yesterday and they had their Happy Farms brand brick Colby cheese on clearance for, are you ready for this, .69cents!! Can you believe that? Cheese has been so expensive as of late.

Milk prices are starting to decline, so it makes sense butter and cheese will follow. They also had their 8oz. sliced Mild Cheddar Cheese on sale for $1.29. I have know idea how long this sale is for, but I purchased 3 blocks of the Colby and placed in my freezer. I have never myself froze cheese before, but have read of many people in blog land that have. I'll keep you posted. Cheese is a hot item in this home and I can't imagine it staying in the freezer for long!!!

I will not be posting for 2 days, as my sweetie and me are taking off tomorrow morning for our romantic getaway. I would love to say I will miss you all, but honestly, I know I will be much to busy:-)

Blessings, Michelle

Our Anniversary Celebration

I know I promised to post today about our extravagant mystery get away in celebration of our 15th wedding anniversary, but before I give away all the details, I first and foremost want to Praise the Lord for my marriage! I praise Him for the man He gave me and the desire that God placed in my heart , to be his helpmeet.



You see I believe in the holy union of marriage. I believe according to Scripture that marriage is the first union God created, way back in Genesis 2. (Genesis 2:18) I believe God believes in marriage. (Malachi 3:6). I also believe that Satan has declared an all out war on the holy union of one man and one wife.



Beside my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, my marriage is the most important relationship in my life. I adore my son and He is an integral part of our family, but Lord willing our son will leave our home and cleave unto the wife God brings him one day(Genesis 2:24). If I do not cherish and honor the marriage I have now, we may become two strangers at the end of our child rearing, with only fragments of a marriage remaining.



We work hard at our marriage and I believe our marriage thrives because Christ is the center of our marriage. Both my husband and I believe we are nothing in and of ourselves. Any success we have in any area of our lives is by God's grace and mercy.



Marriage is at times hard work. We are both sinners saved by grace, with an inherent sin nature. As my Husband has said many times before, our Soul got saved, not our flesh. However God has placed the desire in my heart to meet the needs of this man, I call my husband. We will be talking at length about the desire in a woman's heart toward her husband in 0ur upcoming marriage series.



I said all that, to say this , I LOVE MY MAN!! I look forward to our romantic getaway in just 2 days. As I said this is a bit extravagant for us, but we are celebrating in style this year! You can read here and see pictures of this 10 room castle.I hope to be sharing some fun pictures of the Inn and our anniversary celebration. We will also be renewing our wedding vows to one another on Sunday April 5th in our evening Church service. We want to stand before God and man and say that we are as committed today as we were 15 years ago! To God be the Glory!!!



Can I encourage you all to work hard on your marriage, cherish the spouse God has given you, and above all else seek God first in all that you do!! It is my belief, if you do all this, you will have a marriage worth praising! I am praying for you!



Blessings, Michelle



P.S. Have you hugged your hubby today?

We Love Getting The Mail

I don't know about your house, but we love getting the mail here. My son usually beats me to get the mail, and there is usually not a day that goes by that my husband doesn't call and ask if we got the mail yet. You would think that we were waiting for the Publishers Clearing House check or something!!

I love getting the mail, because at least once a week there is a freebie in it for me! Thanks, to Money Saving Mom I am usually not at a loss for free stuff! Today my son picked up the mail and tada, 3 free things!

First, this is the 3rd issue of Woman's Day that I have received absolutely FREE! I got an issue last week that was full of some great coupons. If you didn't get your copy yet, read here.

I also received a free cookbook pamphlet full of recipes from kitchen Basics. I quickly looked through and will be trying some of these real soon. I made a hefty portion of vegetable stock about a month ago, with some left over fresh vegetables that I had, and froze several quart size single use bags in my freezer. Great way to save money on stock! It is also very healthy for you.

Third, I received a card from Bath & Body for a free travel size item ($5.00 value) for their new Signature Collection, no purchase required. The card is also good for 20% off your entire purchase. I was in Bath & Body just a few days ago. I didn't have any coupons and couldn't find any deep sales, so I left. Thanks, to my free travel size item card, I'll be headed back during the sale. 4/6-4/26. Thanks, Bath & Body.

To receive each of these free items really only took a few minutes of my time to sign up! Did I mention, we really love getting the mail here!!!

Blessings, Michelle

It's Been Nearly 2 Weeks

Whew!! It's been nearly 2 weeks since we all last talked! Where does time fly. Right out the window if we are not careful.

Seriously, it has been insanely busy around here. The week before last we cared for our friends 3 children (dog&cat), while they were out of town for a conference. I was essentially running two homes (wouldn't reccommend that for any length of time) homeschooled 2 extra kids, and let a friend stay in our home who is going through a real struggle in His marrigage. Our friends were gone for 7 days and it was my hope that I could blog from their home. Secondary to some issues with their computer, I was never able to log on and get some blogging done.

Our friends arrived home on Friday afternoon and I went off to work a 5 hour shift at the hospital. I was also scheduled to work Saturday 5-9p. On Sunday we hosted a visiting Preacher and his family, who preached for our congregation, while our Preacher was out of town. It has always been a blessing to our family to host Men of God!

Are you tired yet? Move on to week two. A few weeks back, my boss at the hospital called with an exciting opportunity. There is some exciting new technology on the forefront of cardiac(heart) care and our hospital is going to be providing some of these services. As many of you know I left my full-time job as a nurse, in pursuit of a higher calling. That is, I decided with my husband and the Lord, to become a full-time keeper of our home. This means that my primary responsibilities are to my husband first and then my family, and all that goes into caring for a home. I still do work as a perdiem nurse on the average of 5-6 shifts a month. The Lord has blessed me with the ability to earn a very good hourly wage and be an incredible blessing to my husband. You can read about how I left my job here and

here and here .

At any rate, when my boss called and asked if I would be interested in becoming the nurse to oversee these procedures, I was thrilled. The procedures are one day a week, for 3 hours in the morning! Perfect for me-:) My husband gave the o.k. and I was off for the training. The training took place over 4 (10) hour days (last week). So there you have it. That is where I have been. I sure have missed you all.

Sure is good to be at a little more normal pace this week. I do have to share with you all, that God showed abundant mercy to me over the past 2 weeks! His mercy was truly new every morning. Things went so smoothly and we were thrilled to be a blessing to our friends. I got all that needed to be done and then some. (Except blogging, sorry) I know this post is getting long but............... This is the week my honey and I go away to our 15th wedding anniversary celebration. I plan on posting about this tomorrow and let you all in on the gorgeous, romantic ,elegant place we are going to stay. I am very excited to have this time to be all alone with my sweetheart!!!!!!!!!!!!

The marriage series is shaping up and I am so excited about the Ladies who will be helping me with this. Look forward to some great blogging on the subject of marriage!!

The picture in the upper left hand corner is of the tulips popping up in our backyard. It's official,

Spring is here!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blessings, Michelle