By His Grace and For His Glory

2011-07-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 31

I am thankful for the Biblical Example of the Proverbs 31 Woman.

Not that I have attained this rank, I fail daily, however I am thankful for the example that we have to follow. As Christian Wives & Mothers we have to continually seek the Word of God, for our job description. We can not look to the World for those examples of Biblical Womanhood.

We will never line up to the TV Mom, The model type Wife, The successful career Woman, who appears to have it all. It is like comparing apples to oranges. Both fruit, but very different.

I have never felt more fulfilled as a Woman as when I line my goals up with God's Word. We must feast on the teachings of God's Word. Our families are depending on it!

Baby Step:4 Paying Off Credit Card Debt

2011-04-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

We have covered budgeting over the last few posts. Hopefully you all have a budget in place and are starting to reap the benefits of your money working with you and for you, instead of your money working you.

Today we are going to discuss the next area in baby steps...to big dreams, and that is paying off your debt. When your debt will be paid off completely depends on many factors, unique to your situation.One thing is sure, if you are persistent in paying down your debt and do not acquire new debt, in time you will be debt free. That is the goal you must keep in front of you.

As We have talked in the past, it doesn't make a lot of financial sense to have a large savings account, if you are paying off high interest credit card debt every month. However, you should have an Emergency plan in place. Your Emergency fund is the first thing you should fund even before paying off your credit card debt. If you missed that post you can read it here. Your emergency fund allows you to stay on budget, when the unexpected happens.

Once your Emergency Fund is fully funded (On average $1000), You can start your credit card payoff. First make a list of all your unsecured debt. Unsecured debt typically carries a much higher interest rate. An example of Secured debt would be a mortgage.

Make a list of the balance on each card, the minimum payment due each month, and the interest rate you are being charged

Start with the highest interest rate,... say 19.9%

Make your monthly payment & any extra money you receive is placed on the highest interest rate debt. Continue making all your other payments on time

When you get any extra money, overtime, birthday money, Income Tax.....

add it to the scheduled payment

Say your payment is $50, you made an extra $30 at work this month, you now make an $80/payment

When the highest debt is paid off (this goes faster than you might think)

you now take the $50 you were paying on the first debt and add that to the second debt

Scenario looks like this:

Debt #1 paid off

Apply payment from Debt #1 and add it to debt #2 Second Highest Interest Card

Debt #2 Paid off

Now you take what you were paying on Debt #1 & Debt #2 and apply to Debt #3

So lets say Debt #1 is $50.00/mo &; Debt #2 is $60.00/mo

The Scheduled payment for debt #3 is $80.00/mo

Your new payment for debt #3 after Debt 1&2 are paid, is

$190.00/mo

Or if you spend $500.00 per month in debt reduction you continue paying $500.00 until all debt is paid. The key here is when you start to pay down debt, that you do not take the freed up money and spend it, or worse yet acquire new debt. Just because you have paid some debt down does not mean you now have "extra" money, especially if you still have more debt.

This is known as the Snowball effect and it is very effective in helping you reduce your debt.

Remember all this debt did not happen overnight and will not go away overnight. Our goal is to stay focused and remember we are taking baby steps........to big dreams!!

Baby Step #3: Funding Your Emergency Fund

2011-03-21T07:16:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks we have discussed preparing a Budget. Your Budget is your written plan to achieve Financial Freedom.

Today we are going to discuss the next very important step toward your financial freedom........
The Emergency Fund

The Emergency Fund is money set aside so that you do not have to take money from the designated areas in your budget, should some type of an emergency arise. Let's face it, life happens. You must be prepared for the unexpected expense.

Your Emergency Fund is not vacation money. Hopefully if you are planning a vacation, you have prepared for that and have been setting money aside. However if you are up to your eyeballs in debt, you might consider allocating your vacation dollars to debt reduction. Once your debt is reduced or better yet eliminated, plan your dream vacation. Remember we are taking baby steps to BIG dreams. Once you set your goals on eliminating your debt, you will be amazed how quickly, your balances start to go down.The Emergency fund is just that. Cash put aside for unexpected emergency expenses. Some examples would be, Car repairs, Furnace repairs, Emergency Travel.......

The first goal is to pay all your bills on time, and eliminate late fees and extra charges. Once you have achieved that goal, (and that should be your very first goal) you need to set some money aside so that you can stay on budget.

If an emergency should arise, furnace breaks, car breaks down and you do not have allocated funds, you will use the money set aside for your bills, to fix the emergent problem. Most of us need our vehicles. If you live anywhere it is cold, you definitely need your furnace. The emergency fund stops the cycle of
"Robbing Peter to pay Paul"

It is unwise to start paying down credit card debit, if you have nothing put away for a rainy day. Most experts say $1000.00 emergency fund is a good place to start. Any extra monies you get go directly into your emergency fund, until it is fully funded at $1000.00 For some that could be Tax Time. Say you are expecting a big tax refund (lots of theories on that.. hopefully we will cover in the weeks to come). That is when the majority of us receive a lump sum of money. That would be an excellent use of your tax return! For some it might bet an extra hour or two of overtime every week, or in my family's case an extra shift a week for me at the hospital. My husband works overtime every week, with the exception of vacation time. Maybe taking bottles back could be the $5.00 that starts your fund. The theme throughout this series:
Is just start somewhere and start today!

Let's recap the last few Weeks:

Start A Spending Log

Create A Budget

Pay Bills On Time

Fund An Emergency Fund

The Spending Log definitely is the number one tool to help you create a budget. First, it will show you areas where you can curb your spending.. Secondly, it will show you what you spend your money on, thus identifying categories in your budget. Make your budget personal to fit the needs of your family. Don't forget categories such as Birthdays, Christmas, Pets, Insurance Premiums, etc., anything you spend your money on needs to be in a category.

Once you have the above steps in place, start funding the Emergency Fund
Place the goal on your fridge, anywhere you are inspired to keep on track
Get your whole Family involved
Help them to see the vision of debt free living
Remember every step gets you one step closer.....to your dreams!

Next Week
Paying Down Credit Cards

2011-03-12T16:29:00.000-08:00

Baby Step #2: Make Cuts To The Budget

Hopefully you have all been working on your budgets and spending logs. You have been working hard and have found some areas where you can reduce your spending. You have reviewed your spending log and cut out unnecessary spending. You have put some type of budget plan in place. Remember start small. This budget will be revised and revised again. If you have not started your budget, I encourage you to read here and here.

Once you have your budget, hopefully you are working on a cash basis only for your groceries. Let me just say here that your grocery budget, for most people, is the easiest to trim of most categories in the House Hold budget. You can make meatless meals, drink H2o, cut & use coupons. Grow a garden. Shop lost leader sales. This is where the store actually takes a loss on some of their advertised sale items. Their goal is to get you into the store so you will spend more than you plan to. Shopping just lost leaders will save you money.

Next you need to find areas in your budget where you can reduce, cancel, or just plain do without. When you have a mountain of debt, can't pay your bills on time, and are living paycheck to paycheck, these are serious signs that your financial stability is in question. Our culture has the mind set that luxuries have now become the new necessities. You need to take a hard look at what you need versus what you think you need.

Two of the first areas that we cut out were Cable and Cell phones. We were fortunate that our Cell phone contract only had a few months to go, when we decided to cut them from our budget. The cell phone is a perfect example to share with you. When we first got the phones (We each had one) the bill was supposed to be 65.00/mo on the Family Talk Plan, with a 2 year contract. However the bill was never 65.00/mo. Some months it was over $100.00!! We couldn't afford the cell phones, but we kept them anyway. It would be embarrassing to say we didn't have cell phones. Or at least that's what we thought... We were without cell phones for three years. We now have a prepaid Tracfone which we got about 1 1/2 years ago. My Father In Law purchased the phone because He wanted to assure he could locate us if needed. At the time my Mother In Law was quite ill,... and has since passed away. We have kept the Tracfone, but if things got too tight , it would be the first to go. Cell phones are certainly convenient, and some may say a necessity in today's world, but we survived without them. The truth was We couldn't afford them.

The next item to get cut in our early budget, was the cable. This was by far the hardest for my husband. He LOVES sports. He very much missed the games he could only get on the cable stations. But, we did the hard thing...... we cut cable from our budget. We were without cable for about 2 years. We now have basic cable because we have a bundle package with our Phone & Internet, for a much better rate than we could get separately.

As I have mentioned before, the Third tough thing we did was get rid of our second car. We did this a little backwards, though. We had a Jeep Cherokee that was paid for and a Chevy Venture Mini Van. We sold the paid for Jeep, and went down to the Mini Van. My husband works 1 hour from where we live and a reliable vehicle is a must. In retrospect, we should have gotten rid of the car payment vehicle, and put a few hundred dollars into the paid off vehicle. Oh well, I told you all this is a journey.........

Getting out of debt takes hard work and sacrifice. I cannot stress this point enough. There is no simple answer. No one exercise will immediately turn your financial picture around. It will take baby steps. Learning new strategies, building new skills, making do and doing without. I remember reading somewhere in our early journey towards becoming debt free, that a Snowman is built one snowflake at a time... I have never forgotten that. We paid our credit card debt off One At A Time. Today we have NO Credit Card Debit!!

I would be a miss not to mention the incredible mercy God showed to us. I am so thankful for His goodness to us. It has been a long road, but He has guided and sustained us every step of the way!

It is my prayer, for those reading, that you too are taking baby steps......to big dreams!

Stay tuned for next weeks Step 3: The Emergency Fund

Blessings,

~Michelle~

2011-03-06T10:17:00.000-08:00

Baby Step # 1: The Budget: How Are You Doing?

In my last post I talked about the first step in becoming debt free, The Household Budget.

Tonight I will be starting the first class in my 12 week Coupon class. To learn more you can read about that here.

The first topic will be the Budget. You can't get to where you are going, without a plan. You would never dream of hopping in your car, to travel to say, Florida, without directions. Whether you have a physical map or turn on your GPS, you still have a plan. The Household Budget is your plan for debt free living.

I hope you all started your spending log. You should have a weeks worth of spending habits to review. Be patient and gentle with yourself. This may be the first time you have attempted a budget. Remember perseverance is key here. By perseverance the snail reached the ark. It is important to be moving in the right direction. Congratulations, that is progress!

Hopefully you have identified some areas where you could tighten your belt. Let's look at a Sample Scenario:

Maybe you identified you purchased 2 convenience coffee's (I call them convenience coffees because let's face it, it is a convenience to purchase the coffee versus making it a home) at say Dunkin Donuts. You paid over $2 for a medium coffee. That's $4.

You also identified that you purchased (3 extra items) without a coupon that weren't on sale, when you made a quick trip(AKA Budget buster) to the grocery store. For an average of about $7. Some say that average is much higher.

While reviewing your spending log for the week, you noted that you ate out once. Whether that was a breakfast, lunch, Chinese or a Pizza, for about $15.00 Depending on your circumstances that might be higher or lower.

We have just found $26.00 Now with a little sacrifice and planning you could find $26.00 a week to add to your debt. If you spent $26.00 extra dollars a week for one month that would be $104/month. Now that's some working capital.

Some of you buy a convenience coffee every single day. That's $10/week $40 bucks a month.

I am not trying to say you can never buy a convenience coffee. What I am trying to say is if you are in debt, and can't pay your bills, and you desire to get out of debt and pay your bills on time, that there are ways to do that. They require sacrifice, changing your spending habits and sometimes just plain hard work. But I am here to tell you that those sacrifices are every bit worth it to reduce your debt and pay your bills on time. Reducing your debt and paying your bills on time are key ingredients in the recipe of a debt free life!

Now that you have some good insight to your spending habits. Write Out A Budget.There is power in the written word. God choose to speak to us through His written word .The Bible is a living book. There is power in the written word.

You can tell some one you have a degree in brain surgery, but without proof of a written diploma I wouldn't suit up in OR Scrubs right sway. You should put your budget in writing. You should have a clear cut plan to become debt free. In the beginning of our debt journey we weren't even sure how much we owed. Pathetic I know, but true. Keeping a written budget keeps you informed. A written budget, keeps you honest. Numbers don't lie. You must know what is coming in and what is going out. No magic. Just knowledge.

This journey is a process. A learning curve. Be patient, but start somewhere. Start today. Do something, even if the steps seem small. Remember these baby steps are the first steps.......... to big dreams!

I am praying for you,
~Michelle~

2011-02-21T20:00:00.000-08:00

Baby Steps..........to big Dreams

When I decided to change my stethoscope for an apron, the ability to leave my full-time job did not happen overnight. We had debt and a lot of it. In the beginning it seemed overwhelming and hopeless. I had no idea how it would all work. But God did.

God loves the hopeless case, where His strength is made perfect in our weakness!

I want to encourage those of you with the same desire, to keep taking baby steps.............. to big dreams.

This blog may seem like a hodge podge to some. The content will run from posts on deep thoughts, (well as deep as my mind goes,... don't worry we won't be going far) to frugal tips, to store deals to homemaking tips. It is all part of the journey of "coming home"

I know as I have been on this journey , I have read everything I could get my hands on, in my quest for knowledge in any and all areas of frugal living. This hasn't been days or weeks, but months and years. Some of what I read seemed extreme, and not likely for my family to do. However much of what I have read has been very helpful. Many of those early frugal tips and ideas I learned early in this journey, I still do today.

It is now very hard for me to pay full price for anything. Please believe me when I say, that this was not always the case! I have learned contentment. I realize things don't bring me happiness, but relationships, people and financial freedom do. Being in debt was stealing my joy. I had become a servant to the lender. I am thrilled you are reading this blog, that means you have similar desires. You may even be in the same position I was. It all starts with baby steps.

Today I want to encourage you in the first baby step to financial freedom..........

Baby Step #1

Make a Budget

This truly is the first step in becoming debt free. This step is absolutely imperative!! You must realize where your money is going.!!

Early on I avoided this. In my heart I felt like if I knew the real numbers I would never have the courage to make the step to leave my job. We were just making the bills with me working full-time, let alone cutting my income in half. Remember I went from full-time to part-time to perdiem.

Keep A Spending Log For One Week

I encourage you to start a spending journal. Don't make it complicated. Remember your taking baby steps. Anything to complicated and you won't follow through. Keep it simple. Use a few sheets of paper stapled together, or a small notebook that fits in your purse. Label as follows:

Monday February 21st, 2011. Then write down everything you spend for that day. Everything. Every nickel. Do this for a week. You are doing this step to get a good idea where your money is going. If you are anything like me you will be quite surprised how many funds can be freed up by this simple exercise. This exercise is a powerful tool in helping you identify where and what you are spending your money on. That extra $2-/day spent on______________ you fill in the blank, turns into $14 dollars a week, which turns into $56 dollars a month, which turn into $672 dollars a year .If you applied that $672 to a high interest credit card debit, the savings would be much greater than that!!

When you get your weeks worth of information, this will allow you to sit down and be honest with yourself in your spending habits. The extra couple of bucks at the store you drop a couple times of week doesn't seem like much at the time, but three times a week and that's $6. If you get a take out coffee everyday that's at least $2/day so there's $14 we've all ready found $20bucks!!

Be patient with yourself.. but don't delay this exercise. Today is the first day toward your financial freedom..........I am praying for you.

Blessings,
~Michelle~

New Blog Site: The Coupon Engineer

2011-02-17T16:35:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends I would like to invite you all over to my new blog site. I will be blogging on deals and frugal finds that pertain to our local area. I have started teaching Coupon Seminars and wanted an area where I could post deals and store finds, for those in my area. I am blogging
@ http://michelle-thecouponengineer.blogspot.com . I hope you will stop over and leave me a comment. I am planning on hosting a giveway , early next week.

I will still contine to blog here @byhisgraceandforhisglory.This blog's content will still continue to address how I was able to leave my full-time job as a Nurse to become a full-time Homemaker and a perdiem Nurse. It is also my prayer it will contiue to be an encouragement as we strive to be all we can be for Our Lord & Saviour and Our Families.

I am currently writing a series to encourage us all in the job description of the Proverbs 31 Woman. That series will start March 1st.

I hope you will all stop by my new site and say hello. Remember to stop by early next week for my first giveaway!!

Blessings,
~Michelle~

HOT DEAL: COKE PRODUCT $1/2

2011-02-16T12:22:00.000-08:00

This is an Awesome deal , and it won't last long. If your store doubles coupons you should get a sweet deal on these. You can print 2 per computer!! The coupon states 1 product must be diet.

Perfect for our family that is all we drink:) Go here to print.

My Rite Aid Deals

2011-02-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

Rite Aid Deals For Week of February 13-19, 2011

These are the deals I am planning to do this week. I currently have $6

in UP Rewards, and I plan to roll these over. If you are not currently signed

up for the Rite Aids Wellness card, it is free and you will need it to complete the following transactions.

Transaction #1

Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste $3.50

Less .75 mfg cpn (Exp 2/19)

(2) Gain Dish Washing Liquid $0.87

Less (2) .20 mfg cpn (Exp 2/28)

Total $5.24 before coupons

$4.09 After Mfg coupons

Pay with $4 UP Rewards

Receive $3.50 UP Rewards for Colgate Toothpaste

Out of pocket $0.09 + tax

Transaction #2

Ragu Pasta Sauce 26oz 2/$3 x2

Use 2/ $1 off any 2 Ragu Sauce mfg cpn

Total $6.00

Less $2.00 mfg cpns

Pay With $3.50 UP Reward from above Transaction

Out of Pocket $0.50

Earn $2.00 UP Reward for Ragu

Out Of Pocket Expense for above transactions: $0.59 cents

UP Rewards Remaining $4.00

$3 High Value Coupon Gain Fabric Softener

2011-02-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

There is a high value Gain Fabric softener coupon in this weeks Red Plum insert. I am reading these are priced around $2.65 at Family Dollar and Dollar General, making it free with this coupon!

These will likely go very fast:))

Frugal Tip: I often find these concentrated softeners to be to fragrant for our liking. They are usually super concentrated as well. I water mine down. Usually 1/2 water to 1/2 bottle of softener. If this is to dilute for your liking, just experiment with what works for you. I have not found the 1/2 concentration to be any problem for us, and one bottle goes twice as far!!!!

Update: I made a quick trip to Family Dollar this morning. I did find the $2.65 Gains. These were the 23 load. I found the larger 60 load for $4.50 To me this was a much better value. After the $3 cpn I paid $1.50/each. I was able to buy 3 51 fl oz bottles for the price of one. After diluting (see above frugal tip) I will get close to 240 loads!!!!!

2011-02-08T17:55:00.000-08:00

The Cost of Working Full Time Part 3

I know I am very late in posting the third and final post in this series of "The Cost of Working Full Time", however this post deals with the issues you can't put a price on, time and my family. The most significant issues to me, and in my opinion the highest price of working full time outside our homes.

If you missed the first two posts in the series, you can read them here and here.

You Can Not Meet The Needs Of Your Home When You Are Not In It

I know this must sound like a no brainer, but it was a revelation to me. I did not realize what 40+ hours away from our home really meant. Believe it or not, I had forgotten. That was 40 hours just at the hospital, that did not count time preparing for work and my commute. Add in another 45 minutes per day. O.K. that's around 45 hours a week now. On average, 8.5-9 hours a day. Whew! That's a lot of hours away from home!

Let me just say here that this was one of my most challenging tasks. Keeping up our home and all that goes with that. Meal preparation, laundry, cleaning, bill paying, grocery shopping...........are just a few of the tasks that quickly became difficult for me to manage. I fell woefully behind in my housekeeping. My husband would not tell you that, but in my heart I knew, and that caused me stress. It might not be the same for you, I am just sharing how it worked for me. Our house is the walls and the shell, but our home is the people inside, and I wasn't there to meet their needs. Things fell quickly behind.

I Was Physically And Emotionally Exhausted

I have mentioned on my blog before that I am a wimp, and I mean it. I require 7-8 hours of sleep. If I consistently get less, I am a mess. Just ask my hubby:) I quickly learned I could not do it all. After 4 years of working per diem, where our home and family was my first priority and my work schedule revolved around home first, working full time again, turned everything around. My job became the first priority and I had to schedule home and family around IT. I felt out of balance. The best hours of my day were given to my employer, not my family. For me, that was difficult.

I am going to jump out on a limb here, and boldly ask, could you please tell me what the feminist agenda liberated us from?........... I believe that movement attempted to remove us from our God ordained roles!! God never intended for us to choose priorities such as these. It was never His intention for us to work 2 full time jobs. He knew being a full time Wife, Mother and Home keeper was a full time job in itself! I believe God allowed this opportunity in my life to remind me just how important my role as Wife, Mother and Homemaker really are, especially to Him. That mommy guilt thing is real, not imagined, because God placed a desire in a married woman's heart to full fill her role. It is in our DNA. Our female nature cannot be molded to the feminist agenda without damage to the original design!

I Was A Stranger In A Foreign Land

I work in a professional environment. For the most part I am not exposed to the worlds harshness. I am however exposed to worldly influence. A few hours a week is a lot different than 40+. I was unequally yolked. My family's goals and priorities are different than most people I work with. Driving One car? UN heard of. Homeschooling? Socially inepting our son? How will he get the education he needs? Will he be accepted at the universities? Asking my husband's permission? Old fashioned. Please don't get me wrong. I like the people I work with. They are kind caring professionals, but we are different. They know I am Christian. I am often not invited or included in extra curricular activities at work. The fancy vacations, two cars, big houses, cell phones etc, etc.... They are influences and you must guard your spirit. This world is not my home. I am a pilgrim in a strange land.

As women we must guard ourselves from the influence of worldly philosophy. Woman today have a harshness to them. They talk like men, work like men, and cuss like men. There is no topic that they will not discuss and blushing is for the weak. I hear woman talk all the time of issues with children, marriages, & finances. Their philosophies could not be more off base. They do not line up with the Word of God. In fact the Bible states, For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 1 John2:16

Let me conclude this series, by saying I give all praise to the Lord for the mercy and grace He has given me not to work full-time. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. Psalm 66:20 It has not been easy financially, however it has been very,very worth it. In fact the privilege for me has been priceless. I have been on both sides and I can unequivocally say I have been blessed beyond measure as the Keeper of our home. Mere words, truly can not communicate what is in my heart. God has been ever so faithful to us. You can trust Him.

If you are reading this blog and am where I was a few years ago, with a true desire to "come home", don't despair. Pray, pray, and pray some more. Keep reading and looking for ways to reduce your debt. Be prepared to do the hard thing. But above all Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5&6.

I am praying for you,

~Blessings~

Michelle

P.s. If you would like to personally send me an email I will add you to my prayer list!

eehhmmm, Is anybody out there?

2011-02-08T10:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Blogging Friends,

Greetings to you all, on this once again snowy day here in upstate N.Y...............

I am sitting here at my dining room table with the sun shining through the window, listening to the music on my site. Praise The Lord.( For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; Job 37:6a)

I hope you are all well and had a wonderful Christmas. We had a blessed Christmas and have hit the floor running in the New Year.

I took December off from couponing and what a blessed time that was! We ate from the pantry and freezer. The additional "extra" time in my schedule was a bountiful blessing in many ways. I truly enjoyed the couple of extra hours gained from not having to shop and prepare. Secondly, we reduced our pantry overload and cleaned out our freezer.Thirdly we saved money to put toward Christmas:)

We have set new financial goals for 2011 as we are getting closer and closer to wiping out all credit card debit. If I was more technical I would try to come up with a fancy graph that I see other bloggers use, but this blogger is technically challenged. You will just have to take my word for it.. God's been good!!!!!!!!!!!

I also have set a few blogging goals, you ready.... I am hoping posting these will make me more accountable to you all, so here goes......

First I hope to blog at least once a week. More if time allows:)

Post more money saving deals that pertain to our local area. Price Chopper specifically. For those who know me that is where I do the majority of my shopping.

And last but not least, post more content that pertains to homemaking, the ministry of being a wife and mother, and all things feminine. I have such a burden for the state of womanhood in our culture. Stay tuned....

I pray you are all having a blessed day where ever you may be, and remember above all things that Jesus loves you and so do I!!!

~Blessings~

Michelle

P.S. Sorry for the double picture, I can't figure how to get it off. I told you I was tech challenged and my computer time is up!

Vacation

2010-09-18T14:26:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog sphere friends,

Hope all is well. Thank you for the recent comments. I have several new readers and your comments are an encouragement to my heart!

I know the next post is due in my series "The Cost of working Full-time", however my family is on a much needed vacation. We just returned from Lancaster County/ Gettysburg Penn. We had a great time and saw many interesting things. We are now packed up and ready for a few days of camping. We have taken a 2 week vacation this year which is new for us. We usually just take one week at a time. We have been saving for a long time, and of course this was a frugal vacation:) We are happy to report that we came home with half of the money we saved for vacation!

My lap top is down so my computer time is back to 30 minutes or less a day. I must say even less than that. We started our home school 3 weeks early to accommodate for our vacation. Sorry no fun pictures either as I am having technical difficulties loading pictures from my digital camera to my computer. You all know that I am technically challenged right?

After we are done camping we are home for a day then my husband and I will be attending a couples retreat with our Church. We love this time of fellowship with other married couples and we always receive sound Biblical teaching on marriage. One of my favorite subjects!! Both my husband and I feel strongly that investing in our marriage is worth every penny.

It has been a busy, crazy, wonderful couple of weeks:) It is definitely Fall here in upstate NY. The leaves are beautiful. Fall is our family's favorite time of year. I bought a new cookbook in Amish Country and look forward to making some new apple recipes.

Hope you all are having a wonderful start to Fall, wherever that might be for you! Look forward to chatting with you all again in the next few weeks!

Blessings,
~Michelle~

The Cost of Working Full Time Part 2

2010-08-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

This is the second post in The Cost Of Working full Time series. If you missed the first series in the post you can read it here.

Initially when I was asked to work full-time for 6 weeks, I will be honest, I was quite excited. I thought it would be a huge financial blessing. Please don't mis- understand, we were blessed with financial gain, however not to the degree I had originally thought.

1. Uniforms cost Money

Since I was perdiem working 1-2 shifts

a week, the three uniforms I had was quite sufficient. However I quickly realized that would not suffice working 5 days/week. The cost of new uniforms was $250.00 You might think that is quite steep. Medical Uniforms are expensive. As a professional it is important to be dressed appropriately. The uniforms are an investment and will last me a long time. They are also tax deductible. However I still had to shell out $250.00

2. I did not have time to Coupon

Couponing has saved my family literally hundreds to thousands of dollars. Remember when I mentioned we had one vehicle? That was a choice my Husband and I made when we decided I would leave my full-time job. Most of the time only having one vehicle is of little inconvenience. My husband car pools, except when his boss is on vacation, and if I need the vehicle I just get up at 5:30am and bring him to his car pool stop. Once in a while is not bad, but daily rising at this hour,coupled with working 40+ hours a week, well I was exhausted! I will admit, I am a wimp!!

I had little energy for couponing. I have been couponing 10+ years now and am fairly efficient. However couponing and sale searching still takes about 1 hour of my time each week. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. In the thirteen weeks that I worked full-time(I know it was supposed to be six, I will get to that part later) I went couponing twice. The last time I was not organized and was way over budget! I rationalized, "I am making more money now so it's o.k." I bought more ready made foods than normal and purchased way more treats. I rationalized, "I am working more and well we deserve it." That's stinkin thinkin and that gets you into debt! After paying that high grocery bill (double my my normal) I got my head on straight! I recently went couponing and my subtotal came to $194+change and after coupons and my advantage card I paid $72 Glory to God!!!!

3. We ate out more in thirteen weeks than we have in one year!

I will be honest. This probably was the most discouraging revelation to me. As you know we have worked very, very, very hard on becoming debt free. We have sacrificed, gone without, prayed and then prayed some more and God has been blessing our finances mightily. However, when I started making a little more, became crunched for time, was over tired, well the first thing we started to do was order out, or go out and get something fast food. Eating out that way is very expensive. The integrity of this blog is important to me, and I would love to give you a figure, but honestly after the first $60.00 I stopped counting. That is stinkin thinkin too! Rule #1 of debt management is knowing where your money is going. #2 is sticking to your budget. We use the envelope system and $20.00 every 2 weeks goes into the entertainment envelope. That is what we use for take out, soft ice cream,or whatever we choose. When it is gone we don't eat out anymore. That was not the case with me working full-time. Not only was it expensive, it wasn't all that good and it certainly was not good for us. Physically nor financially. All of my family commented how much they missed daily home cooked meals. I am happy to report we are back on track and my family is once again the recipients of mama's cookin.

The afore mentioned are the tangible, measurable points that I noted regarding the financial aspects of me working full-time, please stay tuned for the Spiritual, and social aspects I noted of me leaving our home to work full-time. Please note these are the express opinions of this writer and I in no way condemn or judge those women who have to work outside the home. Quite the opposite. You are often in my thoughts and prayers.........

~Blessings~

Michelle

The Cost of Working Full Time

2010-08-10T13:37:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since we all chatted. I would like to thank all of you who check in here faithfully, even when there is nothing new to read. I've recently received some comments that have been a great encouragement to me. I am humbled you would read this blog.

My last entry was way back in March! I have a good excuse. I have been a little busy....hmmmm, specifically working. Yes you read that correctly, and I am working full-time, well at least I was.

For those who faithfully read this blog, you know this blog was created to help those women who have a desire to leave their full-time jobs, learn frugal skills to help them "come home" . That is exactly what I did 4 years ago. I was a full-time Angiography nurse and I left my full-time job to home school our Son and be a Keeper of our home. You can read that post here.

Fast forward to this Spring. I have always worked per-diem since leaving my full-time position. I am so grateful to have this opportunity as the extra money is a great help to my family. I choose the shifts and the days I want to work. As a Critical Care nurse keeping your skills up to date is very important. In our ever changing environment of health care, as well as technology developing at warp speed, working per-diem has helped me keep my skills at a proficient level.

God really has provided a win win situation for me. Early in the spring I received a call from my boss stating that a colleague of mine had broken her ankle. This nurse is the Procedure nurse for our department and there are just a few of us that are able to cover her position. I was told she would be out for 6 weeks...... Her position is Mon-Fri 7:30 until ?, actually whenever the cases are finished. We do Per cutaneous Biopsies in this area and we work until all cases are done. Usually no later that 4p.m. I was asked if I would consider covering her position. I spoke with my Husband and we decided this was something I could do. The hospital I work at has been very good to me over my career and I wanted to help them out in this area. When I left my full-time job we went down to one vehicle. There would be some challenges, but together my Husband and I decided this was something I could do.

We thought the extra money would be a great help and we were almost finished with school. We thought with a little creative scheduling we would complete school on time. This was going to be a good thing. We were pumped up and ready for the challenge and we thought it's only for six weeks right? ...........................................................

Stay Tuned for the next post in this series

~Blessings~

Michelle

The Set Apart Women

2010-03-31T06:32:00.000-07:00

Wow. I just read a great post from Kristy over @ Homemakers Cottage. You can read her post here . I was challenged, exhorted, and yes shamed.

I am very careful not to lead you in wrong paths on this site. This is an excellent post!! As a Teen leader of girls, my heart was stirred. I watched the news this morning (why do I do that?) and the headlines were of a young girl, who took her life after being bullied by several girls over the last 6 months. The News anchor then went on to list several pictures & names of teens who have committed suicide within the past year because of being bullied! Help us! If we Christians don't step up to the plate and lead by example, a life set apart, the kids in our churches will turn to the World for their examples. Many already have.

We as Christian women saying one thing and do another. Can I just say that the path to the altar at Church, is not the runway. Woe to us who are in leadership positions who spend more time picking out our Sunday best, than we have in daily devotions. That we consult the Martha Stewart magazines for Home designing instead of what Gods Word states about the building and maintaining of a Christian Home. I can promise you that Martha Stewart's home does not have the warmth and splendor of a home where Christ reigns supreme.A Christ honoring, Christ centered, Christian Home. Where children are raised in the fear and admonition of the Lord, Where mothers are the keepers of the home, and Daddy leads the home.

I was not raised in the type of home I just wrote about. In fact quite the opposite. I will not dishonor my parents with details. They loved us and did the best they could. However, I will say that Christ was not the head of our home growing up. But by His grace and for His glory, that is not the case now. Christ is the head of our home!, and I praise God for it. Before you start thinking I have a perfect home, I do not. We are fallen creatures.I fail daily, as does my husband . The difference now, is we serve a mighty God, who promises to help us. To never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) Our desire is to please Him in all that we say or do. If we continue to use the worlds bench mark to guide our homes and child rearing, we will always fall short. You will be left living a defeated life.

Our guide should be the Living Word of God. God did not leave us helpless. He gave us the best Home living guide on the planet! His Holy Word. Recently I have been under great conviction to increase my time in daily devotions. As Christians we do not have to live defeated lives, but we have to make the choice not to do so. If you choose not to spend time reading and meditating on God's Word, then you are choosing to live defeated that day. We can not walk in the Spirit if we have not spent time with the Lord.

I am so passionate about this subject. I know God is still in the business of changing lives. My family and I are living proof. We are not the same as we were 7 years ago when I rededicated my life to the Lord, and my Husband got saved. My husbands Spiritual birthday is April, 17, 2003. We are not the same people. As we celebrate Christ's Resurrection this week, I can't Thanks Jesus enough for all he did for me. The Bible states in John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

All we have to do is look around and see the thief stealing, killing and destroying. As Christians, we do not have to live that way. Make a cup of tea, curl up on the couch, grab your precious children, and read the best book ever written. God's Holy Word.

P.S. I've read the end of the book, We Win!!!!!

May you have life more abundantly today,

~Michelle~

A special thanks to my friend Wanda for the heads up on the post at Homemakers cottage. I feel blessed to share a kindred heart with you friend!

The World's Worst Blogger

2010-03-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

All right. It's now out in the open. I confess I am the World's worst blogger! Many of you building successful money making blogs would consider this statement, blog suicide. However, that has never been the intent of this blog.

I have tried to be forth right in many of my posts regarding the frequency of posting on this blog. I am not Superwoman, and have long ago turned in my cape for an apron. While I readily admit that I am the world's worst blogger, I would like to think that I do the important things fairly well. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Phil 4:13)

My number one role is Wife and helpmeet to my Husband. I am also the keeper of our home, which takes a great deal of time. My wonderful Husband and I just celebrated 16 years of marriage, and I can wholeheartedly say, if given the chance I would marry him all over again. You might be thinking, is He perfect? No. Just perfect for me. My Husband and I both share the same values of marriage and we work very diligently in this area of our life. I have often told our Son that if He is blessed with a helpmeet that loves Him, as much as I love His Dad, His heart will be safe. " The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil." Proverbs 31:11

My second priority is that of Mother, to my wonderful 15 year old Son. He's an amazing kid and I love him dearly. I feel privileged to be His Mom and have seen a glimpse of the depth of love that God must feel for His children. If I do nothing else well in this life, but have filled these two roles to the best of my ability, according to the Word of God, then I will have had great success.

Thirdly I am a servant in our Church. First, I am my Husband's assistant in the Teen Sunday school class, He teaches. He is also our Church's Youth Director, and I assist him in many ways in this area of ministry. We have a very active Youth ministry in our Church and I praise the Lord for that, however this could be a full-time position in itself.

We minister to the needs of my aging In-laws who are in poor health and a recently widowed Uncle. This has recently become a much more demanding area of our lives. The needs of our family have increased, and both my Husband and I feel, the best way to share God's love with our family is to show them the love of Christ. Often times that requires sacrifice. When Christ showed God's love for us, His life was sacrificed. Our free time is limited at this point in life. That's o.k. We have been provided a great opportunity to show our family that our faith is real.

I am a nurse. I work on the average of 6-8 shifts a month. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. I feel blessed not to have to work full-time. God has showed Himself so real to my family in the area of our finances. He has provided for us above any thing we could ask or think, as we strive to put Him first in our lives. I am a critical care nurse and that does require me to keep up my skills, as well as certifications. I feel blessed that God has given me this talent.

As you can see, I like you, wear many hats. I enjoy blogging. It is fun and I enjoy reading blogs. I have been very encouraged by many bloggers. There are some great Christ honoring sites out there. However my computer time is limited to less than 30 minutes a day. There are some days I never log on to my computer. The needs of my family come first. Hopefully you all understand. So, maybe I am the world's worst blogger, but as you can see I am attempting to do some things well!

Blessings,

~Michelle~

CVS $3.68 Money Maker

2010-02-02T07:04:00.000-08:00

Here's how you can make a few bucks at CVS this week.

1 Colgate Max Fresh 2.99/2.oo ECB

2 New Dove Mens Body Wash 5.49/5.49 ECB limit 2

1 Reinventing Beauty Magazine .99

I used $1/1 Colgate Toothpaste All You Magazine

2 $1.25 off Mens Body Wash Red Plum 1/31

$3 off $15 e-mailed to me

Spent $9.30 OOP and got back $12.98 in ECB's

Praise The Lord!

High Value Coupon on Soft Scrub

2010-01-21T05:59:00.000-08:00

Soft Scrub is one of those cleaners that I love, but can't always afford. You all know my affinity for bleach, and Soft Scrub puts out a great product. Thanks to moneysavingmom for this great tip, you can print $1 cpns here. The manufactures cpn does not say don't double, so on dbl cpns at Price Chopper,this would be a great deal!!

I was able to print the cpn twice. Happy Scrubbing:)

~Michelle~

Eating From the Pantry With God's Provision

2010-01-20T06:17:00.001-08:00

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. Psalm 68:19 KJV

It's 9a.m. here on the East Coast, and dinner is done! Aaaahhhh. What a great feeling. The Chili is on the stove, the bread bowls are on the counter thawing, and the tossed salad is put together and in the fridge. As I was putting together my meal I was praising God in my heart for His continual faithfulness to me and my family. Let me explain...........

As I prepared the Chili that we will have for dinner, I praise the Lord for the wisdom He has given me in the area of couponing. Most of the ingredients I used I had purchased for pennies. Secondly, the 2 cans of crushed tomatoes I used were given to us. The tomatoes were given to us by my Uncle, and I plan on sharing our meal with him tonight. The onions I used were given to me by my Father-in-law. Someone had given them to Him for making a monetary donation to a food pantry. He was also given a bag of salad and a dozen eggs. He passed those along to us as well. I used the eggs to make dessert for our Sunday meal and the salad was used for that meal as well. We shared our Sunday afternoon meal with some folks from our Church.

The tossed salad that I made for tonight's meal was with 2 bags of Garden salad mix from Aldi that I purchased this week for .49cents a bag. The tomatoes and cucumbers were given to us. Our Church receives produce on Mondays from a local store. Over the last few months we have been given bread, mayo, lots of produce and fresh fruit.

Sunday morning our Pastors wife called inquiring if I had an extra winter coat. I frequently hit thrift stores and She is aware of that. There is a lady in our Church in need of a Winter coat. I didn't have one but told her I would definitely keep my eyes out for one in my travels. Later that afternoon my Uncle called, (The one whose wife recently passed away, my dear Aunt Dee) and wanted to know If I knew anyone who needed a coat. He had several of hers he was going to give away. I will pick up that coat tonight when I deliver his meal. I will deliver the coat tonight to the Lady in our Church.

Are you staring to see the picture? God blesses us in so many ways, and blesses others through us. As I reflect on the daily provision of our Heavenly Father I am so thankful to be His child. My Uncle did not know a lady in our Church needed a coat, but God did. Our God is ever so faithful.

I had mentioned in an earlier post you can read here, that I would share some of the scripture God used to help me after my Aunt passed away. The one scripture I referred to most was Psalm 27:13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. KJV God is faithful and we can trust in Him.

We are living in uncertain times. Just recently I had shared with my Husband I was starting to fret over finances. Heating our home in the Winter is always a major financial challenge! Lord help mine thou unbelief!

The goodness of the Lord must be remembered daily. As we walk with Him, may we all be encouraged to trust Him for all our needs~!

Blessings,

~Michelle~

Eating From The Pantry Challenge Update

2010-01-18T15:44:00.000-08:00

Well I wanted to update you all on our eating from the pantry challenge. As I shared in a recent post, my pantry wasn't completely stocked. My freezer was less than full and I didn't have nearly the reserves in my health and beauty pantry as I normally do(Yes, I have two pantry's!)

but I decided to start where I was and use up what we had on hand.

I am not going to post our full meals but I did want to share what we have been using.

2 boxes of Betty Crocker mashed potatoes

1 box of Betty Crocker Scalloped potatoes

3 cans creamed corn

1 can cream chicken soup

2 packages of Jello

Can of Tuna

Pecans

From the Freezer

2 Loaves of bread

Chicken Legs (I made fried chicken for the first time this week. It was yummmmmmmy!!)

Pork Chops

2 bags Frozen Veggies

1 Package of homemade Turkey stock (Made from our Christmas Turkey)

From the Fridge

Sour Cream ( I had a couple of containers that I had bought a while ago on sale w/cpn. I needed to use them so I made Coffee Cakes and gave them to some folks at our church)

All different kinds of fruit that needed to be eaten up before it went bad!

I did grocery shop this week and coupon the sales. I was out of most paper products and really need to start couponing again. However I have tried to supplement or build meals around what I have on hand. That has been helpful to allow me to spend a little more on things I am out of.

I am gearing up to make February the kick off to De cluttering. I am still thinking of all of the details, but I hope some of you will join me. Spring will be coming and I would love to be clutter free before I start my Spring cleaning! Stay tuned for further details.........

Blessings,

~Michelle~

CVS Loreal Lip Gloss Deal

2010-01-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks to moneysavingmom for the heads up on this great deal! I stopped at CVS yesterday and found that they had a few Loreal lip glosses left. I was able to pick 2 shades that I liked and will wear!!

I had received an e-mail from Loreal .You can visit here. Just register and you will get coupons e-mailed to you. I was e-mailed a $3 off any 2 products. Which I used at CVS yesterday, making my total $1.54 for 2 with tax. The best part was a $1.50 ECB printed out from my fall spending bucks. So I really paid 4cents for 2 Loreal Lip Glosses! Regular retail; $7.99 each.

The cashier was a young guy who said that's a really great deal!

Thanks moneysavingmom::)

~Michelle~

Modest Feminine Apparel

2010-01-10T14:19:00.001-08:00

For those of you who know me well, you know I love all things feminine. The girler, the better. I love lacy, flowery things. Miss Jen over at blessed femina has a beautiful post on modest feminine clothing. I encourage you to read it here. She has a beautiful blog that inspires me each time I visit. I have never met this young maiden, but from reading her blog for some time, it appears she is as lovely on the inside as the outside. She has a spirit of femininity that encourages me. Stop by and comment on her site. I am sure she would be blessed.

Happy Lord's Day:)

~Michelle~

Challenge to Declutter

2010-01-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

Is your house full of stuff? I mean stuff you don't use, stuff you can't find, stuff you don't want?

I know mine is. Amy over at the Finer things has a great post/challenge here. It sure inspired me. I'm not sure I have 730 items to get rid of. Truth be known I probably have double that.

I may make February my de clutter month. 3 items a day for 28 days. That would be 84 items. Or maybe I will de clutter a room a month. 1-2 items a day for a month/ per room. I realize some rooms may have more items than others. Like my home office that looks like a bomb has hit it, versus my bedroom which I make a great effort to keep clean & tidy. Still I think I rather like this idea.

Probably needs a few more details worked out. Like will I sell the stuff or just give it away? Donate to goodwill or save for a Spring garage sale. Maybe a little of all the above. This idea definitely deserves a little "think time". Anybody else think this is a great idea?

~Michelle~

Saturday Times Union

2010-01-09T06:22:00.000-08:00

For my local readers, I just picked up the Saturday 1/10 edition of The Times Union. There are 2 very packed coupon inserts!

The Times Union is $1.50 versus $2 for the Sunday edition of The Post Star. My friend Laura told me of this deal a while back & I have been taking advantage of it ever since. Thanks, Laura:)

If possible you want to pick up your paper early in the day, as I have had difficulty finding a paper later in the day.

Stay tuned for more deals.........

~Michelle~

Eating From The Pantry Challenge

2010-01-07T07:25:00.000-08:00

From Left to Right, Mrs. Laura Braley, Mrs. Teya Miller, Me:), Mrs. Wanda Rouley

Well in my last post I shared with you that I was going to join the pantry challenge over at money saving mom. I also shared that I was going to challenge you all to "start where you are." Maybe you don't have a full pantry right now. Maybe you don't even have a pantry!

The key is to start somewhere. Take inventory of all your cupboards and anywhere else you store food and see what you have! If you could reduce your food budget by $5.oo this week, wouldn't that be a start?

I do not have a full pantry. I used a lot of what we have had in our pantry over the last few months. That pantry was a huge blessing during a time when I didn't have the time or energy or desire to go food shopping. At any rate,I decided in the spirit of adventure to call a couple of girlfriends and host a recipe swap exchange day. I hosted it yesterday from 12:30-2:30p. We had a wonderful time. I made an inexpensive Lemon Sponge cake recipe that I found in an Amish book I was reading. Very yummy:)

We were inspired with new recipes and we each brought a cookbook to share. We swapped cookbooks with each other to be kept for 30 days and returned to its owner. A fun frugal way to get some new recipes. I encourage you all to put on your thinking caps, get inspired and host a fun get together!

The Blessings of Family

2010-01-04T12:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Blogging Friends,

I know it has been some time since I have posted. On November 2, 2009, my dear Aunt Dee passed away, unexpectedly. She was sitting in her chair making out her Christmas list.
My Aunt was a huge influence on me growing up and a very big part of my life as an adult.
If you have read my blog for any time, then you know that I lost both my parents at a young age. Both my Mom & Dad were only 59 when they passed away, exactly 3 years apart.. My Aunt was 65.

When my Mom died that left a giant hole in my life. My Aunt did a wonderful job of filling that hole. She was a wonderful friend and confidante. I miss her terribly. She left behind a husband of 46 years, my Uncle John. My family is trying to be there for him in every way possible. My Aunt & Uncle had no children of their own.

My Aunt was my Fathers only sibling. After my Aunt passed, I struggled with many things. First there was no longer any relative who knew my history so to speak. I was devastated by that fact. That might sound strange to you, but the fact that most of all my 1st degree relatives have passed on was very difficult for me.

The Holidays have always been a great celebration in my family. It has been a difficult few months. My husband & friend Wanda, have been a huge support to me. I thank God for You both!!

The clouds are starting to lift and I feel a sense of new beginnings with the New Year. Although I miss all of my family dearly, I praise the Lord for the blessings of family & friends that are in my life. I will share with you in the future some of the scripture that was a tremendous help to me over the last few months.

I plan on taking part in the Pantry Challenge over @ moneysavingmom. I will be posting of my progress and also challenge us all to start where we are.

I pray you had a blessed holiday with family & friends. That time is truly priceless.

Blessings,
Michelle

Update Kmart Deal On Clorox Wipes Not Working

2009-10-31T13:18:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-10-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-31T06:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-29T06:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-28T07:37:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-09-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

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.......

2009-06-17T12:26:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-01T13:52:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-13T07:32:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-12T12:10:00.000-07:00

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

Romantic Getaway Pics

2009-04-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-01T12:04:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-31T13:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

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

Last Day For Free Dunkin Donuts Coffee

2009-03-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

I just picked up my last free cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee this morning. What a great promotion. I have enjoyed 5 cups of coffee compliments of Dunkin Donuts. Thank You DD-:)

I hope you all got in on this great freebie. Remember today is the last day of the promotion. Enjoy!!

Blessings, Michelle

Totally Free Woman's Day Magazine

2009-03-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

I am sometimes a little leery of totally free magazine subscriptions. However, this ones for real!! I received my copy the other day. Actually the exact copy that is shown in the link. As a busy wife, homeschooling mom, and perdiem nurse I don't have a lot of time for leisure reading.

But Free is free and I do enjoy browsing new recipes. I have included the link here. In fact I just picked up the mail and received my second issue.! I don't know how long this deal is working, so hurry to get your free subscription!!

Blessings, Michelle

Free Dr. Pepper

2009-03-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

My Husband's favorite soda drink is Dr. Pepper. His all time favorite drink, is milk. I should buy a cow. The man drinks more perky than anyone I know.

At any rate, you can get a free 20oz or 2 liter bottle here. I did this a while back and the coupon came in the mail very promptly. I 'm sorry I don't have a photo to share of Dr. Pepper, but I am having trouble loading the image and it's way past my bedtime!

Blessings, Michelle

Breaking The Budget

2009-03-10T07:12:00.000-07:00

Well folks it is only March of the new year, and my Husband and I are all ready breaking our budget, (if you missed that post you can read here) and are we ever excited!!! We are celebrating our 15th Wedding Anniversary , in style!!!!

At first we were not going to plan much except dinner and a quiet evening together at home. Let me say there is nothing wrong with that. We have celebrated many anniversaries this way and they have been very meaningful. .

If you haven't noticed folks, our world is changing. Marriage is no longer honored as the institution God created it to be. Marriages are rarely lasting to the 5 year mark, much less the 15 year mark! I believe Satan has declared an all out war on Marriage.

In our ever changing world many young people have absolutely no clue regarding the sanctifying union of Man and Wife. They have watched everything take precedent over marriage. Husbands no longer lead and wives no longer follow and kids are mixed up somewhere in it between. If we would only follow the Bible way of marriage.

When my husband got saved and I rededicated my life to the Lord, our marriage took on a whole new meaning for the both of us. We had a good marriage prior, now we have a Christ centered marriage and I can not tell you the difference it has made.

I found a beautiful post over at A Wise Woman builds her Home. To read the article click here . I pray it is a blessing to you.

I am very excited to share that I will be posting a weekly series on Marriage that will run 6 weeks. I have asked some dear friends if they will help me with this series and I am in prayer as to what God will do!

Stay tuned I will be rolling out the details early next week.

Back to our Anniversary, I will be sharing with you our plans on making our 15th Wedding Anniversary memorable. I promise to share pictures. To get you real intrigued, it involves a 10 room castle!!!

Hope you all got your free coffee. I am off to get mine Now!

Blessings, Michelle

Reminder: Free Dunkin Donut Coffee Wednesday

2009-03-10T07:07:00.000-07:00

If you missed my post on the free Dunkin Donuts deal read here. We have 2 weeks remaining to snag your free coffee!!-:)
Michelle.

I am "Blessed"

2009-02-27T17:47:00.000-08:00

Well I'm back in the saddle. Sorry it has taken me a few days to get back to blogging. My family and I attended a youth Conference in Rochester, NY last week with the Teens of our Church. It takes me a while to get caught up after one of those events!
I came back physically exhausted but what a Spirit filled event!!!!!!!
God did some great things in our group while there, and I know many seeds were planted. In fact one of the Teen boys trusted Christ as His Saviour this past week!! God is good.

The theme of the conference was "Blessed". God did many things in my heart and it is always my prayer that God would do a work in me whenever I attend a preaching conference. I am a work in progress. I need constant molding from the Master.

I was truly humbled by the goodness of God in my life. He is so much better to me than I deserve. I am also so very grateful that my Salvation doesn't hinge on me, but the finished work of the Cross. If that doesn't make you feel blessed, I don't know what will!

I am looking forward to posting this week. I pray you all have had a blessed week and stay tuned for some frugal tips and posts! Have a great weekend!

Blessings, Michelle

Frugal Valentine Date Night/Guest Post

2009-02-24T10:34:00.000-08:00

Guest Post by Teya

Hello, friends! I am thrilled about this opportunity to share with you something very near and dear to my heart: making my husband feel special...on a budget! :-) It's about spending more of yourself than money!

This past year, under the sovereign discretion of our Lord, my husband and I faced what seemed to be a few more valleys than mountain tops. So, as Valentine's Day was approaching I remember thinking to myself that this would be a wonderful opportunity to spoil him, make him feel special, encourage him, and reaffirm my total love, adoration and commitment to him. My only dilemma: I had more ideas than money!

I specifically asked the Holy Spirit for wisdom to accomplish my goal on very few dollars (literally!). James 1:5-6 assures me that I can ask my heavenly Father for wisdom about anything, and when I ask in faith, He will answer. And that He did!!

The following is a list of ideas I used for Valentine's Day and how much each cost:

1. Christmas Lights - $0
I dug out of storage several strands of icicle lights and hung them around my bedroom. Our room is fairly new and knowing my husband would not appreciate staple gun holes in our drywall, I simply strung the lights over the dresser, along the curtain rods, around the bedposts, etc. What a beautiful, calming, and romantic ambiance this lighting created!

2. Poster Board Heart - $0 (See picture at top)
Awhile ago, we were given a stack of brown card boards, a bit larger than white poster board. I cut out a large heart, giving it a thick black outline all around its perimeter. I used my kids' Crayola paint to paint the heart red. When it was dry, I used white Crayola paint and a pencil eraser to put white polka dots all over it. I taped it to my bedroom wall, and it was pretty!

3. Made the room clean and clutter-free - $0
I did not have time to remove all the clutter I had gathered here and there. So, I consolidated the clutter to one area (unnoticed upon first entering the room). I made the bed look luxurious by taking decorative pillows from my couches and putting pillow cases on them to match our bedroom. When I was finished, I had 8-10 color-coordinated pillows on our bed looking ever-so-cozy!

4. Silk Rose Petals - $1.07 red ones, $1.07 white ones - dollar store.
I "sprinkled" a few of each color on our cozy, pretty bed.

5. Small Gift - $2.86
I purchased my husband's favorite chocolates at Wal*Mart and reused a red gift bag and tissue paper I already had. I placed it among the rose petals on the bed.

6. Freezer Pizza - $0
This cost zero extra dollars as it was already in the freezer from a previous grocery trip. What made our freezer pizza oh-so-special? I served it in bed on a tray covered with a pretty cloth, on fancy plates.

7. Sparkling Grape Juice (non-alcoholic) - $2.68
I did not have ultra-pretty glasses, but I served it nice and cold with a smile and a wink, and I don't think he noticed the glasses! :-)

8. Mentally Prepared - $0
I was mentally prepared, looking forward to giving to him with no agenda of receiving anything myself. I really wanted him to have a night of no pressure. I wanted him to feel as relaxed as if we had gone away to our favorite bed and breakfast. I was able to create that atmosphere with my spirit. I wanted him to feel like a king, and guess what...he treated me like his queen!

The total cost of my Valentine gift to my husband: $7.68 (all taxes included)

The closeness we shared and the benefit to our marriage: $$ PRICELESS $$

Teya is a Wife and Homeschooling Mother to 4 precious children. She is also a helpmeet to her Husband who is a Pastor in upstate NY.

Short Break

2009-02-19T06:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,
I am off to a conference with my Husband and His Youth Group for a few days. I am excited for what the Lord is going to do in my family's life and the life of the Teens who will be attending!
Check in early next week as I have a guest blogger post planned , that you won't want to miss. I pray you all have a great weekend. Will check in with you all when we return home!
Blessings, Michelle

Marked Down Produce At Price Chopper

2009-02-17T18:45:00.000-08:00

I fell into a GREAT deal today at Price Chopper. For my local readers, the price Chopper on Dix Avenue, frequently has a marked down produce cart located somewhere in the produce section. It is usually hit or miss for me, and I am not sure what time of day it is filled, but I have gotten some great deals. I had a &5 off your next purchase coupon, from my last shopping trip, that was soon to expire. We are going out of town so I wanted to use the coupon and get the best bang for my buck so to speak. I thought of the produce cart and swung by today while I was out running errands. There happened to be another gentlemen at the cart and we were both astonished at the wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables that were available. I couldn't find any spots or bumps on anything that I purchased!

I got approx 3lbs of seedless green grapes for $1.05, a 5 pack of beautiful oranges for .92, a 6 0z container of blueberries for .26, a 3 pack of cucumbers for .52, 3 packages of all different kinds of apples for $2.13 (a total of 17 apples) a package of 6 tomatoes for .60 and I did purchase 2 peaches at regular sale price of .98cents a pound for .73 cents. The grand total was $6.49 and after my $5.00 cpn I paid $1.49 Praise the Lord!!! We should be set for fresh fruit for a while:::::)

Blessings, Michelle

Kmart Does It Again

2009-02-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

Kmart is once again having double coupon days. That means they will double any Mfr. coupon with a face value of up to and including $2. Yippee! Kmart does not pay overage and they have limited the number of coupons you can use to 25 per day. Still a great deal. Thanks Kmart. Happy Shopping:)
Blessings, Michelle

Don't forget to get your free coffeeTomorrow

2009-02-17T18:33:00.000-08:00

If you got this coupon in the mail last week, don't forget to get your free medium coffee tomorrow at Dunkin Donuts. Coupon is good thru Wed 3/18. Just make sure you do not give the coupon to the cashier. Just show them your coupon and then you can keep right on using it!
Blessings, Michelle

Free Dunkin Donuts Coffee on Wed thru 3/18

2009-02-12T17:31:00.000-08:00

I received this coupon in the mail yesterday. I hope you all did too!! It entitles you to a free medium Dunkin Donuts coffee, every Wednesday thru march 18!! I checked it out yesterday (despite the fact it states Albany, Berkshire area) and it is working here!! However, mine was not free. I had to pay .13cents for the tax. Still a great deal to me:)

For those of you who know me, you know, I love Dunkin Donuts coffee and I LOVE Free things. Unfortunately it's not in the "new" budget, the evaluate the every purchase budget. But for .78 cents, with this coupon, I can get 6 almost free medium coffees! Now that's in the Budget!!!:):):):

P.S. Make sure to cut the coupon out and place in your purse. Don't give the coupon to the server, just show it and take it back. That way you can enjoy your almost free coffee every Wed!!

Blessings, Michelle

Free Valentine's Day Ideas e-book

2009-02-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

This year my husband and I made some pretty lofty financial goals. We have continued to carry old credit card debit. When we decided that I was going to leave my full-time angiography nursing position 3 years ago (making a very nice income) we had a lot of debt. God has been so faithful to allow us to continue to pay down this debt despite losing thousands of dollars a year in my income!

We cut all credit cards up 5 years ago. We do not have any credit cards. I know we have been told by many friends and family, that we need at least one card for emergencies. However God has told us different. He has been and will be our provision. We have learned to put our trust in Him. I won't say that this has always been easy, but I will tell you it has always been worth it.

Each year we have seen more debt paid off and we have not acquired any new debt (with the exception of a second hand car purchase) since cutting up our credit cards. God has been good to us, but it has been a loooong hard road back to financial independence. I say financial independence because the Bible warns us in the book of Proverbs 22:7 "and the borrower is servant to the lender ."

We decided this year to get very aggressive on the last leg of this debt journey. That means tightening an already tight budget. I know that there are areas even now that I can tighten up. That means truly scrutinizing every purchase. I mean every purchase , doing without some things, and making what we have last longer. Really folks this isn't rocket science, but it is hard work!! It is hard to deny our fleshly desires. We see things and we want them. We won't ever obtain success in our spiritual or even physical life until we learn to tell our flesh NO.

This valentines day I would like to challenge you, to not spend money you don't have, on gifts you don't need. Ladies, make your husband a homemade card and tell him all that you love about him. There are many women out there today that don't have a husband and would love to be in your shoes. Make him king for a day. Cook his favorite meals, wear something that you know he loves on you. Go out of your way to show your man you love him and there's no one else in the world for you!! You know your man better than anyone else (at least you should) and the ideas are endless.

Onto the kiddos in your life. Make TIME for them. Plan ahead and free up Saturday to do something your kids love. Go for a walk as a family, read together, go to the public library and bring home a free movie. (This is only free if you return it on time!) Make their favorite breakfast or lunch. The ideas are endless here as well. The key is to love on them. No one knows what makes your children happy better than you!

Our family has some ideas planned and I will share them in an upcoming post. I got some inspiration from a site that I love http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ She has a free e-book on cheap Valentine Day ideas. I have chose not to spend any money and improvise. Our son is 14 and he loves Valentines Day. Each year we have found a special way to shower him with love that was free or very inexpensive. His favorite was the year we made him a coupon booklet and let him redeem them at his choosing. He loves the library and we had 3 trips to the library "whenever you want to go" in his booklet. A free wrestle with Dad night(my husband is not always in the mood to wrestle after a long day at work) whenever you chose. We had several others things we knew he loved, the key is whatever works for your kids. I can tell you he still talks about that coupon book to this day. Have fun with it,the ideas are truly endless.

Make this a Valentine day that won't break the bank! Above all remember the one who loved you enough to die for you and give his life a ransom for many, The Lord Jesus Christ! MAY HE BE KING OF YOUR LIFE EVERYDAY!!

Blessings, Michelle

More Christmas Gifts!

2009-02-10T12:49:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the poor image quality. I am still learning how to use my new digital camera! Stay tuned for the post on how God provided this camera to me!! For those of you that have followed this blog you know that I did not have a digital camera or a cell phone. When you make choices to embrace the frugal life(thus gaining freedom) you choose to for go some unnecessary luxuries. Contrary to some, we believe that cell phones and digital cameras are luxuries. We survived for a long time without either one. However, God is a much better provider than I deserve and I will be posting on how He, in His loving kindness, gave our family both.

On to the Christmas deals. While shopping in Kmart today (They have delicious Florida strawberries for $1.99, fresh fruit is a big weakness of mine!) I came across the above deal. They had a large lot of Joe Boxers holiday boxer gift packs. There are 3 pairs per box and they were originally marked $19.99. They were marked down to $1.99 which is in itself, a very big markdown. However when I got to the register they were 30% off, making them $1.39 each!!!!!!!!

They also had a single pair of holiday boxers in a Christmas ornament marked down to .99 They were original marked $9.99. These were also 30% off so I got them for .69 each!!!!!! A tremendous savings. So for $4.16 I got 4 more Christmas gifts for next year!! God is sooooooooooooooo good to me:)

These boxers are usually quite expensive. If you have a boxer loving hubby or son in your life, these will make very nice gifts!

Frugal Tip: You must find a designated place to store your gifts. I keep my deals all stashed in one location. It won't be a great deal if you can't remember were you put it. You should also keep a detailed list of what you have purchased in your purse. That way when you stumble upon deals(I believe God puts them in your path) you will know what you have all ready purchased. Aha, think of the peace and tranquility you will feel when your Christmas shopping is done by the end of summer and you have saved literally hundreds of dollars! If that doesn't motivate you into frugal living I don't know what will!!

Have a blessed day, Michelle

Hidden Deal @ CVS on Cotton Rounds

2009-02-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

It is being reported that the CVS cotton rounds(probably found in the beauty aisle with the cotton balls) are printing ECB's when you purchase 2. They are reported as ringing up for .98 each. So you purchase 2 for $1.98 and receive $2 ECB's back .02 profit!! The upc code on this is 050428086193. Thanks to www.iheartcvs.com for the tip!!

Frugal Tip: Maybe you yourself don't use this type of product. However now is a great time to start your Christmas shopping for next year! Yes right now. Sit down and make a brief list of the people you wish to purchase gifts for. These would be lovely in a gift basket full of beauty supplies (found at very good prices on sale or better yet FREE!) It is not to late to start purchasing gifts for next year! I've already purchased three gifts and I haven't even spent $10.00!!!

*****Other holidays to consider are Birthdays, Valentines day or Mothers day!! Most women love receiving this type of gift:)*****

CVS Money Maker Working

2009-02-08T14:08:00.000-08:00

Well folks, it worked! While I was there I stopped and scanned my card and got a printout for a free 250ml CVS brand antisceptic mouth wash. That was a $2.59 value! The Mylanta was $3.75 at my store. It was behind the bottles marked $6.99(which were on sale from $7.50) I had to look for it. Also the 50% off sticker was obscured by the ECB ticket. I printed the $2.00 internet cpn so I paid $1.75 OOP and got $3 back in ECB. I paid $1.75 for what should have cost me $9.58 Praise the Lord! Michelle

P.S. Make sure it is the Ultimate Strength Cherry flavored brand. UPC CODE 1683764412

CVS Money Maker

2009-02-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

I haven't been doing much CVS shopping lately. However it is being reported that this is a money maker at CVS right now. It is reported that the 12oz. bottles of Extra Strength Cherry are ringing up for $3.65. ( I would check this with the price scanner or cashier) Currently there is $3 ECB for Mylanta products. We stock piled this product when K-Mart was having their double cpn sale. There were $2 cpns so I think I paid $.99 for this product. My hubby loves this stuff! You can go to http://www.mylanta.com/ and print a $2/1 cpn. I am going to try this deal out and I'll let you know how it all goes!

Frugal Tip: You can use baking soda as an antacid. You would use 1/2 tsp to 4oz. warm water, Every 3-4 hours as needed.My Grandad always used this for his heartburn. However consult your physician if you have renal or heart disease. Also, antacids interfere with some medications so consult your pharmacist if you take RX drugs. I would not use this in small children. As many of you know, I am a nurse. I am however in no way giving medical advice. This is just what has worked for my family. I will be giving frugal tips like this in the future. I will not endorse any one product. If ever you have any questions regarding your physical health, you should contact your health care professional or pharmacist.
Blessings, Michelle

After a Looooooooong Hiatus

2009-02-05T17:16:00.000-08:00

O.K. So you've all probably figured out that I am the world's worst blogger! There, I admit it. I even have thought about not blogging at all anymore. However, I still have a few faithful readers. Thank you for you kind comments recently.
I plan to start blogging much more regularly with the same content as before. It is still my desire to help influence and inspire any women who has a desire to become a Godly "Keeper at Home."
I would like to resume my frugal tips and will be posting them at least weekly. I would like to say daily, but I know me to well.
Things have been going very well at our home. The holidays were wonderful but very busy. We try to limit outside engagements at the holidays, but with family to see on both sides, well you all know the rest of the story.
Couponing is going well. I even took several weeks off in December. Praise the Lord for my pantry:)
My family is enjoying the fruits of my canning and freezing skills that I acquired this past fall. We have enjoyed my homemade bread and butter pickles(we are down to our last jar) and the yummy peach, blueberry and raspberry jams that I made. I was even able to give some away as Christmas gifts!
We have family that have offered to let us put a garden on their property this summer. We are in the midst of planning right now. It has been fun to think of spring and has helped ward off some cabin fever (at least for me). It has been a looong snowy winter here and I am ready for SPRING!!! Our family is not very far from our home and they are right on the way to my Husband's car pool stop. We have agreed to split the proceeds of the harvest with them in exchange for the land. We have attempted a garden here 3 times very unsuccessfully. We have very little sun and lots of pine trees. At any rate we are very excited about our upcoming spring planting.
It has also become a good home school project as we have been checking out books on gardening from our local library. We have also been reading and studying life in Pioneer times. If they could do it so can we!!
I pray you all have been well and that your holidays were filled with the love of God. I hope you were able to spend precious time with loved ones and friends.
I am looking forward to getting acquainted again.
Blessings, Michelle

Sorry for the error

2008-11-29T12:30:00.000-08:00

Sorry folks, it appears the Bath & Body coupon that I had posted on my blog earlier is not working. I went to the original source and that is not working correctly either. If I hadn't checked the original source I would have to definitely chalk it up to my novice computer skills, however that does not appear the case. Sorry:(

Michelle

K-Mart Double Coupons !

2008-11-13T05:36:00.001-08:00

K-mart does it again! Yay:) I stopped in yesterday and here are some of the great deals I have found. I used all coupons from recent flyer's. Unfortunately I don't have exact dates that the coupons were issued. Here goes:

2-3 oz. Vaseline total moisture @ 2.29 used (2) 1.25 cpn doubled item free ( Christmas gifts)

Glade Fabric & Air @ 3.50 used 1.50 cpn doubled paid .50

I love the pet odor eliminator scent it is by far the best!

12 oz Oust @3.50 used 1.50 cpn doubled paid .50

Tylenol rapid release gels@ 4.79 used 2.00 cpn doubled paid .79

They also have Durkee spices on sale for 1.00 They are the small ones but they had many to choose from so I stocked up for holiday baking.

Celestial Seasonings Tea Purchased 2 boxes of Christmas flavors (gifts) @2.50 each had (2 )1.00 cpns doubled paid 1.00 for both boxes

Maalox 12 oz bottle @ 4.99 2.00cpn doubled paid .99 ( I prefer to get these items for free or under .50 but we were out and hubby really needs this stuff after his midnight refrigerator raids!!)

Note: Pay close attention to your receipt. I found 2 errors yesterday that I had to report to Customer Service. They were very kind and gladly refunded me my money. However if you have a really large order you might consider splitting into 2 transactions so that you can keep an eye on your calculations. Also work the deals ahead of time so you know exactly what you are paying. I probably would have not picked up on the mistakes if I hadn't all ready known what I was going to pay. Happy shopping!!

Blessings, Michelle

A Blessed Nation

2008-11-12T11:08:00.000-08:00

I have been reading about the settling of Plymouth Plantation. I have been fascinated by these books and I love this period in our Nation's history. Not only have I learned a great deal in regards to the historical events of this period, I have been humbled by the multitude of blessings God has bestowed upon our Country.

By the mercy of God I have never known one day of hunger. There has always been an abundance of food to choose from. I have always had shelter. Since my birth, I have not been without clothing.

After the first winter at Plymouth, 60 Men Women and Children remained. The reality of that first winter, was disease and death. The second year was as difficult as several more died of starvation. Many were children. As I read last evening, a Mother was of a sorrowful spirit as she wailed over the death of her smallest child. As she held the child and felt the life leave his little body, she was helpless as she handed the child over for burial. Probable cause, starvation. Yet at the time of this event she had yet another life growing within her womb. The God fearing people of Plymouth persevered and were determined to press on. Oh, that I would ever complain!

As I ponder the celebration of Thanksgiving, I am so grateful to a merciful God who has blessed this Nation beyond anything we could imagine, and this writer far more than she deserves. Perhaps He continues to bless because of the faithfulness and fortitude of our forefathers. With that thought, it makes me shiver to think what might be facing our children. Has this generation been faithful enough, for God to continue His blessing for future generations? If this Nation were to hinge on my prayers for it's healing, I would be found guilty.

While our Nation is not perfect and has many struggles, it remains the greatest Nation in the world. Would you join me in prayer for our Nation to turn from it's wicked ways, that God's people would humble themselves, and cry out for her healing? (2 Chronicles 7:14 ) It is only by Gods mercy and His grace that America has any hope.

It is easy to forget with all our modern day conveniences the very humble beginnings of this great Nation. It is often times through adversity that greatness is born. The first thanksgiving was truly a time of thanksgiving to God Almighty for the harvest that He brought forth. These 60 Men, Women and Children were filled with gratitude. My we all have hearts filled with gratitude this Thanksgiving, and give the Lord the reverence that is due Him!!!

"So they committed themselves to the will of God, and resolved to proceed." William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Plantation

Blessings, Michelle

I Apologize

2008-10-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Fellow Blogger,
You may notice that I have removed the Christmas countdown icon at the top of my blog site. I just logged on to moderate a comment and an advertisement was in it's place. The advertisement was asking what type of alcohol drink I preferred. Let me answer a resounding NONE!
This blog is dedicated to bringing glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't want any area of this blog to be displeasing to the Lord. If you have logged onto my blog recently and saw something being advertised that was offensive to you, I apologize. This blog is dedicated to sharing Christian ideals with fellow believers, and the Blessed hope of the Lord Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.
It is also dedicated to help women learn frugal ideas and skills, in turn helping them to reduce their family budgets. Perhaps sharing with them that if their hearts desire is to be a "Keeper of the Home", it is possible with hard work and God's grace, even if they are currently working full-time outside their home. Beyond that it has no other purpose. I am not blogging to make money or advertise something I did not approve of, or even better that Christ would not approve of. If you are looking for a blog that is Christ honoring, soul loving, Bible teaching, Devil Hating, than you have found the right place. Welcome. I hope you stop back.
Blessings, Michelle

65 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!! YIPEEEEEE!

2008-10-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

I know that I have had the Christmas countdown icon on my blog for quite some time, but folks have you noticed that it's ticking away? Christmas is truly just around the corner. In a previous post. actually way back in July, I gave some frugal tips on preparing for Christmas. How y'all doin?

Hopefully you have all started planning ahead. This year I have decided to make many homemade gifts. For some I will be making some type of bread( I am not sure yet) and giving away some of my homemade jams. Some will receive homemade pickles and some will receive a table runner. I have purchased the fabric for the table runners but I have yet to make them. November's project.

We are HUGE Christmas fans around here. We love celebrating, starting the night of Thanksgiving (After our guests leave we usually watch "It's a Wonderful Life') and we plot out our Black Friday excursion. We usually are on the road between 3-4 a.m. We have scored some great deals on this day. I am hoping this year that we will be finishing our shopping on black Friday. We are setting some extra money aside now to take advantage of all the great deals.

Hopefully you have set aside a few dollars each week from the savings you have been getting by using coupons for your groceries. If you haven't started, it's never to late. Start saving this week!! See if you can shave $5 off your grocery bill. Reduce paper products, reduce juice or cut it out all together and drink water with meals. Cook a meatless meal this week and you could even save $10 off your budget. Hopefully you are all on your way!

Make a list of all the people you wish to give a gift to. Remember, it doesn't have to be expensive. I have received coupons for meals and child care and I have loved these gifts. The coupons were from dear friends. Some were having financial difficulty that year and the fact that they remembered our family meant even more.

In my previous post, I wrote about the precious resource...time. Maybe this year there just isn't any extra money. Consider giving pockets of your time. Give a coupon for running errands to a busy Mom who has more money than time. Offer to babysit for friends that don't have family nearby. Maybe give their Christmas gift early and offer to watch their children so that they might go out and do some uninterrupted shopping! Put your thinking cap on and be creative. Also, pray and ask the Lord what might be a blessing to someone. He knows all our needs better than we do and He can use you to be a huge blessing in someones life. I have prayed many times for the Lord to lay on my heart who may have a need. He has clearly shown to me who He wants me to give some extra groceries or a bag of bounty from my couponing scores. Many times I have heard, I gave them something, "just when they needed it." I love serving My God!!!

I have many more frugal Christmas tips mulling around in my head. Stay tuned. Also I would love to hear all your frugal tips. I am always looking for new ideas:)

Have a blessed day! Michelle

A Precious Resource-Time

2008-10-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

O.K. O.K. O.K., I know it's been quite a while since my last post, but I have been really busy. To the few of you faithful, stop by everyday readers ( Miss Wanda) I am sorry. I am like all of you, a very busy Woman!!
With homeschooling, learning the new skill of canning and preserving food, (I've made bread and butter pickles and homemade jams. I've mastered peach, blueberry and raspberry!) serving my Husband and family, serving in our local New Testament Church in several ministries I might add and then raining as "The Coupon Queen", I don't have much time for blogging.
It's not that I don't have much to say, God has been blessing my family greatly in the area of scoring great coupon savings recently, I just can't seem to find the time to write it all down. I have even taken a few pictures to post of my great deals, but that takes time and a lot of it. Time is the one thing that we are all equal in. We all have been given 24 hours in each day. No more, No less. The key is in finding the balance of using our time wisely and productively. As for Me, I look to the Lord and His Word for the guidance in my life.
If I have spent all day cutting coupons, scoring great deals and then blogging about them, but have not met the needs of my family, I am out of balance. If I have saved a ton of money in multiple trips to CVS, Price Chopper and K-Mart for double coupons, but the board of Health has condemned my home, my priorities are out of balance. If I am so busy scouring the Internet for new deals, but can not take the time to encourage a friend in the Lord, then things are out of balance. I mention these things because some days I get out of balance. It is only when I am walking in the Spirit, seeking the Lord in the planning of my day and reading His Word Daily, that I am able to achieve balance in my life. If there be any balance in my life it is God's grace and mercy, of which I am so thankful for. I truly enjoy blogging, but not at the expense of the "better" things to use my time for. I 'm still around and will post when I can. I want to be frugal with one of the most precious resources God has given us and that is our time. I pray blessings for you all!! Michelle

Our Frugal Vacation

2008-09-28T19:06:00.000-07:00

Hello again. We had a wonderful vacation. We did not make it to all destinations, but we had a wonderful time just the same. Friends in our Church own a time share. This particular couple is retired and the Lord has used them to be a blessing to our family many times. Earlier in the year this dear couple approached us regarding a vacation in the Fall at their time share. We stayed near Jimminy Peak Ski resort in Hancock, Massachusetts. It was a beautiful facility with plenty to do and see.
My husband got to play golf for the first time (He got a 59, A great score for beginners!!) and my Son and I had fun resting and relaxing. We were there for 3 nights and 4 days. We traveled into Lennox, Mass and had a fun day of sightseeing and window shopping. We found a Yankee candle outlet in Pittsfield Mass and I was able to find a very nice gift for my Aunt who let me borrow her camera, for just a few dollars.
The room we stayed in was gorgeous and also had a fully equipped kitchen! We cooked all our meals in our rooms and we ate out one night which was free after coupons we had received for being guests at our friends time share. Our whole vacation, including our trip to Old Sturbridge Village, was just under $100.00!!!!!! That amount also includes giving our friends some money toward gas for the trip (They drove):)
The trip to Old Sturbridge Village was absolutely wonderful. I love this period of time and I found the entire village fascinating. The best part was it was Home School day and we all got in for $7/each versus the regular $20.00 admission fee. This is an outside village with lots of walking and many wonderful exhibits. The weather was wonderful (Pleasantly warm and sunny) and we packed our lunch and ate on the picnic grounds.
I have pictures to post soon, providing I figure out how to upload them to my computer.
Since we have arrived home we have been very busy. We are back full swing into our Home School schedule and I have been canning like a crazy woman!! I have made peach and raspberry jam! I purchased the peaches @ .58cents a pound and I picked the raspberries. They were a little more pricey, but both jams came out great and I have a great jump on my Christmas gift giving!!!
I would like to close by praising the Lord for His goodness to my family. He is so faithful and good to us. Far better than we deserve. I believe that our frugal vacation was a gift from the Lord. He has provided not only our needs but He goes exceedingly above what we could ask or think. I am so thankful to the Lord for His blessings and I am thankful for the relationship we have with the Lord Jesus Christ!!
To God Be the Glory, Michelle
P.S. Stay tuned in the next day or two for some fun pictures, Lord willing!

Were Off Again

2008-09-12T07:03:00.001-07:00

Good Morning Blog-sphere!! I pray all is well with you all. I know it's been a bit since I've posted. Forgive Me? Our Son had a birthday last week and we started homeschooling 9/2. It has been very busy here.
My family likes to take a homeschooling vacation each September. We try to go somewhere historical and fun. We've been to Washington, D.C., NY City, and Lancaster, Penn. At any rate were off again.
This time were starting out in Hancock, Mass. Then over to Sturbridge Village in Mass. Then were off to Gettysburg, Penn. Then final destination is to one of my favorite places, Lancaster, Penn.!!!!!!!
I've borrowed a digital camera from my Aunt(Thanks, Aunt Dee) and hopefully I will have lots of pictures for you all. At this point you may be thinking, I thought this lady was frugal? I can't wait to share with you how God opened some doors so that we could have this very cool vacation!
My boys just arrived home from getting cheap $10.00 hair cuts. (That is a good price in this neck of the woods, average haircut for boys and men $14-20) I tried cutting their hair once and my husband said "Never Again!!" Haircutting was not a particular talent the Lord bestowed upon me. It was pretty bad! Besides with all this picture taking my boys gotta look good.
I pray you all have a great week. We are having some spectacular Fall weather here in the Northeast. Have a blessed week! Michelle

Congratulations to the Paine Family!

2008-09-05T03:01:00.000-07:00

It's Frugal Friday over at http://www.biblicalwomanhood.com/ and Crystal has a great post on surviving during times of stress. First, Congratulations to Jesse and Crystal! We in the blog sphere are praying for you. I applaud Crystal for the decision to increase their food budget for this short season, to help her, and her family endure this season of "morning sickness".

As managers of our homes and families, it is so important that we set realistic goals for not only ourselves, but our families during difficult seasons of life. To think that your husband is going to come home 5 days a week and cook meals every night, after he works all day, is probably a little unrealistic. He's stressed, your stressed, the kiddos pick up on the stress and you have just concocted a wonderful recipe for disaster!!

However careful planning and budgeting will help alleviate some of the stress. When Crystal feels well enough she will resume her normal cook from scratch schedule and by being so diligent in their budget she has allowed this "wiggle" room for a short season. See the key is in planning and preparing. It is the Wise woman who builds her home.............

We cannot prevent the trials that come to us, but with Gods grace and mercy we can endure. Jesus said in John 10:10," I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." God love us and wants us to rest in Him. May we truly learn to rest in Him. Have a blessed day! Michelle

Thank You Lord

2008-08-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

I received this e-mail from a very good friend this morning. It sure did convict my heart, and I thought it to good to keep to myself. I pray this is a blessing to you all. Michelle

WHAT HAPPENS IN HEAVEN

This is one of the nicest e-mails I have seen:

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, 'This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.'

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, 'This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them. 'I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. 'This is the Acknowledgment Section,' my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed 'How is it that there is no work going on here?' I asked.

'So sad,' the angel sighed. 'After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.'

'How does one acknowledge God's blessings?' I asked.

'Simple,' the angel answered. Just say, 'Thank you, Lord.'

'What blessings should they acknowledge?' I asked.

'If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.'

'And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.'

'If you woke up this morning with more health than illness .... you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.'

'If you have never experienced the fear of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 700 million people in the world..'

'If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death, you are envied by and more blessed than three billion people in the world.'

'If your parents are still alive and still married ...you are very rare.'

'If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair.'

Ok, what now? How can I start?

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you care to, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

ATTN: Acknowledge Dept

'Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message, and for giving me so many wonderful people with whom to share it.'

If you have read this far, and are thankful for all that you have been blessed with, how can you not send it on? I thank God for everything, especially all my family and friends!

Blessings with love ...

Making Your Own Vacuum Sealed Freezer Bags

2008-08-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

It is Frugal Friday over at http://www.biblicalwomanhood.com/ and I have to share a great money saving tip for you today. Our home school group went Blueberry picking on Wed and I was preparing the berries for freezing. I am also making homemade blueberry jam for the first time later today. I will keep you posted how it all turns out! At any rate, I was reading that fruit freezes better in a vacuum sealed bag. I did have a coupon for the new Zip lock Vacuum Sealer but it had expired. Figures, they were on sale this week at Price Chopper.

I couldn't squeeze that into my grocery budget this week, and I had read, Are you ready for this...........

Stick a straw in the end of the bag, and suck the air out, bend the straw so as not to let more air in, and continue the process until all the air is removed! It worked like a charm:) and the cost was almost nonexistent. How much does 1 straw cost in a pack of 50? Less than I care to calculate. I was so excited that it worked. I got all the blueberries bagged and in my freezer and the vacuum seal didn't even cost me a dime. Praise the Lord!!

Have a blessed day Michelle

I did it, I did it, I did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

I DID IT!!! I successfully posted a picture to my blog this afternoon. It took a fair amount of time but I did it!! Praise the Lord! Any who, I posted a picture of me and my honey from the couples retreat that we attended this past week. The picture was on our Church web site, so I was able to upload from there. For all you computer Gurus this is no big deal. But let me tell you it is a HUGE deal for little ole me!! I hope you enjoy the picture!! Michelle

P.S. The picture was taken at the top of Pinnacle Mtn. We had a bon fire up there on the last night of the retreat. It was great fun smooching with my sweetie under the stars!

Please Be Patient With Me!

2008-08-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

Fellow readers, as I have shared with you many times,I am frugal. I live a frugal lifestyle and when I say that I am not kidding. Hence we don't own cell phones nor do we own a digital camera. I know many blogs post pictures,and I am in the process of learning to do that.

I am still learning this whole blogging thing but that takes lots of time., and while I love and pray for you all, my family and service to God are the major priorities in my life. I am learning and working on making this site more user friendly. Just be patient with me. Soon I hope to post some fun pictures from a friends camera.

I have asked for an inexpensive digital camera for Christmas. Knowing my wonderful Hubby he'll do what He can to get it for me! God sure is good.

I do have a question for you all, does anyone know how to link to a previous post on your own site? I've been reading the help tutorial through blogger, but still am a bit confused. If any one has some quick tips for me I sure would appreciate an e-mail. You can reach me at rnmwilkins@yahoo.com Thanks in advance for your help.I hope and pray all is going well for you all and frugality is becoming a reality in your lives!! Blessings, Michelle

I Am So Thankful For My Man!!!

2008-08-24T12:04:00.001-07:00

We arrived home late yesterday afternoon from a 2 day couples retreat in the Helderberg mountains here in upstate NY. What a wonderful time we had with other believers from our Church.

We had great Biblical teaching from Bro. Jim Belisle and his wife, Linda. We had split sessions with specific training for Men and Ladies. Yes, God did make us different. In the marriage, we each have a specific role to fill. Despite what many of us have learned from the world and observing worldly marriages, God has a very definite plan for marriage. For those of us not raised in Christian homes, with strong examples of a Christian marriage to observe and follow, these teachings are invaluable.

I am thankful to my parents. Despite the many obstacles, they stayed together. They are both in Heaven now and I am so thankful each were saved before their deaths, but Christ was not the head of their marriage. However they were committed to each other and the marriage.

I am so thankful for the marriage the Lord has blessed me with. I am so very thankful for the Husband God provided me with. While my husband was not saved when we were married, God through His merciful grace saw fit to see him saved!! God spoke to my heart many times over the last few days on becoming all I can be as a wife to the wonderful husband God gave me. We live in such an egocentric, all me society that even in Christian homes that worldly philosophy can filter in if we are not careful. I have read Debi Pearls book, Created to be His Helpmeet and have found the teachings contained in that book, based on the Word of God, the most helpful book on a wife's role in marriage that I have ever read. I highly recommend it!!!!! Of course the exception is to the Bible. God's word gives a very clear plan on a Husband's and Wife's role in the relationship of marriage.

I have read the book through several times and refer to it often, as I sometimes get "Stinkin thinkin" in regards to my marriage. It is not my Husband's problem to fix, it is mine. When I have let worldly philosophy creep in, whether it be through magazines, friends, family etc. I get out of my God ordained role and start thinking wrong. I must keep my eyes and heart fixed on Christ. That's why as Christian wives it is so very important for us to "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23

I love my husband with my whole heart and it is my prayer that God will always give me the grace to be the best wife I can be!! Michelle

We are settling In

2008-08-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

Things are finally starting to get back to normal around here. This past weekend I blessed our house (Yep, I cleaned it) and splurged on a new fall scented candle! It was so cozy around here! Here in upstate NY we are having some cool temperatures and I have noticed many of the trees changing color. Hard to believe but Fall is coming soon. I love fall, really I do. I am just not sure if I am ready for it in August:)

The cooler temperatures have definitely started me thinking on planning out my Christmas gifts this year. I am going to be making table runners for friends and family so I need to get planning. JoAnn's Fabric has been having some great coupons deals and I plan on a shopping trip early next week to select some special Christmas fabric. Only 128 days until Christmas!

How ya all doing with my frugal tip of planning and preparing for Christmas in July. I hope you are all squirrelling away a little money here and there, and picking up gifts now for what you know is coming in December!! Plan, plan, plan!!!!!

I plan on making pickles next week (first time) and am excited about my first canning lesson. My grandmother canned everything but the kitchen sink. I have fond memories of my sister and I going down to the "root cellar" and picking the evening meal vegetable from rows and rows of canned jars that my grandmother worked so hard to prepare. I remember the big pot (pressure cooker) on the stove and her house being filled with wonderful aromas of something. My grandmother died when I was twelve so that memory is from sometime before then and it is very vivid in my mind till this day. I hope I make you proud gram.

We are gearing up for school and looking forward to our first home school trip, August 27th. We are going blueberry picking!! We are all wearing blue shirts and packing a picnic lunch. Our family picked a little earlier this year and the blueberries were as big as grapes. I am looking forward to a fruitful day of picking and plan on freezing the majority of what we pick!

I pray you are all doing well and look forward to continuing with the "Coming Home Series" in the next week. Have a blessed night! Michelle

Were Home

2008-08-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hello out there!!! We arrived home late Friday evening from Teen camp! Praise the Lord for His safety and travel mercies. We had a great week at camp and heard some red hot preaching from Evangelist Kevin Walker.

There were over 300 teens that attended this week of camp and the facilities were busting at the seams. Our teens did very well, with many decisions made for the Lord. One of the Teens in our group won the Servants Heart Award and our son won an MVP award for football. We had several Teens in our group pass the Bible Quiz. All in all it was a fruitful week at camp.

However the Lord worked differently in my heart at camp this year. This is the fifth year that my Husband and I have attended camp as counselors. In the previous years of camp the Lord had used the preaching of His word to grow my own walk with Him. I grew in knowledge and understanding, and my cup truly was running over from the Spiritual blessings at camp.

This year the Lord burdened my heart. It was as if this year the Lord said it is time I use this time for you in a new way. I believe I wasn't spiritually ready for these burdens prior to this time. For God His way is perfect. I came home burdened in 3 specific areas.

1. I am more burdened for a lost and dying world. I have purposed to
become a better soul winner. He that winneth souls is wise. Proverbs 11:30

2. I am more burdened for the Teens of our Country. We are losing Christian
Teens to the world in record numbers. I am specifically burdened for the Teens
in our Youth group.

3. I am more burdened to make intercession for our Teens and pray for them
daily and by specific need in their lives. The Teens in our youth group need our
prayers. That may be the most important thing I can do for them. 1 Timothy 2:1

There is a real adversary out there who is roaming about seeking whom he may devour.(1Peter5:7) Folks we are engaged in a real spiritual warfare for our Country's youth. (Ephesians6: 10-12) I realize that this post may be a tad bit heavy and not at all to do with frugal living, but I am first and foremost a Christian. My relationship with the Lord is the number one priority in my life. You might ask, what about your husband and child? If my relationship with the Lord is first and right, then all other relationships in my life will be o.k. Don't misunderstand me, they won't be perfect. They will be how the Lord has chosen them to be for me. I have had seasons in my life when my relationships were difficult. We as women carry many relationship roles, wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, co-worker, church member etc....... yet when I was having the most difficulty, I was also struggling with my walk with the Lord. I am so thankful His mercy is renewed every morning. Great is Thy Faithfulness!!!!!!!!

On a lighter note: I went grocery shopping yesterday (the first time in 3 weeks) and did awesome. My subtotal was $210.28, after advantage card and coupons(which are doubled up to $1)I paid $74.79!!! A total savings of $139.77 Actually a little more since I have a $5.00 rebate to send in for Pert shampoo. Praise the Lord!!

I am looking forward to regular blogging and some great frugal tips. Also stay tuned for some great fall recipes. I pray you are all having a fun, safe and frugal summer!!!! Michelle

Update

2008-08-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

Many of you may have thought I had fallen off the face of the earth. Not so .......It has just been incredibly busy around here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you praying for our friends son Elijah, thank you. It has been almost 10 days, and Elijah has had no new seizure activity. Glory to God!!! I am grateful to all of you that may have lifted him to the throne of grace.

VBS was a great Spirit filled week! We had 99 children come thru our VBS this year, with many children coming to know Christ as their Saviour. We even had the parent of one of our children accept Christ as her personal Saviour. God truly blessed our efforts of this Vacation Bible School. Elijah's Dad was the director of VBS and he had to miss two days. Everybody pitched in, did their role and then some. Our son was the puppet this year and he did a great job. My husband was in many of the skits. It was a profitable week for the kingdom of heaven. I myself was saved at a VBS when I was 7. Never underestimate a child coming to know Christ as their Saviour.

Teen camp. Headed out to Butler, Penn. Monday August 4th. Pray for me!!! We are headed to camp with a group of 18 from our church. My husband and I have been praying that the Holy Spirit will do a great work this week in the youth of our Church. We have also been praying He will do a great work in us!!!! I am excited for camp and the opportunity to spend the week with the Teens that attend our Church. We have some of the greatest Teens in the world!

My Husbands birthday is today. I want to Praise the Lord and thank Him for the husband He gave to me. While he is not perfect (pretty close) He is absolutely perfect for me:)!!

As you can see my family serves in several ministries of our Church. I am so thankful that the Lord has allowed us to serve as a family. I feel privileged to serve beside my Husband as God is working in his life and heart everyday. I feel privileged that God has so clearly shown me my role as help meet to my husband, though I fail him daily. At times life gets very busy and there are days I get weary and heavy burdened. Those are almost always the days I have not sought the Lord as I should have. God has never failed me, though daily I have failed him. I am thankful I have been saved to serve. I have been bought with a price and I am so thankful He is made perfect in my weakness.

I pray you are all having a great summer. I am looking forward to a new school year, (we have a freshman this year) and how the Lord will lead us in choosing our curriculum. After camp, I will be continuing on my "Coming Home Series". I am very excited to continue to share with you all how the Lord worked in our lives. It truly is, by His grace and for His glory!

Have a blessed week!! Michelle

2008-07-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
I apologize for my delay in posting. As a newbie to the blog sphere, I want to uphold the etiquette of blogging, which would seem to me to be posting on a regular basis. I have only been blogging for a short time and have had to take a posting hiatus twice now.

However, this is a hobby. A way for me to share my thoughts and hearts with some folks who may feel the same as I do. But when life gets to busy, while in our home, hobbies are the first to go.

Some very dear friends of ours, have a son who is Autistic. It appears this past week that Elijah has developed a seizure disorder. He had his first episode after Wed night Bible study this past week. He was brought to the hospital and several tests were run. All tests were negative and the Dr.'s shared with his parents that this may have been an isolated incident and Elijah might not ever have another seizure again. Apparently that is not the case.

Yesterday on his way home from school (He attends a special program for children with Autism) he was found to be unresponsive on the school bus.He is still in the hospital tonight and the Dr.'s are still unclear as to what may be wrong. We have their other two children staying with us and are caring for the house and their pets. Oh and did I mention we are in the middle of VBS this week! Oh and did I mention we are leaving for Teen camp in approx 10 days!! Life..... it sure does get busy.

I would ask that you might pray for our bestest friends, Mike and Wanda. Please pray that the Lord will give them the peace that passeth all understanding. I am currently mulling around a post in my head on all the spiritual lessons Elijah has taught me. Stay tuned, I promise I will get more regular with this posting thing.

To the few readers I have acquired, I pray all is going well for you, and you are continuing to seek and learn of the frugal life style. I pray the Lord will continue to guide you in this process.
I am still praying for you! Michelle

Coming Home Series/ Week 3

2008-07-20T18:31:00.001-07:00

In the last post, I shared that we would be discussing more nuts and bolts this week of the actual reduction in my income. As I shared with you it was approx a 4 year process. The first thing we did, was change from full-time to part time status. That meant that we switched our health insurance to my husbands company. It was slightly more expensive for him to carry the health insurance, but we knew I would eventually be leaving my position, so we thought it best to change while I was still working part-time.
The second thing that changed for us was my life insurance. I was able to carry a large life insurance policy, for just pennies a month. However it was only in effect if I worked full-time. This is an area where faith had to step in. The Bible says "But without faith it is impossible to please him:" (Hebrews 11:6) I was without life insurance for about 2 years. We prayed and left it in the Lord's hands. We were learning that our provision comes from the Lord, not our jobs. God could have us change jobs or even lose our jobs, but our provision came from Him. When the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God provided manna for them daily. Not weekly, not monthly. Not semi-annually. Daily. They didn't have a 401k, they didn't have a pension or money market fund, they didn't have American Express or MasterCard to meet their needs. They had the Lord and He met their needs daily. God has never failed to meet our daily needs. Just recently my husband was able to acquire life insurance for me through his company. It fits within our budget, and it would replace the small amount of money that I make, should the Lord call me home.
The third thing that changed is we started to live (our living expenses) on less than we made. This was the really tough one. We attempted to evaluate every area of our budget. We canceled our cell phones. (Average mo. savings$130-150) We reviewed our car insurance policy(made some changes, savings 200.00 year) We went down to one vehicle. We sold my husbands car which was paid off and that further reduced the cost of our car insurance. We stopped eating out (huge savings, I don't have exact totals but on average $50-75/mo -sometimes more).
You might be thinking those things seem drastic. They were, even to us. Remember in my first post I shared that I was seeking God desperately. Desperate people do desperate things. I wanted to be home with my family and I knew God would do His part, but we must do ours. It is just like the Salvation the Lord graciously gave me, God gave it to me but I had to do my part first, I had to ask. There were many more things that we evaluated and started to save on. Hair care, grocery budget etc.. What I really want to share in this post with you, is to start really investigating where your money goes. I made good money but I spent good money. Most of the purchases I made were desires and wants, not needs. I don't want you to think we live in a cardboard box. No the Lord provided us a beautiful home. We drive a nice vehicle. We wear nice clothes. But we have a different purpose and we do not in any way shape or form attempt to keep up with the "Joneses." See the "Joneses" are used by the master deceiver, he tricks you into being discontent, he places the thought that you don't have what others have and you deserve to.
My Husband and I are completely content that we have what God has seen fit to give us. He is better to us than we deserve. I am home because of God's grace and we chose to make some big changes.
I have many post ideas mulling around in my head. I can not begin to share, truly, what a privileged it is to be home. So many things, but mostly absolute peace and contentment. I will be sharing in a future post how much our marriage was strengthened, when my husband became the full-time bread winner!!
Until then, I pray I have been an encouragement to you. I am praying for you.
Have a blessed day! Michelle

Coming Home Series/

2008-07-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today's Frugal Tip

2008-07-17T18:16:00.001-07:00

Todays Frugal Tip is one of time mgmt. One of the most precious resources we have is time, and it is valuable. I am always looking for ways to streamline and be more efficient. As a critical care nurse I became a very efficient multi-tasker. In fact this is an area I often need to bring into subjection or I could multi-task myself to death!!!
My pet peeve is cleaning the bathrooms. I usually completely clean the bathrooms on Monday. I find after a busy weekend, the bathrooms are in desperate need of attention. So on Sunday night after everyone is done using the bathroom, I put bleach in the toilet, bathtub, and sink. I usually take the bath mat, turn it right side up and fill the tub with bleach and hot water, about half full. Same with the sink. While I am sleeping the bleach is doing its job (I love bleach!!!!!) and when I get up in the morning the bathroom is half cleaned!
I will definitely be posting about bleach in the future. I love the stuff. I have been known to be a little zealous in the past and almost asphyxiate myself, but all in all ,I still love the stuff. I am kinda a germ fanatic, and bleach kills them all!! I really was normal until I took microbiology in College. Yikes!!!! I learned more about microbes than I ever really needed to know. All my friends know how much I love bleach and you wanta know the beauty, the stuff is cheap! God is so good to me.
Have a blessed day! Michelle

Todays Frugal Tip

2008-07-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

I love Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First and foremost it is the celebration of the birth of my Saviour!! I also love Christmas well... for everything else. To me there is something spectacular about the first snowfall. I love the hustle and bustle. I love the quiet evenings in front of our fireplace with my family, watching It's A Wonderful Life. (This past year my son, Trevor bought me the color version!!!!)

I love the special visits with family and friends. I love giving presents to people. O.K. your probably wondering if your reading a Hallmark card and where's the frugal tip. Drum roll please...................................... Start planning your Christmas in July! Yes I'm serious. First, there are some great sales around this time. www.Chrisitanbookdistributors.com is currently having their Christmas in July sale. They have some beautiful Christmas cards for $1.99/box. I will definitely be getting some of those. Secondly don't forget about garage sales. They are plentiful at this time of year in Upstate NY. You can find some wonderful unique Christmas gifts at garage sales. Just remember to start a list or find a location for your goods, so as not to forget them at Christmas. Also resist the urge to give them early. We have some very dear friends who are very generous to us. Our friend Mike will find some great gifts for my Hubby on Ebay, but He always gives them to Him before Christmas.

Thirdly, start planning to set aside some money now, for extra purchases you know you will make at Christmas time. $5.00-$10.00 a week, will make a nice nest egg at Christmas.

Above all remember Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

Have a blessed Day! Michelle

Todays Frugal Tip

2008-07-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

O.K. remember the watering down of the juice tip, while here it is........... I do the same thing with my fabric softener. I find fabric softener very concentrated and well not cheap. During the summer I use my clothes line and the clothes are quite stiff without it. During the winter I do use my dryer some and my drying rack, but we have a lot of static cling without the softener. So to make it last longer I did the same thing as with the juice. At first I took out just about 1/4 of the softener. Then I kept adjusting the amount. Now I dump out half into a bottle I saved and fill that with water as well as the remaining bottle with water. TaDa....... 2 bottles of fabric softener for the price of one. Bought with a coupon of course, on sale. Pennies per load. Praise the Lord!!
Have a blessed day! Michelle

Coming Home Series/ Week 2

2008-07-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a great Fourth of July!!! My family sure did. My honey was home and was paid to spend the day with me!! I couldn't post without mentioning the greatness of the United States of America.

My grandfather was a Sgt in World War One and World War Two. He instilled patriotism in us from a very early age. My grandfather was asked to be the Grand Marshall in many local parades. I still remember how tears would well in his eyes as He watched the American Flag march by. One of the unique things about my grandfather was he survived the pandemic flu of 1918. He was in a hospital in Europe, at the age of 18, in a coma for nearly a week. That flu took the lives of millions of soldiers. I recently read that particular strain of flu killed over 20 billion people world wide. He survived a devastating pandemic flu, fought in 2 World Wars and lived well into his seventies. Yep my grandad was quite a man. Thank you gramp!

We live in the greatest country on earth!! It is because of the freedoms we posses that I sit here and write this story. To all you service men and women and their families, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOMS OF OUR HEARTS FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!! We realize that freedom isn't free and we are grateful for your protection of this great land!

Onto our Series............week 2

As we talked in the first series, I was a full-time working mama, with a desire to be home. It is my belief that God placed that desire in my heart as that is what He created me to be. (Titus 2:5 ) Although I truly wanted to be home, our financial picture was grim to say the least. We had incur ed a fair amount of credit card debit (o.k. a large amt. of cc debit) and had made many poor financial decisions. While we did not take grand vacations every year, we did not own a boat, and neither of us enjoyed expensive hobbies, we made poor (daily living expenses) choices. Fast food- remember I was working 50+ hours a week. Convenience was the name of the game. Grocery bills (there was little time to cut coupons and shop) Two cars, we both needed to get to work. Clothing-well there was no time to consignment shop. I justified the credit card purchases at JC Pennys, Bonton etc., because I was working hard and well I deserved it. This is America. The land of opportunity. The Devil is still in the business of deceiving.

I had a case of stinkin thinkin. While I pondered in my heart about leaving my job, the situation looked impossible. Absolutely impossible. Then something life changing started happening for me. I started reading and studying the word of God. God clearly showed me through His word that "For with God nothing shall be impossible." Luke1 :37 KJV (Emphasis mine) I held onto the word nothing in that verse. Could God possibly work a miracle in our financial situation? Did God really care what happened in my life? Was a Mothers place really in the home ? I say a resounding AMEN to everyone of the aforementioned questions. God did care and in time (His time) He showed my husband and I the way. No money did not fall from the sky like manna. We did not come into a large inheritance. No we didn't find a bag of money on our doorstep. No God knew how weak we were. God knew if He gave us a pile of money, it would ruin us spiritually. Now I am not saying that if you have been blessed of the Lord financially that you are spiritually ruined. What I am saying is God knew "us." It would be through developing a deep spiritual walk with the Lord that He would reveal to us His will and plan for me to come home. I started seeking the Lord with a passion. God speaks to us through His word, we speak to Him through prayer. I started doing both desperately. The very first changes that we started making was literally feasting off the Word of God.
If you are desiring to return from the workforce and regain your role as homemaker, I promise that if you diligently seek the Lord with all your heart and soul and mind He will show you the way. It may not be in your time, but His. It may not be the way you plan, but the way He plans, all for the purpose of bringing Glory to His name.
It took aprrox. 4 years for me to leave my job. I still work during the summer as a perdiem employee. The Lord has allowed me to make a very good hourly wage. I do not hold a position. I receive no benefits from my employer. I am considered a casual or perdiem employee. Full-time homemaking is my number one priority after being a wife and mother. My husband and son are my home, not the dwelling we inhabitate. My son is almost 14 now and I work on the average of 2-3 shifts per month. Sometimes more in the summer if our schedule allows. There are some months I don't work at all. I make a small amt of money to help to continue to pay down that mountain of debt. Yes we are still paying that off, but we only have 3 more credit cards to go. (We started out with about 10) God has been so faithful to us!!
I won't tell you that it has been easy. I won't tell you that it has not been without sacrifice. I won't tell you that it has not been without temptation to abandon this lifestyle and live on the salary we previously made. However I will tell you it has been worth every trial and I would do it all again. I love being the Keeper of my Home and I have never been so completely full filled. It is my prayer that I have been an encouragement to you. I am praying for you. Blessings, Michelle

The next post will contain info on health insurance, life insurance and more nuts and bolts of the actual reduction of our income. Stay tuned.....

One more Day

2008-07-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

This is the last night my Pastors children will be staying with us. It has been a very busy week:)
Things are going great, but my energy ...........well it's just about gone. The addition of 2 children ages 5&7, a black lab and a gold fish( things didn't go so well with the goldfish "peaches " we are off to buy a new goldfish tomorrow) life has been a bit crazy at our house. I am eager to get back to posting and sharing my "Frugal tip of the day" with you all. I will confess, I am a creature of habit and I like, well love routine. I am really looking forward to getting back to "normal" around here.

I managed to get my grocery shopping done this week, but was shocked at how much the price of food has gone up. I am a major coupon Queen and have been couponing now for well over 10 years. There are some excellent Internet resources out there for beginners and my personal favorite is www.moneysavingmom.com I will be posting deals that I find specific to upstate NY, but why create the wheel when Crystal does such an excellent job. Even with coupons, lost leader sales, and a well prepared list, my bill was approx $15.00 more for the same food than it was a month ago. Folks, even people who aren't frugal by nature are going to have to jump on the wagon with the way prices are rising. I am so glad the Lord has guided me to this frugal lifestyle and given me a heart of contentment.

It is quiet here. The boys, my son, both dogs and my sweet hubby are all asleep. I am relishing in the quiet of it all, and thankful the Lord has used my family and I to be a blessing to our Preacher and His wife. Please stay tuned for the next post in the Coming Home series...... Until then, Have a blessed day! Michelle

A Short Break

2008-07-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
I know the second in the series " Coming Home" is due out tonight. As a new blogger it takes me a fair amount of time to post. I also, by the title of my blog, want to always post to the glory of God. With that said, for the next few days Our Pastors children, dog and goldfish are staying with us. Our Pastor and his wife have taken our Juniors to Bible camp. As you may guess, my schedule is full and I don't have time to blog. I promise though I will get the second post out very soon. It is started and I am so excited to continue with this series.

I pray you all had a wonderful Fourth of July!!

P.S. Here in Northern NY , the corn is knee high. My grandfather used to say corn has to be knee high by the fourth of July, for a good crop. Looks like we made it!!!!

Michelle

Todays Frugal Tip

2008-07-03T03:48:00.000-07:00

Cold Water Wash. I know this has been discussed at length in the blogsphere, and for some has not worked out so well. However for me, it has worked fine and saved my family a ton of money. The two things I do that I believe make a difference are; #1 I pretreat with a name brand spot remover. Shout or Spray-n-Wash. Those are the two I use the most. I always buy it when it is on sale, and of course with a coupon! I usually pay no more than .50-.75 cents a bottle. #2.I use a name brand laundry detergent. I have tried the lesser expensive brands and found that they do not work well for me in cold water washing. Now, you might be saying. brand name is to expensive. My reply, not so if bought on sale and with a coupon!! I have made a rule for myself that my limit to pay for laundry detergent is no more than $2.00/bottle. The brands that I use are; Whisk, All, & Cheer. I have found that Tide, even on sale and with a coupon is to pricey for me. I really do like Tide and have used it in the past. but at this point it is not in my budget? Today, I would love to hear from you all with any great cold water washing tips. As always, have a blessed day! Michelle

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