Pays to Be Frugal

Getting into couponing and such these days. It really is saving me money and getting less and less time consuming as I get organized.


Here are some helpful links:

http://paystobefrugal.com/2009/10/18/merry-christmas-100-visa-giftcard-giveaway/


http://www.couponmom.com/

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/

Send me yours if you know of others!

All My Heart

I do a lot of things with "all my heart", but I wonder how much my heart lines up with God's desires? What does He say I should do with all my heart?

-Seek Him (Deuteronomy 4:29, Jeremiah 29:13)

-Love Him (Deuteronomy 6:5, 13:3, 30:6; Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30&33, Luke 10:27)

-Serve Him (Deuteronomy 10:12; Joshua 22:5, 1 Samuel 12:20&24,)

-Do His commandments (Deuteronomy 26:16, 30:2)

-Turn to Him (Deuteronomy 30:10)

-Walk before Him (I Kings 2:4)

-Praise Him (Psalms 86:12)

-Trust Him (Proverbs 3:5)

-Believe Him (Acts 8:37)

Does my heart truly belong to God? All of it? There are promises attached to these -- look them up! He is the Life worth giving all your heart...

Seek Ye First

Matthew 6:33-34 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

I haven't blogged for a while. I unintentionally took the summer off! Life is busy. I don't know anyone who isn't nearly out of their minds with busyness. Most of our busyness is probably self-made. I do a lot of planning. I don't know a mom who doesn't plan. It is necessary to feed, clothe and generally take care of the interests of a family. Planning isn't wrong in and of itself. I find it ironic, though, when I'm busy planning because I'm planning to be busy. When my plan becomes that thing that I seek, it is wrong. Jesus said, to seek FIRST the kingdom of God. Jesus said to take NO thought for tomorrow. I have always put the word "thought" in the context of being anxious. The definition does include anxiety, but it encompasses so much more than that. It also means "to care for, look out for (a thing); to seek to promote one’s interests; caring or providing for". I've always thought because God is a God of order, I must have an orderly life, and that order is accomplished by planning. Psalms 37:23 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD..." Do I plan and seek to follow my plan so much that I leave no room for God to order my steps each day? I know there is a balance here. I believe the balance is achieved by leaving a good portion of our days unscheduled and unplanned so that there is room for God to order our steps that day. I don't want to be so busy that my direction cannot be changed. I don't want to plan God out of my day. How can I reach out to others and meet the needs of others when my own plans are my master. Are all these activities really necessary? They may be good, but are they best? Remember what Jesus said to Martha -- the busy planner? Martha had just expressed her frustration to Jesus about the fact that Mary, her sister, had left Martha to do all the work while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. Much to Martha's surprise, Jesus did not reprimand Mary for not serving Him with Martha. Instead, he reprimanded Martha, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Most of the things that consume my day will go to the grave with me. How much time do I spend with Jesus? How much do I really let Him order my steps in those things that will not be taken away? Now the question is, how to move from B (busyness), to A (at His feet). How does this become a reality in my life? This will be my meditation for the day and my prayer, "Show me, God how to seek Your Kingdom first. Show my how to take NO thought for tomorrow. Let me be willing and able to obey you in each step of my day. May You be the one who orders my steps."

The Effort of Getting Dressed

"Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:24)

Recently I have been having a lot of trouble getting up on time. When I oversleep, it has a pretty negative effect on my entire day. Usually it means I will either not spend time in the Bible and in prayer -- or at least not quality time. If I do spend the time, then it means I'm late to work, which takes away time "doing school" with the kids. To my dismay, even at my seasoned age, I found myself in the habit over oversleeping and seemingly powerless to break the habit. I mentioned this struggle to a good friend when we were having coffee Monday. To my surprise, she was having the same problem. So, in keeping with true friendship, we agreed to help each other and are now making that 4:00 am "accountability call". I can't say I am enjoying dragging my weary bones out of bed that early again, but certainly I am enjoying the benefits of reestablishing that habit.

I've been studying Ephesians 4 this week. Today I spent some time just meditating on verse 24. The terminology Paul uses, "put on the new man", implies effort. When we put on clothes in the morning, we have to put at least a bit of effort into that process. It requires purposeful thought and physical action. We may not always enjoy the effort, and at times expend minimal effort, but we HAVE to put forth some effort, or settle for the alternative of not getting dressed at all (which is an unsettling thought!).

I have to admit, most days I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what I am going to wear. I am a casual person unless the day's activities require otherwise. But, spiritually each day does require more than just casual dressing. I am called to be an ambassador of Christ each day, and the dress code is pretty specific. This "new man" is created in righteousness and holiness, just like God is righteous and holy. These are not character qualities that come naturally to the human race! In fact, if you read verse 22 of Ephesian 4, before we can think about putting on this new man, we have to "put off" the old man -- the one that is not righteous and holy; the one we were before we were in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:17, says "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." This new man becomes part of our spiritual wardrobe the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Unfortunately, as long as we have this flesh to contend with, the old man is also still part of our wardrobe (see Romans 7:14-25). We are commanded, though, to reckon that old man as dead (Romans 6:11-13). So, part of my daily effort is to ignore that old, smelly outfit hanging in my spiritual closet and make the choice to put on the new duds each day. Thus, the 4:00 am wake-up call. That new man really is much more pleasant (for everyone) and definitely worth the effort!

Firstborn From the Dead Pics

The kids had the amazing opportunity to be part of the "Firstborn from the Dead" Saturday and Sunday. Pictures could not even begin to convey the power of this story of Christ's life, death and resurrection. Wow!

"Glory in the Highest" - Kiah was an angel (I'm of the opinion she still is!)

"Holy"

"Holy"

Saturday was a LONG day for the five "Boys Athletic Movement" boys -- and for me as the rehearsal stage mom. We were there from 10 am to 10:00 p.m. I was stage mom from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 pm. The boys were great all things considered. My patience only thinned toward the end... :o)

Before the show...

Small room - lots of fun!

A goofy moment.

Here is part of Judson's piece. Those little guys were SOOO cute! He was in another scene, too, but we didn't get that one on video. We did order the DVD...

Here's one of Mikiah's pieces. This is the garden scene before the crucifixion. The video does not convey the intensity of this scene. It was so cool! Mikiah was a "Pharitree"...

Excited about This Performance!

Mikiah and Judson are in this performance coming up Saturday and Sunday, May 23rd and 24th. What I have seen in the rehearsals is really amazing. If you enjoy watching shows, you will love this one. Hope to see you there!


Performance is 1 week away. Tickets are going fast.
Dramatic Truth School of the Arts Presents
LOCATION:
The Bell Center
MidAmerica Nazarene University
2030 E. College Way
Olathe, Kansas

SATURDAY, MAY 23 7:00 pm Evening Performance
SUNDAY, MAY 24 3:00 pm Matinee Performance
TICKET PRICES:
$10 Adults,
$5 Students under 18,
$5 Students over 18 with a current student ID.

Purity Ball

My little girl is not so little any more... Friday night, Jim and Mikiah attended a purity ball for fathers (or moms) and daughters. I had the great pleasure of being a server during the dinner. The event was absolutely lovely and very heart-warming! They shared some laughs and some special moments. One of those moments included a covenant spoken and signed by each:

Father:
I will protect you from unqualified young men.
I will be diligent to lovingly guard you from even the presence of temptation.
I will teach you God's principles concerning life and marriage.
I will pray for you, seek for you, and commmunicate with you concerning God's choice of your life's partner.

Daughter:
I will accept your protection and keep myself pure for my husband.
I acknowledge that I am capable of being deceived, and will immediately come to you should any tempatation present itself.
I will listen and learn and wait for God's best for my life.
I will seek first the Kingdom of God, look foward to entering a betrothing relationship, and wait for your blessing before entering into marriage.

They had a wonderful dinner, great speakers, quiet time together and a blast dancing. Below are some pics of the big date...

Enjoying some daddy time!





















There is only one beautiful girl I will let dance with my man.

Okay, Jim will kill me for putting this here, but the chicken dance is always a hoot (squawk?)

Josh took some pics before the ball.

This is my favorite.

A beautiful girl on a beautiful day.




















She is a nature lover...




















Waiting for Prince Charming (no hurry)!