Basic Economics!

On the way home from the grocery store one evening last week, I found myself trying to explain basic economics to my four-and-a-half-year-old, including the Scriptures' admonition to work.

I asked: "How do Mommy and Daddy buy food?"

Without even a moment's hesitation, she replied: "With coupons!"

I had to laugh right out loud!

And after the deals at CVS, Walgreens, and (especially!) Rite Aid this week, I can see where she gets that idea... (And all deals are good until Saturday!)

It's been awhile, but I'm again joining Sharon at Good, True, and Beautiful – Just for the Joy of It – sharing one of those little moments in life that brings a big smile!

Inspiration & Encouragement: JOY in Work!

God intends for His children to rejoice in their vocations – in their daily work!

Most honorable vocations exist to meet the needs of people; God has ordained His world so that people with various abilities meet various needs. We should think of our vocation, therefore, not as a necessary evil to pay the bills, nor even as an opportunity to become rich, but as the primary path of our Christian walk wherein God has planned good deeds for us to do.
(Jerry Bridges in The Fruitful Life)

What an encouragement! Because God Himself says:

By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
(Ephesians 2)

These thoughts have been a blessing to me this week, so I'm sharing them today – "Just for the JOY of It!"

Inspiration & Encouragement: Celebrating Little Moments!

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, allow me to say... In the goodness and grace of God, it's often the little moments in life that bring great joy – from the mundane to the sublime!

• Looking forward to enjoying Krispy Kreme Donuts because of the great Valentines Day Offer!
• Reading "The Gingerbread Man" and "The Little Red Hen" to my little girl – from the recently acquired book set I dearly loved as a little girl. 
• Looking out the window at this afternoon's winter rain, remembering that two days this week we had the windows open to let is some fresh air and sunshine. Yes, it really got that warm in mid-January!
• Reading a heart-felt letter from a dear saint in Spain, written to encourage my nephew who is battling cancer. She hasn't ever met him or anyone else in the extended family, but she's a wonderful example of how Christ's Church, His Body, should function!

So, I'm sharing these little moments – “Just for the JOY of It!”

Inspiration & Encouragement: Celebrating Life!

Last week, we enjoyed a (much-needed!) family vacation. We went to the (currently chilly!) South Carolina Coast. Our dear friends (and future ministry partners) joined us for part of that time.

As usual, I took LOTS of pictures!

Here's one of my favorites – of my two favorite people!

I'm once again joining Just for the JOY of It – just to share and to celebrate life! It's often the little moments that become the most cherished memories...

(By the way, this is Post #200 for this blog! And it "happened" to post at 2:02 p.m. Cool, eh? Another of those neat little details in life that make me smile...)

Inspiration & Encouragement: Celebrating God’s Grace in 2009

It’s the last day of the year, an opportunity to pause and reflect – and give thanks to God for His grace! 2009 will very soon come to a close, and a new chapter of life will open with 2010.

2009 has been a year of both joys and trials – like any year of life on a fallen planet. Through it all, we are experiencing the great faithfulness of our loving Savior and Lord. His grace, as promised, has been sufficient.

As I close 2009, I pause to thank God publicly for His grace to me. With this post, I’m specifically celebrating my first full year of avid bargain-hunting. It’s not that I wasn’t frugally conscious before, but I didn’t realize the value of a coupon. Why anyone would try to save a few cents on a brand name item when store brands were almost always cheaper and equally good in taste and/or quality was beyond me! But that was before I understood B1G1 deals combined with double coupons, or coupon stacking, or rebates, etc.

The greatest value of couponing, as it has come to be called in Modern English, seems to be how it can change a shopper’s general perspective. Specifically, I “never” pay full price for anything anymore; if it’s not on sale, I probably don’t need it. There are exceptions, of course. After all, I’m driving the coupon car; it’s not driving me!

Of course, bargaining isn’t just about me and what I can get. Rather, it’s about wise stewardship of the resources God has entrusted to me. As I save and stockpile, I am more able to look for specific opportunities to serve God, my family, and others. What JOY!

As we close 2009, our family gives thanks to God for allowing us, by His grace, to finish paying “The School Bill” (and related expenses) in the fall of 2009. From my perspective, couponing sped us on our way to that goal. It’s not so much that what we saved by using coupons on groceries paid the bills. Rather, couponing created an awareness of a real way to reduce costs and made me, in particular, much more sensitive to prices in general – and to the fact that, if I’m patient, the staples and regulars will be on sale again, i.e. they tend to cycle. Even if I didn’t have a coupon, I had a new idea of what I was willing (or more often unwilling) to pay for any particular item. And each baby step contributed to the giant leap of debt elimination!

I’m thankful!

I’m thankful for God’s enabling grace. I’m thankful that it’s never too late to learn. I’m thankful for my Dearest and my Little One – and their patience! And I’m thankful for friends on the bargaining blogosphere who shared their stories and lessons learned and encouraged me along the way by example...

So, I’m sharing God’s grace in a small (but significant!) chapter of my life – “Just for the Joy of It!”

2010 promises to be a year of new opportunities to trust God as we launch out on a new adventure.

May we have a Blessed New Year!

Inspiration & Encouragement: Sing Joy to the World – The LORD Is Come!

Behold, I bring you good news of great JOY which will be for all the people!
(Luke 2)

JOY to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

JOY the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding JOY,
Repeat the sounding JOY,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding JOY.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Words: Isaac Watts, The Psalms of Da­vid, 1719.
Music: An­ti­och (believed to have originated with Handel) arranged by Low­ell Ma­son, 1836

Did you know that Watts based the words of "Joy to the World" on Psalm 98 and wrote it as a hymn glorifying Christ's triumphant return at the end of the age, rather than as a Christmas song celebrating his first coming as a babe born in a stable?

The LORD has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
(Psalm 98)

Meditate on those truths. Make them personal. Rejoice in your Savior!

Once again, I'm joining "Just for the JOY of It" – and sharing the Savior, the Best Reason to REJOICE on Christmas Eve!

Inspiration & Encouragement: The JOY of Giving!

In the fall of 2008, I became an avid couponing fan – and joined the bargaining blogosphere. Previously, I didn't see why anyone would try to save $0.35 on a brand name item when store brands were almost always cheaper and equally good in taste and/or quality. But that was before I understood B1G1 deals combined with double coupons, or coupon stacking, or rebates.

While concentrating anew on frugality, I've often been reminded that we frugalistas must not forget to focus on generosity and biblical good works as well. My favorite bargain bloggers often emphasize the expanded opportunity to give to others – because a frugality focused on God enables us to do so!

This week I was again made aware of an opportunity to give. A dear family friend, recently laid off because her customer service job was sent overseas, shared with me how God has been meeting her needs. It was a real JOY to hear the details! Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she has been focusing on others less fortunate. In the middle of her need, she found a single mom with three very young children in need of all the basics – including toiletries.

I'm so excited! Thanks to bargain shopping, there are four big boxes of basic toiletries stored under a bed in our house. (Printing coupons sometimes feels like printing money!) So, today I'll be putting together three packages of basic toiletries: one for my friend, one for her mom in a nursing home, and one for the family she's adopted.

Although it's only a small gift for each of these in need, it's an opportunity to help, saving significantly on otherwise paying full price for (or trying to go without) the basics. And it's a blessed reminder that bargain shopping isn't only about me and what I can get. Rather, it's about wise stewardship of the resources God has entrusted to me as I simultaneously look for opportunities to serve God, my family, and others.

There is JOY in showing Christ's love to others – especially at this time of year when they may be more inclined to listen because carols played publicly are telling of the Savior!

I'm once again joining "Just for the Joy of It" and sharing another reason to rejoice – finding JOY in giving!

All because God first gave us the Savior!

Inspiration & Encouragement: Messiah!

I absolutely love Christmas music! I could listen to it all year – and sometimes try to do so!

We've had a ("kind of") family tradition of adding to our collection of Christmas CDs every year. Several years ago at a Christmas sale, we picked up a 2-CD copy of George Frideric Handel's Messiah. To my joy (I like history!), the CD jacket states that this recording was done in 1996 by the Trinity Church Choir and Orchestra at Trinity Church, the church where the oratorio was premiered in the New World in 1770, twenty-eight years after it was written. (What a great tid-bit of history!)

Messiah has been a long-time favorite because it is based on exact words of Scripture. Listening to the oratorio helps me memorize (or review) specific Bible passages that tell about the Savior – prophecies in the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the New Testament. It's a great educational tool and memory aid!

And here's another history tid-bit: Messiah was not originally a Christmas piece; it was performed at Easter. Therefore, this is one "Christmas" CD that can be (and probably should be) listened to all year!

My extended family is right now feeling very keenly our need to renew our minds with God's truth as our dear fifteen-year-old nephew fights a rare bone cancer. We are also experiencing God's abundant grace. We have so much to be thankful for and rejoice in!

So, I'm joining "Just for the JOY of It" and sharing reasons to rejoice – and focus on Christ, the real reason for celebrating Christmas (and Easter)!

Inspiration & Encouragement: Yes, it's still Thanksgiving Season!

Thanksgiving Day was one week ago today. Last week was a blur for my extended family – with days (and, for some, nights) spent at the hospital...

But we have so much to be thankful for.

On a lighter note, our almost four-year-old came up with her own list of blessings.

Whether we're old enough to recognize the burdens of life or too young to see much farther than the end of our noses, we have been blessed!

Because of God's grace, giving salvation, we are bountifully blessed indeed!

It's still Thanksgiving Season!

Our (homemade) Advent Calendar

I have fond memories of taking turns with my siblings, opening little windows on a paper and cardboard Advent Calendar when I was a child… How we looked forward to it every year!

We’re now compiling ingredients for our first Advent Calendar – a prize “after Christmas clearance” find from last year! Our main idea is to emphasize the Savior – the true meaning of Christmas. Therefore, in the little compartments on our Advent Calendar, I’m placing little objects that emphasize specific truths followed by the Bible verses that state those truths.

The plan is to start simply, using objects already on hand and making the rest out of clip-art on paper and cardboard (with the Bible verses, copied and pasted from BibleGateway [links included below], rolled up as little scrolls and tied with ribbons) – and then improve year by year…

Here’s the plan:

1. a heart
2. John 3:16
3. a little candle
4. John 8:12
5. a Christmas Star
6. Revelation 22:16
7. Mother and Child
8. Isaiah 7:14
9. a crown
10. Isaiah 9:6-7
11. Bethlehem skyline
12. Micah 5:2
13. the letters J-E-S-U-S
14. Matthew 1:21
15. a snowflake
16. Isaiah 1:18
17. a cross
18. Romans 5:8
19. a sheep
20. John 1:29
21. a shepherd
22. John 10:11
23. a small candy cane
    (reminiscent of “J” for Jesus and of a shepherd’s crook)
24. John 10:14
25. the nativity scene

Our almost four-year-old’s excitement is contagious! We opened Window #1 last night…

Thanksgiving Freebies!

Visit Homeschool Freebies by Jamin to get some great freebies to help you have a correct focus with your family and in your homeschool this Thanksgiving.

Included are:

• Thanksgiving lapbook
• Thanksgiving unit study
• Native American unit study
• Historical background for the holiday, including all the Presidential proclamations

Thanks to Diane at Strength for Today for drawing my attention to these!

Inspiration and Encouragment

Well, I haven't kept up very well with my new ideas for this blog in the past two weeks; I've been battling a pretty bad cold, which turned into bronchitis – but thankfully is neither Type A (H1N1) or Type B (influenza) flu. (Is the latter redundant?!)

That said, I would like to link to three posts on my family blog that can be encouraging to moms – especially moms of very young children.

The Girl I Used to Be

A Mother's Prayer

Hand-Made Decorations

God is good to send us little reminders to be thankful for the high calling of motherhood!