Speaks-to-me-Sunday

I have been thinking it would be fun to start a few blog series around here and the first one that I am starting on (that will hopefully be one that just keeps going and going.) is Speaks-to-me-Sunday.





The Bible is the most important book in my life. It is a message to me (and you!) from our great God and it has all that we need to know to learn about salvation, life and godliness.





Sometimes I have found however that I have just read the Bible and not really let it sink in and learn from it. In the last few years I have really been working to take the time to absorb what I read. To find parts in each section I read that really speak to me and that I can apply to my day to day life. So this is what this series is about, verses that I have lately read, or have heard used in a sermon or something like that and found encouraging and helpful to me.

I would really enjoy your comments on what you get out of the verse that I share as well as sharing verses that you have read and gained from.

~Something else I hope to include each week is a photo of something that has let me know how much God loves me. He gives us so many things to enjoy and they remind me of his love.~

"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Therefore, confess you sings to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of hi way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins."

James 5:13-20

Here is what I got out of this right now:

• I want to be doing more singing. I feel cheerful a lot of the time but I don't necessarily lift up my voice to sing praises to God. Even when I am not feeling at my cheerfullest, I know singing can help get me there.
• I think we(I!) need to do more serious praying about those that are sick. God is waiting for us to pray fervently and He can do anything!
• The portion of this scripture that really struck me this time was the part about Elijah. It says he was a man just like us but yet when he prayed amazing things happen. God is still able to do amazing things today but I think sometimes I am lacking the faith to pray in the way that I should. Lord please help my faith to grow!
• The part about turning somebody straying back really spoke to me too. This is an area I really need God's wisdom in, but I certainly have the desire to work for Him in this area.

What speaks to you?

Super Saving Saturday

I had fun with a trip to Walgreens earlier this week.
I bought:

• 2 gallons of milk on sale for 2.79 each.
• 2 packages of diapers (we have been having some trouble with bedwetting so I decided during busy times and trips ahead I would rather have diapers than wash sheets.) 2/$9
• 8 packages of Dove soup which were on sale for $.99 each. With the purchase of 8 I got a $10 register reward (for a $2 overage)
• One toothpaste was on sale for $3.29, I used a $1 coupon on it and also got back a RR for $3.50. (I thought this one was on sale for $3.49 but it rang up $3.29) I had a $1.21 overage on that one.
• The other two toothpastes were $1.79 each. I was able to use a $1.50 manufactures coupon on each as well as the coupon from the easy saver book which took off $3.58. I had an overage of $3 on the two of them.
• I also bought Axe shampoo for $5.99 which I will get a full rebate on.

If I hadn't have gotten the diapers and milk it would have really been a money making trip but those things were needed and were good deals as well (though not free!).

*******************

You may remember that I was trying to really cut costs in February and only spend $150 for everything. It went pretty well until about the last day.

I was under budget by about $6 and that had paid for all our food, household stuff etc. (anything that I purchased) It would have covered gas too but we stayed home a fair amount and I ended up not having to fill up all month.

I did end up being a little over however as Ken was needing new work shoes and decided to try some places that consumer reports had recommended online. (Neither Ken or I really like shopping for shoes as he has trouble finding ones big enough and I have been having problems with that lately as well. All of Targets women's tennis shoes were to small!) He found some shoes that would work at Onlineshoes.com .

Well I have been needing new tennis shoes and couldn't find any that I liked that were a good price locally and if we got the order up to $100 we could get $10 off. I ended up finding some tennis shoes for $31 (which after the -$10 they were $21) so I decided to get them. Shipping is free and you can also do exchanges with free shipping.

So that is the story of my "no spend" challenge. It almost worked but not quite.

Have you found any great deals lately? Or saved money some how? I would love to hear and you can also find a lot more deal stories over at Money Saving Mom.

I guess there is such a thing as a "Free Lunch"

Earlier this week we were out and about in the morning and decided it would be fun to pick up our lunch. Mara and Jonathan are enrolled in the Book-it program through Pizza Hut (Homeschoolers can do it too) and they had some coupons for a free pan pizza to be used. We picked those up from Pizza Hut (I called ahead so they would be ready and waiting). I had also gotten a free sub coupon for Quiznos (They were giving away a million subs) and I also needed to pick something up from the store Quiznos is attached to so I ran in their quick and got those things.

We brought everything home and the kids and I were able to share the sandwich and 2 pizzas (And we did add some apple slices that weren't free and some water that was free) for a perfectly yummy and filling lunch.

I admit I felt a little funny just picking up the free thing without buying anything, BUT since they offered it, I didn't let it bother me too much.

That was one of our activities in our frugal week, what frugal things have you been doing?

For many more frugal tips visit Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood. (The last time to be hosted at Biblical Womanhood which I am rather sad about as I have really enjoyed Chrystal's posts but I will look forward to reading the posts at Life as Mom.)

I'm inspired!

My mom had told about reading this amazing story of a man raising thousands of pounds of food (in one year) on his tiny little lot in Pasadena, CA . I had been planning on checking out the website but hadn't gotten it done yet when I got an e-mail from Mother Earth News telling about it as well. I went and read the story and found it very inspiring. Jules Dervaes and his 3 grown children live on a 1/5 acre lot and use 1/2 of that (1/10 of an acre) they are able to use to grow things on. They now get an amazing yield of over 6,ooo lbs of produce a year! They are able to eat off the land and then also sell some of it in order to have the money they need to buy things they cannot grow.

They have a website called Path to Freedom which has information and inspiration for trying to do something like that yourself. I haven't had time to explore it that much yet but I am looking forward to doing that.

Reading something like that makes me think about how it compares with our lifestyle. We own 1 1/2 acres of land so we have way more space for providing for ourselves, now it is just to work at getting it done. Here are some of the things we have done towards living off the land:

• We have a large organic garden. (probably more than 1/10 of an acre but I need to work harder to get the type of yields that he does!)
• We have a strawberry patch (but my goal is to keep the chipmunks out of them this year!)
• We have planted apple trees (4 are currently living-I think!) , blueberry bushes and lingonberry shrubs. We are waiting for them to get big enough to produce.
• I have planted various herbs for flavoring and medicinal use. My big job here is to actually remember to use them.
• We have been learning how to eat wild foods from our little woods, yard and garden and we enjoy that.
• We have a compost pile that really works quite well!
• We have a rabbit that is compiling some nice rich organic material to help our plants grow better this year.
• I have a lot of flowers planted that help attract good pollinators.
• I raise my own seedlings inside in the spring to plant in my garden.
• I save some seeds.
• I grow sprouts and some inside herbs and plants for winter use.

And here is some things that I really hope to do:

• Raise bees (not only would this provide honey but it should help the plant production with good pollination.)
• Plant a Raspberry patch. (We now have a spot figured out and we can get starts free from my parents, so I just need to get it done!)
• Build a greenhouse. I think this would be so neat to have to be able to grow things year round.
• Haul a lot more manure from my parents farm to put in our soil. Our soil was not in very good shape when we first broke in the garden 3 years ago (right after we moved, this is my 4th garden to start from scratch in our married life - that is if you count my little tiny one at our first apartment. I hope this is close to our last one!) A lot of Manure would really help the soil out!
• Learn how to grow more things inside in the winter.
• We are thinking about buying a banana and orange tree for growing inside and also want to start a pineapple plant. I am not to sure that we will have good success in providing fresh fruit but we think it will be fun to try!
• Add more fruit and nut trees to our yard.
• Be even more diligent in using everything that we do have.

How about you? Do you enjoy "living off the land"? What do you do to accomplish that?

Raising your own food is defenitely thrifty and incredibly green too! For more Thrifty Green Thursday tips visit Green Baby Guide.

Fun at the Wedding Expo

On Sunday afternoon I had a booth at a Wedding expo in town to advertise for me wedding flower business. My sister Anna asked if I had pictures posted anywhere so I decided to put some on here. I actually didn't take many good pictures this year and I am frustrated with myself about that. I never did take a picture of the ice sculptures, my new arch and other things. Oh well. This show I decided to have a fall theme for which ended up being a lot of fun to work on.

A couple of my new experiments were apples in a vase (very simple but rather pretty) and then using branches and little votive cups with flowers and roses to make another arrangement that ended up being rather popular.

Sometimes my pictures don't behave when I am uploading them! This arm bouquet I decided to make with a wheat accent.

Traditional red roses with a little bit of flair.

A basket for a flower girl. I really like these roses!

Mara came and helped me at the expo this time which was rather fun. She loved looking around when I didn't need her help.

Life's lovely little moments

Life is good. There are so many sweet little parts of life that I want to treasure and enjoy and I thought I would write about a few of those things I like here.

~Sweet friends at church. It is so fun to watch these two playing together. They really seem to enjoy each other, share their toys and just have fun "visiting".
~Megan thinks it is so much fun to love on him a little.
~Here he is holding hands with Keren too. He held it all during prayer but I waited until afterwards to take the picture. :-) He is such a sweety!

~ I had fun watching Keren, Luke and Mara reading the comics on Sunday before lunch. I guess they must have been pretty interesting!

~I have been enjoying and treasuring Megan calling me Mama. That is my favorite title but it seems like every child outgrows that and calls me Mom or Mommy instead. Megan does a mixture and so I especially enjoy the times she says Mama.

~I enjoy the chuckle I get when I see that Ken has added another nonsensical item to my grocery list. Currently it is "homogenized moosetraps" but whenever I stick a new list on the fridge I get a new item to go "looking" for.

~My boys have been back at their bow and arrow making again. The days have been getting warmer and they have been enjoying playing outside more. They always enjoy getting their picture taken with their new creations.

~We have been loving all the sunshine. I am also thank-ful for my many big windows that let the light and warmth in.

~ There has been some major crafting going on at our house lately. At church Emily and I have been teaching a class on the Armor of God on Wed. nights.(I plan on doing a whole post on it sometime) We made sandals this past week and then they started making slippers at home. (I'll post more about that later too.) In the picture above Jonathan and Megan were showing off their new slippers and it cracked me up when Jonathan was getting down to Megan's level and she had to squat too.

~During all the crafting Aaron made microphones for he and Megan out of milk jugs and boxes. They had a lot of fun with them.

~Megan has been wanting to take pictures and she with a little help from me captured this cheerful one of Mara. Mara has been such a super big helper lately. She has started getting up early on her own mostly to read as much as possible before breakfast, chores and schoolwork BUT she has also been offering to help me whenever I need it. She is also quick to give a hug if she thinks I might be feeling stressed or sad. I feel so blessed to have her as my daughter.

~I have been really enjoying having bunches of flowers in the house just lately. I had a booth at a wedding expo on Sunday afternoon (that is why the posting has been missing as of late) and so I had to order a bunch of flowers for that. Whenever I am around flowers it makes me feel so thankful to God that He didn't just give us what we needed to stay alive but He has given us so many beautiful and lovely things to enjoy! After the expo it has been so fun for me to be able to give away a lot of the flowers that I had gotten. It is so fun to see the smiles on others too.

~Another lovely little thing that I have been enjoying lately is watching the delight my kids have in small things like honey on bread or biscuits or brown rice with cinnamon, sugar, raisins and milk. Even though these are fairly normal snacks and not something most people would get all excited over, they do, every time! We do eat sweets fairly regularly but when I make them (which is what they get at our house) they tend to be pretty healthy. This past week I made a chocolate cake with less than one cup of sugar, all whole wheat flour, very little oil and 2 cups of squash. It was a little interesting, you could definitely detect a squash flavor. Ken was a little sceptical but the kids loved it. They would have gobbled it all up in one sitting if I had let them.

What lovely little things have been going on at your house?