I am obsessed!

Yes, I am now obsessed with the idea of FREE stuff. Let me just say that all of this cost me $13!

I can do this!

Coupons

I will be the first to admit that I had a quite a few chuckles at the expense of a few of my friends for using coupons. It was not that I thought the using of coupons was funny, but HOW SERIOUS they were, THAT was funny!

I was inspired by a few favorite friends who coupon to at least give it a try. I decided that with my savings, I could buy something new, I could tithe more, I could let the kids keep it. Well, then I knew I must try it. It was a plan and I LOVE a plan!

I am planner. I buy on average 12 calendars a year, I also make list for EVERYTHING, and I think things out years in advance. I have planned meals, planned cleaning schedules, and planned activities for my family (and a few other organizations) because I love it. I love KNOWING what I am doing.


I started my coupon adventure by visiting CVS. Let me tell you there is more to that I thought. I felt so badly for the cashier, I called her manager afterwards to compliment her on how WONDERFUL she was. She had the patience of a saint! She made the transactions much easier and once she realized it was my first time doing it - she was very nice about everything. (This includes her calling for back up to the register so she could help me and not have other customer's wait.)

I then hit publix where I saved $106.86 and brought home a ton of groceries.

Kaleb now calls couponing "fantasy football" for women! Funny guy...

I am not sure if this will last forever but I think I actually got a rush out of getting stuff for FREE and SAVING money!

Kids Activities

I use to have my kids involved in all types of activities. When I went to work, I slowly allowed each of those activities to dwindle off our calendar and list of things to do.

Between school and church their calendars are typically full of things to do.

I have encouraged them to find a passion for something that we can encourage them to do. I want them to find interest and passions for hobbies, talents, career goals for the future or just their happiness.

The thing I struggle with is - how much is too little and how much is too much? When you have a family of three children a families calendar can be quickly filled up. I am okay with investing the time for my children - as long as my children benefit.

Respecting the Unrespectable

I am NOT a fan of our current President. Very rarely will you hear me say anything more than negative words about the man elected to run our country. I am completely un-convinced HOW in the world this man got elected.

Some say God allowed His will to be done and I honestly am now more convinced that this was just one of those times when God had no prefrence. I prayed and many people I know prayed. I just honestly think this was not one of those things where God was willing to step in on the issue. Why? He might be waiting for a nation to call out to him and not a minority!

That being said (and now off my political soap box), I do feel that I should support the man elected to run our country. I will not respect the man, but I will respect the office that he holds.

In other parts of my life, I find the same situation. I can respect someone and not respect their choices. I can respect someone's title or position and not respect the man/woman. Honestly though, that is not many people or many situations that can cause me to have such a divided opionion of someone. I guess there just are not many "titles or positions" that I find to be worthy of my respect if the man/woman is unrespectable.

I guess my only problem now is that it is very easy to tell people that you do not have respect for a large poltical figure; but is it as easy to say about someone in your midst whom you don't want to offend? Or maybe it is not that you care if you offend that person but you do not want to offend others who you do respect?

A little harder to be on that soapbox. I guess I will just use the suds from that soapbox to wipe away my disgust silently.

Re-define Reality

I have been saying what I am doing this past few weeks is changing what I don't like about myself or sitautions that I have found myself in. Change is not always easy but it is typically worth the wait, investment or hard work. Right?

I have now decided that I am not going to change. I am going to re-define my reality. My life is mine to live and the perception of how I view my life and myself is actually my own reality.

First redefining was several physical appearance issues. Not what others might think I need changed but the changes I want to see when I look in a mirror. A very dear friend of mine, Heather, actually told me several months ago to wake up everyday and look for the me that I want to see and stop seeing the me I am hiding from. Very wise and very heartfelt. She actually was telling me to re-define my reality without saying it in that way.

Second, I have a few goals for my life that I want to realized. I have studied in depth this subject but it is like most things in life, it is easier to tell someone else to do it than to do it yourself. I have marked them down and given myself 3 years to complete everyone of them. They are all possible and the only thing hindering their success is myself. I will not be a barrier to my own success.

Third, I am going to make sure my family is seated first in everything I do! As a wife and mom, their success is my passion and focus.

Just simple steps to the reality that I know in my heart becoming the reality in my life.

Emotional Suicide

I have watched Beth Moore's Wising Up series twice now and tonight, just when I needed it, she said something that I really needed to hear. She said that when you harden your heart, you are committing emotional suicide. Using passages in 1 John she reminds us to love one another and a light bulb went off.

That is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to leave my heart open and lift the situation to God. He will either separate me from the situation or he will heal me from the pain I feel over it.

Either way, my heart will be left open to not be hardened. I win because I either retain the relationship or God will make the situation be far removed and I don't to have to stress over it.

I will do the right thing...Baby steps and I have already taken one towards the right thing. We will just see what God can do :-)

Forgive and Forget

There is something so easy about saying that you will forgive someone, isn't there. I am really struggling with this right now for several reasons.

First, I seem to be the only one that is hurting over this particular issue and the other person seems to be clueless of the harm done. Second, since there has been no acknowlegement of the wrong doing - it will just keep happening. I have made the point as clear as possible but it keeps happening over and over.

Kaleb said "Just cut the friendship because friends don't take advantage like that". I want to just do that but I can't seem to figure out how to just cut it out and act as if it is not going on.

So,here are a few quotes that I found:

Forgiving is love's toughest work, and love's biggest risk. If you twist it into something it was never meant to be, it can make you a doormat or an insufferable manipulator. Forgiving seems almost unnatural. Our sense of fairness tells us people should pay for the wrong they do. But forgiving is love's power to break nature's rule. ~Lewis B.

It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend. ~William Blake, Jerusalem Smedes

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. ~Paul Boese

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. ~Mahatma Gandhi


What does God's word say about forgiveness though. Does HE tell me to be a doormat for the situation?

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times’” (Matthew 18:21-22 ).

Matthew gave me my answer. I guess the easist thing to go is just figure out when we get to 78 times and then that is it - I am done. HA Not seriously, I guess it is just a comfort to know that either God will change it or I can change it when enough time has passed. Sadly, if I was not so upset about it, then it would not matter and I would not be searching.

Guess we will see if I can keep it up or not....