Extreme Couponing

Have you seen TLC's new series called Extreme Couponing? I heard about it and was finally able to watch several episodes yesterday. I do think they are going to need a follow on show on how to use all those items purchased. For those who may not be aware of the concept, people collect massive amounts of coupons and after many hours of careful planning head to their grocery store and get tons of products for huge savings! In some cases they save 98% of their bill. We're talking about getting 46 containers of mustard and when you see their stockpiles, it is absolutely unbelievable!

So I got to thinking, what if I tried to concepts to at least save money on our usual grocery bill? It would help to have several of a product, but not 46! As my mind kept thinking and my family was discussing, what if we applied some of the principles for the purpose of feeding our community or filling the shelves of our local food pantries? I know I can't use 46 mustards, but I suspect they'd be gone in a week at our food pantries.

It also has me thinking about Lisa Downing's retreat session. She is a couponer and has wanted to start a coupon ministry at our church. I know I don't need the diaper coupons in my Sunday paper, but I suspect there are some of you who would love to have them.

So ladies, what do you think? What would you like? Would you want to have a coupon ministry where you could bring coupons you won't use to get some you will use? Could we help each other when we spot a great deal at a local market and a corresponding coupon? I doubt any of us has the 20-30+ hours that the Extreme Coupon participants do to plan, but what if we helped each other? And more importantly how could we impact our community without taking much money from our already tight budgets?

I'd love to know your thoughts and any tips you have that would be helpful to others in our church. Do you know of a great coupon website? Let us know!

I hope this spurs tons of dialogue - we could post our savings to encourage more of us on the bandwagon!

Happy Couponing!

It's About Time

"It's About Time" is our retreat theme for this year and I am constantly saying to myself "it's about time you..." The blank has been filled in many, many times and yet I haven't done many of the things that it's about time I do. Can anyone identify? Like take this blog for instance. It's about time I updated it. I suspect many stop looking at it because it is so outdated.

It's about time I go to be as it's going on 2 am and we have church in the morning, but I have a headache and have to send my oldest back to college tomorrow morning. Maybe if I stay up tomorrow won't come...but it already has. I'm actually dreading him leaving more this time than back in August when I was a college mom newbie.

It's about time my life settles back into a predictable routine, but that didn't really happen this week. My dad was hospitalized (he's home and doing well), my husband was away, I woke up to a very swollen, unexplainable swollen face. I'm sure if I could talk to you (though I do hope you are asleep) you would have your own list of things that were unpredictable this past week.

It's about time I get all the details lined up for our annual women's retreat the first weekend in March. I will be getting information out at the beginning of the week and please hold me to it! :)

What are your "it's about time" issues? I'd really be interested in knowing as I want our retreat to be as applicable as it can be. Many of you want to learn better time management skills. Take a minute and read through Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

Post a comment answering this: "It's about time I..."

Moving In

Many things come to mind as I think about the phrase "moving in." Of course there is moving in to a new home and in this area we have military families moving in often. We recently moved our oldest son into his first college dorm...so many things to fit into such a small space. For our middle and high schoolers, they are moving into their school lockers and settling into their new schedules. In the fall we have our own rituals that help us move into the new season.

Another place we need to move into is our Bibles. This past spring I purchased a new study Bible and while I opened it for Bible study, it just didn't feel right. It was hard to feel at home when I opened its new crisp pages. I realized what was missing...I wasn't leaving reminders of where God had taken me along the pages. I decided to go through my old Bible and made many of the same markings in my new Bible so I could see what God has taught me throughout the years. It was an amazing journey as I reflected on many of the studies I have done. Now, my Bible feels like home. I realize that sometimes it is good to read from a clean, unmarked page, but sometimes we need to have home-like remembrances.

How do you mark your Bible or keep a record of what God is teaching you?

Failure

Do you ever get so frustrated with yourself that you decide to do nothing? Do you ever fail so often that you just give up? I'm that way with many things, this blog being one of them. I get so bogged down by my failure that I do absolutely nothing, except berate myself. I feel that as a blogger, I should have something to offer, if indeed there are any who actually follow me. And, recently I don't feel like I have anything to offer...part of the failure thing. I've been so dreadfully inconsistent, those who may have followed have probably given up on me, sorry!

God has repeatedly brought Romans 12:2 to my mind. "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

I am learning that in many ways I copy the behavior of the world (I see a lot of this in the expectations I have for myself as a wife, mom and ministry leader) and am praying that God will change the way I think. I am being stretched and challenged in many ways that I will share as God leads me to. I'd ask for grace as I may not be posting routinely and encourage you to subscribe to my posts so you'll get an email notification when I post.

Perhaps today you need to give yourself a dose of grace and ask God to change your way of thinking. If you do, let me know and I can pray for you!

Mama Bear Moment

This morning it is will a very heavy heart that I send Caleb, my soon to be high school sophomore to school. We received word last night that one of his classmates (and her mom) was murdered by her father. It's been all over the news and is especially shocking when you can put a face to such a horrific news story. Joy was part of Caleb's group for an English project that the kids have been working on for a couple weeks. They all met here at my home and I had the opportunity to meet the friendly cute, polite young Joy. Actually all the kids in the group were great and very appreciative. The group met on Sunday and Joy didn't show up. They repeatedly called, texted and tried to contact her via facebook, but they never received a response. Now they are left wondering...was she in trouble then, was she already dead, etc.

The Mama Bear in me wants to protect my children from such terrible things. It is difficult when someone takes their own life or dies unexpectedly in an accident, but murder?! I cannot begin to know what drove Joy's dad to such an act. It is incomprehensible to me! And while I cannot prevent my children's lives from being exposed to these things, I do have the power of the Almighty to call on, which I have done. Would you join me in prayer for the freshman class at South County? Pray for comfort as the kids try to make sense of something so senseless. And pray for opportunities for believers to share God.

My week will hold many more mama bear moments...I'm thankful God will be by my side!

Self Control

You might see the title and just moan - I know there are many times I've done the same thing. There are many things in my life that would not be a problem if only I had more self control. And how does one build up their self control...I'm not sure I want to be tested. My past track record reveals a rather large deficiency of self control. I've been struggling with my weight since about the 8th grade. I've tried many diets and have gained and lost the same weight far too many times to count. Then there is the area of self control over my emotions, especially around that not so "special" time of the month.

As I was praying before I fell asleep last night God interjected a thought...what I need is the Spirit's self control, not Sherry's self control. Sounds so simple and yet for me so profound. You see I'm one of those who likes to be in control and rely on my own strength far too often. I might lose a few pounds with my own self control or willpower, but I believe I won't ever make lasting changes without God's help. (And I still have far to go in regards to having faith that God will help me conquer this weight issue once and for all - though I suspect it will be a life long dependence on God with this one!)

So, last night I prayed for Spirit filled self control. And isn't is just God and His perfect timing that we have been learning about the Spirit on Sundays at LCC?! I hope Pastor Steve has some insight on this on Sunday.

How about you? Do you need to pray for the Spirit's self control? Will you join me? Please let me know how I can pray for you!

As is typical for me, I need to apologize for my unfaithfulness in blogging...just realized though that faithfulness is also a fruit of the Spirit...something else to add to my prayer list! Please bear with me, the next two weeks will be busy for me as our family prepares for the graduation of my firstborn, Josh. I'm not sure where the last 18 years went, but do know that God has been good though it all!

Oh, and just in time for Father's Day I'll be doing a series of posts from Lillian's awesome devotional from our Mother's Day activity. You'll receive some fashions tips as well as how God wants us to clothe ourselves.

My Life as a Supermodel...

I am looking forward to our annual Mother's Day Activity this Saturday, May 1st. The theme has been fun to work with...My Life as a Supermodel. It has also been very challenging because my life and my appearance are so far from what I think of as a supermodel. And while we are not in any way advocating adopting the appearance of a real life supermodel, we are attempting to realize that as moms we are models to our children. I don't know of anyone who could the expense of high fashion, but I do know the Father who paid the ultimate price so that I could be clothed in righteousness. One God can adequately equip me to be the model mom for my kids.

Would you be surprised to know that the Bible says how to clothe ourselves? Lil will be sharing some insights from Colossians on this topic. We'll also have some fun with current fashion trends.

Does anyone know the new "hot" color for this spring? What are your favorite trends? Leave a comment and share your thoughts. I'll announce next week what the "hot" new color!