Use it up!

Time to fess up! I went off my food budget this past month. After 1 1/2 years of counting every penny to stay within $200 a month I let loose after the news came that my husband had received permanent disability. So... now that I've had my fun it's back on budget again.

I considered raising our food budget to $300 a month to add more fruit and veggies to our diet (and I still may). But, for the time being I decided to continue trying to keep it under $200 as long as I can provide healthy meals. I figure if I shoot for $200 and go over just a bit I'll still be ahead of the game.

My goal this next week is to not buy any groceries. Instead I'm going to shop from my pantry, fridge and freezer. I have 2 fridges with freezers and both are very full which means that I have been over buying. Tomorrow I will go through my freezer meats to plan my weekly menu. Food has a feature where you can plug in the ingredients you have on hand and it will display recipes you could use. Look next to the search engine at the top of the page where it has a drop down menu and choose 'ingredients'. This tool helps when you are shopping from your pantry and fridge.

I'm also concentrating on leftovers because I have been wasting food which is the same as throwing money away. They seem to get pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten until the following week when I clean out the fridge.  I had some canned chilies left over from a Chile Rellenos casserole I made earlier in the week. I decided to keep them in plain view so they wouldn't get lost in the fridge. I added some to the low carb chicken enchiladas I made today and then made another Chile Rellenos casserole for lunch or breakfast. Boy, did I stretch those babies. :-)

 This week I tried a broccoli stuffed chicken recipe. The recipe sounded so good but flunked my husband's taste test. I didn't want to throw away the remaining chicken  so I scraped off the stuffing and reused the chicken in the enchiladas. I was able to save the chicken and stretch it into another meal. Kewl! :-)

I know I can do better at stretching my food budget if I stay on top of the food I bring into my home by not allowing it to go to waste. That involves concentrated effort.

Hope when our problems seem too big ...

Sometimes there are situations in our lives that .. may... feel hopeless. It may be financial or a marriage that is unstable or perhaps a long established habit of sin. Our first inclination as sinners is that we must pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps to make things right and while we do have a responsibility to obey God's Word... we must learn that we have no resource.. no hope..no strength...outside of our great God! Pastor Smith is right.. it's not 'fun' to come to the end of ourselves but that is where we find help in the time of need. I hope this prayer blesses you as much as it blessed me!


Prayer for Hoping in God’s Steadfast Love
The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love. Ps. 33:16–18


Dear heavenly Father, though it’s not fun, it’s a good thing to come to the end of ourselves—to be in situations where all of our resources, all of our “goodness” and all of our idols begin to fail us. Indeed, it’s a gospel thing to feel the pain of knowing whatever worked in the past is not working in the present; to feel the confusion of not knowing what to do next; to feel the helplessness of being out of control. It hurts, but it hurts real good and for our good.


For only in those moments do we abandon ourselves to the God who alone can part Red Seas when our enemies are pursuing us; serve fresh quail in the wilderness to his hungry thankless children (Exodus 16); overthrow whole Midianite armies with three hundred gun-less soldiers (Judges 7); take down Goliaths by young shepherds armed with pebbles (1 Samuel 17); deliver his people from the fire or through the fire (Daniel 3); feed multitudes with a few fish and pieces of bread (Matthew 14); raise a dead man for the salvation of his people and the transformation of the cosmos.
Lord Jesus, you are that dead man who now lives and we abandon ourselves to you today. You are the One who is redeeming his bride and making all things new. It is your steadfast love that we can and must hope in today. There is no other supply sufficient to the need. There is no other strength sufficient for the task. There is no other balm sufficient for the pain. There is no other rest sufficient for the exhaustion. There is no other hope sufficient for our cries and crises. Hoping in you alone holds the promise of the end of all disappointment and shame (Romans 5:1-5 ESV), for you were shamed for us on the cross, and raised for our salvation and deliverance (Hebrews 12:1-3).
So we bring our wounded and broken hearts to you. We bring our struggling marriages to you. We bring our jobless families to you. We bring our chronic pain to you. We bring our divided churches to you. We bring our ever besetting sins and addictions to you. We bring our conflicted relationships to you. We bring our wayward children to you. We bring our unbelieving friends to you. We bring the needs of our community to you. We bring it all to you, Jesus. We will trust in you and your steadfast love. Where else can we go? Astonish us by bringing much glory to yourself in the coming hours, days and months. So very Amen we pray, in your merciful and mighty name.


Scotty Smith

http://www.facebook.com/notes/scotty-smith/a-prayer-for-hoping-in-gods-steadfast-love/10150680916670212

The Gospel and our daddy's!

One of the greatest joys of my life was being used by the Lord to share the Gospel with my father.
Many years ago I owned a homeschool bookstore that sold used curriculum.  My daddy had been a postmaster at one time and was very good with numbers so he volunteered his services in the beginning years of the business to keep my books. Even though I have a lot of regrets about running that business while my children were still home I am forever grateful that it gave me the opportunity to be with my father on a regular basis because it enabled me to share the 'Good News' in a way that I can't imagine otherwise. God truly does work ALL things together for our good and His glory. (Romans 8:28,29)
 


Daddy was a quiet man... a man of few words (unlike his daughter). He had the respect of many.. and was especially a good father. But, even though he had many 'good' qualities by the world's standards... he was a sinner in God's eyes (as we all are).  His good reputation would not buy peace with God.
Since my daddy was a man of few words the opportunity to share the gospel didn't come easy. But, the Lord had laid a burden on my heart to pray for my daddy and pray I did. It seemed the shower was the place I often cried and poured out my heart to the Lord begging Him to save this precious man he had given to father me.
I was given 2 golden opportunities to share the gospel with my father in a matter of 10 years while he helped in my business. Both times my father said 'no'. I cried so hard I thought my heart would surely break. The burden increased.. I prayed more. Finally one day while I was cutting his hair the Holy Spirit opened up another divinely appointed door to share once more. This time the tears ran down daddy's face... he was ready to follow Christ and he never turned back until the day he died 8 years later.
I learned a huge lesson in all of this and it was to not give up on sharing God's Good News. To the human eye it looked as if nothing was happening in Daddy's heart. But, that day that I led him to the Lord I realized (by a few things he had said and his immediate humble response) that the Holy Spirit had been drawing him.
I have others now in my family that I pray for and my faith has increased because I have seen the power of God work in my daddy's heart. I just wanted to encourage you... not to give up on your loved ones but to be faithful.. in season and out... to know God's Word well enough to share the Gospel with your loved one and to pray for an opportunity to witness of the great love of God found only in His Son Jesus Christ.
May we live (coram Deo) before the face of God!
Georgene

(If you want to know more about the Good News please click this link below:)
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/A335_Who-do-you-think-that-I-am?q=tract,+heaven/

The news we've been waiting for...

After a year and a half of waiting we finally received a notice in the mail today that Kevin's claim for permanent disability has been granted! We are praising our God for His mercy!  We also want to thank those of you who have said you were praying for us.  It's hard to believe this test of faith is finally over.  God's grace has been amazing! God's provision for us during this time has been equally as amazing. Kevin has not worked since October of 2009 yet the Lord has provided a roof over our head and more food than we need along with clothing and so much more. I'm in awe and I want to bless the glorious name of Jesus Christ who has made peace between God and me! 

"Stand up and bless the Lord your God
Forever and ever!

Blessed be Your glorious name,
Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!

 You alone are the Lord;

You have made heaven,
The heaven of heavens, with all their host,
The earth and everything on it,
The seas and all that is in them,
And You preserve them all.

The host of heaven worships You." * 

Nehemiah 9:5-6

... and so do I!

Envelope Method

There was a time in my life when I didn't stick to a budget. Money came easy and I bought what I wanted when I went to the store.  I had an 'estimate' of what I targeted for birthday money and I tried to find the best deal but I basically just bought what I thought we needed at the grocery store and left it at that.

Them days are gone! *SMILE*

Enter the "Envelope Method"! My ears had heard but my eyes had not seen this method in practice so I had a bit to learn but I'm here to say that it's keeping me on track with my narrow budget and I'd like to rave about it.

It became necessary to make out a strict budget when our income dropped nearly half. I used a pre-made budget template on my computer from the Microsoft Works Word Processor program. I love this program. You enter your income and all your bills and at the bottom of the page it shows what you have left.

When my paychecks come in I have the bank teller cash them in small amounts so I can divide them easily into the different envelopes according to my budget plan. I only use the envelopes for the following areas:

- Gifts
- Dentist
- Allowance
- Grocery
- Entertainment
- Savings
- Taxes

I leave the rest of the money in the bank to pay bills that need to be written with a check or paid online.

This is how it works. Say for instance I need to go grocery shopping. I've learned by trial and error to divide the money for groceries into the weeks of that month otherwise I overspend at the beginning of the month and have nothing left at the end. I only take out the amount of money I need for that week.. no more unless there is a terrific 'stock up' deal and then I only take $10 extra.

I also have a plastic 'wallet' I found at the Dollar Tree that has individual compartments with tabs. It reminds me of a coupon wallet. I've labeled each tab to match my envelopes. Once I take the money from the envelopes I place it in the marked compartment. This way I don't end up mixing the money from the different categories once they leave the envelopes. 

It's really very simple and it has helped me stay within my $200 a month grocery budget.

I'd really like to hear what budget program you use on your computer or free online. I'm needing to download one to my laptop.  How do you stay within your budget?

"When you leave this world, will you be known as one who accumulated treasures on earth that you couldn't keep?  

Or will you be recognized as one who invested treasure in heaven that you couldn't lose?" 


The Treasure Principle by Jerry Bridges

Lowering Rent & Mortgage Payments

We've been 'living small' in less than 300 square feet for over a year and half now. 

I've lived on both ends of the housing market. I've paid high rent & mortgage payments in order to have a larger home and we've lived in older & smaller homes in order to save money. And of course we're living rent free right now.

Our 300 sq. ft. home (bedroom not shown).

Downsizing as radically as we have will not be something that appeals to everyone. Frankly, I can't imagine that we would be living this life if my husband had not become disabled. We did talk about it a lot because of the amount of hours it took to maintain our previous home and questioned if it was the best use of our time and money from an eternal perspective but we just couldn't quite let our hands relax from the grasp of what we owned.  But, now that we're providentially here it seems so natural and so easy and I wonder why we didn't do it sooner.  I guess we've adjusted just fine because my little home actually feels 'spacious'.

  Let's face it. The economy has not snapped back as everyone had hoped. I have several personal friends who's husbands will be losing their jobs and the nightly news has shown thousands out of a home due to flooding back east. Thinking 'outside the American Dream house' could be your ace in the hole if a similar situation comes your way.  Downsizing could be a viable option to an easier life financially or help you fulfill your dreams of being a stay at home mom or ministry.

"Tiny Homes", a new housing alternative!

If you stop to think about it.. the basic function of a home is to protect one from the elements. That goal can be reached in many different ways.  Throughout history people have lived in huts, teepees, tents made from animal hides, homes of all sizes and made from all kinds of material to alternative housing such as boats and RV's. During the depression families even moved in together and that is happening again in our generation due to the burst of the housing bubble and loss of jobs. Also, housing can be obtained in exchange for employment which is what we are currently doing.

Sewer pipes remodeled into hotel rooms in the Dutch town of Vriescheloo.

Exposing my thinking to alternative ways of housing throughout the years has helped me with our transition into 'living small'. I read missionary stories first to my children when they were living at home and I continue that practice for myself to this day. It helps remind me that the majority of the world does not live in homes over 2,000 square feet or even 1,000 sq. ft. ( I've read that before 1970 the average size family home was 1,000 square feet or less. )


Currently I've been spending some time reading about families who live full-time in their RV's. I've been scanning over my belongings to see what I could live without if we chose that option in the future. I know we could do it and thrive (by God's grace!).

I'm sure of it!  (Big Smile)

Does living with less appeal to you?