Christ is Risen!!

Our Marriage: A Testimony to God's Grace

Today is our 27th wedding anniversary! If you had known us the first five years of our marriage you would doubt that we'd ever make it to 27 years. But, what did we expect? We were two sinners committing to a lifetime of love and serving one another. Did we think our flesh and the enemy of our souls would just lie down and cooperate? I think not!

I look back on these 27 years and marvel at the grace God has shown us. Kevin was not a Christian when we married and I was a young Christian. I remember the first time I actually turned to God's Word for help. I had left Kevin after a huge fight and was sitting in a park with my bible. I found a passage in James on strife and thought to myself, 'yep, that is his problem Lord' when suddenly I was convicted that the Lord was talking to ME through those verses. Me? I had thought the entire problem with our marriage was HIM. That was the beginning of a long, long journey of imperfectly learning how to confront the BEAM in my own eye. (Matthew 7) A journey that never stopped and continues to this very day although there are still times that I deceive myself and put the blame on him.



I believe one of the biggest lessons I learned in the earlier days of our marriage concerning living in peace with my husband was not to stay offended at his words or actions. (1 Cor. 13:5) I had a habit of getting offended at something he would say or do and then would make him pay for his sins by either giving him a 'look' or the cold shoulder. I haven't obeyed that Scripture perfectly and at times I still struggle with it but I'm learning more and more how the glorious Gospel applies to my everyday living which is helping me in this area of my marriage.



A holy God who WAS offended by my sin and had reason to be ... yet loved ME (and you) so much that He sent His "ONLY" Son (think long and hard about that) to die in "MY" place so that there would be peace between us. Christ took the wrath "I DESERVED" instead of making me pay the price for it which is death! Now, in light of what Christ did...how can I turn to my husband (but.. oh my... I still do at times) and hold any of his sins or offenses against him when I have been forgiven of so very much!?!



I'm thankful as a Believer that I didn't enter into a binding marriage covenant with my husband alone. I'm so eternally grateful that my God entered that marriage covenant with us because if I know anything at all I know that this marriage would not have worked if God, through His Holy Spirit, had not been constantly working in us to conform us into the image of Christ through every single fight and every single offense. (Romans 8:28,29)



"I love you my husband and I look in hope to our God to continue the work He began in both of us 27 years ago when this young, naive girl saw stars in her eyes when she looked into yours. I'm so grateful to have you as my husband. Thank you for loving me.. warts and all!"

CVS Free Deals

A friend came by tonight to learn how to get free (or nearly free) items from the drugstores. I'm no expert.. I'm still very slow at the whole process but love sharing what I've learned.

So this is the only deal we worked on. CVS was out of 2 of the other items that we could have received for free. The best time to work the 'free' deals is at the beginning of the week. Oftentimes the stores won't restock the free items at the end of the week.

Oral B Manual Toothbrush $2.99
- .99 ECB, limit 2
- $2 (PG 4/3)
- B1G1F (RP 3/13)
Final Price = 2 free 

                                                                      


We actually paid $1.54 for 2 toothbrushes and then received 2 ECB's back on the receipt making the toothbrushes free. I used the 2 ECB's to purchase 4 Reeses Easter eggs for the grandchildren.

I'm not smart enough to figure out how to get $1,000 of groceries for free but I'm thankful for the little I have learned. I'm able to keep a moderate stash of toiletries that I get for free or nearly free.  It greatly helps stretch my $200 grocery budget.


It was fun! :=)

Hurry.. RefundCents is free today!

I use Refund Cents to simplify my couponing.  They do all the footwork for you by researching the best and lowest priced deals all over the internet and at the major drugstores. Be sure to check out the CVS, RiteAid and Walgreen's links on the right side bar.


Hurry... they are opening up their service for you to see FREE today!

REFUNDCENTS

If you have any questions then let me know.

Economically Challenged Book Lovers

If you are a book lover then you already know that it's a bit of a challenge to keep your habit supplied. *Smile*  I've read that the library is a good source for those who are economically challenged but  I rarely find the books I'm looking for.

Enter PAPERBACKSWAP!

This is how it works. When you join you are given a few free credits to start. You can add to those credits by selling your own  books. Their system to sell your books  is very easy. You just enter the ISBN and it will bring up a picture of your book immediately.  They will ask if the book is in good selling condition and that's it. Once someone requests your book you are given a certain amount of time to mail it. Once the book is received they will go to the website and mark that it's been received. That is when you receive your credit. Now you're ready to purchase a book with your credit.  You receive 1 credit for each book or 2 credits for audio books.

It costs approximately $2.30 to mail a book using book rate so any book I choose through PS will end up only costing me that amount.

I have ordered a lot of books through PaperbackSwap over the past 5 years or so. I've never had a bad experience.  In fact this past month I received The Five Silent Years (about Corrie Ten Boon's last 5 years), Chicken Soup for Caregivers and the audio tapes for Pilgrim's Progress. Of course they do not have the newest books available so I put those on my Wish List. If the book becomes available then I am immediately notified before it's listed to the public. 

Do you have a favorite used book club? How do you support your book habit?

Waste Not Wednesday: Labeling Food in the Fridge

Even with our limited food budget I still fight wasting food. I've tried a few methods I've read about. Some have worked .. for instance, wrapping celery in tinfoil so it will last longer. It really does.

But, I still end up throwing away food that gets lost in the fridge. Not too smart when you realize it's no different than taking my dollar bills and actually throwing them into the garbage.

I've looked over different suggestions to help in the fight against wasting food but haven't been able to find one that 'fits'. The more I thought about it I decided to try mother's method of labeling food to see how it would work. 

I've started keeping a roll of masking tape and a permanent marker in my tinfoil drawer.  Since I don't have many containers that are see-through I've found that marking a saucer on a bowl or a reused cottage cheese container with the food item name and the date helps give me a visual of what is in the bowl and how long it will be edible.How many times do you 'think' you know when you cooked an item but you're not really sure?

In the picture to the left I marked the jar with homemade mayonnaise. The date is important even if I THINK I'll remember..  because most the time I won't.


Labeling works great for the freezer, too. So many times in the past I've put an unmarked item into the freezer and by the time I've pulled it out I don't recognize what it is. A name and date on the frozen product has eliminated the question and loss of food.

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. Psalm 145:15

Do you have a method that helps you not waste food?

Homemade Hot Dog Buns

I'm not buying much bread these days. I've received a few loaves of sandwich bread from a local food pantry but other than those I've been making our bread. It saves me a lot of money since I found flour for $1.50 a bag. We were given some free hot dogs so I tried my hand at making some hot dog buns. This is my second attempt. The first ones looked like a hockey puck! :-) These looked a little closer to what we're used to. Next time I'll make them a bit larger but all in all they turned out fine. I individually wrapped them in Seran wrap and froze them. I just pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds and they're ready to use.

Homemade Hot Dog Buns

1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour  (recipe called for just white flour)
1 tbsp instant yeast
2 tbsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 egg

 

Note: I put all the ingredients in my breadmaker and used the 'dough cycle'.  Afterwards I shaped them and let them rise again for nearly an hour. Then baked as usual. If you don't have a breadmaker then you can use the instructions below.

Heat milk, water and butter until very warm.

In a large bowl mix 1 3/4 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt.

Mix milk mixture into the flour mix and then mix in the egg.

Stir in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time beating well after each addition.

When the dough has pulled together, turn it out into a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

With rolling pin roll and shape each piece into a 6x4" rectangle. Starting with the longer side roll up tightly and pinch edges and ends to seal.
Place on greased baking sheet and let rise 20 to 25 min.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 min until golden brown.

Do you make any kind of bread other than for sandwiches?