Today I’m sharing from “Streams in the Desert”.

“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” Job 13:15
“For I know whom I have believed.” 2 Timothy 1:12

Richard Fuller wrote -

“In fierce storms,” said an old seaman, “we must do one thing; there is only one way: we must put the ship in a certain position and keep her there.”

This, Christian, is what you must do…..

Reason cannot help you, past experience gives you no light……

You must put your soul in one position and keep it there. You must stay on the Lord…..

No matter what, you must lash yourself to the helm, and hold fast to your confidence in God’s faithfulness.

This devotion is particularly meaningful to me today. I’ve really been struggling with exactly what God has called me to.

I know we are to submit to our husbands, as this is honoring to Him - but at times I’ll admit I feel like a servant rather than a wife/ mother.

At times I feel ‘unfulfilled’, wanting to have other interests besides inside this house. Other desires pull me from my course, from my role as a wife/ mother. Are these wrong? When they overpower the course God has put me on - yes! When they steer me/ my desires away from my home and family.

This past weekend these feelings were at their peak. I had pushed aside my thoughts as much as I could, then something just snapped. (Thankfully the Lord has been helping me keep my tongue more, and I was able to save myself a lot of heartache and regret - by not speaking my mind.)

I feel I’m safe to assume I’m not alone in this feeling at times??

So, in the middle of a terrible thunderstorm, I decided to go grab some sandwiches from Arby’s the other night for our dinner. I sat in the drive through praying and talking to the Lord.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I try to imagine sitting face to face, speaking what I really feel - since He knows my heart anyway!! Why try to make myself look good when my heart is struggling?!?

I laid my feelings of frustration before Him. I acknowledged my lack of fulfilment in my roles. I asked Him to give me the feelings I ought to have.

And there in the Arby’s drive-thru, His peace and mercy began to soften my heart. In my flesh, it still keeps fighting today - but I heard His voice speaking His truths to me, and I know that it’s me that’s in the wrong.

Those I’m upset with are only “thorns” as a result of my not being 100% where God wants me. I believe God won’t allow me to be comfortable in my relationships and surroundings if I’m not where He wants me to be in my heart and walk with Him.

As I argued, “But what I do is never good enough for him, he always wants more from me”, the Lord answered back “But you’re serving ME when you serve him, I’m not asking you too much, anymore than you can bear“.

“Yes Lord, but he doesn’t realize all I do, or care.”

“But I realize all you do - I see all and know all - and it matters to Me. Loving and supporting him is doing the same unto Me, loving and raising your children is important to me. I do care about all the time, love, and effort you give.”

“Can’t I do some things that I’d like to do too, though?”

“Do what is required of you first, then allow me to soften/ change his heart.”

And that’s where I am tonight (Monday evening as I’m typing). I’ve spent most of today trying to do “what is required of me”.

A clean house, an orderly house is important to DH. Obedient children are important to DH. Meals are important to DH - ha!

My Messy Monday Miracles! is a week long project. I’m trying to weed out all the extra stuff that I’ve put into my life - and become more organized, less confused, less stressed.

As I become a more effective home manager and my DH sees that I can handle that responsibility, maybe, just maybe there will be a little more peace in the air and I will have a little time to refresh myself.?? Since we’re tripping over toys and books most of the time now, it will at least be a little more peaceful not ‘ near breaking our bones’!

But if not, then I must trust the Lord. When I signed up for marriage, I understood that I was to be his “Help meet” - someone to help HIM, to meet HIS needs - not the other way around.

When I look closely at my motives, there are times when I act as if he is to help me and meet my needs. This is not scriptural though.

Women in the Bible were not to “usurp authority” over the man. Women were submissive, and those that weren’t were made examples of for us to learn from.

I’ve seen a forward a couple of times which is a clipping from 1955 I believe. It’s an article on how to be a good wife. Somethings are a little odd for 2008, but the overall article was very good.

The wife focused on her husband, and his needs - she being a true help meet. I’m not sure if this was a true article, or just a hoax someone is sending around, but if it’s true - then what a shame that women held fast to Scriptural principles through thousands of years, but have slipped almost completely away in the past 50!

Women in the article paid attention to the little things in their husband’s lives - like the things I mentioned above - clean house, children, meals on the table, listening to him and making him feel important.

I knew all this was important when I signed up for marriage, you just don’t see all the day in/ day out issues when you’re “in love”. =) It’s real and it’s hard work! I just thought it’d be a piece of cake - submit and be happy - ha!

I’m learning that happiness comes from realizing not that you’re submitting to your husband (it’s sometimes the opposite for me), but comes from realizing that I’m submitting to the Lord.

I’m doing what He has called me to. Even though the ’sea’ gets rough at times, even though I can’t see where I’m going - I must trust Him and obey.

I must know whom I believe, and be persuaded that HE is able to keep me! Though I might get slain down at times (or when I’m exhaused!), I must trust Him.

I must see Him at the finish line, my lighthouse on shore, my eyes fixed only on Him - not even glancing at the waves beating high around me. He’ll steer me through the rough times, and oh what peace He gives when HE guides my vessel or/ and He calms the seas!

Good morning Ladies!

Are you enjoying a good laugh already by reading my heading today?? =)

I had a rough week last week, starting out tired the first few days, then being knocked down pretty hard with a nasty cold by Wednesday.

I just gave up on doing anything much in the house - due to lack of energy and desire. On top of that, I was getting the website ready for it’s update today! It’s a day early, but I couldn’t wait!!

Once you finish this posting, head on over to HeavenInOurHomes.com to check out all the new updates!! Health and Home, Money Matters, Children’s Corner!! Sign up for our mailing list and receive a code for 10% off your purchase at Cheeky Maiden Soap Company the month of April!

Alright, back to my topic…. See how easily my mind is wandering?? =)

My mind is racing a million miles a minute, my children LOVE school always wanting to do more, they LOVE playtime with Mommy (which we did more of while I was down and we had such a great time together), the house seems to self destruct itself every 5 minutes, the cupboard always seem bare, etc, etc, etc….

So, my “Messy Monday Miracle” is my BRAIN!!! I can’t very well be a help meet to my husband and manage our home if I can’t think straight.

My goal is to actually make this happen throughout the week. I intend to have set times for HIOH, to not be on the computer unless it’s during those set times. I lose a lot of time with my family by ‘thinking’ I’ll just be on for a minute.

I intend to make charts for my children - cleaning and chores charts. I intend to set a ‘flexible’ schedule that we try to stick somewhat close to each day.

I intend to make lists of what needs to be done daily, twice a week, once a week - focusing on small jobs BEFORE they turn to major ones.

I intend to design a plan to share with visitors at the HIOH website/ blog on how we “Got Organized Mentally”. I know there are lots of other moms exactly where I am (we just don’t like to admit it!)

I know when you have small children it’s hard they say, but as a perfectionist, I can’t stand always being cluttered - whether in my house, vehicle, or mind. I do better with a plan, and since baby #3 I haven’t had one. So, this is the week for change!

Pray for me as I get mentally uncluttered this week! =) AND visit back next Monday to read about my week and new schedule/ plan each day!

Blessings!

OH!! You don’t want to miss our new updates!! Visit http://www.heaveninourhomes.com/ now!! Also, I’m taking a poll this week to determine if you as readers prefer the Tuesday Truth’s or Wednesday’s Wisdom posting. My husband would prefer a little less time of my on the computer at night, so I’m cutting back down to 3 postings a week until I can get quicker at all this. Let me know via comments or email at Candace@heaveninourhomes.com. Then - remember to visit the website!!

Hi ladies,

As you might know, out of my 3 children, one is still a baby. I’ve definitely been much more laid back with him, and especially with baby food. Since I noticed Crytal’s blog is about baby food today, I thought I’d touch on the subject myself since I’m living it at the moment. =)

With my first, we followed the books and doctor’s advice perfectly (almost)! Baby rice cereal at 4 mos., baby oatmeal at 5 mos., baby barley at 6 mos. along with starting veggies - then fruits and juices.

Same with my 2nd, closely following the rules. But now with my 3rd, the situation changed a little….

He’s a big boy, I mean REALLY big. He was probably close to 18 lbs. at 4 mos., and at 7 mos. was over 22 lbs. So, I had the dr. okay to start cereal a couple weeks before he was 4 mos.

Things were going great until one day I noticed a rash on his face. A few days later it looked as if he woke up with poison - his face being red and swollen. So we pulled him off the cereal.

No biggee, he really didn’t seem to notice. Around 5 mos., the dr. wanted us to try again. The rice broke him out again, so we tried oatmeal.

Same thing, after a few days, the rash appeared on his face and behind his ear - just on one side though which was really weird.

So, we never really have put him back on cereal. At 7 mos., he’s still doing great with almost exclusive nursing.

He does eat 1/2 to 3/4 container of Stage 2 baby food in the evenings, but that’s all.

I worried at first (still keeping that modern day mindset) about him not eating baby food ‘when he was supposed to’, but then had a good friend point out to me that God made my milk PERFECT for the baby!

I’d also learned that baby food isn’t really nutritious as much as we’re led to believe, but more of something to teach the baby flavors.

I had read how Susannah Wesley had done food with her babies - she’d just rub small portions of what they ate on the roof of the baby’s mouth. This helped them learn to like the real food.

So I chilled, exclusively nursed, and he was fine! He did have a week or two when he nursed a lot more, but after that, my body adapted to his needs and he’s never really had anymore issues. Just a growth spurt I guess!

I’m still amazed at almost 8 months that he hardly even eats 1 stage 2 jar of food each evening - each day for that matter! With all the baby food hype, yes, the baby eats a lot because as they begin to eat solids more, they’ll eat less of your milk.

So, your body will produce less, meaning they’ll eat more food! It’s an endless cycle!

So how does this fit into great finds? Well, in several ways actually.

Of course, the nursing saves TONS on formula and baby food.

I will say that I learned from my previous child, that my milk was much ‘fatter’ when I was taking the prescription prenatals. At 3 mos. postpartum with her, I began taking a cheaper store brand prenatal and my milk went extremely watery. She started dropping down the weight charts as well.

With my current baby, I’ve stuck faithfully to the prenatals. Not the new and expensive ones of today, but an older one that is much cheaper.

Savings 2 is shopping around for baby food. We have a small store here locally that runs extremely low prices on their baby food. I was disappointed though to see last week they went up on prices…., it’s now 79 cents for stage 2 two packs. This is still way… cheaper than larger stores on sale.

I noticed the other day, the inside cover which holds the packs together had a $1 coupon inside - extra bonus!!

I keep an eye on ads to see when stores run sales on baby food. This combined with coupons you can print online or call the companies and ask them to mail you coupons! Beech Nut runs specials where you cut the UPC codes and mail them in for free food. They’re also great about sending coupons.

If you have any, what I’d call ‘hole in the wall’ stores around you, give them a quick call and see if they carry baby food. If so, then their prices. I’ve found these stores give you much better prices than the larger ones, and on diapers as well!

For us, at times it’s much cheaper to buy baby food than to even go to the trouble of separating him out food before seasoning ours, then having to mix it up, etc…. We were paying 34 1/2 cents for a stage 2 cup, which he only ate 1/2 of. You can’t really beat 17 1/4 cents for the baby’s dinner! And that’s without coupons!

Some stores might still have Gerber’s baby food in glass jars. I know many stores around here have sold out, but when Gerber made the transition from glass to plastic, we were able to stock up on tons of baby food for 25 cents stage 2!

And last but not least, we’ve been on a ‘health kick’ somewhat around here. Due to the baby reacting to the grains he’s eaten and the reflux/ eczema he had until I learned that I was eating trigger foods - we’ve tried to go a more organic and natural route with our eating habits.

It’s great in the sense that now I feel comfortable giving him fruits or veggies straight from the fridge! Bananas are easy enough the smash up, along with potatoes and peas. He even ate some cooked spinach for me!

He’s still not that into eating food (Yea! Since at his size he’d eat us out of house and home!), but at least now when he does show interest, our food is available without the worries of pesticides and genetic modification.

I haven’t tried mixing up stuff in the blender to freeze yet. Any of you know if this works good? Any tips you might have? Please share!

PS - Be sure to visit our website on April 1st when new updates to many of your favorite pages will be published!!!

Today’s reading passage is Proverbs 26. I’ll be sharing on verse 3, and would love to hear from you what verse the Lord laid on your heart!

“A whip for the horse, a bridal for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.”

How neat is it that God uses analogies all throughout nature to teach us about other aspects of His wisdom and how it relates to us!

How does this relate you might ask? As mothers, it relates wonderfully to raising our children.

When a horse is being trained, or broken, the rider will use a whip to correct the horse when it doesn’t follow commands. It’s not animal cruelty, but training the animal to follow commands - to obey.

The rider will place a bit in the horses mouth, so when/ if the horse gets a mind of it’s own and does what IT wants, the rider simply pulls the reins and it pulls the bit (or hook) inside the horses mouth.

The rider will also use the spears on their boots, or whips to train/ direct the horse to follow commands, and for correction/ discipline.

Some trainers take the horses into the water to train. This gives the horse little room to ‘act up’. It must learn to trust it’s trainer or it could drown.

As with our children, we must train them. We don’t know what they’ll face in life, but they need to be trained and ‘broken’ in a sense from their own wills. We might have to have a mini training session ‘in a pond’ - confining ourselves in a room, giving opportunities to learn obedience without a way to act up as much, or be distracted.

I certainly wouldn’t want to ride on a horse that hadn’t been trained properly or thoroughly. Neither do I want to be around children that aren’t trained. You know who they are! The screaming children in the store, the ones that defiantly disobey their parents. They are hateful, have an attitude, and you don’t ever want to cross them or else.

I’m not speaking about my children - ha! But seriously, it’s sad to see these children in the store or at the drs. office. They don’t know any other way to act, because this is the behaviour ALLOWED by their parents.

The trained horse is ready for any thing - relaxing or in emergencies. It’s rider can trust him to run like the wind when commanded, not that we have too much of a need for that as in Little House on the Prairie days, or Bonanza.

What a blessing when our children are ready for anything! When they obey on command, to sit quietly in church or the drs., to stop when we notice them running towards a car, to run if we see danger near them.

I’ll fill you in a little on my children - they are NOT always perfect! BUT, for the most part, I feel they are well behaved and obedient. I have had to learn the proper way to train each of them.

All three are different, and respond differently to training methods. That’s okay, and it’s nothing wrong with them or me - God made them that way.

As you’re training your children, don’t neglect to ‘pull the reins’ when they start to go their own way. God instructs us to train them up in the way they should go.

If you allow disobedience, then in essence you’re training them to ‘go in the way of disobedience’, and as this proverb says, they will be a fool. Like the children I mentioned before, the disruptive ones in public, they act as fools because they’ve never been taught to be different. They’ve never had the reins pulled - so they are miserable along with everyone else around them!

By correcting and/or disciplining them, you’re training them to ‘go in the way of obedience’, the way of wisdom and submission to their trainer and their Lord. These children have been taught properly, and they are a blessing to be around.

Hopefully we know some of these children as well! They aren’t depressed and bitter for being corrected, but rather they are happy, healthy children MUCH better because they know their limits and have peace and blessing when staying within them.

Disobedience is simply pride, arrogance, care for oneself vs. another. If a child can’t obey their parents, how then will they learn to hear and obey the Lord? That’s what we’re working towards anyway, raising our children to know, love, and serve HIM!!

For your thoughts…

A trainer spends time with his horse, loving it, talking to it, building a relationship and it’s trust. He doesn’t begin by barking commands, but by showing he cares for the animal.

When we as mothers are training our children, we can’t start by ordering them around and expect an enthusiastic “yes ma’am!”. We begin by letting them know we love them, they can trust us to always love and care for them, that we won’t leave them or hurt them.

Every little thing doesn’t have to be battled over. This isn’t giving them a sense of security and love, but rather that you’re never happy with them/ you’re too harsh/ and they are never good enough. If they sense this, they see no reason to trust you or respect you.

Pick what is really important and stand your position on those things. If your child insists on pulling out all his toys (since this isn’t a make or break battle), instead of demanding him to “stop that right now!”, present the situation to them as follows….

“If you pull out all of your toys, you know that you will be responsible for cleaning them ALL up before you can do anything else.”

This allows them to play as children do, but also allows them to decide if they really… want to destroy everything! For this approach to work though, you MUST be consistent in following through with what you’d told them.

This might not work with your child, all children are different. I’ve found that on things that aren’t ‘wrong’, just ‘I prefer things a certain way’, that when I present the decision to them (only two options), they tend to follow through with the right decision on their own.

When this happens, I make sure to praise them up and down to reinforce their good judgement! Such as, “If you want a dessert, you must eat all of your (insert which food/s are most important).” Or “if you write on the wall with that crayon, you know you’re in trouble”.

Then leave it up to them. No, we don’t want to waste food - stick leftovers in the fridge. There are times when they really aren’t hungry. But when they know that desert is there once they finish, they’ll 99% of the time do what you ask! =)

And as tempting as artwork on the walls can be, they generally decide on their own that they don’t want the consequences of it.

Maybe I’m wrong here, but it makes discipline a lot easier around here. I say things one time (usually, unless I’m slack - which trainers can’t be - faithfulness is the key!), again ONE TIME, and that’s usually the end of it. No arguing back and forth, no counting to 3 - one time warning and no chances.

This teaches them to learn to practice wisdom themselves, to decide between right and wrong. On the issues that won’t hurt them, we need to allow our children the opportunity (along with the correct teaching) to make their own decisions.

They might err at times, but this allows them to see that there are always consequences for negative behaviour. They will learn from their ways/ mistakes, as the horse learns from his - and grow in wisdom and in their relationship with you and the Lord.

Blessings!

The devotional I’d like to share with you today is Elisabeth Elliot’s “Keep a Quiet Heart” calendar.

“God will not for a moment let go of us, His love enfolds us and each of His precious children every minute of every day and night, and underneath are the Everlasting Arms.”

How it blesses my heart and fills me with such peace knowing that my Heavenly Father is ALWAYS holding me in His arms. I may fall down, but He will always catch me in His arms and help me up again.

Picture a child learning to ride his bicycle. He’s nervous, unsure what’s ahead - but his Daddy is right there with him. He’s still nervous, but everything is so… much better cause he knows his daddy will be holding onto the back of the seat, running right along with him.

As the little boy gains confidence, the daddy might let go from his firm hold - but is still running right along side of him, to help him balance if he starts to wobble and to catch him if he falls.

Then the boy masters the bicycle! He’s no longer fearful and is so excited to have ‘grown and excelled’ on the bike! His daddy is oh so proud too!

So now, there goes the boy, riding for hours - and though his daddy isn’t right there holding on, he’s still really close by, beaming as he still watches over his son.

God is our Heavenly Daddy. When we’re fearful and unsure of where He’s leading us, He’s right there with us holding on tight. He won’t push us and expect us to learn on our own, to fall and be hurt by our mistakes.

He holds us, and as we grow in Him, He won’t need to hold on so tight. But He’s still right there along side us, pushing us back straight when we wobble and catching us if we start to fall.

Re-read the saying…

“His love enfolds us” - not just covers us over on top, but enfolds all around us.

“Every minute of every day and every night” - not one second goes by that He’s not with us. He’s always there, but are we always drawing near to Him? If we don’t sense His presence, it’s not His fault leaving us - at some point we’ve steered ‘our bike’ away from Him.

Don’t forget, we are human and humans make mistakes and sin. When we sin, we fall down and it might just scruff us up a bit - but we will never fall in defeat when we’re His, He’ll always have His arms there to catch us.

What a blessing this truth is - it’s so simple, but something that we don’t always think about. Well, take a minute now to bask in His love - then praise and thank Him for being your Daddy!

Blessings!

Today I’m tackling a project I actually started on Saturday. It was the beginning of the day, and what a simple idea “I’ll go through the clothes in my daughter’s room to see if she has any spring dresses for Easter”. Simple enough, huh?

Well, that small quest led to me going through boxes and drawers of clothes - spending quite a bit of time sorting and weeding out.

My goal this Monday is to finish going through those clothes! Remember, with small children around the house (my house!), things don’t get done quite as quickly as they should. =)

Sad to say, but I pulled these boxes out 2 months ago to start going through them. I did go through 2, but the job is so overwhelming I’ve been putting off the rest.

We have been SO BLESSED to have one of my mom’s friends pass along clothes which her daughters have outgrown. Along with a few things that others have given her, and ‘too good of deals for me to resist’ things I’ve gotten her… her closet and drawers are full.

Seeing as how blessed we’ve been, we feel the Lord would have us “do unto others” - and find good homes for what gifts have been given us that we don’t have a need for.

With Spring in the air, it’s a great time to clean out clothes as we transition from winter to summer clothing.

For me to sort through out grown clothes, I first separate them into piles, one pile for each size and one for each season. Then I spread out each pile in the floor, grouping by dress and play clothes. This way I can see if there’s too much, and if so, what needs to be eliminated.

Seeing as how the Lord might have more children for us, I don’t pass along everything. I do keep a manageable wardrobe, with a couple extra items due to the fact these clothes will be wearing out. You’ll have to be the one to determine if 4, 6, 8, or more outfits are right for you to store away.

Age has a lot to do with some sizes. For instance, between 3 to 6 months, all three of my babies seemed to have dirty diapers that always ran up the backs of their clothes. And even still at 2, my daughter is the messiest eater - wearing more than she eats at times! So for these stages, I’ve stored a little extra since the clothes don’t seem to last as long.

I have learned that I don’t have to have 6 different Sunday dresses for each season. More clothes = more clutter and stress in my mind. With baby clothes, I don’t have to have 10 different outfits.

Since I’m washing the kids clothes once or twice a week, I don’t need two weeks worth of clothes. It’s much easier for me to make do with 6 to 8 outfits (leaving room for accidents and diaper bag). I still have a variety, nice and play clothes - without the constant burden of having to cram clothes in the drawer or closet.

That said, I do still have a ways to go cleaning out clothes. But at least for my boys, the clothes are weeded through up to 12 month clothes all seasons, and I’ve just got a couple more seasons on the girl’s!

I’ll be so happy when this is all cleaned out and I can once again see what’s hanging or folded away!

Ideas for you:

If you don’t know of anyone needing clothes, see if there’s a local thrift store that supports ministries or the Salvation Army. Some churches host ‘clothes closets’ for the needy in their areas.

If you’re like us - we bargain shop during sales on out of season clothes. For these items, I will try to sale them in a yard sale for a reasonable price. Other outlets to sell clothes would be http://www.craigslist.org/ (just post in your area for free), on auction sites such as Overstock Auctions or Ebay, or there’s a selling/ trading site called Kizoodle.

It’s a family site, where you post items you’re looking to ’sale’, and credits are used to buy/ sale items. You can start a local group and trade within it to avoid shipping costs. They have a free membership, and if you use this referral code when signing up (6K2VT2), you will automatically get 2 free Kiz credits in your account! www.kizoodle.com

I’d like to focus on frugal grocery shopping this week. I have been so… excited all week since my latest find - Colgate toothpaste for 20 cents a tube!

I love to bargain shop, it’s in my blood! Though I haven’t had as much time to really focus on it lately, it’s still a thrill when I find that bargain deal.

How can you maximize sales? Well, for me, I have found it a wise investment to subscribe to our large area newspaper. The smaller hometown ones don’t provide as many ads, and don’t have coupons - though they do have ads for smaller grocery stores (more later).

Each Sunday we get several packets of coupons in the paper, which I at least try to sort out the ones I know we won’t ever use. I try to be careful to pull out coupons that we are LIKELY to buy if there is a good sale, and also ones that I know we will definetely use.

Each Wednesday, the paper has the grocery store promotional inserts, and on Thursdays, the local paper has the smaller chains.

I do shopping different ways. If there are just a couple of items from each chain, I’ll more than likely go to a store that will price match. We have a Wal-Mart and a smaller chain store, Food Giant, that will match competitor’s ads. I personally like to shop and help out the smaller guys. =)

You have to pay attention to special promos these smaller chains run. Food Giant will price match, everyday except Monday. This is their double coupon day, and they double up to 99 cents.

One the other hand, Food World/ Bruno’s will double coupons to 50 cents every day, as will Winn Dixie.

WalMart will price match local competitor’s, but doesn’t match BOGO deals or double coupons.

The tip I find most useful is cutting coupons for ANY possible product you MIGHT buy, but don’t necessarily buy on a regular basis.

For instance, the toothpaste. I bought TONS of toothpaste months ago, and we’ve still got maybe 8 tubes left. But Colgate runs pretty good coupon deals - 50 cents off any toothpaste, or 75 cents off the Total or nicer names.

This past week, Food World had Colgate BOGO. I believe the plain flavored was $2.39 a tube. So, after BOGO it was $1.20 a tube. Then I used my 50 cent coupon - which doubled to a dollar off - getting my toothpaste for 20 cents each! I only had 3 coupons, but hey, that’s 3 tubes this time, and maybe next time the coupons and sales will match up again.

Sometimes it seems the stores know what coupons work with what sales - I’m not sure. It seems when I really need something, the coupon expires the day before the item goes on sale. So if I see something that is that great of a deal AND we have room for it, I go ahead and buy it BEFORE we need it.

(I’m still hanging on to those 75 cent off for the ‘double up to 99 cent store’ - if they run a sale.)

A few months ago, I happened to glance at a Rite Aid ad. We don’t have those in our local area, and since the prices are usually higher at drugstores, I usually don’t pour over these. But this particular week the front page caught my eye.

They had deodorant on sale for 88 cents. It wasn’t my brand, but it caught my eye since I remembered seeing a coupon for it not too long before. I had to dig through my coupon pile, but sure enough - there was a coupon for 75 cents off! I was able to buy deodorant for 13 cents! It wasn’t my usual brand, but hey, for that price, it will be for the next year or so. =)

Unfortunately, I didn’t save ALL the coupons for this brand, not thinking ahead like I mentioned before (saving any coupons you might have a need for). Let me explain if that sounds confusing, we only get one coupon, yes, but we also get leftover coupons that my parents and grandparents don’t use!

They pull out what they don’t need, and gladly share their ‘trash’ with us. It’s saved us tons. Think ahead and see if there are any local ladies that you can do a coupon swap with.

Changing the topic a little… One reader commented last week a tip I didn’t realize - March is Frozen Food Month! Since I learned this, I’ve kept an extra watchful eye out for frozen food sales. One point I’d like to mention is with this weekend being Easter, turkey’s are on sale.

We only eat the turkey breast, so I’m especially excited to see it’s on sale this week and will be buying up many of them to stock up the new freezer!

In closing, I know it can be a very time consuming process to cut coupons and plan your shopping by ads. Imagine though if you can, saving the same amount of money that you spent at the store!

MANY of the smaller chain stores print the total saved at the bottom of their receipts. I even have my husband excited about the savings matching the spending. When you spend $40 (with tax) and save $40 - it’s pretty neat!

Remember, watch for those BOGO sales, or even Buy One, Get Two sales - these are the best bets for saving money when you use coupons. Walgreens is the only store I’ve ever had trouble with on this - not letting me use a coupon on the bought item AND the free item. Every other store has swiped both coupons with no problem.

I believe Walgreens would’ve, but the girl told me the system wouldn’t honor it. I couldn’t convince her to try it for me. Needless to say, I rarely shop at Walgreens anymore. They also won’t honor past dated register print out coupons - but CVS will.

I hope this inspires you to start pouring over those ads - watch especially for one or three day sales, these are really good! “But they’ll be sold out, it’s such a good deal” you might say? No, just remember to ask for a rain check. This guarantees you the sale price for 2 weeks, 30 days, or longer!

And if you’re like me and it’s hard to find free time to clip coupons…. I’ve discovered my children LOVE to cut coupons. So, I save the un-needed sections for them to ‘cut’ while I’m cutting the real ones we’ll use.

It’s a mess to clean up, but for at least 30 minutes they have a ball tearing and cutting! It’s great practice for my 2 and 3 year olds - cutting on the lines!

Blessings (and savings)!

Today’s devotion is from Oswald Chamber’s “My Utmost For His Highest”, and the verse is 2 Corinthians 7:1. “Perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

I’ll begin with brief excerpts from the devotional….

“Having therefore these promises.” I claim the fulfilment of God’s promises, and rightly, but that is only the human side; the Divine side is that through the promises I recognize God’s claim on me. For instance, am I realizing that my body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, or have I a habit of body that plainly will not bear the light of God on it?…. God educates us down the the scruple.

Alright, stopping here for a minute, I’d like to share on that last part - “down to the scruple”. You know what I mean, those days when you just want to cry out for a break. You know it’s good that God is working in your life, but hey - sometimes you just want a break and let someone else get ’scrupled’! =)

Don’t be weary though, remember God chastens those whom He loves! His word is to teach us, reprove and correct us. If we’re in His Word, and living in Him - He will ALWAYS be shedding His light on the wrong ways in our life.

If we are His children, we must realize that our bodies ARE His temple. His temple cannot have sin, or pride, or selfishness - He will educate us in these areas, i.e. He will burden our hearts in these areas.

When you are burdened, don’t look to pitying yourself, ask the Lord to reveal what it is that HE is so burdening your heart with! It’s not meant to be something to bring you down, only to bring you down to your knees in prayer, lifting you up closer to Him!

“When He begins to check, do not confer with flesh and blood, cleanse yourself at once…. Am I forming the mind of Christ, Who never spoke from His right to Himself, but maintained an inner watchfulness whereby He continually submitted His spirit to His Father?

I have the responsibility of keeping my spirit in agreement with His Spirit, and by degrees Jesus lifts me up to where He lived - in perfect consecration to His Father’s will, paying no attention to any other thing. Am I perfecting this type of holiness in the fear of God?”

Be serious with God and leave the rest gaily alone. Put God first literally.”

This devotion speaks loud and clear to me today, going along with an area I’m struggling with in my life.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have 3 children. For those who might not know, they are 3 and under. It’s a demanding role at times, physically and mentally.

I know in my heart what God has said in His Word about children. They are a blessing, and we were commanded as humans to multiply - filling the earth.

I know that it is GOD that opens and closes the womb. No child is conceived that God didn’t plan and create Himself. No child is born that God doesn’t choose to be, that’s not a part of His sovereign plan.

Then why is it so hard for me to commit ‘family size’ to Him? Because our culture has drawn us away from seeing this from God’s perspective.

We are to have children to serve, honor, and glorify Him. We are to go and share the Lord, and THEY are to go and share the Lord with the lost of the world. If we’re not having and raising children to do this, then who is it that is sharing the Lord?

My children have been such a blessing to my husband and myself. It is such an honor to raise them up to know, love, and serve our wonderful God and Creator. That’s what my life is about - raising my children for the Lord.

They are not my children, but His children. He simply placed them in my body, to deliver into this world. It’s my responsibility to train them in His ways, so when they are older and leave our home, they will serve them in all they do.

What if I lived opposite to the devotion above, where it says, “Am I forming the mind of Christ, Who never spoke from His right to Himself” and “Jesus lifts me up to where He lived - in perfect consecration to His Father’s will, paying no attention to any other thing“?

My baby is 7 months old now, and I’ll admit, it’s scary to think about having another baby right now. My body is exhausted (if you saw him you’d know why - he’s probably just over 22 lbs. now - and in 18-24 month clothes).

I had an extremely difficult pregnancy as far as allergies to various foods/ products goes. This is still true with many things I eat - I can’t eat dairy without him throwing up all over the place, or have products with hydrogenated oils in them or he breaks out in rough rashes all over.

I’m just now starting to feel ‘normal’ a little bit again, like I have my body and life back somewhat. (Besides the nursing all day and sometimes at night.)

But what was that about Jesus? He never spoke from HIS RIGHT TO HIMSELF and He lived in PERFECT CONSECRATION TO HIS FATHER’S WILL.

God is my Father as well. So how will I choose to live, with my right to my body and freedom, or in perfect consecration to what His will might be in my life?

I struggle, I really do. But I keep coming back to Scriptures that show me to trust in the Lord, “in ALL my ways acknowledge HIM“. I know that I must willingly be as Mary, and respond with giving myself completely to His will for me.

He won’t give me a baby if it’s not the right time. Just as I had to trust Him to give me my first child after waiting so long, just as I had to trust Him when He took one of my babies to be with Him, just as I had to trust Him with my last baby when the drs. told me my medical condition could cause me to miscarry in the last few weeks of my pregnancy - I must trust Him with my future children!

I can’t pick and choose when and where I’ll trust Him, when and where I’ll honor and obey Him. No, if I’m His, then it’s 100% - if I’m lukewarm He’ll spew me out of His mouth.

I’d like to close by sharing that this is something very personal in my life right now. I’m not writing this to condone any of you, I’m sharing from my heart about my life. I’m living this devotion - the battle is raging between my flesh and God’s spirit. But I can pray that God will give me peace as I ’step by baby step’ obey, follow, and honor Him.

The following link is a blog I came across this weekend, following this same thought. Here’s a mother with grown children, looking back over the years in which she did not have children due to having her tubes tied.

It was a blessing for me to read, to hear from someone who has been there and followed the path so many in the world today do - and read the sorrow she’s had from that. I’ll leave you to read her story now. (Pay special attention to the saying on her title picture - it’s very true! Blessings!

After

I can’t believe it looked so bad - and now so good! It was definetly worth the effort.

I pulled out food that is soon expiring that we won’t eat it all - this can find a home somewhere!

Other things I found to work best in baskets. I still have to line up cans and heavy items around the edges.

It’s now completely stocked right now - we’re still in the transition phase of store bought snacks vs. homemade.

Any granola, bread, cookie…. healthy snack recipe you might have - I’d LOVE it!