TTAH Tuesday – Shopping for Bargains
OK, readers, if you haven’t ever done it…
go shopping at a Salvation Army, Goodwill, or Volunteers of America.
If you’re seriously into saving some money, then you seriously need to go bargain shopping at one of these places.
I know, I know. It takes some time to get used to the idea of wearing someone else’s clothes – especially a someone you don’t know. The first time I went to Salvation Army, I wasn’t sure I could do it. But that was a lot of years ago, when I was accustomed to frivolously spending money and to put it bluntly, I was kind of snobby.
But these days one of my huge priorities is being able to be at home with my kids. And that takes sacrifices, or if you prefer, cutting back somewhere. So if you’re ready to save some serious bucks, try it out. (If the germ thing bothers you, you can always run home and dump the clothes in the washer and wash them as much as you like.)
This morning I shopped at Goodwill in a neighboring town (one closer to the “big city”). The prices there were a bit more expensive than our hometown Salvation Army, but the clothes were also a little bit nicer.
I got 5 brand-name shirts and 1 sweater - all like new – for $30. Some Eddie Bauer, NY & Co., etc., and close enough to the latest styles for my taste. I just cannot justify paying full price for clothes anymore, not when you can get them in just about perfect condition for so cheap! And I know our local Salvation Army also has a half price day – so you can get even more savings!
So take the plunge and get hooked on bargain shopping. Your budget will love you for it!
TTAH Tuesday – Media Reviews
Hi everyone!
Today is our first MOPS meeting and I have a ton of stuff to do, so I’m going to make this one short.
If you like to have an idea what to expect before you let your kids watch certain movies or TV shows, then check out this website:
It has fabulous reviews that are very specific, and I’ve used it several times now to decide whether or not a movie is appropriate for my children. I’m sure you’ll find it useful!
Happy Tuesday!
A little bible study, anyone?
Our MOPS theme this year is called the Adventures of Mothering, and the theme verse is Ephesians 3:18.
Our first MOPS meeting is a week from today, and in preparation God has laid it on my heart to read and meditate on this verse every day this week.
Ephesians 3:14-21
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
I thought maybe you might like to join with me in meditating on this verse this week (especially my MOPS friends!). Please be sure to come back and comment on what you’re learning from this verse.
Thanks, friends!
TTAH Tuesday – Daily Prayer
Sorry I kept you waiting so long for this post that I promised you last week!
I am discovering that daily prayer is vital to my emotional and spiritual health. And I don’t mean the “Lord, help me”, 2-second variety (although that’s certainly better than nothing.)
I’m talking about having a set time where I sit down and specifically purpose to talk to God for some length of time. I’ve posted before about how I keep my focus, and you can read that here. But today I want to encourage you to make daily prayer a priority in your life.
My day typically starts early – I get up before the kids, shower, get myself some coffee (this is critical) and breakfast and then get comfy on the couch to pray. This works really well during the school year. However, over the summer I didn’t do this. I felt like I needed a “break” and so I slept until the kids woke me. The consequence of this was that I had seldom had any uninterrupted prayer time over the summer. I had weeks where I didn’t pray at all (except for in church on Sundays). And I know my emotional and spiritual health suffered from it. I was prone to weeks (no, not just days) of discouragement. I was, frankly, hard to get along with. I struggled with being patient and loving with my children. My poor family! And I attribute it, at least some of it, to my inconsistent prayer life.
Let’s look at some verses:
Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer…”
Philippians 4:6-7 ”Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Matthew 6:11 “Give us today our daily bread…”
Lamentations 3:22-23 “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Isaiah 33:6 “He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge.”
God is my firm foundation – my stability in a life that can become difficult overnight. Even in the Lord’s prayer, Jesus tells us to ask daily for what we need. And I know every day I need God’s mercy – a mercy that never ends and is fresh for me every morning. How can I not set aside time in my day to speak to Him who offers me a rich store of wisdom and knowledge??
So I challenge you to start a new habit – set aside time dailyfor prayer. And believe me, I know all the excuses because I’ve used them myself. Like I’m not a morning person, or I need my sleep, or there’s just not time. But I ask you to set aside those excuses for one week and block out time to talk to the creator of the heavens and earth – and the one anchor we have in this crazy life.
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:
“I was reminded of the profound truth that prayer isn’t something I had to do, rather, prayer is something I get to do. I get to bring to God every worry and concern that is on my heart today.” ~ Hope MacDonald
I’m a bundle of quirks…
So my friend Pamela commented on my last post and let me know that she meme’d me. I’ll be honest with you and let you know that I had absolutely no idea what that meant (hey, cut me some slack, I’m new to this blogging thing!)
After some investigation I discovered that all I had to do was post a blog including 6 of my quirks and then pass this fun little game along to 6 other bloggers. I’m a bundle of quirks, so this should be easy:
- I despise talking on the telephone. I will do it when necessary, but even a phone call to order pizza sometimes reduces me to the state of a nervous third grader getting ready to give a book report. I know, weird, huh?
- Every time I open a jar of peanut butter, I make a little picture on the top of the peanut butter. My favorite is writing “I heart” and then the initials of my hubby and all my kids. Not sure when I started to do this – I think when I was dating my hubby – but now I’ve become a little obsessive compulsive about it.
- My favorite musician is John Denver. I have most of his CDs and I love them. My husband not so much, but he puts up with it.
- I love to be alone. I like to shop alone, I like to go to restaurants alone (of course with my favorite book), and I just plain love silence. When I was a kid, my mom thought she was going to have to take me to a counselor because I very rarely wanted to have friends over. These days I treasure being alone because, well, with 3 kids, it happens only very rarely.
- I am not at all spontaneous. I like to plan, plan, and then plan some more.
- And last but not least I am really afraid of getting in trouble. Have been since I was a kid, and so I have rarely been in trouble with any kind of authority figure, ever. You might say I like to follow the rules. And that’s why I’m a little nervous today, because I’m not going to follow the rules of this game. I’ve posted my 6 quirks, but I’m not going to bug anyone else to do it (oh – and I ALWAYS am the one that breaks chain letters, too). SORRY!
If you feel like posting 6 quirks on your blog, I’d love it if you’d let me know so I can read it, but don’t feel obligated!!
Enjoy your day!
on my mind…
Just a few thoughts for this morning…
- I really hate it when politicians use scripture, but don’t actually admit that it comes from the Bible. I saw an ad recently for a local politician who said his grandfather told him to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.” This is obviously from Micah 6:8 “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” So I’m thinking you, Mr. Politician, are either ignorant of the Bible or you are afraid you will offend someone if you admit you live by God’s Word. Well in either case, you kind of just turned me off.
- Snakes. I hate them. We’ve seen quite a few in our yard in the month of August. I know, I know, what did I expect when I moved to the “country”? But you might say I have a phobia. I actually wondered the other day what the chances are of me finding a snake in the toilet – or the washer – just like those crazy stories you hear on the news.
- Have you ever heard of phantom pains? You know, like when someone has a limb amputated and afterwards they can still sense feelings of pain from that limb. Well, I think I’m having phantom gallbladder pain. Seriously. I told my husband that last night and he just rolled his eyes at me.
- Daily Prayer. It’s really important. Actually, you know what – I’m going to post separately on this because it’s so important. Come back to read it, ok?
So that’s what’s on my mind this morning. I know, it’s not very deep. But maybe I made you laugh, and hey, everyone needs a good laugh sometimes.
feeling old
For many years now, I have continued to think of myself as just out of college and starting out in life. Well, I turned 35 this year and I’ve realized now that I’m just kidding myself.
Here’s 5 things that have been making me feel older recently:
- We went to a wedding a month or so ago. This was the first wedding we’d been to where our friends were not the ones getting married – they were the parents of the bride!!
- The Olympics. If I’d started having kids earlier, many of the youngest olympians could be my own children!
- My daughter’s 2nd grade teacher is younger than me. Way younger.
- We were watching some news about the republican party, and the reporter was interviewing people to determine if the younger generation of republicans felt out of touch with John McCain because of his age (or vice versa). My first thought was “That’s ridiculous – I don’t feel out of touch with his campaign.” And then it hit me that I probably don’t exactly fall into the demographic they were talking about.
- And last but not least, there was a time when I thought my mom’s lack of bladder control when sneezing was funny. Let’s just say I don’t think it’s too funny anymore.
So, needless to say, I’m not going to go around with a false view of myself anymore. I am a 35 year old woman who loves God and loves her awesome family and I’m proud of it!
Even cooler than that is the fact that this verse was in my devotional reading last night, after I’d been thinking about the subject of this post all day. Sometimes it amazes me how God knows and cares about every little detail of our lives, and is willing to speak to us about it if we’re listening:
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
“So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory that is much greater than the troubles. We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever.”
So it doesn’t really matter that I’m feeling older. What matters is the fact that I have been set free from my sins and have the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ. He renews my spirit day by day when I’m faithful in praying and studying the Bible. And He’s got work for me to do while I’m here (Ephesians 2:10) – and that’s a great reason to forget about how I’m feeling!
How are you feeling today??
TTAH Tuesday – Ready for school?
Is getting your child ready for school on time going to make you pull all your hair out before Columbus Day?? Then this tip is for you…
During my oldest child’s kindergarten year (after the excitement wore off), getting her ready for school felt like a battle. Every. Single. Day. I felt like I was nagging her every step of the way – finish your breakfast, get your teeth brushed – and the hair, oh, the hair. Ugh.
Then I came up with this idea:
On a write-on / wipe-off marker board I made her schedule. Since she couldn’t read yet or tell time, I drew her schedule in pictures (with the words also). First I drew three “clocks”. On each one I drew the hands of the clock at 15 minute intervals (7:30, 7:45, 8:00), so she could gauge her progress. Underneath each I drew the thing she needed to have completed by that time. For example, under 7:30, she needed to have completed her breakfast, so I drew a bowl of cereal. Under 7:45 I drew clothes – she’d have to get dressed by then. Under 8:00 I drew a toothbrush and a hairbrush – she needed to have those tasks completed by that time.
And the motivator – if she completed each task on time, that earned her a half hour of TV after school. And it worked like a charm for the rest of the year. She would even often be ready for school much earlier than her schedule required. It was really amazing to see what a difference it made to give her the responsibility of getting ready on time, or choosing to suffer the consequences if she didn’t.
A word of warning, though. Be prepared to follow through with the consequences. In other words, when she didn’t complete a task on time, she missed out on a TV show. Regardless of the whining, complaining, or arguing. And believe me, there was some of that at the beginning. But just as with any kind of discipline, if you stick to it, your child will stop trying to use the whining, complaining, or arguing to manipulate you.
So try this out and let me know if it works for you!
The Cold, Hard Truth
A couple of weeks ago my childhood friend, Melanie, came over to visit. It’s great to see her and we should definitely do it more often!!
Anyways, she made a comment to me (I’m paraphrasing) about how I’m the kind of parent she thought I’d be – no yelling or anything.
I almost laughed because it’s so not true! Hmmm. What she saw is the kind of parent I am when other people are around and the kind of parent I wish I was all the time. But the cold, hard truth is that I do my fair share of yelling. So just to make sure everyone knows I’m keeping it real, I’ll share with you a little conversation that occurred at my house maybe a month or so ago.
Lyndsay was yelling and bossing Derek around and I thought I’d reason with her to get her to stop behaving that way:
Me: Lyndsay, you know when you grow up you won’t be able to yell at people all the time.
Derek: Why not, Mom? You do.
So now you know.
TTAH Tuesday – Big Savings
Happy Tuesday!
Today is the first day of school, and because I’m enjoying my time alone with my littlest one, I’m going to make this short!
I found this website over the weekend and thought I’d pass it along to you. It has great links to free stuff, online coupon codes, and links to printable coupons as well.
Try it out and save big!!
