How To Pack A Lunch

I love how the Bible is truly a book alive. How each time you read, you find something new. How sometimes, it isn't something 'new' as much as you see yourself in the story...you see an element that is relative to you in your season.  My season (for the last 18 years) has been Motherhood. 


When I read my Bible, I read it through the eyes of a Mother.
I feel sympathy for Job's wife.
I feel the awe of the Stable birth.
I ache when David's baby died, because every baby has a Mother.
I feel the moment helplessness became heroism for Jochebed. 
       *did you know that the midwives who were supposed to kill the
        newborn Hebrew boys grew to fear the Hebrew woman, because 
        they learned to give birth silently....on a stool.....alone 
        Just to keep the murderers at bay? AMAZING!


So when I read the story of the little boy who brought the lunch to the field that day....I think about his Mother. Surely she packed that lunch. (I do often wonder how long she thought he would be gone to pack 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread!!) I've admitted in the past to being a minimalist. I would have given my sons 1 fish and 2 pieces of bread. (poor little things!)


But he was SO prepared...and was so willing to share. The disciples asked who had brought food. I can just see him running with his little basket, the innocence of childhood on his face. He didn't think they would steal it- but he had no idea they were going to multiply it. He was eager to share, because his Mom packed good lunches.


We have to prepare our children with a 'lunch' spiritually.  Why?


For THEM: They have to eat. It sure needs to be the Bread of Life.  We have to teach them to eat, teach them to accept the blessings God gives them, for their own souls' sake. They have to LIVE!


For OTHERS: They need to know how to share with others, so others can be blessed. There is a hurting world out there, and your kids' lunch can feed them.


For CHRIST: They need to be prepared to be used by Him. God will use them in whatever way He sees fit, but only if they are prepared. The Kingdom needs workers...the Master is calling.


      They should be well prepared. (Sunday School alone won't 
                                     do it!)
      They should be willing. (A child who won't pick up his 
                               clothes, won't willingly work 
                               for God.'The Lord's Work' 
                               isn't all preaching and 
                               teaching ...someone has to take 
                               out the trash. They also have 
                               to be able to work...teach them
                               HOW to do jobs well and train 
                               them to look for them.)
     They should be CONFIDENT. (It isn't fair to be thrown 
                               into something ill prepared.)


We cannot depend on others to feed our children, just like this Mother didn't send her little boy out hoping someone would give him some bread. We must send our children out everyday, knowing the voice of the Shepherd...with their Lunch of Truth, ready to serve, willing to listen and confident that they are doing the Father's business.


Let me get to packing.....

If you give a boy...

a slingshot,

He will ask to go to this creek.

And he will get a handfull of rocks..

Then he will spit in the water.

And when the minnows come check out the spit...

The boy will smack the minnows...

And kill one...

Then his brother will want to try.

If you give a boy a slingshot.

Since our move to Tuscaloosa, I have jumped on the 'couponing wagon'.
I LOVE IT!
It is really therapeutic for me, and it is addicting.  The more I save, the more I want to save. It's a vicious cycle, but one that I'm not fighting too hard.  Every time I go shopping, my  hubby calls to see how much I saved. I encourage him to keep working hard, so I can keep saving him lot's! It is one perk of being a stay at home Mom. I do not know if I could do this if I worked full time. Clipping and comparing takes a lot of time-but I'm so glad to do it. I love being a good steward. I feel that the Bible lays out a really good idea of what a woman should do in Proverbs 31 and thrifty shopping is on that list.  By using coupons, I am able to feed my family better brands for much less than I'm used to spending. It's a win/win situation for me.  The best way to catch on to the coupon craze, is to GO SHOP! It all makes more sense once you start 'doing' it.

Today's Winn Dixie shopping trip.

Our Winn Dixie has BOGO each week. I use coupons on both items...it's the most savings possible.  These were my BOGO's this week, my coupons are in (quotation marks).
Suddenly Salad (-.$1.00 on 2)
Rice-a-Roni (-.50 on 2) had 2 coupons, bought 4
Ronco noodles
Cutter Product (-$1.00 off 2)

They also have a "Make A Meal" purchase. This weeks was buy 3 selected cereals and get a gallon of milk, 1/2 gallon orange juice, squeeze smuckers jelly & Muffin Mix FREE) I had a coupon for $1.00 off two boxes of cereal.

Buy 2 Pantene products for $11.98 and get a pkg of cotton balls, secret deodorant, crest toothpaste and ivory soap FREE. (-$3.00 off two Pantene products, -.75 off crest toothpaste, -.50 off secret deo)   Great tip to use coupons on the 'free' items...makes your overall total go down.

Colgate toothpaste was on sale for .99 and I had .50 coupons...I don't need toothpaste so I only bought two tubes at .49 each. Great deal!

Hillshire Farms had their deli meat for 3 for $10.00. I had a -.35 coupon for each package. Winn Dixie doubles these small coupons, so I saved .70 on each package.

Hamburger Helper were 2 for $4.00 and I had a -$1.00 on 3, so I bought 4.

My total was $127.99, swiped my Rewards Card, used a $5.00 coupon on a $55.00 purchase and $10.85 in coupons and I paid $58.91 for this items in the picture. I was very pleased and THANKFUL!

 At CVS....I scanned my ExtraCare card and received $1.50 in rewards. This is money I have been paid back for shopping there. I had a $3.00 off a liquid Tide purchase of $8.00 from a week ago with my ExtraCare card. (ALWAYS scan it when you walk in the door!)  Glad I saved it! Today, Tide 50 oz was on sale for $5.97 and I had (2) $1.00 off coupons from P&G.
9 oz Dawn was on sale for .97 and I had (2) .25 coupons.
The water was on sale for $2.44. We are going camping soon and I needed this water!

My Total $30.85, I paid $13.31  I saved  $17.54

I am very pleased with my shopping today.  Hope this helps any of you 'newbies'....I still consider myself a newbie but I've learned a lot from other friends and www.couponmom.com. This is my most helpful sight.

Every dollar I save, I can spend on something else- that is the reason I cut and compare each week.
God bless!
-Sondra

What I make God....

I'm a minimalist. 


If there are 5 of us eating, I take the chance and buy the 8 piece chicken.


If the little boy in the Bible had been my kid, he'd have had one fish and two loaves of bread. 


I have 6 pairs of shoes. (Yes, I'm female!)


My kids have 4 pairs of dress pants each.


I only buy peanut butter when we are running out.


I make God a minimalist.


I only ask Him for just enough.


I only expect just enough to get by.


I am almost never disappointed.


He gives me just enough, because I don't believe Him for more.


He made 20,000 species of butterflies just so we have a variety to enjoy.  The stars are a testament to His handiwork for our pleasure. (we could easily get by with one big night light) 


Yet I ask for a tiny drop of water as to not run His well dry....and He holds the oceans in His Hand.  


I ask for the exact amount of money we need, and not a penny more, because I don't want to take away from someone else...and He put the gold and the diamonds in the hills.


I refuse to make God a minimalist any more, the last thing I want is for my God to be like me!


;)


Do you limit God?

A new month means.....

A new month around here will mean lots of things....America is having a birthday!  We will be renewing our lease (unless the Lord has another plan QUICKLY) on our church building. We are almost done with summer, thus almost ready for school to begin. (yippee/booo in no particular order) It means one year our house has been on the market. :( We will be attending Campmeeting at our home church.

So much to do (which is how I like my life) when do we get started?

Well, we started off July at church. Sunday morning is a great way to start a new month. (Or anything for that matter) We had a couple in our church to have a new grandbaby this week, so they brought her to church for the first time. I love FIRSTS at church. <3 Church was the first places any of our boys went...we dedicated them there...we learned to worship there....we learned to pray there...we've had one get married there...we celebrate all of our biggest achievements there, with our church family. LOVE IT!

Been thinking a lot lately about how quickly our boys grow up...you have 18 summers with them (unless of course, you are like me, and continue to vacation with your parents haha!)  Time is running out to have any 'firsts' or 31's with them.
So far we have enjoyed these "firsts"
Camped on the Black Warrior
Water skied
Tubed
Got a pet ferret
Gavin & I took (and passed) our vessel license
Larry & I sailed down the river ALONE! (what?)

Love my guys. <3 Here's to many more firsts this summer.

Monday-the day you catch up from the weekend.


Isn't that what Monday's are for? They are around here. Our weekends are so packed, that I don't think we breathe. (I know we don't do any chores!) Monday, I fall apart and put the house back together....I feel so exhausted, but also happy, as I remember why I'm so tired. Here's why...


Friday evening, the guys took the lawnmower back to Casey's house while I fixed a huge Breakfast for Supper. It is one of our favorite meals, and quiet frankly, we haven't had it in a very long time due to bacon being about $1,000,000.00 a pound or something like that. I got bacon and sausage on sale so it was ON!!!


After supper/breakfast, we got our fishing and picnicking gear together because Saturday morning, we headed out to Burchfield Lock on the Black Warrior River and fished, picnicked, sat in the water and ultimately had a WONDERFUL DAY!


I had all my little chick-a-dee's there and a family friend and her son joined us. The guys were happy, we gals were soaking up some rays and the sandwiches and bottled water were AMAZING! lol A picnic just hits the spot when you've been outside all day. I sat in amazement at the different birds, fish and insects we saw. As I rode up the river in the boat, I was reminded of how wonderfully creative THE CREATOR is. Our Father's World is truly a gift to us-He painted and carved something wonderful for us to enjoy each day. I'm determined to enjoy it more this year. We are admonished to teach our children when we sit, walk, get up, etc...and going outside is a terrific place to guide a little heart toward the Father.


Sunday morning is always a wild a crazy experience around here. It mainly consists of Larry getting up earlier than the rest of us. He likes to pray when it's quiet....I follow him and get Lunch started and the boys sat on the couch in a confused state as I bark  gently guide them to the shower, the breakfast table, the sink to brush their teeth, their clothes, to the comb to brush their hair, etc.  As they wake up- they are ready to greet everyone who enters. Aaaah, it's good to be me..."Oh, I forgot to fix my hair!", I realize as I'm walking down the stairs.


This Sunday, we had Lord's Supper and Foot Washing during our evening service.  I have not been in a sweeter Spirit at a service like this.  The whole point of this service is to remember, reflect and humble ourselves...to draw us closer to the One we are serving. That is exactly what happened last night. From the beginning of the service, the Holy Ghost was right there with us...so many tears, so many thankful hearts...such conviction...I know people left changed. 


I know I did.


I know God was pleased.


So now, Monday showed up. It's crazy. It's chaotic, but it's HERE. And we are going to serve the Lord with gladness. (even if we are slightly sleepy!)

No 'Search & Rescue' Members In This House

My boys can't find the mayo jar in the fridge, so the chances of them finding a small child in the 100 Acre Wood is slim to none. So, yep, marking that career off their list. They could, however, be Dog Trainers.  They've trained me well.  If I say, "Clean your room."  They know that if they pick up a sock...play XBox....put their pillow on the bed....shoot a nerf gun.....open the closet door....I'm going to march in, scream, "Forget it! Go outside!" and then clean the room for them.

Training is in their blood.

They're really, really good.

As infants, they would whine and I'd drop everything to come to them. No words necessary.

As toddlers, they could bust out a good cry and I'd scoop them up to the Nursery to avoid disturbing the congregation. Only problem was, they were smiling before I made it out the back door.

They've got this down.

So, today, as evidence proved a serious rubber band war goes on in my absence, I thought of our cleaning routine.  I tell them what to do. They do it. Next time. I tell them what to do. They do it.  When will they catch on for themselves? When will they notice the sock in the floor, the paper on the desk, the pizza under the bed?  When will they take the gumption to clean something because they want it clean?

I know the day will come. I saw it in my oldest son. His room was only clean after I'd made a visit in there and then suddenly, he would be vacuuming on his own time.  It takes a little bit of maturing and a little bit of getting sick of dirt. And before you know it- you find a  good guy where there was a grimy kid.

I think about their souls.  They read their Bible when I remind them...they pray with us because we always pray at meals, church time, bedtime, in crisis....they go to church because we load them up and go....they abstain from things because we don't allow them...they partake because we lead them.  When will they take the initiative on their own?  Have I stunted their spiritual cleaning by doing it all for them?

I pray not.

I pray I'm leading by example.  I mop with Pine Sol because I was taught. I wash with Dawn because I've seen it done.  I wash with Tide because Mom did.  I know bleach will whiten because Maw Maw said it would.  I find myself tapping my broom the way my Grandmother did.  But it in all, I've found what works. I've what doesn't...and I've made my own 'brand'.

I hear myself praying, and it is the voice of others' in my ears.  I raise my hands and I catch a glimpse of loved ones gone.  I know the truth is found in the Bible- because my Great Grandfather found it there.  Church is a comfort because my family has found it to be so.  The way I live, the standards I follow, the joy I feel in my soul....it is not done for me, as a Mother makes the bed for her child. It is buried deep, grown in a well-toiled heart of an honest child.  I know my convictions are true.  I pray that in spite of all the ways I pamper my boys, they will love the cleanliness of a Christian life and pursue their own path.  A path of Godliness and Holiness knowing that while they may have seen their Dad and I live it- they must embrace it themselves and become who God wants them to be. Live how God calls them to live. And work for God like nobody's business.

Who knows, with the amount of 'training' they have under their belts- they just might be the next greatest leaders of our time.

Sweeping and praying,
Sondra

Day 3

One of my cousins had a sweet little boy, so I painted a banner to welcome him into the world (and our family!)

Actually, I lost the material I bought to make him a carseat tent, so at midnight, I painted this adorable gumball machine to celebrate...my wish for his Mommy & Daddy is that he is as Sweet as a Candy Shoppe!

Welcome William Grayson!

Day 1

Happy New Year from Chance. 

Happy New Year

2011 was a year of change for us.  We learned how to live without our oldest son under our roof....we miss him but are SO proud of the husband he has become.  Of course, I never doubted he would be anything but a wonderful husband- he has an incredible example in his father.

Larry lost his job in January, but God kept us through a few months of unemployment.  During the New Year's weekend, God had prompted us that the upcoming year would be one of change.  We had been praying about a ministry in the area of Tuscaloosa for 5 years. This would be the year- but when?  After Larry lost his job, we felt the Lord's guidance to jump all in. God opened a job and sent us to work for Him, too.  The devastating tornado in April set us to work running full steam ahead.

 We haven't slowed down.  We are currently waiting on our home to sell and in the meantime are living in an apartment. While we are thankful for a roof over our head we are SO looking forward to a 'Manse' of our own.  The Preacher's Home, a place of peace, a place of hospitality....we can't wait to see what it will be like. Until then, I have purposed to make this apartment our home.
No matter how long it takes-(have I ever mentioned that patience is NOT one of my virtues?)

We have a precious group of people who worship with us at Refuge Holiness Tabernacle.  God has given us favor in our community and we are so grateful.  2012 only brings me hope. I am super excited when I think of what God is going to do.  He has promised us so much, and He is always faithful.

So, from the West home- HAPPY NEW YEAR!