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A New Adventure

I have decided to start being a better steward of the money my hard working husband makes for us. I have never been one to recklessly spend money and have always hunted for good bargains and shopped clearance racks and sales. We live quite frugally compared to alot of people, but there is one area where I can really do a better job, and that's in the grocery department. The playgroup I am involved with is very much into coupon clipping and watching the ads of various stores to make the coupons and their money go as far as possible. After listening to all their stories of finding good bargains and getting things for next to nothing/free I have really been inspired to begin this journey for myself. I am not exactly sure how to do it all yet, but with time I am sure I will get the knack of it and I cannot wait to see the money we will save. I already can feel it will become a new obession in my life and will benefit my family greatly! I hope to have some awesome results from this new adventure to blog about soon!

I have learned in whatever circumstance to be content....

What a trying 6 weeks it has been. February 27th brought about news that could have been devastating if it weren't for my relationship with the Lord and the steadfast knowledge that He is faithful and I can trust that He has my best in store. Due to things beyond our control Jon was faced with the situation where he had to find another job by April 1st. This news brought about overwhelming fear and amazing excitement. How can one experience both these emotions simultaneously you may ask. Well I was fearful simply because of the unknown and the lack of job opportunities in this economy. I was excited because we both knew this was an opportunity from the Lord. We both knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was all orchestrated by Him and that He had something much better planned. So the struggle began...my human nature to worry and fear over the what if's this situation brought about and the spiritual nature to give my worries to the Lord and trust Him throught it all. I made a conscious decision to do something that didn't come naturally and that was to worship God and praise His name in the face of the storm. I clung to certain songs on the Christian radio station and sung them from my heart to God's. One in particular is a song called "Blessed by Your Name" by Tree63...here are the lyrics.

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name

Then on March 24th I got more bad news. News I wasn't in any way prepared for. News that sent me reeling and despairing for a bit. I found out that day that doctors had found a tumor on my moms lung and it was indeed cancerous. She had been suffering with severe back and chest pain for 2 weeks when she finally went to the doctor seeking relief. During the course of these doctors visits they did a Cat Scan and found this tumor. We all saw Gods hand in this though, because they caught it at the very earliest stage and therefore it is small enough to be removed with surgery. Usually with this kind of cancer people don't know they have it until they are coughing up blood and then it's advanced and much harder to treat. I went through all the what ifs on March 24th. I think I must have cried for five or six straight hours. I cried until there wasn't anymore tears left in me. My soul felt like it was breaking. To be faced with this uncertain financial situation and then with my mom being sick was more than I thought I could bear. God apparently thinks more of me than I do myself! I summarization, this hasn't been easy, but I know the Lord is growing me through this. I can't wait to see the testimony that comes out of these situations. I pray that I can be an encouragement to others through this and because of all this. I know that God has amazing things in store for my family, all in his time, which is never late. During the course of these trials my little boy Aden accepted Jesus into his heart! Nothing could be better than that and I got to be the one who led him to the Lord. God has sent me amazing friends who have been such encouragements to me during these difficult weeks. God has already worked miracles and will continue to do so. Jon still hasn't found a permanent job but God gave him something temporary until May 1st. God knows the deadline, he knows our needs and He has unlimited ways of providing for us. Mom's surgery is on th 16th and the doctors are certain they can get it all with surgery. Praise the Lord she doesn't have cancer anywhere else in her body. Praise the Lord that he has shown her an abundance of love through so many people through this. Praise the Lord for his faithfulness and goodness in the midst of lifes storms. He never leaves or forsakes us. He does want us to grow and without difficulties we would remain immature. We have to allow Him to change us and mature us. We have to make that choice to worship and trust Him in the scary parts of life. If God can save my soul and make this world in 6 days I know he can take care of all our needs, and take care of my mom through the surgery and give her a quick and uncomplicated recovery time. So after you read this I would appreciate your prayers for my mom's surgery on the 16th and her 6 weeks of recovery to follow and for God to open up and lead Jon to the job He already has picked out just for him. I pray you have been encouraged that God is there for you too and that no matter what you are going through at this very moment He is right there working in it behind the scenes for your best. Just let go and trust Him, He'll never let you down.

Update

This blog is to update everyone on the fact that for the time being I am not completing the 30 day challenge in it's entirety. Without going into detail, something has come up (not between Jon and I, we are doing wonderfully!) and is taking most to all of my attention and focus right now. I would appreciate everyone's prayers. God knows the situation and the need and I know He already has it all worked out, we just have to wait on His timing and direction. So with that being said, I am going to continue to be positive and encouraging to the best of my ability but I am not mentally in a place to do each and every specific challenge every day. I hope that sooner rather than later I can blog about what the situation is and will have a testimony of how God worked it all out!

Unclutterizing Your Mind

Does your mind feel cluttered with thoughts? Is your spirit weighed down with too many cares? We all have periods during life where we simply have too much in our lives and before we know it our days are cluttered, our minds are cluttered, and our hearts are cluttered. Sometimes our minds are so filled with clutter we can't finish one thought before another one comes up. These thoughts lead to anxiety and sleepless nights. Our society thinks that sleeping pills are the answer. Nope, they are just the bandaid on the problem. Let's look at God's Word for some truth and answers in how to unclutter our minds and hearts.

Matthew 6:19-21 "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is there the desires of your heart will also be."
What does your heart yearn for? What consumes your thoughts? This is where your treasure lies. Things of this world never satisfy. No matter what we get, we always want more. Think about the last thing you really wanted and actually got. Are you finally content and want nothing more? I didn't think so!
When you start getting into God's Word and truly start experiencing God in your life your desires become more God focused. You become more content and complain less. The satisfaction that comes from putting your treasures in the hands of God is lasting!

1 Peter 5:7 "Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you."
Restless minds come from carrying around too many concerns and worries. Give them to God, write them down then physically destroy them as an example of giving it to God. Let God take care of you and your worries. Rest in Him.

Matthew 6:25-34 (please read)
Your worry doesn't do one single positive thing. All it does is rob you of your peace, reliance on the Almighty God and your joy. Our souls and minds get cluttered when we try to take on future worries and what ifs. God tells us to take one day at a time. There is enough to be busy doing today without borrowing from tomorrow.
Philippians 4:6-8 (please read)

Philippians 4:11-13 (please read)
Contentment is KEY! Until we learn to be content exactly where we are our minds will continue to be cluttered andoru lives feel overwhelming Trust that no matter where God has you, He will provide exactly what you need and never leave you. (Proverb 3:5 & 6) Let God and Let God!

Psalm 4:8 "In peace I will lie down and sleep for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe."

Practical ways to organize your mind and spirit:
-keep a prayer journal, from all the big to little prayer needs that arise in your life. Remember to write out how each one is answered!
-Take it one day at a time. Don't think about tomorrow and all that you have to do then, just live in this very moment.
-When you give something to God to take care of, stop taking it back! Let God work like only He can.
-Trust God to do the ultimate best, because He never does anything less!

Days 5-7

Days 5-8 didn't really happen and this is why. On Thursday around 11pm Jon came down with a bad stomach virus. Two hours later Aden woke up throwing up too. Needless to say I was up the entire night taking care of my sick husband and son. The next day I was beyond exhausted and was still taking care of a sick little boy. Poor thing couldn't keep anything down all night and most of Friday. By Friday night all I wanted to do was get some sleep, but knew around 8pm that I was coming down with the virus myself. At 3am Saturday the stomach virus hit me big time and I spent all of Saturday in bed. Sunday we were all tired from being sick so we didn't do much other than church and a run to sams Club. This is the reason I haven't done a single thing for the challenge in several days. I will pick up on Day 9 today! Pray that we all stay well now, we've been so sick this whole year and I just don't think I can take anymore.

Day 4

Ok so today went good and bad. Today I was supposed to show interest and appreciation for the job Jon does to provide for us. On top of that I was supposed to show him that I know he works hard by letting him have some down time once he got home instead of dumping house chores on him...(like I do every single day...yes I feel badly about this but so far haven't been able to change that behavior, I'm working on it.) Before Jon went to work today I tried to ask questions about what he had planned today at work and told him that I really appreciate all the hard work he does to take care of us. I truly meant it too. I try to tell him this on a regular basis because I know that he needs that praise and thankfulness from me in his life. I busied myself with laundry when I knew Jon would be arriving home and had Aden helping me while Emma played nearby in hopes this would prevent me from immediately dumping the kids or chores on Jon. (I usually am preparing dinner when he gets home and Emma is screaming next to and Aden is making a mess elsewhere in the house which gets me all in frenzy and makes Jon's arrival home from work stressful. So today I decided a change in routine and doing something that wasn't stressful on me when he got home would hopefully prevent his arrival home from being chaotic.) It worked pretty well. He had time to get changed and do some computer stuff before the kids were demanding his attention. I don't know if he noticed or not, but I really did try my best!

Here is the "bad" part. I have found that for me to not complain to Jon about something he has done or not done, I am trying to be positive in all areas of life. Once I open the "complaining flood gates" it all comes out. Satan gets that foothold and reminds me of all the things that bother me. A friend of mine even actually emailed me today and said that I seemed "perkier" than usual! It made me laugh...apparently this positive me is noticeable to more than just my husband:) So you may be wondering why is this bad? It's bad because I'm internalizing anything negative that happens. Something small to most people but big to me happened last night (nothing to do with Jon) that really affected me negatively. I got angry then really sad and then down right depressed but because I didn't want to open those flood gates I've kept it to myself. I started to tell Jon about it then decided not to do it because we were having such a great day. So now I have to find a balance in this so that I don't internalize stuff that will end up bubbling up and spilling over later.

Tomorrows: "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for
necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." Eph. 4:29

Tomorrow I am supposed to find a creative way to let Jon's family know the things I love and appreciate about him. THis should be interesting!!!