Saving $ from our "Hometown Holiday"

Today I am thankful for the women who serve with me on our Women's Ministry team. Together, we hosted our holiday event today and our theme was "Hometown Holiday."

We were privileged to have Sharon Hoffman from nearby Maryville as our speaker and 2orMore from neighboring Farragut to share music and lead in worship. A very traditional lunch was served by a UT favorite, Vaughn's Catering. All of the table centerpieces represented special people, places, or ministries from our own hometown of Knoxville. In addition, we offered 5 workshops ranging from ... food ideas to a penny saving panel to info on holiday happenings to a session to help us understand what it is to be homeless for the holidays. It was a beautiful day. I'll share some pictures soon, once I put away the wreaths and the ribbons, make eye contact with my kids :), and put my feet up.

Our Penny Saving Panel showcased three of our own women who all have experience in getting sucked into money woes, have learned much while there, and are now living as women who are more effective stewards of what God gives them. They shared personal and practical ideas of how to make your money work for you, instead of working for your money. Since I can't take you to their workshop today, I asked one of our gals if I could share some of her money saving tips.

Shannon is a CPA married to a CPA, and they are expecting their 3rd child this spring. She shares that... "Our priorities are giving to our church and saving for retirement, which sometimes doesn’t leave much, but forces us to budget and stay lean with our personal spending."

Shannon has witnessed how spending just a few dollars here and there can really add up, but saving a few here and there can really add up, too. Here are her great Penny Saving Ideas for 2010:

1. Have an overall financial budget. For me, this is key to knowing how much and where you need to pinch pennies. Every family has different priorities – some want a nice car, others like to eat out. With a budget, you know where you need to cut to make room for the bigger “wants” in your family. I use Quicken, but for years I just used a self-made excel spreadsheet.

2. Have a specific “gift” budget. This is an area where I can lose control, so I have a specific, person by person budget (especially for Christmas) where I know how much I can afford to spend on each friend, family member, teacher, etc. (I have a practical spreadsheet.)

3. Set up a Christmas savings account through employer. Christmas doesn’t hurt as much, now that we have a set amount taken from each paycheck to help pay for Christmas. We get “reimbursed” sometime in November, right when Christmas spending starts to gear up.

4. Start Christmas shopping early. If you are like me, I make unwise decisions when I have limited time to shop. I try to start shopping early (September) so that I can look for sales & creative (but less expensive) gifts.

5. Occasionally shop prices on the following: car and home insurance, phone service, trash service, etc.

6. Occasionally reevaluate the following: Cable (you may not need all 500 channels), Phone extras (call waiting, caller ID), Subscriptions(are you receiving magazines, etc. that you don’t really enjoy or use anymore?), Gym memberships(If you use it, great! If not, reconsider. We recently dropped our children from our membership because we never took them.

7. Cut coupons from the Sunday paper! There are many other resources for coupons. I once tried “Grocery Game” but ultimately spent more and bought things that I wouldn’t have bough otherwise. It might work for you though!

8. Shop generic brands. I buy Kroger brand on many items and find it to be just as good, if not better than name brands.

9. Shop consignment sales/shops. Most of my boys clothing comes from consignment sales.

I'm guessing that these practical tips will work as well in your hometown as they do in ours. May God be glorified by the way we use the gifts He entrusts to us. Thanks for sharing, Shannon!

Conquering Complaining in KIDS

I'm so thankful for the many scarves that have been given for our "Scarves for Knoxville" project. It will be fun to share with you about this in days to come!

Well, it's Friday, and I said that today I would blog about how to get our kids to stop complaining. It's been on my mind all week. I've prayed for insight. I've searched scripture. I've asked wise friends. I've listened to people around me. I thought I was on the verge of something good when I took Jacob to a movie, and the sound and picture were not working. Being the only two in the theater, he said, "Hey Mom, maybe you should go 'complain.'" ;) What's the difference between "complaining" and "informing the attendant" that their fancy screen that I paid $8 for isn't delivering? :)

I hoped I might get a burning question about some issue of complaining that would allow me to digress and say I just had to put off the "kids complaining" topic. You see, I felt like the Lord was showing me just one simple truth, and it made me ... squirm. I was wanting to get some profound answer with points or a great illustration, but He has only given me something very simple.

In desperation I prayed scripture from one of my favorite Psalms:

Psalm 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way that isn't so convicting!

I added that last little bit to make it personal :) .... and He knew what my heart was feeling anyway. I wanted to be able to say that kids complain because of things like:

• ~ crazy, "bad influence" youth pastors ;)
• ~ cell phone texting that makes them expect immediate gratification
• ~ dangerous friends who are also messed up by youth pastors & cell phones
  
• ~ modern tv shows that their dad says they can watch ;)
• ~ the genes from the other side of the family
• ~ the No Child Left Behind requirements
• ~ the Economic Stimulus Package

It really didn't matter what I could pin it on! I just didn't want to stick it on the one thing that keeps coming to my mind: the best way to teach children not to complain is to model speech full of contentment and gratitude, absent of complaining and murmuring.


As my kids (and those around you, too ....) are with me in the car, at the checkout line, in the church auditorium, at the kitchen counter, or standing at the relatives' doorstep, they are learning as they LISTEN to and watch me. If I am hearing the sounds of grumbling as a common sound from the voices of my children, the first course of action is to ask God to give me new ears to hear my own voice from His perspective.

The Power to Stop Complaining Kids? A Parent's godly pattern of speech.

That's all I got. I wish it put the burden on someone else, but that's it. Deuteronomy 6 gives us a picture of a child who is learning about loving God and about His merciful plan for us while they sit and walk and live alongside their PATTERN. Our Heavenly Father is a great model, and He enables us to conquer complaining in our own lives first, so we can model gratitude to our children.

Next time you catch yourself saying, "Stop that whining and complaining," go in the bathroom, shut the door, look in the mirror, and repeat. ;) Then go back out and be grateful.

Blessings to you for a weekend without complaints ~

God's Words on Complaining

I am so thankful to have multiple copies of God's Word to study and treasure. I love having access to Bible study resources, both paper and internet. I feel so rich!

Jeff had the privilege of delivering complete Bibles to a small group of new believers in a "creative access nation," after they had shared one copy of the New Testament for many months. They had all read the precious copy and were openly emotional and grateful to be given copies of the whole Word of God. I love to hear my sweet husband tell this story and uncover the moment freshly each time, as if it was just yesterday.

Aren't we rich to have God's Word? As we prepare for a time of Thanks Giving, I've been spending time reflecting on the opposite of giving thanks: COMPLAINING. You can see the first two "grumbling posts" here and here. Tomorrow we'll talk about helping kids learn not to complain. Any words of wisdom are welcome in the comments ... :)

'Til tomorrow, here are some nuggets of Truth to chew on:

The word used for complaining is "goggysmos" and means murmuring, disputing, even secret displeasure not openly avowed ... which completely ruins my rule of "If you don't have something nice to say, just keep it to yourself." Now .... we have to also deal with it taking root and becoming something nasty like pride or judgment deep in our soul soil. God is very clear about this humanly habit we are so quick to master.

Philippians 2:14

Do everything without complaining or arguing (Read the next verse to see WHY)

1 Peter 4:9

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. (Aren't you glad I showed you this before you host your in-laws for Thanksgiving? :) )

Numbers 12:1

Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman) (This is old fashioned family strife, Old Testament style!)

Numbers 16:41

But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You are the ones who have caused the death of the LORD'S people." (Moses & Aaron were scoring low in the polls ...)

Colossians 3:8

But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. ("All of it, Lord?" "Yes, all of it.")

Colossians 4:6

Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. (So when you season your turkey next Thursday, add a generous helping of "graceful" speech to the meal.)

Proverbs 19:1

Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool. (Trying out for the part of the poor man or the fool?)

Proverbs 22:11

He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend. (That's motivation!)

Proverbs 21:9

It is better to live in a corner of a roof than in a house shared with a contentious woman. (ouch! What would your man say?)

I met a "blog friend" named Ann at "Honoring the King." Yesterday she shared great thoughts HERE on giving, even practical ideas about what to give when your own circumstances are hard. Instead of being crippled by complaining, give cheerfully out of the abundance of what you do have. Great thoughts from a lady who wants to honor the King.

Worry, worry, worry

I am so thankful that "All things were made through Him," John 1:3. That means my God is sufficient and able to do all things. Wow! What a truth.

This past week I've been continuing my study on the Sermon on the Mount from Matt. 5-7. Jesus challenges those listening, inlcuding his disciples, about what true righteousness looks like in contrast to righteousness for the sake of appearance. We may not have pharisees today (the religious leaders who were hooked on rule books), but it's still so easy for us to fall into "check list living" in order to make ourselves feel better, usually while making everyone else look shabby in comparison. It gives us a false sense of spirituality & creates the depth of a flip flop, when it should be a stiletto ... I'll bet the pharisees weren't thinking in those terms. :)

Jesus spends the first parts of the Sermon talking about where REAL devotion to God comes from & what it looks like. About this time, I'm guessing that any pharisees in the crowd were wondering, "Now, why am I dressed in this hot get-up?" They certainly turned heads in the crowd, but their own hearts hadn't turned, and that was the kicker.

Towards the end of chapter 6 Jesus deals with the issue of what we love. The pharisees were in love with the LAW, but Jesus longs for us to be in love with Him. They were in love with the way they worshiped and where they worshiped and their position in their temple, but their hearts were their own (try to see that in 2009 language). This time of year we have a tendency to stock up our earthly pantries and layaway loads for Christmas, even knowing it's all going to go the way of the dry Christmas tree one day - poof. It's not wrong to have "things", but He doesn't want us to LOVE things. Instead, Jesus wants us to be passionate about things the heavenly.

So what does LOVE have to do with worry? Well, if we love the Heavenly, then we put our trust there. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also," Matt. 6:21. If we trust it, we love it. If we love it, we trust it. That goes for our Spanks ;), our 401K, our extended dishwasher warranty, our life coach, our family traditions, our _______. You fill in the blank. If it's on earth, girls, it won't last, no matter how much we "love" and trust it. Only God is worthy of our trust, our dependence. That makes Him the only true treasure.

So, worry? Worry is when we don't trust that God is and will be Who He says He is. We take on our own burdens, out of fear and uncertainty that He just isn't "up to it." Is He truly Jehovah Rapha our Healer? Truly Jehovah Jireh our Provider? Truly Jehovah Shamma our Peace? Truly Adonai our Lord?

Next time I start to say, "I'm just really worried about ..." I'm going to be HONEST and say, "I'm really struggling to trust God about ..." That sheds a little more light on my heart.

It's too bad. I'm so good at worrying. It's a skill passed down through the generations. ;) I've spent so much time perfecting it. I can even do it so that I get a physical reaction like stomach pain or insomnia or pimples. :) Are you that good? Jesus says in v. 25 "do not worry about your life," and then goes on to get specific: food, clothing, health. He even reminds me I can't add days to my life by worrying. He tells me He takes care of tiny birds, so He'll do even more for me, His beloved. He tells me, "do not worry about tomorrow," the future. I had big plans for all that I was going to worry about the future. What will I do with all that time I'm going to save?

Jesus told the crowd on the hillside the Gentiles (those who don't know & follow Him) seek the worldly things of temporary life as most important, but He tells us, His followers, to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness," (not like pharisee righteousness) promising my needs will be met WHEN I seek Him first.

If you're getting paid tomorrow or are going to be with family next week or are traveling far or nursing sick children or .... whatever you are doing ... "do not worry about your life." "For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things," Matt. 6:32.

Can you hear that? It was me breathing a big sigh of relief that I don't need to worry. Go ahead. You breathe one, too. :)