Whatsoever your hand…{Part 2}

The second thing that I’ve gotten my hands into lately is couponing. Before you completely shut down this blog, give me just a few minutes to demystify some of the wildly popular misconceptions about couponing. Also, let me just add that I am not one to be able to spout off what coupons that I have right off the top of my head and be on the lookout for sales to use them at. That is what I leave to the experts! Can I also tell you, I HATE TO SHOP! –But I love to find a great deal! The deals are what keep me going.


Strategic shopping seems much more impressive than ‘couponing’. Strategy is exactly what makes coupons work for you! If you like games, this is definitely up your alley… (Did I mention that I hate games…But I love to find a great deal!) What I hope to accomplish is to point you in the direction of some great resources and get you on the road to cutting your grocery bill! If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Sometimes there is a learning curve to matching coupons and scoring the best deals. Give yourself a good month of regularly strategic shopping and you will be pleasantly surprised.


First step, get to know the types of coupons that are out there.


• Manufacturer Coupons
• Store Coupons
• Rewards Bucks(CVS)/Register Rewards (Walgreens)
• Mail In Rebates


Here are how these measure up. Manufacture coupons are put out by the product manufacturers to give you an incentive to buy their products. Store Coupons are provided by the Store for specific item or brand. These come in flyers placed in the stores, in your newspaper or in the mail. In general, those coupons are meant to be used at that particular store, however, in our area, Publix takes all competitors coupons. This is a golden opportunity. Rewards Bucks and Register Rewards are offered by the store after you have purchased a certain product during their promotional dates. These rewards are good for your next purchase at that store. They are meant to be used only at that store, however, Publix does accept them. Mail-In-Rebates are offered by Manufacturers as a bonus for buying their product.


Next step that I suggest is to watch the Southernsavers.com tutorials http://www.southernsavers.com/tutorials/  
Get familiar with the southernsavers.com website. It is a comprehensive resource for any of the stores in our area. This website will help build your shopping lists based on what is on sale, what you should have coupons for (or can get them by printing them off of the internet) as well as any additional mail in rebates. They do all of the homework for you. I have no idea how they compile their database, but they have it going on! Once you have been clipping coupons for a while, you will see that you probably have the coupons for items that go on sale!


As you are preparing to plunge into strategic shopping, make note of these coupon tricks:


• Purchase 2 Sunday newspapers. Many products go on sale ‘buy 1 get 1’ regularly. The stores allow you to use a coupon for each of those items, essentially doubling your coupon value! You can easily make up the cost of your newspaper by catching 1 b1g1 sale.


• Clip coupons that you would possibly buy if the price was just pocket change (because inevitably you will find the product on sale or clearance and kick yourself for not clipping it!


• Coupons that say Buy 1 Get 1 free are GOLDEN! If you stash that coupon until you see a Buy 1 Get 1 free sale, you will get BOTH ITEMS FREE! The coupon covers the item that you are supposed to pay for (within the monetary limit that the coupon states).


• Publix allows for the combination of a store coupon (even if it is not their own) and a manufacturer’s coupon. I do not know of another store around this area that does this. What this means is, If you catch Kelloggs cereal on sale b1g1, you can use a manufacturer’s coupon for each box of cereal and a store coupon for each box.


Another great video tutorial is couponmom.com. She has tons of youtube videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/CouponMom .


http://www.iheartpublix.com is another must have resource. Southersavers.com does a good job reviewing the Publix ads but I have found additional coupons and resources on iheartpublix, especially the page http://www.iheartpublix.com/index.php/weekly-ad and click on the mega deals link.


So now that you have all of these coupons, what do you do with them all? Well, I started out with a little accordion file, and then I realized that I was out growing that system so I switched over to a very primitive envelope style. Today, I officially moved up to a coupon binder. Many coupon sites show people building coupon binders and using baseball card protector sheets to hold the coupons. Being the frugalista that I am, I was determined to find something that I already had that could work. In my homeschool stash, I had tons of CD binder sleeves, so I went to work making a binder using this pretty little layout http://thekrazycouponlady.com/kclcouponbinder.pdf by http://thekrazycouponlady.com . I love her tagline :-).

The internet has a wealth of information that I have yet to conquer, and by no means do I feel like I have the supreme knowledge on the topic of couponing, but I love to share great opportunities with other and hope that you may have great success with your Strategic Shopping.


I leave you with a picture of my mega deal of the week…this keeps me couponing!

You've got it!  I paid $.92 for all this! Just peanuts (pardon the pun) :-)

Whatsoever your hand...{Part 1}

Whatsoever your hand…{Part 1}



It is interesting how challenges can bring about a clear opportunity for strategizing on levels that you may have never thought of before. The current economic recession (and some have dubbed depression) can have us scrambling to create resources that we hadn’t even discovered before. My mother used to say, necessity is the mother of invention. She sure was right. That woman could make a full meal using 3 ingredients and make you feel like you were eating a feast. When Cindy cooked, it was divine. She knew how to use the most basic thing and make it a treat, always putting plenty of color on the plate. As a child, I craved her creativity and as an adult, I realize that my memory of her teaches me every day, resulting in the birth of a couple creative ways to contribute to my household while raising my children. Let me tell you about them!

Especially since I have become a mother, photographs have become a very important part of documenting the lives of my children. Not just any photographs, but those that capture the essence and emotion of their individual personalities. Those photos bring me right back to the time and day that they were taken. The more that I took photos, the more that I became aware of the elements of a good picture verses a bad picture. Pretty soon I realized that this was something that I would like to do to help others capture the wonderful memories of their family as it grows. So, little by little, I would photo this one and that one until early this year, at the encouragement of my sister, I stepped into the photography business. It has been amazing to have the wonderful opportunities to connect with families and catch that first smile or even a bit of a sad face. God has been good and He gifts us all individually, and it is up to us to be sure that whatsoever we put our hand to, do it with all of our might (Eccl 9:10).
If you haven’t already, check out how I am writing history through photography at altacompanyphotographygallery.blogspot.com

Stay tuned for {Part 2} of Whatsoever Your Hand…

Prayer Journals

The woman at the well was changed forever after her encounter with Jesus. He told her things about herself that she had been in denial about. God can illuminate areas necessary for growth in a way that makes us aware of just how much He loves us. The Biblical symbol of the well is a place of fresh, sustaining water. To “come to the Well” spiritually is to come to God to fill afresh of his life giving water. His water is necessary for every season of our lives. It is what teaches us, shapes our lives and gives us direction for the future. We don’t ever want to forget where he has brought us from because God will use our past to minister to another. A prayer journal can be a vital tool for remembering where we have come from and finding direction for our future.

There are actually 2 lessons regarding prayer journals that can help us incorporate this tool into our personal time with the Lord.

1. The importance of Memorials for spiritual growth and for teaching others.

2. The impact of WORDS in our lives.

Let’s take a quick look at a time when God instructs his people to leave a memorial for His provision through a trial.

Memorials

As the children of Israel came upon the Jordan River with the Ark of the Covenant, it seemed an impossible task to cross this body of water, but Joshua sought God and God directed him as to how he would lead them through this trial, and thankfully, someone wrote it all down….here we go….

Joshua 3:7- When Joshua sought God, God gave him the promise Divine Presence & Divine Friendship.

7And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.

Joshua 3:8 – Learning to wait on God

8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the Ark of the Covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.

Joshua 3:13- The promise unfolded before them

13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.

Joshua 3:17 – Passing through the trial

17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

Joshua 4:8- God told Joshua to have the Israelites take 12 stones from the midst of the Jordan River to be placed on the other side of the Jordan for a memorial.

8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

*THEY BROUGHT SOMETHING OUT OF THE MIDST OF THEIR TRIAL.*

THEY COULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN THOSE STONES UNLESS THEY HAD WALKED THROUGH THE MIDST OF THE RIVER (OR THEIR TRIAL).

Joshua 4:9 - Joshua also set 12 stones in the middle of the Jordan River as a memorial of where they came through, as proof that they had been there.

9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the Ark of the Covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.

When we utilize the tool of a prayer journal, we have a memorial of where He has brought us from and how Jesus provides for our every trial.

There are certain lessons that we will never learn, except through a trial and if we carry a stone out of the midst of that trial as a remembrance, it can become a ROCK that we can build upon.

WORDS

You may think words on a page are just ink. But, truly what we should aspire to is JUST INK.

Recently I was inspired to begin a blog and I do believe the Lord gave me the title, JUST INK. In a world where anything can be printed, we need a place where what is printed is JUST.

Dictionary.com says:

JUST: adj. Guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness. In keeping with truth or fact.

Our culture today uses words very loosely. Words like love, hate, perfect or stupid are used so frequently that their value seems to be diminished. God, however, has carefully chosen the precise words to give us direction for our daily lives, and when we are communicating with God through prayer, it is an opportunity to put our feelings into words. At times our verbal prayers may seem to lack direction or fail to fully expose the depth of gratitude or need at the given time. Taking the time to put your conversation with God on paper can help you to clearly express yourself. There is also something amazing that happens when you establish the habit of journaling.  As you begin to write, there often times is an immediate attitude change.  Sometimes you can immediately recognize an angered spirit, or an area that your focus is in the wrong direction.  Oftentimes, you can walk away from your prayer journal feeling like you have taken a tangled mess to God and He has helped you to sort it out and given you insight for strategic battle.

Journaling is a place of transparency and is an opportunity to take a look at situations that are troubling you and forces you take account of your blessings.

Tips for Success:

1. Pick a journal, and stick with the same one. Hopping from journal to journal can make it difficult to see your spiritual growth as you use this tool.

2. Journaling does not have to be done every day, but it is a good goal to try and journal at least once a week. You may even want to make it a Saturday Morning quiet time, or a time that fits your schedule.

3. Put your journal in a place that you have access to it readily; by your Bible, in a nightstand, etc..

Here is a small sampling from my prayer journal:

{God, I don't know what or when or how but I am calling on you for help.  Strengthen the soul that you have blessed me with.  Change my thoughts so that I am not tormented constantly by the things that are not the way I think they should be.  Give me a strength in the face of opposition that doesn't waiver.  As I write, I see the problems of my own ways.  It is not about me, but I seem to make it about me.  Let me decrease, so that you may increase.  Other People Minded....Lord, increase.  It is not about me.

When our deepest desire is not the things of God, or a favor from God, but God himself, we cross a threshold.  Less self-focus, more God-focus.  Less about me, More about Him.  IT'S NOT ABOUT ME by Max Lucado

I could look around and find fear, or look at my father and find faith.  I choose my father's face.}

Let’s take a few minutes to apply this concept of prayer journaling by using this simple framework for journaling:

*3 things that you are most grateful to the Lord

*2 areas in which you desire to see God change circumstances or help you grow.

*Prayer needed for others

Try it out!  You may find that a prayer journal is exactly what you need to deepen your walk with the Lord.