Time for a Fresh Start!

Isaiah 40:31...
...but they that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Tonight as I sit here, after a long, snow week, I am excited to get back into the swing of a normal routine. Even if it's only for 2 days. More snow coming our way!

While at home, over the last week, I was able to learn more money, saving tips from friends, organize and cut all of my coupons and get a fresh start on the new year. I feel like I have the new strength that the Lord talks about in Isaiah 40:31.

This blog is actually pretty short, and to the point, because sometimes a fresh start means... Jump In! Get Started! and Don't Wait! There are so many tools available to us now on the computer, in the paper and through magazines. I am just going to give you some of the great websites and money saving avenues that I use or that I have learned about. Please feel free to let me know yours if you have some that I haven't mentioned.
Let's also agree to pray for each other; that we would be good stewards of our finances, yet at the same time... don't spend so much time on the computer that we neglect our time with family and God.
These websites are great tools, but like anything else, they can rob you of time! Check them out, get familiar with them, and use the ones that you enjoy. Don't be overwhelmed. I have placed an (*) by the ones that are my favorites. Enjoy!

* * "All You"magazine (lots of coupons)

* * www.groupon.com

** www.smartsource.com

www.redplum.com

** www.thethriftymama.com

** www.couponcravings.com

www.coupons.com

www.healthesavers.com

www.shortcuts.com

www.cellfire.com

** www.restaurant.com

** www.cashbaq.com

www.couponmom.com

www.upromise.com

www.survivingthestores.com

** www.target.com (get their coupons)

** www.kroger.com (load coupons to your card)

www.dfwmommy.com

www.retailmenot.com

***Also... before you shop ANYWHERE... google or bing the store/restaurant, and see if their are coupons out there. You would be suprised. I just usually type in .. coupons for........

ENJOY!

Involve Me, and I Understand

Last week, our family visited the Alamo in San Antonio. The kids have never seen it, although they have studied about it in school and read about the brave men who fought in the Texas Revolution. However, there is nothing like Active Learning, which is a process wherein students engage/interact with course content. An ancient Chinese Proverb sums up this learning approach: "Tell me, and I'll forget. Show me, and I might remember. Involve me, and I understand."

Before leaving home, we had printed out a History Hunt for the Alamo. It was a two page fill-in-the blank questionaire that guided us through the courtyards and rooms of the 300 year old mission. As we searched for the answers to questions such as find the flags and their corresponding number of defenders from Scotland? Kentucky? New York? or "Draw the cattle brand for Mission San Antonio de Valero", or "In this room there is a plaque that tells us that this room protected the [women and children] who survived the siege," we were able to experience a more personalized view of the siege and battle of the Alamo.

I believe that God wants us to step into His big story in an even more intentional way. The Bible says in Matthew 7:24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock." Verse 26 "But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand."

In his book God 360 http://www.god360.co.uk/, Andy Flannagan shares 120 experiential devotionals that facilitate the participant's ability to see God in places where perhaps we've never looked for or seen Him. It is a great resource for learning to "allow God's Spirit to weave himself into every moment of touch, taste, smell, sight and sound as well as impacting your spirit." To see people, places and things the way God sees them. It is an active devotional that challenges the reader to act on what we read in scripture -- to experience and apply it.

A way to get engaged locally is to join Scare Away Hunger http://www.scareawayhunger.org, an annual McKinney opportunity to experience God by actively engaging neighbors in collecting food for the hungry in McKinney. Matthew 25:35 "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat;" Seven churches have joined together for the purpose of replenishing the Community Food Pantry of McKinney whose primary goal is to insure that no one goes to bed hungry. Please join us this weekend on October 31 to engage with those around us, being Christ's hands and feet as we demonstrate the difference He has made in our lives.

Be encouraged that God is omnipresent and omniscient. He is everywhere, all-knowing and involved in the tinyest details of each person's life here on earth. He has a purpose and plan that He is actively carrying out, with or without us. But He wants us to help him so we can be where He is and really get to know Him.