A House of Women

This weekend my husband has the opportunity to join 3,000+ young people at The Resolved Conference in Palm Springs, CA. This will be a great time for him to get to spend with the young people in our church, especially the two young men he is sharing a room with.

This afternoon I relaxed on my couch with my Victoria magazine and King Arthur Flour Catalog. It was nice to enjoy the quietness of a Saturday afternoon.

CVS this week

Well, it has been quite awhile since I have hit the CVS stores with force. Usually I am just trying to roll my Extra Bucks so I don't lose them. This week I did 8 transactions, whew.

Here is what we got:

6 boxes of cereal

2 bottles of Dove shampoo

2 bottles of Dove conditioner

2 Brut deodorants

11 bags of candy (used these for fillers mostly)

1 Fusion razor

2 packs CVS cotton swabs

3 boxes CVS band aids

4 picture books

3 Nivea travel packs for men

4 Nivea shaving gels

4 powerades

4 Garnier facial scrub

4 Kotex pads

2 Kotex pantiliners

1 Coffeemate creamer

Drum Roll please.

$174.68 in merchandise

$15.00 in EB

$11.68 OOP

I believe I could have spent even less, but the cashier rang up the photo books weird. I went in with my transactions already figured out, but that really messed me up. I would not be able to do this without the help of two awesome websites. Money Saving Mom and 

The "Cent"sible Sawyer are tremendous resources for helping to find all these great deals.

Thank you for stopping by today.

She Did It!!

Rachel all dressed up and ready to go!

Rachel with her most handsome Daddy. I love how she has her hand on his coat.

Rachel receiving her "diploma". She was asked what do you want to do when you grow up, her answer was "I don't know". Her Daddy told her that was ok she was only graduating from Kindergarten.

I was very thankful to our home school group for making this such a special occasion for all the little graduates. Also, we had many people who joined us for Rachel's special day. We are so very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family who took time out of their busy schedules to come to her graduation.

I am finishing up grades and portfolios now. I have already started shopping for next year's books. The kids are already asking about books for next year. The good thing is they still love school, I haven't wrecked it for them.

Have a great day.

Graduation Season

Rachel at her graduation rehearsal.

This time of year is always a nostalgic time for me. Whenever I go to a graduation I am always moved by the ceremony and the closure that comes with it. Now you should know I have had my fair share of graduations to attend.

My husband graduated with his BA in 1997

My husband graduated with his M. Div in 2003

My daughter graduated from Kindergarten in 2006

My husband graduated with his D. Min 2007

My other daughter will graduate from Kindergarten next week.

Plus, all of our friends who have blessed us with an invitation to their special day. I am always surprised when I feel emotional at such a happy celebration.

Yesterday, we had a graduation rehearsal for my daughter. I just sat and watched my little shy girl walk up on stage and shake hands with our headmaster's son. Then tonight we attended a family friend's 8th grade graduation.

I am overtaken by the fact that this phase is over in their life. I always sit back and wonder, did they accomplish what they wanted to? I also think about the parents who have encouraged and supported their student for so many years.

When my husband graduated this last time, I started to cry as soon as he marched in. I was so overtaken by the emotion of his graduation. Just knowing how hard he had worked and how much he had sacrificed to accomplish this goal. 

I always think about heaven when I am at a graduation. When I get to heaven, will I be one of those graduates who slips in barely by the skin of my teeth. Or by God's grace will I be one who has accomplished much for the kingdom of God (with honors). Will my Savior say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Witnessing in My Neighborhood with Bread

Yum!! Fresh bread.

Here is my plan to witness to one of my neighbors. Our neighbor's son has just moved back home after graduating from college. He has an interview for a teaching position at a local school district today. I am going to take them a loaf of bread and let him know I am praying for his interview today. I hope this opens the door to talk to him more about Christ.

I used this Classic Baguettes recipe to make this bread. 

This is just a random picture of my baby concentrating on her coloring.

Witnessing in My Neighborhood, Part 2

Another aspect of the Sunday morning messages that has been on my heart, is the fact that God has specifically put people in my life that I only have access to.

Here is an example:

We have a gentleman in our church who owns his own construction company, he has many men who work for him. This last week he was able to share the gospel with some of the men. He invited four of them to come to church and two came.

Our Pastor pointed out that he was faithful with what God had given him. Our Pastor or anybody else in our congregation couldn't have walked on the job site and started witnessing to these men because they didn't know them. But this business owner knows these men and more importantly they know him and watch him. So he was able to share the gospel with them.

There will be people like that in my life, people who God has intended me to witness to. Maybe the checker at the market, or the teller at the bank or maybe one of my physical neighbors. If I am not obedient, the Gospel will not be presented to them (at least not by me). And to be quite honest that is shameful for me. We are not talking about saying nice things or flattering somebody, we are talking about sharing the truth so they will not spend eternity in hell.

Witnessing in My Neighborhood

Where is my neighborhood? I guess I would say the area of homes all around me. But I am often in my car going to the store, bank, Sam's or even church. Do these count as my neighborhood too? Why am I having this whole conversation you wonder.

The last two weeks in church the message has been on evangelizing the lost. Now, to be very honest these messages were not the "fluffy and you make me feel happy" messages. As a matter of fact, I joked with someone in our church that the Pastor was smiling but I think he was smacking me upside the head at the same time. I truly welcomed these messages because they help to me think and evaluate my life according to God's word.

Am I broken over the people I meet each day who might be going to hell because they have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior? Honestly, I would have to say no. I am usually just trying to complete all the tasks on my list and make sure I still have four little girls with me.

I have been praying that God would open my eyes and heart to see all the lost people around me as an opportunity to share God's amazing love. Also, that He would give me boldness to share in any situation.

Here is a quote from Sunday that still is causing me to ponder how I live my life:

"It is easier to die for Christ than to live for Him"

I want to live my life daily for Christ not just die for Him.  That means I need to come out of my comfort zone and be obedient to share the gospel with the lost.