Coupon Seekers

If you came to my blog to begin or enhance your coupon journey, start with these tips:
• Not a member of Swagbucks? Scroll to the bottom of my blog and sign up! Earn points for searches you would do on the internet anyway and more!
• Print your coupons here! Click the “Print Coupons HERE!” tab. Make sure to come back at the beginning of each month when the coupons are new again! Remember: it takes a few weeks to get going and the goal is always to SAVE more than you SPEND.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

A 1950's Housewife

(Uh-hmmm, now that I have your attention!)

A segment from the Rachael Ray Show has inspired me to write the next series on this blog.  If you ever read my previous blog, you'll recall the series I did on Proverbs 31 and will see some similarities, but many differences and hopefully a new twist on some not-so-new information.

For some background, the Rachael Ray segment was related to the TV series Mad Men.  I have not seen the shows and really don't know anything about them other than the fact that they are set in the 1960's.  The couples on the Rachael Ray show claimed to be modern-day 1950's housewives and that it makes their life wonderful.  I'm not completely sure how their day-to-day lives differ from most stay-at-home moms, but we will look at one woman's blogs during this series as well as other resources including daily actions you can take to improve your home, marriage and relationships.

Courtney writes the blog I just mentioned, Women Living Well, and although I am starting late, I will begin where she began and incorporate my other resources with it.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

So, let's begin.  The first week is to let you all know that I am participating in this challenge.
Come Link Up to the Summer Marriage Challenge.  Click on the button to find the list of topics. 
I'm not sure how to put the You Tube video in, but you can visit Courtney's blog to see the video there.  If I can figure it out, I'll add it later.  

The next thing I am to do is to tell you about my dating days with my husband.  When he asked me out, I wasn't sure what to think or how to act.  I hadn't been on a date in several years.  We started out going to a Saturday night church service at the church he was attending, then had dinner and saw a movie.  We started all of our future dates with church, but dinner and a movie got expensive, so sometimes we would rent a movie instead.  One of my fondest memories is lying on the couch together watching a movie with the fireplace going (yes, in Florida!  Sometimes we would open the doors to let enough cold air in to keep the room from getting too hot!).  Nowadays, because of "baby weight" I don't think we would both fit lying on the couch together!  Maybe the couch has gotten smaller :)  

To make more of this challenge, I am incorporating the 30-Day Encouragement Challenge. For the next 30 days, you can't say anything negative about your husband...to your husband...or to anyone else, about your husband.  You must also say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband...to your husband...and to someone else, about your husband.  Feel free to share!!

Day One:  Proverbs 31:11-12  Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.  She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.  Is there anything you can do today to instill confidence in your husband?  Are you bringing him good today and all the days of your life?  The challenge today asks that you thank your husband for choosing you and to start the day:  "Give him a 'wake up call' he'll never forget - a big 'I love you' and an 'I'm so glad I'm your wife!'"

ChristinaLynn }i{

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The Lord's Prayer - Part 8

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever.  Amen.

This is our opportunity to make bold declarations of faith, to know that God answers our prayers.  As it says in Psalm 37:4, we know that God is able and willing to give us the desires of our heart because we have examined ourselves to be in His will and asked for His will to be done and we have delighted ourselves in Him.  We can then take a last opportunity to praise Him again for all He has done and all He is doing.

I hope that you all have enjoyed this study of The Lord's Prayer and how we can apply it to our daily prayer lives. 

ChristinaLynn }i{

Monday, June 28, 2010

The Lord's Prayer - Part 7

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil...

This is another segment where we pray for God's help, but we also have to do our part.  We need to equip ourselves for the battle that we are going to face.  Yes, it's a battle.  We are asking God to lead us not into temptation, but also to deliver us from evil when we face temptation.  We will face temptations, one way or another and we have to have ourselves equipped to fight that temptation when it arises. 

This brings us to Ephesians 6:11-18.  Put on the whole armor of God.  The Bible says we should gird our loins with TRUTH and this refers to the most sensitive, delicate parts of our body and spirit to be protected with the truth.  Then, to put on the breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS, which is to protect your heart with what is right according to God's standard, not the world's.  Next, we are to READY our feet with the Gospel of peace.  This is to make sure we are ready to share the peace that God offers.  We should then have the shield of FAITH.  The stronger your faith, the easier it will be to defeat and protect yourself from the attacks of the enemy.  Then comes the helmet of SALVATION and the sword of the spirit, the BIBLE.  We must believe in and accept God's gift of salvation and hide His Word in our heart by memorizing Scriptures to be prepared for the battle.  Lastly, we learn that we must PRAY in the spirit, which is to pray according to God's will as we discussed in The Lord's Prayer - Part 4.

You can read more about another post on my previous blog about the armor of God here

ChristinaLynn }i{

Saturday, June 26, 2010

The Lord's Prayer - Part 6

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors...

Now is the time to ask God for forgiveness and to forgive others.  After you have praised God for who He is, where He is and what He has done and is doing in your life, now is the time to ask for forgiveness.  Not only for yourself but also for others who have hurt and wronged you.

When we ask for forgiveness, God says our sins are as far from us as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).  That is such a refreshing thought!  That we are no longer a part of the sin we created and the sin is no longer a part of us.  When these sins are brought back to our minds, and the temptations are right in front of us to sin again, we have to remind ourselves that it is not God who is bringing them to mind, it is the enemy (who I will not honor with a name).  In our next segment, we will talk about how to defeat him.

We also have to be willing to forgive others.  This can sometimes be hard, but you will find a new kind of love and peace when you find the ability to forgive others.  Remembering that those times when the hurt and agony may be brought by God to help you learn to forgive, but it may be from the enemy to help you feel defeated and angry all over again.  Take this opportunity to release others for the hurt they have caused you and ask God to help you remember it no more.

ChristinaLynn }i{

Friday, June 25, 2010

The Lord's Prayer - Part 5

Give us this day our daily bread...

This one is near and dear to my heart because it correlates to the verse this blog is based on and is talking about God's provision for a prosperous life for us.  It also speaks back to the provision God made for the Israelites with His daily manna from heaven. 

God wants us to prosper, He wants to shower us with blessings.  We have to do our part by making sure we are in His will in our prayer lives, our church, habits, tithing and any other parts of our lives He would have us surrender to Him.

Pray for God to give you your daily bread, to provide for you today, to teach you to more fully trust in Him, and to show you areas of your life that you need to walk more with Him.

ChristinaLynn }i{

Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Lord's Prayer - Part 4

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done...

Take this opportunity to pray for God's will to be done in your life; in the lives of your family and friends; your church leaders and members, future members and the unsaved your church is trying to reach; your local, state and national government, its political and spiritual leaders; and for the peace that will come to Jerusalem.

Remember that you should be looking for God's will to be done, not your own.  Many, many times, I have found that I did not get what I prayed for only to find out that what God had planned was far better than I could have ever imagined.  Likewise, there have been times I have gotten what I prayed for and realized God was telling me the whole time that it would never work out well.

ChristinaLynn }i{

Monday, June 21, 2010

The Lord's Prayer - Part 3

Hallowed be thy name...

Think on and use the names of Jesus and the names of God. 

Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace, The Lamb of God, The Good Shepherd, The Messiah, The Anointed One,  The Bright and Morning Star, Immanuel, The Word, The Lily of the Valley, The Ancient of Days, Jehovah, My Rock and My Fortress, The Rose of Sharon, Excellent, Rock of Ages, Redeemer, The Potter, The Great Physician, Master, Provider, King of the Jews...

There are so many more.  Just think of the name(s) of God that you need to call upon at that time.  Meditate on the meaning of that name and what it represents to you.  Praise God for who He is.  Praise Him for what He has done for you, your salvation, your health, wealth, well-being and any blessing He has given you.  Praise His name above all names.

ChristinaLynn }i{

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Lord's Prayer - Part 2

Our Father who art in Heaven...

Just picture it, the 12 gates made of pearl, 12 layers of foundational stones inlaid with gems of sapphire, emerald, topaz, amethyst and many more.  A golden city with a river as clear as crystal, the Tree of Life bearing crops, no need for sun or moon, because our glorious Lord and Savior gives us the light.  And His face will be in our minds and His name on our foreheads.

Get this mental picture every time you pray.  Picture what Heaven will be like.  Picture our Lord in all of His glory, as best as you can with our mortal eyes.  Know who you are talking to.  Make it personal, a real relationship with Him! 

ChristinaLynn }i{

Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Lord's Prayer

Many of us have heard The Lord's Prayer and may even have it memorized (Matthew 6:9-13).  Have you ever really studied the words contained in the prayer?  What about the verses right before the prayer?  I'm going to take the next few posts to talk about the specifics and I welcome your comments! 

Adapted from the outline of Dr. Larry Lea, the teachings of Marcel Murray and personal study.


First, let's look at the verses right before The Lord's Prayer.  Jesus had only recently recruited some fishermen to follow Him, to make them fishers of men.  He was already being followed by multitudes of people because of his teaching, preaching and healing.  He went up into a mountain with His disciples to escape the crowds and spend some quality teaching time with His disciples.  We understand from Luke 11:1, that at some point during His praying, His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray.  Then Jesus said to them in the very beginning of Matthew 6:9, "After this manner therefore pray ye:" (KJV).  The Living Bible says, "Pray along these lines:."  When we review these two statements, we can see that Jesus intention was not for us to recite the prayer exactly as He has said it, but instead, to use this prayer as a guide for how to pray.  Think about that as you read the prayer.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:  For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen." 

Next, we will take the first portion of the prayer and talk specifically about how we can use it as a guide in our own prayer life.

ChristinaLynn }i{

Something to Think About

Estimated cost of raising a child born this year:   over $300,000

     Average lifetime income with a 2-year degree:  over $2,000,000

          Average cost of retirement:  over $1,000,000

                Eternal life in Heaven with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior: 

PRICELESS!

ChristinaLynn }i{

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Honest Scrap


My first ever blog award - The Honest Scrap Award!  Wow, I am completely humbled and really not sure what to say!  The good thing is, this award comes with instructions on how to proceed!  I'm not sure how I missed this when it came around back in April, but a wonderful woman with a great blog of her own granted this award to me and I will be passing it along.  Read here to see Mrs. Claus' original blog post.
Ok, 10 honest things about myself.  This may not be easy...
  1. I am a wife and mother (soon to be 5 children!).  I LOVE my kids so much even though they sometimes drive me NUTS!
  2. They call me a "Stay-at-home mom" but I am rarely ever home and never stay in one place!  I prefer the title:  Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.  (You just have to read this one!)
  3. My favorite color is purple - almost any shade of purple.
  4. I have lived within 40 miles of my birth home my entire life.  However, someday, I hope to live in the mountains.
  5. I once won a beauty pageant in my city by default.  I was the only one registered in my age group!  I went on to the state competition where there were 11 women and 10 winners - I was not one of them.  Although, I did win a trophy for Best Personality.
  6. I am trying desperately to live debt-free in Jesus name!
  7. I am a coupon fanatic!  I found out at the beginning of this year that I could get more groceries with less money by shopping at my local Publix rather than the big warehouse stores.  It just takes some planning to cut your grocery bill in half!
  8. One day, I hope to publish a book.  Right now, I am working on a cook book.  Feel free to send me your submissions!
  9. I am super thrilled at every new Facebook friend and every new follower on my blog!  It is so exciting to know that people are out there listening to what God puts on my heart to share.  There are many, many times where the words are not mine and only His and I can only pray that they touch someone, somewhere.
  10. I was blessed to have music as a huge part of my life growing up and I am saddened that my children are not exposed to as much musical enrichment as I was.  I really believe that God uses music to speak to us and to teach us things in ways we may not otherwise be able to learn.
Now, passing this on to 10 other bloggers:
  1. Life At 7000 Feet
  2. 3 Strand Romances
  3. Frugal Fun and Fortune
  4. Simple Saving Secrets
  5. Want What You Have
  6. My Cup Runneth Over
  7. A Day in the Life
  8. Carpool Queen
  9. Kim's Space
  10. The Fairhope Foodie
Run, don't walk to these fabulous blogs and find out what fun and exciting things they have to share with you today!  

ChristinaLynn }i{