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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.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Notable Nuggets

"God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called!"

Notable Nuggets are quotes or tidbits acquired through previous sermons, fellowship or instruction gleaned at Creekside Christian Church.

ChristinaLynn }i{

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Lifting Your Husband Through Prayer - Week 4

From a "prayer card" published by FamilyLife. Use this opportunity to lift your husband through prayer, concentrating on God's Word and hiding it in your heart.

Lord, I lift my husband to You today and pray, according to Your Word, that:
  • he will love You with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength and hate evil (Mark 12:30; Psalm 97:10)
Mark 12:30 (NIV)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Psalm 97:10 (NIV)
Let those who love the LORD hate evil,

for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

ChristinaLynn }i{

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Lifting Your Wife Through Prayer - Week 2

From a "prayer card" published by FamilyLife. Use this opportunity to lift your wife through prayer, concentrating on God's Word and hiding it in your heart.


Lord, I life my wife to You today and pray, according to Your Word, that:


  • her physical health will be strong and her stamina high (Isaiah 40:28-31).

Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

ChristinaLynn }i{

God Will Make A Way!

Excited to see what God has in-store for me today!    The appointment that was going to take me away from Ladies Bible Study today was postponed for a few days.  

Now I wish I had done my homework!!

ChristinaLynn }i{

Monday, September 26, 2011

Time For a Tune-up

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time to take a look at our challenge to pray for our spouse. 

Have you been dilligent in your prayers for your spouse since we began?

If you have missed days here and there or gotten side-tracked, don't worry!  I have missed days too, but I take comfort in the knowledge that I am praying for my spouse more now than I was just a few weeks ago! 

I don't believe God expects us to be perfect, only that we continue striving for Him and His will daily.

Keep up the effort.  Maybe set a reminder on your phone, or a post-it on your mirror, you could even leave yourself a voice mail.  Whatever you do to help remember things.  Start back fresh this week and watch God do amazing things in your marriage!

ChristinaLynn }i{

Please Bear With Me...

I am making some changes to the layout of the blog, please bear with me as I add new things.

Thank you!

ChristinaLynn }i{

Sunday, September 25, 2011

New Blog Buttons!

YAY!  I'm very excited to share with you that I learned how to create my own blog button and also learned how to add someone's blog to my page!  Please help me spread the word and feel free to tell me about blogs that you would like to see here!

ChristinaLynn }i{

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Notable Nuggets

"Get on your knees and fight like a man!"

Notable Nuggets are quotes or tidbits acquired through previous sermons, fellowship or instruction gleaned at Creekside Christian Church.
ChristinaLynn }i{

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Lifting Your Husband Through Prayer - Week 3

From a "prayer card" published by FamilyLife. Use this opportunity to lift your husband through prayer, concentrating on God's Word and hiding it in your heart.

Lord, I lift my husband to You today and pray, according to Your Word, that:
  • he will be a wise steward of our finances and all we possess, remembering that all things are Yours and entrusted to us for Your purposes (Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 16:10-13).
Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)
Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 
ChristinaLynn }i{

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Lifting Your Wife Through Prayer

Here's the first in a series of prayer card posts I promised you to pray for your wife.  The information here is taken from a prayer card my husband received many years ago and is published by FamilyLife.  Let it minister to you!

Lord, I lift my wife to You today and pray, according to Your Word, that:
  • she will know Your will for her life, pleasing You in all respects and bearing fruit in every good work (Colossians 1:9-10).
Colossians 1:9-10 (NIV)
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.
ChristinaLynn }i{

Monday, September 19, 2011

Praying for Your Wife

My husband also has a prayer card to help husbands pray according to God's Word for their wives.  So, I'll borrow this card from my husband and you can expect to see these posts on Tuesdays.  Let your husband, brother, father, son and the other men in your life know to look for Lifting Your Wife Through Prayer and don't forget about Lifting Your Husband Through Prayer on Wednesdays.

This is a great opportunity to apply God's Word to your life in a practical way.  Read the prayers and included scriptures and pray the fruit of God's Word into your spouse throughout the week.

Don't have a spouse? 

Pray for your future spouse.  Pray for your parents.  Pray for your children and their spouse or future spouse. 

Let God lead you.

ChristinaLynn }i{

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Lifting Your Husband Through Prayer - Week 2

From a "prayer card" published by FamilyLife. Use this opportunity to lift your husband through prayer, concentrating on God's Word and hiding it in your heart.

Lord, I lift my husband to You today and pray, according to Your Word, that:
  • You bless his work and show him daily how to honor You in his attitude and spirit; confirm the work of his hands unto Your purpose (Psalm 90:16-17; Daniel 6).
Psalm 90:16-17 (NIV)
May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.


Daniel 6 (NIV)
Daniel in the Den of Lions

1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

6 So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! 7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.

10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” 14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.

15 Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”

16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

21 Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

24 At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

25 Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:

“May you prosper greatly!

26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.
27 He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”

28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

ChristinaLynn }i{

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Priorities

Have you ever had one of those moments where you had to make a decision about what would make "the list" today and what would just get bumped? 

I had one of those moments today.  Even though I thought when school started back things would calm down and give me a little more time to get things done, I have been running from one appointment to the next for the past three weeks and today was no exception. 

As I was readying the little ones for preschool and gettin the baby fed and changed, I was reviewing my day in my head.  Open house tonight for the older two kids, two different schools but at the same time.  Well, I can't be in two places at once.  Have to pick up a few things at the drug store.  Need to make a grocery shopping list with coupons to complete before the sale ends tomorrow.  Finish laundry that was started late yesterday.  Oldest son has a doctor's appointment in the afternoon, so daughter will have to wait after school until I get back.  So the question creeps up:  Do I really have time to go to Ladies Bible Study this morning?  Well no, honestly, I do not have time to go.  It's the first meeting of the fall session, maybe they won't be doing much except going over the layout, routine, etc. 

I drop the twins off at preschool and start heading down to the church, then pull into a parking lot to make sure I have some cash for the book or if I'll need to run back home to get my checkbook.  Ok, cash is there, time to decide.  The Still, Small Voice speaks to me:  "Go, God will provide." 

No arguing with that.  I'm on my way. 

I arrived a few minutes early and decided to check my phone for any news or messages.  Started out of the car, unpacked the stroller and I over hear someone referring to my business.  Exciting!  She wants to book with me.  As I went into the sanctuary, it was refreshing to be back in the fellowship of other women.  I was able to spend some time with our Children's Minister who has been diligently praying for and checking up on our baby who's been having some medical challenges.  It was nice to see some familiar friends, some I've known for years and some I've just met.  It was also nice to meet some new women who've recently joined our church or who are visiting.  Even though it was the first meeting of the fall session, it was a full lesson.  A refreshed video study, A Woman's Heart:  God's Dwelling Place by Beth Moore.  The audio wasn't working on the overhead screens, so we had to view on a small TV on a cart.  I didn't have the exact amount for the book and there was no change, but our Children's Minister was able to make change for me.  The baby was being loud and wanting to pull everyone's attention to him.  A very sweet lady helped me rock and soothe the baby.  I'm sure it was nice for him to see anyone other than me for even just a few minutes.  Another friend helped soothe a baby, giving the mom a quick break. 

I was truly blessed to be in the house of the Lord today and so touched by the encouragement and support of such godly women.  Now, to carve out time for the daily homework that is part of the workbook study because the Voice has returned, "Do it, God will provide."

When we set our priorities in-line with God's will, He will fill our cup to overflow.  That's not to say there won't be challenges, but that those challenges will be met with a means of fulfillment that can't be matched.   

ChristinaLynn }i{

Sunday, September 11, 2011

An Honor Received

My post, My Utmost, was recently published in a not-for-profit online Christian magazine.  I am honored to be able to share this with you!  Check it out at http://www.gracesabarus.org/.

ChristinaLynn }i{

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Lifting Your Husband Through Prayer

**I received a "prayer card" many years ago, created by FamilyLife.  I plan to share a portion each Wednesday throughout the next several weeks.  Use this opportunity to lift your husband through prayer, concentrating on God's Word and hiding it in your heart.  I have been using this prayer card almost daily since I found it cleaning out my bookshelf for donations to a library my church is forming.  I am once again amazed at how God works in my heart as I reach out to pray for others.  I hope it will minister to you even more so. 

Lord, I lift my husband to You today and pray, according to Your Word, that:
  • You give him strength to lead (Joshua 1:7), time to know his family (John 10:14) and a passion to manage his home (I Timothy 3:4).
Joshua 1:7 (NIV)
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.


John 10:14 (NIV)
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
1 Timothy 3:4 (NIV)
He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.


ChristinaLynn }i{

My Utmost

 Several months ago, I began a journey though I didn’t realize it at the time.

My Mother-in-law had passed away a few months prior and I had recently given birth to my fifth child. It was time to re-evaluate life. My husband has an excellent work ethic and we knew God would provide financially. I love my kids and enjoy being a stay-at-home mom. I needed to find a way to be a woman again, mentally as well as physically. Take the opportunity to have lunch alone or with friends, or “splurge” on a pedicure, sans kids.

Ironically, it was through my kids that I found my sponsor for Thirty-One Gifts. I had only purchased two items at the time and had never been to a party, but the more I looked at the catalog and reviewed the information, I felt God leading me to make a decision. Then, I found out there would be a temporary freeze to join as an Independent Consultant. On the last day before the freeze, I sent in my information and decided that if I didn’t make the deadline, it would mean there was a better opportunity for me down the road. I found out two days later that my application had been received and I would begin my new career!

I had my first party weekend and exceeded all expectations I could have had. I had thoroughly enjoyed meeting all of the women, showing all of the products and all of the wonderful uses, and seeing everyone’s faces light up when they heard the special for the month!

The next month proved to be just the opposite and I found myself wondering if it was all going to be worth it. How was I going to keep this going?

My husband would see my discouragement and remind me that we had decided that if it became too stressful for me, we would walk away. I enjoyed it so much; I wondered how I would ever be able to walk away. But, I couldn’t stand the disappointment in myself. Finally, I gave up control and left it in God’s hands. I knew that if He led me to this, He would provide a way.

As soon as I allowed God to have control, I began to see improvements again in my business. Over the next few months, I went along this “yo-yo” path.

My first six months as a consultant taught me more than I could have ever imagined. My Mother-in-law used to tell me that I had moxie. I never quite knew what she meant until this journey led me to the Merriam-Webster definition.

mox•ie \ˈmäk-sē\

1: ENERGY, PEP active strength of body or mind

2: COURAGE, DETERMINATION strength of mind to carry on in spite of danger;

3: KNOW-HOW knowledge gained by actually doing or living through something;
I have learned that I have more energy than I ever thought possible and the pep I had from long ago has returned. Some would say that I am courageous to speak publicly the way I do in small or large groups. Many say public speaking is their number one fear and yet it seems God has blessed me with this talent, for which I am grateful. The knowledge I have gained is truly priceless and I could never have leaned it without living through the beginning stages of this new career nor without the strength and encouragement of my sponsor and fellow consultants.

One of my favorite aspects of this business is that I am able to give so much away. Fundraisers specifically designed to donate products or cash, hostess benefits pre-determined by Thirty-One Gifts, donations and additional incentives and giveaways that I provide on my own; it is such a blessing to be able to give back to my community, those in need, and those who make this dream possible.

I am continuously being taught that the more I rely on Him, the less stressful life becomes. The more my husband sees how much I enjoy this, he wants me to keep going too!

I understand that in order for me to give Him my utmost, in order to see my husband pleased in me, and for me to see myself as enterprising, I have to give up control to my Lord and Savior. In His hands, I can have simplicity and success. In His hands, my worries seem so small!

ChristinaLynn }i{