Relevant '11: Friday

Well bloggers, it was a long day on the road to Relevant '11...

Last night after youth group, I had the new RealCare baby simulator home with us for the night to test out before my childcare students go home with them next week. Let's just say we don't have children and besides when my hubby is sick, I'm not used to being woken up at 3am, much less by crying! SO I started tired...

Then I had a full day of school including planning for 3rd block since I had a field trip in the afternoon and planning for tomorrow's sub while I'm at Relevant. Thankfully while I was at school my sweet sweet husband came and filled up my empty tank, pumped up my leaky front tire, and left me a frappuccino and kit kat with a sweet note for me when I left school otherwise who knows when I would've gotten to Relevant.

I was on the road after fighting buses to get on the interstate, then I arrived at around 6pm (registration was till 4, dinner started at 5) but to my delight dinner was not over! And though I was so nervous to walk into a room of over 300 women, the table I sat at LaDonna, Stefanie, and many other sweet, kind, and friendly women made me feel a bit more at home.

The keynote speaker after our meal was Tsh Oxenreider from SimpleMom and she was inspiring. She talked about finding yourself in your element, where passion meets skills, both God-given, which leaves you in a place where you are delighting in the will of God.

"Your blog is only as good as your marriage"

"To provide for our family so we are free to serve"

She talked about a blog being income or being outreach... either is great!

And best of all, she had us imagine heaven with our laptops and a PSL (yes, she went there! loveher!) and showing Jesus our blogs, does it bring Him pleasure, does it glorify him no matter the topic, whether it is in the faith-based or secular blogging world.

I love that Tsh creates an atmosphere where all are welcome to her blog, she doesn't reject comments, but allows them and loves on the people who visit whether they are for or against God. This model of living is something I'm familiar with, but for blogging? I never thought about it that way... what amazing insight. Thanks Tsh for sharing with us!

Then we had the beach bash, a hang out session with Starbucks coffee (hence how I am still awake despite the long hours today) and Neapolitan cupcakes. I was completely overwhelmed! I found a few other women feeling the same and met some amazing women with moving and inspiring stories of grace and mercy. I met Mandy, Sarah, Natalie, and many others. I saw Crystal@MoneySavingMom and Courtney@WomenLivingWell but was too nervous to meet them, hopefully tomorrow I will have enough courage, but I didn't want to interupt the time they were spending getting to know other bloggers.

I'm off to bed, but I can't wait until tomorrow!

Holly

Ultimate Blog Bash 2011

Courtney @WomenLivingWell who will be speaking at the Relevant Conference in Harrisburg, PA this weekend is hosting a Blog Bash over the next 4 days during Relevant. Today is the first day...

from courtney:
"Here’s how it works:

For 4 days straight, my blog is one HUGE link-up party! I LOVE a party and meeting new people!

First, write a blog post telling us about yourself – show a picture of your desk where you blog from, what your view is like out your window, your family, your pets, your inspiration behind your blog, or where you have your quiet time! Then link up under all the categories that apply to your blog and visit a few of the others who linked up! You can find the code to the Button on the side bar – please include the Blog Bash Button in your post so others can find us here and join the fun!"

So here I go...

I'm a teacher in Northern Virginia. I blog intermittently (when I'm not bogged down by grading, conferences, and testing) about faith, running, frugality, and cooking. I love the Lord, love to bake, and love extreme couponing. Taking photos of my recent deals is a favorite of mine.

Like I said I'm a teacher and I teach Family and Consumer Sciences Education (formerly Home Ec) so I have courses like Nutrition and Wellness, Intro to Culinary Arts, Intro to Child Care, and Independent Living. I am encourgaed to be able to teach homemaking skills to high schoolers in a public school, while it does have it's challenges, I have the potential to make a big impact. While I struggle to have to "keep my bible hidden"as it says in the new Brandon Heath song, I find that God still provides me ways to reach out in faith to my students. Being my husband's helper in running our youth group at church (where many of the students go to my school) has been a great opportunity for this.

I just had my 1 year wedding anniversary to my amazing husband, Brandon. He recently finished his bachelor's and is now in full time ministry as an associate pastor. So now I'm a pastor's wife, which is never a place I'd ever have imagined to be, but one that the Lord has led us to, and blessed us in.

Here is a picture of my desk at school from which I blog from sometimes before or after school if the inspiration strikes. I also sometimes blog from my desk at home, which is.... in our dining room. We moved the office out of the spare bedroom of our top floor apartment when my parents gave us a bed to use in there. It's a little crazy in there and most often I take the laptop and curl up on the couch in our living room to blog with a nice coffee drink.

Relevant '11

Well this weekend I am headed out to the Relevant Blogging Conference. I'm hoping to get some help on issues like writing regularly, sticking to a schedule and things like that. I am so excited to meet up with Crystal from MoneySavingMom and to hopefully meet Courtney from WomenLivingWell. These are bloggers who I follow and if you haven't read their blogs before, you need to click on those links and head over there now!

Making Your Home a Haven Fall Challenge

Courtney over @WomenLivingWell is again running the Making Your Home a Haven Fall Challenge.

This challenge will run through the month of October.

This week's challenge is this:
Go buy an extra large candle and light a candle everyday in your home. I will be starting mine in the morning! But you can start yours at dinner time. Do what makes sense for your family. I will be placing mine in the kitchen – the main hub of my home. Each time the candle catches your eye, say a prayer for peace in your home.

I participated in this challenge last year and I loved lighting the candle each day. My husband and I both love candles, the smell, the sight, everything, so in anticipation of dong this again I bought a big old Yankee Candle when they were BOGO free at Hallmark. My scent this fall is Autumn Wreath, they seem to last much longer than the generic candles and burn more. I also splurged a bit and went to Bath and Body Works and picked up some fall wall flowers like cinnamon sugared donuts, leaves, apple crumble, pumpkin caramel latte, and creamy pumpkin, along with a few candles. The cinnamon sugared donut is in now and smells impeccable.

I put our candle on our dining room table which this year is more decorated than last year and helps our home to feel more cozy through the seasons.

Praying for something daily can have a big impact for such a small thing. It is in the back of our minds if we are praying it daily, it reminds us to choose peace. As wives (and mothers) we have a great deal of influence when it comes to the tone of our homes. Will we choose peace, or choose anger, frustration, stress, blame, or whatever else feels good in the moment. I am striving to choose peace no matter how crazy our home is this time of year. Small time-outs, small simple reminders like pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin cookies, homemade applesauce, and a yummy-smelling candle.

What will you do to choose peace in your household this fall? How will you make your home haven?

Holly

How to Date Your Husband

Courtney wrote a post on Marriage Monday addressing a reader's question, "how important is date night?" When I went to comment my response, I realized it would be too lengthy so I decided to jsut write a whole post on date night. Courtney's post can be found here .

My husband and I have been married almost a year, and date night has looked different all along the way. When we were in pre-engagement counseling, our counselor stressed how important date night would be and we had to plan out some ideas and bring them to our session. Let me give you an idea of our personalities:

Mine: Go play mini-golf
His: Take the riding lawnmower and ride it down the street to get ice cream and then ride it back

We both like to go out and do things, and he loves being a little crazy (hence the lawnmower instead of the car). But we love date night, I don't know that there are many people who don't.

When we were dating and Brandon lived 2 states away, our dates were skype dates. We would play online cooperative games like scrabble while we chatted on the skype video.

When we were dating (and the time we were engaged and living in the same town) our date nights were out in public, sometimes with other couples. We didn't have movie nights, or date nights in alone, it wasn't something that would support purity and the appearance of good. Date night was at least 2x a month, sometimes 1x a week.

When we first got married Brandon was working, but in retail there were crazy hours. Date night happened but sometimes not as often, but since he was working we were able to have date night out. We didn't have any real furniture in our living room so I took the cushion from our papasan and the 2 old ugly olive green chair cushions and put them on the floor. I covered it all with a blanket, and I put lots of pillows down. Then I took some candy and snacks (from couponing) and put them in colorful bowls. Then I used a redbox code and rented a movie. When Brandon got home from work he was excited that I had planned a date night in and I was excited that I did it for free. We kept doing this every once in awhile and had some great times together on these free "stay-home" dates

Then as I wrote about in this post Brandon quit his job, and we had one teacher income and student loan payments that were 2x our rent) Date night got a little different, our budget for the month was $25 most months and some months it got eaten up along with our fun money and got renames "birthday funds" so that we could get each other something. Brandon started classes again a few months into this. So I started to get creative. For his birthday I bought 2 fandango movie tickets from livingsocial for $9 total. Then when I went on I tried adding a 3D movie to my cart-- and it worked!. Then I looked and saw there was a midnight premiere so I added that 3D midnight premiere and it worked! The total was $28.50 but it came down to $0 after I added the coupon ccode (that I had paid $9 for). Then at the movies, we "checked in" through facebook to Regal Cinema and both got FREE popcorn. We purchased a drink that had a free refill when you bought a large for $4. So for $13 he got an awesome experience. This is just one example of how to use coupons to save on date night.

Now my husband has gotten a job as an associate pastor, so we again have 2 incomes and a date night budget. It's still only $50 so we are currently doing weekly dates (every Thurs) and doing a combination of stay at home (last week we did another movie night) going out (movies, dinner), and activities that are free (outdoors).

No matter what a date night looks like, what matters is time with your husband, quality time, no fights, no stress, just enjoying each other. We both started out agreeing on its importance, I know some of you are not there. Please do not use what are date nights are or are not to criticize or belittle your husband. Praise him for any romantic efforts he makes, plan a date for the 2 of you when you know you will be free, look around your church for younger girls who would make a good babysitter, ask relatives or friends to babysit (you could watch their children while they have their own date night and vice versa!), the possibilities are endless but what is not endless is the tiem you will have with your spouse. Make the best of it!

"May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth" Proverbs 5:18 NIV

Deals Overview 9/18-9/24

Deals I'm planning on getting this week:


CVS:
Huggies $2.67 each (3 packs)
Candy Corn- FREE (saving for Oct 1)
Schick Razors+Skintimate (rain check): FREE + overage






RiteAid:
Crest Complete: $1 moneymaker

Undo Me

Heard this on KLove last week and felt like it was something that should be heard:

"Undo Me"

I don’t really worship these day
I don’t really stand up to praise you with songs
Or prayers or actions
or with anything
I am full of all the right moves
I am full of all the right words
I am full of all the right religion
But it is all just illusion
I am really
Lonely
Lost
Calloused
Jaded
Cynical
Too religious
Too realistic
and well really just to lazy
to worship you anymore
I have lost my first love
I have lost the joy of your presence
But most of all I have lost the fear of your glory

Father I need to see you again
Like Isaiah I want to stand in awe of your glory
To fall down at your feet
To come face to face with your
Perfection,
Radiance,
Goodness,
Holiness,
Awesomeness
I want to stand before you and see you for who you are
and me for who I am
I want to be undone

I want to know me for who I really am
I want to see the depths of my heart
And know that you are the only way
You are the only truth
You are the only life
I want to see me and understand
What it really must have taken for you to
Love me
Care for me
See me
Speak to me
Want me
Communicate with me
Die for me
Die for me
Die for me

Lord, I want to stand in that place where all I can see is your glory
And my sin
Because in that place I can’t help but worship you.
Lord let me come undone
Undo my heart
Lord, undo my heart
break down these walls that I love so much
No, wait don’t,
I’m scared I don’t know if I can handle this
don’t
But I can’t live this way anymore
I can’t stand here in this half-life
this going through the motions life
this not really alive life
Father, I need you so come in and do what you must
Cut out the tumor on my heart
Break down the walls that I love
Lord let me come undone
Undo my heart
let me worship you again

*Blake Williams

I'm a Brand Rep

What are you wearing? As I write this I sit in my pj's relaxing after a refreshing but hard run with my husband. It's nothing special, but the clothes do have logos on them and if you look close enough you can tell what store my tank is from and what store my shorts are from.

We often time, though we shouldn't, look to what people are wearing and what brands they are representing. After all, for companies, this is some of their best and *free* advertising.

Now some people concern themselves highly with the brands they wear, some for status, some for the sake of a cause, and some because they don't want to promote a company that acts contrary to their beliefs. I'm not here to argue that. In the end, it's not what is on our bodies, but in our hearts, so I will leave what you wear up to you and the Holy Spirit.

But what does matter most? There is a brand that all Christians wear, and often times we act in ways that are inconsistent with that brand's standards. We are wearing God's brand, hopefully on our sleeves, all over our face, on our hands, and on our heart.

Ephesians 1:13-14 says that we are marked with the Holy Spirit, God's brand on our hearts:
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory. NIV

When I worked at a certain retail store, there was a position called a brand rep whose main purpose was to show off the clothing-the brand. They had no real tasks like folding clothes or stocking the shelves like the rest of us average workers, just rep the brand.

Now while we have many tasks, our main job is to be a brand rep of the Holy Spirit, of God and to be Jesus to the world. So what does this look like?

When we wear God on our sleeves, we are open about sharing our faith and the gospel, sharing what God has given us

When we wear God on our faces, we greet all people regardless of race, religion, or creed with courtesy and respect, just as Jesus did

When we wear God on our hands, we are ready to serve and do so with a cheerful heart, because Jesus came to serve, not to be served

When we wear God on our hearts, we show others the love Christ has given us first


I don't know any clothing brands that treat their brand reps like that. So what do people see when they look at you, do they see logos and styles and your taste, or do they see that you are clothed in the Holy Spirit?

I'm linked up at:

Deals Overview 7/24-7/31

Deals I'm planning on getting this week:

Time to use up all those coupons that are expiring 7.31.11!

CVS:
Going to try to get the Gillette & Skintimate deal on Sunday if they're not out yet
FREE-make money on Crest/Oral B deal
FREE Bengay cream with $5 off coupon
$.49 U by Kotex
FREE Papermate Pens

RiteAid:
Listerine: $.50
Aussie Styler 2 for $2 (I need hairspray!)




Walgreens:
Skipping Walgreen's again... just too far and not worth the math and the expiring too soon RR's


Target:
More John Frieda to use up my coupons
Ziploc freezer bags $.75/box
More sharpie highlighters with coupons my mom gave me
Looking for deals for my $3/1 jeans coupons!


AND I'm taking a trip to Wegman's this week with a girlfriend to stock up on some natural and organic products not available around here, especially good grass fed no antibiotic or hormone beef... mmmmmmmm

Super Savings Saturday

CVS:
Needed to spend! I had $20 expiring in ECB's and a lack of good deals meant I needed to spend. I worked out a scenario with the Revlon deal and picked up 2 mascaras and 3 eyeliners at BOGO 50% off used 4 $1/1 newspaper coupons, a $5/$20 revlon and $4/1 revolon mascara *magic* coupon printer coupons, used $1/2 Edy's coupons, got shaving cream for $.99 and toothbrushes for free, ended up spending $13.11 in ECB's ($1.12 OOP) and saved $48.13




Target:
After printer error I wasn't able to snag the pillow coupons, which was a major bummer, but I did score massive amounts of free school supplies! Got a Men's Tee for $.48, shower curtain (word to the wise, don't buy the PEVA liner, spend the extra and get fabric, because when the plastic gets nasty you'll be back to buy the washable fabric one anyway!) Free Jif, and decent priced paper. Spent $15.44, saved over $60!!!


Aldi:
Picked up some basics, peppers on sale, watermelon on sale, and needed cheese, spent $10.82



Martin's:
Needed some basics, got bacon on sale, Late July chips for $1, Simply OJ for $3.99 (large one!!) and organic strawberries and romaine, peaches were on sale $1/lb. Spent $19.42

Media and Parenting

Today's topic in the Media Monday series is:

Media and Parenting

Not a parent yet, so I'll leave this one up to the current mamas... make sure to check out all the links on Courtney's site!



How is the media affecting your parenting?

Linking up @

Choosing to Cheat

Today's topic in the Media Monday series is:

Media and Our Marriage

Well as I sat down to think about this, I thought about a lot of conversations that have been had in our home about media.

"What are you doing on the computer?"
"Oh you know, just stuff"
"Oh, okay, well, I'm going to be over here"

Usually the one who is busy (which has been both of us) is on a laptop, blackberry, smartphone, etc. The other person just wants their spouse's attention, all of which is consumed in the technology.

As I prepared to write this I asked my husband what he thought about media and marriage. It's not good, he said. And he's right, for the most part, techonology steals attention from our spouse. In his book, Choosing to Cheat, Andy Stanley explains that "cheating" by definition is neglecting one thing by choosing another. Cheating is not necessarily a bad thing he explains int he book, whenever we choose to spend time doing one thing, we cheat another thing.

When we choose to spend time just sitting with our spouse, we cheat time that may have been spent cleaning

When we choose to exercise, we cheat the TV out of time with us

When we choose to read our Bibles and spend time with the Lord, we cheat time the time we spend on facebook

But when we choose to be absorbed in media (facebook, phone, ipad, ipod, tv) we inevitably cheat time from our families.

This means that we need to set up boundaries for things that aren't as important and make sure that our time goes to our highest priorities. And honestly when we look at our priorities, most of us wouldn't rank facebook as our number 1.

If someone looks at your schedule, however, they should be able to tell what your priorities are... does it look accurate to what you want your priorities to be or does it look something like this:

1) Texting
2) Googling things on the internet
3) Blogging
4) Facebook
5) Online Games
6) TV
7) Spouse
8) God

Is your schedule upside down?

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 ESV

The Bible tells us that God should be our number 1 priority, does our schedule reflect this?

My challenge to myself and you all is to make your schedule reflect your priorities, don't let media top the list, it's

just
not
that
important

Holly

How is the media affecting your marriage?

Linking up @

Super Saving Saturday

Deals I got this week:
Rite Aid (above):
I picked up some Veet strip from MANY MANY weeks ago that I had paid for already and just needed to pick up with the raincheck. Also got the St Joseph's Aspirin from a couple weeks ago with another raincheck, and needed to spend some UP+ rewards to stop them from expiring, so I spend a little on some Crest toothpaste, don't remember my total, I think I spent about $2



CVS:
Used a $5 off $35 purchase so I filled in with Power Bars using BOGO free coupons from the newspaper. Used a *magic* coupon machine coupon + newspaper coupon for the twizzlers, and the razor refills came to $.99. Tried again to spend ECB's and ended up making $2. Now I have about $45 in ECB's.... hoping for better deals next week!

Walmart: my walmart does not take kindly to using coupons---- and I don't even price match! I guess it happens in a small town, I might stop trying and boycott walmart for awhile. Spent $.98 after I made money on the PB&Co.

Distraction or Tool

Today's topic in the Media Monday series is:
Media and Our Walk with God

As I sit down to write about Media concerning my walk with God, I think about this morning, similar to other mornings. Since it's summer, it begins waking up to my amazing husband. We chat about what we want to do that day while he reads through the news on his smartphone (we don't have cable). Then we eat breakfast media-free. My husband retreats to the couch to read his study Bible and as long as I don't get distracted by facebook, blogging, or couponing, the first thing I do is hop onto YouVersion.com to spend time in the Word according to the Bible reading plan I'm going through right now. Sometimes I do this in bed on my Blackberry if I wake up first. Then I blog (some days), sign up for any new freebies, print new coupons, read a few blogs, and then start my real day. I usually don't go on facebook on the computer.

For the rest of the day my media intake includes facebook alerts on my phone, googling almost everything I don't have an answer to or are curious about, texting friends and family, sometimes calling, and accessing Our Daily Bread online.

And this kind of day, I'd say is enhanced by media. There are so many good tools online for furthering your walk with God (and many that can take you away from God, more on that in coming weeks). As long as I don't get distracted by these websites, or other things, and I'm not
ignorning the people I'm face to face with while I chat virtually with others via facebook and texting, I'd say it's pretty easy for me to not be distracted by media.

These are some sites that help me strengthen my walk with God:
YouVersion (100's of reading plans, also syncs to your smartphone bible app)
Proverbs 31 Ministries (devotions)
Women Living Well (Courtney-the host of this series)
Crosswalk
Bible Study Tools
Money Saving Mom
Google Books (reading Lee Strobel and others authors books online)

Holly

What websites have helped you in your walk with God??

Media Mondays

I will be participating in:

The main page is over at Courtney's site, and I'll be posting my thought here over the next 8 weeks. The schedule is over on womenlivingwell.org for others who's like to participate!

Holly

Light in the Dark

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." John 3:18-21 NIV

We were spring cleaning our house before we left to go help out my parents for a few weeks. We made our way through the kitchen and dining room getting down and dirty, scrubbing places that may have never been scrubbed. Then my husband pulled out the stove. Now behind the stove is a very dark place, it never sees the light of day or the brightness of the electric lamp in the ceiling.

When the rest of the kitchen is clean, you don't think about what it looks like back there, afterall its dark and no one sees it, but it's still there. When we pulled out the stove we found mouse dropping, cat toys (we don't even have a cat), dust, dirt, food remnants, oven mitts (that I had forgotten fell back there). It was gross! If i looked back there with no light, I would never have known all this was back there and I couldn't have cleaned it. I needed the light to shine back there and show me how dirty it was.

In John 3, after probably one of the most memorized verses (John 3:16) Jesus explains how light affects darkness. Sin, doing evil, is compared to darkness. Jesus tells us that those who do not know God are in darkness. They are sinning and they like it, afterall don't forget that sin feels good when we do it, hence the struggle. People who are without Jesus don't want to be exposed to the light, to see why what they are dong is wrong. After all there is no sin to a nonbeliever.

Jesus then tells us what the light will do for those who love the light. It exposes, yes our sin, but also how God has come into our lives and transformed it and molded it to be more like him. To those who believe the light of the truth is good, it helps us grow and become more Christ-like.

Sometimes in our walks we meet people who are in the dark, they don't know Christ, they don't know that they are in sin. We are to be Christ's light to them. Now this doesn't mean exposing them and judging them and calling them out on sin that they do not even know the concept of. Sometimes just loving them and being their friend at first is enough. It has been my experience that doing this has one of tow outcomes.

1) The friend looks at my life and realizes something is different and starts to question, this is where some really good conversation and opportunities to share the gospel come from.

2) The person shys away or rejects the friendship- I think that this relates back to the passage in John. Sometimes seeing what we do in our lives-whether it be that we don't live with our boyfriends or we give money to the church and stick to a budget, or we don't go out get drunk-they feel like perhaps their choices are being put i
n the spotlight, light is being shone upon them. Now I don't mean this is done by us intentionally, but just us living out our lives . This can be hard, but so far I've found to just be sensitive and pursue their friendship in love so that the person is not defensive and to pray that the Holy Spirit would soften their heart toward the truth. Then once we build a relationship, they may become comfortable enough with us that we can reach out with the gospel in love.

I pray that if you are experiencing the second, that you would be strengthened and that God would work in the heart of these kinds of friends.

I'm linking up at:

Deals Overview 7/2-7/9

Not too much for deals or coupons this week, I have a lot of ECB's so I'm hoping for better deals next week!


Deals I'm planning on getting this week:

CVS:
Using 3 of my $5/1 John Freida Full Repair coupons to make $3 on the John Freida deal (spend $20, get $10)
Oral B toothbrushes: FREE


RiteAid:
Crest ProHealth Rinse: make $1.50
Possibly some more John Freida depending on BOGO free prices in relation to $5UP+ on 2
Colgate toothbrush: free
Scope: make $.50




Walgreens:th
Skipping Walgreen's this week. I don't have any RR to use and it's out of the way to get there so I'm passing.


Target:
If I get there I'd like to get the BBQ sauce they were out of last week, other than that, I'll be saving any hot Target coupons for a big trip (since it's 30 min from home :-( )

Super Savings Saturday

And this week, I got these great deals leading up to the Holiday weekend while at my parents' house. Also got a big load at target of john frieda shampoo, free crackerfuls and newtons thins, cheap breyers, and a few other things.

CVS:
Made $2 on 10 bottles of Honest Tea using Recycle Bank coupons (on sale for 25 points)

Rite Aid:
I made two trips to Rite Aid because I was having trouble printing the $3/1 Veet coupon my without my home printer.
First trip I got the above and made another $2

I went back later in the week with my Veet coupon now printed and found that the Tom's from last week I had rainchecked was now in.

What deals did you find this week?

Deals Overview 6/26-7/2

Deals I'm planning on getting this week:

CVS:
Not much this week, printing some $1/1 Honest Tea coupons from Recycle Bank to get free bottles (it's my favorite Iced Tea :)


RiteAid:
Veet: Make $2
Stayfree: 2 FREE
Crest w/ Scope: Make $1 on 2
KY Premium Products: $4




Walgreens:
Skipping Walgreen's this week. I don't have any RR to use and it's out of the way to get there so I'm passing.


Target:
Benadryl Itc Sticks: $.28 ea
3 crackerfuls and 1 newton thins: free-$.4o ea depending on which coupons they will take
Lipton Tea Bags: $.09
KC BBQ Sauce: FREE
MSF black bean burgers: $1.49ea
TicTacs: $.02 ea
Carefree liners: FREE
Apples: $2.99/3lb bag
Cutter's Family Bug Spray: FREE
Method Cleaners: $1.49ea
Trying to figure out a good deal on the edys ice cream
Plus I get a $.05 discount for each reuseable bag and a 5% discount for paying with my Target debit card!

Super Savings Saturday

Pictures of the deals, I got this week:

CVS and Rite Aid from early in the week went with my mom who is just learning (we put together her coupon binder last weekend), used some rainchecks from last week to get the John Freida, Motrin, and Crest ProHealth. I started with $32 ECB's at CVS and was trying to spend them in case we have a few dry weeks coming and I get stuck with them expiring, but got a $1.50/glade candles at the coupon scanner and ended up leaving with $38 ECB's somehow?? SO much for using them up!
Saturday I picked up some more Tom's(went with my MIL, she loves Tom's mouthwash) (still have a raincheck for one). On Sunday we went out and used our CVS rainchecks for the ones that were out of stock at our CVS on Monday.

Boomerang Faith

Have you ever read the book of judges? If the book of judges were a madlib it would look something like this:

The Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord. The Lord's anger was stirred up against Israel, so he let them be sold into the hands of _______________ (city). But then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he delivered them by appointing ________ (first name) as a judge over Israel. They had peace for ____ (number) years. Repeat several times.

The story of Israel resembles a boomerang, the Israelites stray, the fall onto hard times because of their sin, then beg for God to save them, and every time, He does.

When you look at your relationship with God does it look like a boomerang? Sometimes it certainly seems like it. Sometimes it is okay if it looks like this. Often times, we can handle one sinful or prideful aspect of our lives to be pointed out at once, God exposes our sin, we seek repentance and we go on until the next thing is revealed to us. This can be a good thing, if someone revealed to us every character flaw we had the second we met them, we would feel overwhelmed, hurt, and might not even want to be friends with that person, but if a friend in love shares one thing we're falling short it, it is easier to take.

Now this does not apply to habitual sin. If you are repeating the same sin over and over and seeking forgiveness, you need to search deep and change your heart, because it is a heart issue that makes it hard to change. If you are living in sin, you need to recognize that sin and run int he opposite direction. Be aware of fellow Christians who want to rebuke you in love, they are trying to help, even if it hurts to hear it. I saw a quote on the wall of the Christian donation-only gym the other day that said "The punishment of sin is when we become numb to sin so that we do not realize we are in it."

If it seems like God has been constantly revealing new sins to you, congratulations, you are in good company and that means you are growing as a child of God. If you are struggling with habitual sin then I pray that you will seek repentance and have a change of heart.

Holly

Deals Overview 6/19-6/25

Deals I'm planning on getting this week:

CVS:
Toms of Maine Toothpaste/Deo $1.50 (limit 2)
Glade Products Spend FREE (using a free product coupon to make this a good deal)
Pantene 2/$1.98
LA Looks hair gel FREE
Hershey's Bliss FREE-make $1
PowerBar Bites FREE
Colgate Toothbrushes make $.80 (limit 2)
Motrin FREE (3)(raincheck from last week)
Crest ProHealth FREE (2) (raincheck from 2 weeks ago)
John Freida FREE (2) (raincheck from last week)

RiteAid:
Make $3 with $3/$15 survey coupon from my receipt and riteaid.com/survey
Colgate Toothpaste make $1 each (limit 4)
Tom's of Maine toothpaste/deo $1.50 (limit 4)
St. Joseph's aspirin FREE (we use this to keep cut flowers and roses alive in the vase :)



Walgreens:
SOMETHING! my register rewards expire and I didn't see any great deals so I'll be finding something to buy, perhaps windex as we are low on that right now


Target:
Clif Bars: $4/box
Strawberry Shortcake Bandaids: .37 ea
Benefiber: <$1 each
Oscar Mayer turkey bacon <$1
Liz Lange Shirts ($3off coupons)
Shorts ($3 off coupons)

Deal Overview This Week

Deals I'm planning on getting this week:
(for details or coupon links see MoneySavingMom or RainingHotCoupons)

RiteAid:
Veet products
Rite Aid in-ad coupon ($2)
Facebook Printable ($2)
$5 UP+ on 2
final price: cheap, free, or up to 4.00 moneymaker

Oral B Electric Toothbrushes
MC coupon ($3)
UP+ on 1 $3
final price: free

I plan on doing the veet deal twice and the oral B deal twice

CVS:
Excedrin
.99 ECB
$2/ any excedrin (coupon scanner)
final price: free to $2 moneymaker

Colgate Toothpaste
$1/1 MC
$1 ECB
final price: free + .21 overage

Oral B Pulsar Toothbrushes
$3 MC
$3 ECB
final price: free

Walgreen's:
Soy Supplement
$8 with $8 RR
final price: free

Fish Oil
$10
$2 printable
$10 ECB
final price: $2 moneymaker

Gillette Deal
Razor, 2 body washes, and 2 deodorant
$4 MC razor
$2/1 bodywash
BOGO body wash MC
BOGO deodorant MC
$5 RR on razor
$10 RR on $30 Gillette
final price: all free

3M products
Will buy ace bandages and/or nexcare items (if try me free labels are found on them) to fulfill this deal, will see when I get to the store.
Using $2/1 Ace product printable

Target:
John Frieda Deal
Buy 6 Full repair starting at 5.99 each
Use 3 $3/2 Target printables (under beauty)
Use 6 $5/1 MC
Get 2 $5 giftcards back
final price: 6 free plus $10-12 moneymaker
(Really excited about this deal!!!)

Rimmel
I have a few printables and some target coupons, probably going to get some eyeliner (priced at .97) with $1/1 and a few cheap makeup products with $2/1 coupons stacked with Target $1/1 coupons

Martin's:

Dole ColeSlaw
Buy 4 @ $1
Use 4 .50/1 coupons (will double to $1)
(this must be done in separate transactions or only 1 will double!)
final price: free

Wacky Mac
Buy 2 wacky mac @ $1
Use 2 $.40/1 coupons
final price: $.20


Holly

Coupons I'm Printing This Week

I'm printing 2 of each of these coupons this week (and I bought 4 newspapers)

Coupons.com
$2/1 Ace Bandage (using at Walgreens, zip code 60543)
$1/1 Clorox 2 product
Buy 2 Get 1 Free Crunch Bars
$.40/1 Wacky Mac (will double to .80 at martins, making it around $.20)
$1/1 Kraft Deli Deluxe (most likely will pair with a target coupon in the near future)


Coupon Network
.50/1 Dole coleslaw (doubles to $1 at martins, on sale 10/$10 this week)

RedPlum.com
$.50 Newman's Own (will double to $1 at Giant/Martins)

Target.com
$3/2 John Frieda Full Repair (Beauty)
$.50/1 Dole Coleslaw (manufacturer's coupon-see above)
$1/1 Mead flashcards

Omega Smart Fish Oil (will make $2 at Walgreens)

Green Giant
$.50/1 Green Giant Vegetables

Facebook.com (search for page, then like and follow instructions)
Rite Aid: $2.50 off Maybelline Lipstick
Lysol: $1/1 A/P cleaner trigger or antibac kitchen cleaner
PopChips: BOGO free

John Freida (smartsource) $2/1

Rearview Rainbows

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:31-34 NIV

As we traveled down I-81 last weekend, we hit a nasty storm. It rained. Hard. We could hardly see the road let alone the cars in front or behind us. We put on our flashers and went 45mph (in a 70 mph zone) At this point, I was glad my husband was driving, because I tend to get nervous and worry. I have cried in the car before because I'm scared because a storm is so bad I can't see.

Just after we came through the storm, the sun was shining drying up the road. My husband told me to look in the rearview mirror at the rainbow. I looked back to see a huge rainbow (and later a double rainbow) gleaming across the sky.

It made me think about storms in our life. We all go through trouble, whether it be loss, depression, debt, loneliness, or another trouble. A lot of times when we are in these storms, we look around and all we can see is the storm. We see the raining of tears, winds that destruct, and dark clouds that make it hard to see the light. Just as the poem "Footprints" we need to trust God and rely on Him to carry us through these times. Sometimes we still wonder, "Lord, why are you letting this happen to me?" Just as the disciples were afraid as Jesus let a storm knock their boat to and fro.

"Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping." Matthew 8:24 NIV

God always has a purpose in mind when he allows us to go through hard times, storms. After all, he loves us and he has the power to calm the storm at any point.

"The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm." Luke 8:24 NIV

Often times we can't see the point while we were in the storm. But usually, as we look back after making it through the storm, that God has worked something good in our life because we have gone through the trouble. As we look back to where we have been, we can see the rainbows in our rearview mirrors.

You Never Let Go
Matt Redman

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won't turn back
I know you are near

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We'll live to know You here on the earth

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

Holly