Big Savings!

It may be a little hard to read these receipts, but there are lots of savings going on!!! In this weekend's shopping venture, $121.67 of product was purchased for $39.43. Both Kroger and Publix have been having special deals over the week. Kroger had their Daytona 500 sale - buy 10 items and save $5. Publix had their Viva Italiano sale buy 20 items and save $5.

This is a savings of 68% or $82.24!!!

So, I'm stocked up on raviolis, soup, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and various other items for quite a while. If you haven't gotten on the bandwagon on stocking up, then I would suggest just taking a few minutes and checking out Southern Savers. Start off by selecting the grocery store that you often visit (tabs on the top right side) and check out the sale flyer match-up that Jenny does. If you can look at what's on sale and pair it with coupons she suggests (either from the newspaper or on-line), you'll be on your way to saving big. The goal is to buy on sale with coupons and stock up so that when the item you use is not on sale and you need it, you can just go in your cupboard and pull one out.

Saying goodbyes

We met David & Judy Perschbacher through our church and the community group that we were placed in almost 2 years ago. We developed a relationship with them and have done various activities with them. David lost his job back in May and has been searching for a job. He finally got one with a company based out of St. Louis in December. Since then, they have been living in two places as David works and Judy waits for their house to sell. They will be moving in the next week.

I regret that we've not had as much time to spend with Judy & David. Church has been so demanding that our time was spent doing preparation work instead of spending time with them. But, the last couple weeks we've been trying our best to spend a few evenings with Judy. We were supposed to go over last Tuesday, but something came up so we postponed it to Sunday.

Judy & I love to play Rummikub and we got in four games last night!

Here we are with Barry. (By the way, David & Judy are from Arkansas. Can you tell?!)

It's sad to say good-bye, but we know that God has good things in store for them. We've already made plans to come up for the 4th of July.

Thinking of You Cards

I made this card for a co-worker. I was hoping that the brown patterned paper and the coordinating papers that I picked would look manly enough. I added some white alphabet stickers. It's pretty simple. It's a normal sized card, 4"x6".

This card is for a co-worker who just got the news that she & her husband are on their way to Belgium. Their visas finally came in and they are leaving soon. I used several different papers, red organdy ribbon, and red alphabet letters. This card is a little bit smaller than the normal size -- just about 3"x5".

4-legged Guest

We had an opportunity to take care of our friends' dog for a short time as their home was being shown and the dog couldn't stay there. At first we thought that the cats would have a rough time with her, but Bella's a different type of dog. She didn't bark and I think they just thought she was a big cat.

We took a walk in the neighborhood and then brought her back to her home.

Jesus Calling

My co-worker had talked to me about this book last fall, but I never remembered to get a copy of it. I talked to her about it again in January which prompted me to pick it up and then she also got me a copy! So, I have two.

With the challenges that were in my life last fall, I was struggling so much with trust. I'm sure that everyone goes through some time in their life where they wonder why God would allow bad things to happen to them, and I guess this was my time. Withdrawing from God seemed to be the path that I took because I couldn't understand why He would allow this in my life. Therefore, my devotional times have been pretty sparse.

Taking a few moments to read something that is challenging and full of God's Word, has been a good start for me to get back where I need to be. I've been trying to read this little devotional more faithfully and have to share a bit that hit me yesterday. February 23rd's devotional is about self pity. The author says, "When you are occuppied with praising and thanking Me, it is impossible to feel sorry for yourself." Really! I have realized how much music plays in my life. Knowing that praise & worship music can lift my spirits makes it even more imperative that I keep it playing. Taking a moment to say a word of thanks is how I need to re-train my mind so that I don't fall into self-pity. This is a very practical step I need to take.

A bonus is that I was talking with a different co-worker yesterday and this came up in conversation. She also uses this book in her devotions and was encouraged to hear me speak of it. We're going to try and keep each other accountable with what we read. Pretty awesome!

Transition

(not my picture )

There's no cute saying that can get you through a long period of transition. It's a tough day-in, day-out struggle that you have to work through. Somedays you think that nothing has changed and then other days there are huge changes made.

My office has been going through a period of transition. We have a new Executive Director/CEO and he's making changes. The most recent change is in my department. We are being disbanded. The head of my department is being moved to another position and they are not going to replace him. The work that we do is going to be moved around to different departments.

What does that mean for me and my co-workers? CHANGE. Great change. There are no definite plans yet which makes it even harder to see this as positive. We just have to see what happens and pray for peace in this time of transition.

Mini Cards

One of the things that I like to do is encourage people in my life. A cool way that I've found to do this is by using some cards that I have an abundance of -- business cards. These are 2" x 3" and I cover the side that had the writing on it so that white side is clear to write a note on.

So, these cards are for all sorts of people in my life -- co-workers, friends at church, a niece... I tried to add some personal touch for the person I made it for. You'll see some of the same papers, but I figure since the people are in different places, they'll never know!

I think that reaching out to the people in my life shows them a little bit of the love that God has for them. I hope that my words will bring encouragement to them and help them in their lives.