Simplifying my Life a Little Bit at a Time – Part 3

Welcome back!

This is the third in a series of posts on simplifying my life a little bit at a time.  Besides stepping down from commitments, and changing my schedule, I am also spending more time with my family and friends.  I am blessed with a few close friends and an even larger circle of Christian friends.

My best girlfriends and I have gotten extremely close recently with the addition of a weekly commitment to each other.  In January, we began holding each other accountable by emailing each other in regards to our quiet time with God every day.  These emails, fondly called Good Morning Girls are a way for us to stay connected to each other and to hold each other accountable, to each other and to God.  They have not only strengthened our relationship with God, but they have also strengthened our relationship with each other and our families’ relationships with each other.

We believe in the Biblical concept of iron sharpens iron and we have seen that played out in our lives over the past few months.  We’ve experienced with each other job loss, financial woes, and other hurts and we’ve enjoyed times of joy as well.  We know that each and every day we are lifting each other up in prayer.  We remind each other to be patient with our children and to love our husbands despite their flaws.

In addition to this we’ve come together more often, spending spontaneous afternoons together, enjoying each other, our families, our children, sharing meals and our lives.  This simple thing has made such an impact on my life.  I’m grateful for them and for God so specifically planting them in my life.  It is HIS doing and we are glorifying him for the blessing.

There’s just a little more to tell about this simple lifestyle . . . check back next week for the final post.

A Full Cup

I have been thinking alot lately about the abundance of blessings that God has given us.  He truly fills our “cup” daily with blessings.  I am grateful for that and humbled and awed by God’s giving.  As a result I want to be a good steward of what God has blessed me so richly with.  One of the ways I am able to do so lately is through watching my budget closely and couponing.  It is truly saving me money.

I started back couponing at the first of March and using a spreadsheet I’m keeping up with my savings through shopping the sales and couponing.  Since March 1 I have saved $200.  In March I only saved $64 so that shows that most of my savings have come in April, which means I am improving.  YAY!

One of the ways I am finding lots of savings and coupons and filling my coupon binder is by participating and trading and riding coupon trains over at A Full Cup.  They recently relaunched with a new website.  I don’t have as much time as I”d like to hang out over there but I am spending most of my Saturday’s there to catch up and utilize it as much as possible.

If you are new to couponing, or even if you’re an oldie you could definitely find something useful at A Full Cup so why not go check it out.  It has forums, a coupon database, trains that you can join to swap coupons and even printable coupons you can print right from the site.

By the way, I’m adavant over at  A Full Cup so be sure to friend me.

Blessed

This weekend can be summed up in the title of this post….BLESSED.  Yesterday without knowing I’d receive this card from the foot of a cross that the ladies of Proverbs 31 had set up at the conference I had written about the blessings I felt i had received throughout the weekend.  Then, I went to the closing session and was told to pick up a card from the foot of the cross.  On the card would be a verse and behind the verse in lighter print was a word for us. My word…..BLESSED. 

Girls, tell me something I don’t already know!  I am truly blessed.  Not only from attending She Speaks this weekend, but in everything I am blessed. It’s hard to know what else to say right now, as my mind whizzes back and forth, I have so much information from She Speaks I want to use and apply, but for now…. I’m VBS director for the next 5 days so I must go get dressed, whiz myself and my 2 kiddos off to church and then rush to a dr.’s appt. to assure that baby  #3 is doing what he’s suppose to be doing.  He is due in exactly 3 weeks. So I leave you with the verse that was on the card…

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”

Ephesians 1:18-19

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