New Year's Resolutions...

My DH asked the question during the Sunday School class this past Sunday. What do you have for a New Year's Resolution?

The rest of the class didn't hesitate and I was left with nothing to say...

I guess I have been too busy with all of the things that needed to get done for the holidays to think about the end of the year.

I typically do not do too much for New Year's never have. The kids always seem to get into the spirit of the event, but it is too taxing for me to even think about staying up that late...

I like to have written out long and short term goals and find that I can accomplish quite abit if I have the goals written down or even spend some time thinking about what is a priority for me.

I do know that a priority for me is to get my haircut. I have not cut my hair since before my littlest DS was born. I have a mass of hair and never like to do anything with it, so it typically is pulled back and up. I was hoping to get a haircut squeezed in before the holidays, but just couldn't find the time...

So I resolve to get my hair cut!

There, I have one goal at least verbalized, now I will have to contemplate additional goals and get them written down.

I know of one major goal that I should have and have family members begging me to do...but haven't been able to commit to placing that as a priority for me...I guess I know how hard it will be...so please pray for me and having the resolve to finally establish a much needed personal priority, yet unnamed and written down....

Angel Food Ministry

My family and I are blessed to be able to participate in the Angel Food Ministries through our local church. We as a family have participated by purchasing some of the meals to help with our food budget and needs over the past year and now we get to have a local site and also serve other people who participate.

It is a really good program. Our church had over 47 families served last month with over 100 boxes being distributed. This month we will be handing out some more items on this coming Saturday!

The day starts awful early for my DH who willingly gets up at 4:30am and bundles up with longjohns etc. to make an over 1 1/2 hour drive to the nearest large city to pick up the churches order, load the items and also help load up the over 12 churches who are also picking up and then heading back to our church and unloading everything for us to sort and deliver.

The ministry takes alot of effort by several people and we had an abundant showing up of willing servers. It is anticipated that our ministry even in our town of only 2500 will grow to be about 1000 boxes ordered each month!!! Wow...

Check out the national link for Angel Food Ministry and see if you and your family could participate as well.

Busy, Busy, busy....

My family and I have had a very jam packed filled couple of weeks. We had several events that we celebrated over the weekend, a very nice fellowship at our home with our Sunday School class members, Lions Club member dinner and prep for their Santa Claus activity at the local Primary and Elementary school, and finally our church Christmas Cantata and our special candlelight service where we have our Lottie Moon offerings presented, followed by our Birthday Party for Jesus celebration. Whew, are we tired!!!

This in addition to my husband still working on our kitchen remodeling.

I have added some pictures from some of our activities at our church. FBC Friona click on the link and select the Photos for some more pictures from all of the activities.

Littlest DS with cheetos fingers and my teenage son, along with mom!



Choir Singing at the local Nursing Home

Merry Christmas To All!!!

Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.
See the PC Police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a 'Holiday'.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,
not Happy Holiday!

Family Christmas Traditions

My dear youngest daughter and I had a discussion recently about family Christmas traditions. Maybe you are like me and you have never really thought much about them, or what you might say that they are...

I found this great posting offering up some wonderful new traditions that someone might consider adopting to their family traditions from Faithful Provisions.

I think I need to review and pray about some of these...

I asked my DH this question, "what are our family Christmas traditions and he didn't hesitate to say that we try to put a priority on seeing our extended families during the holidays". That can make for some very hectic holiday travel and times, in fact that is the predominant memory for some of our family...

It was more than a little telling to us when we didn't travel over the holidays a few years back and our then youngest son who was about 10 said it was the best Christmas he could ever remember, just laid back and quiet and not hectic!

So we have decided to pray about this topic and see what we might need to do to adjust our Christmas celebrations to make them more significant and memorable for our entire family.

We did establish the following as our family priorities for the Christmas season last year and it helps keep some of the decisions that you are faced with making during this time in perspective:

1) Our Faith in Jesus Christ
2) Sharing Fellowship with Family and Friends
3) Good Food and Fun

Check it out.

How Did You Do On Black Friday?!?

Thanks to my wonderful family, I had a really good day of shopping. First my family watched over my littlest son (thanks mom and dad!) and let me take my time. I had a detailed list and did not defer at all from my master list. That in itself was a major accomplishment for me.

I hit over 7 different stores, starting at 4AM and finished up about 10AM. I then headed back out that early evening and headed back about 3 1/2 hours later after shopping at WalMart and reviewing and picking up dry product item I could with my coupons. It takes so much time to read, review and decide on buying something. It was a really good shopping trip and I was able to fit it all in the car without having to leave a family member behind.

Then I hit up the local WalMart before we arrived back home for my frozen and dairy products.

My new pantry was stocked to the core!!! Awesome!!!

Then the greatest thing of all. We went to church the next day and heard about a family with three kids in town, whose father has brain cancer, he can't work, the mom is doing everything she can to bring in some income and keep them afloat and they can't even afford any meds for the father. My DH says that their pantry was absolutely empty and there was hardly anything in the fridge. You know you don't even stop to ask if they are in this country legally or illegally, they are in need and we have so much. God must have put that family in Friona for some reason and we hope to have more opportunities to bless that family as we can. Puts it in perspective doesn't it...

Talk about a humbling awakening. Nothing else to do, but load up the Explorer once again with about 100 pounds of our abundant overflow and bless another family with what I was able to be blessed with in my major shopping trips. Sometimes it is hard to let go of something that you take pride in, my husband and I have desired to fill our pantry and cabinets to overflowing, but you know we have so much more ability to restock our pantry easily than the next family. It also lets me remember that my ability to score such incredible deals and purchases is not because of my efforts, but only because of and through the blessings I have received from the Lord.

Please pray for the Zanugio family.

A Life That Is Truly Blessed

The greatest blessing of all is a life that is surrendered to our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is not a life of works, but your walk with Jesus will encourage you to think about and serve your fellow man. During this holiday season, my family and I are blessed to be able to participate in several areas of ministry through our local church and community.

Angel Food Ministries
Our church has decided to start a local ministry in our community. My family has participated in this ministry for the past year, it has allowed us to stretch our family budget even further in order for us to contribute more to ministries in our church and community. We are excited to be able to serve others in our community through this ministry. It is not always easy, my husband will be leaving at 4:30am tomorrow to drive over 1 1/2 hours one way to pick up the food boxes and then the rest of the family will arrive at the church at 8:00am to help organize and assist with distribution of boxes, but we are looking to bless others and minister to their needs, both physical and spiritual.


Operation Christmas Child
Our family is blessed to be able to supply two to four boxes each year and look forward to the gifts that we are able to provide. We participate as a family in praying for the recipients of each box, that this small gift might help them to establish a relationship with Jesus.




Lottie Moon Offering for World Missionaries

This is a special time in our church and for our family. Our church has a birthday party for Jesus each year and during this special service. We have a empty manger at the front of the church where as a family we present our offering for the Lottie Moon Ministry. We save for this throughout the year and make sure that this offering is our most significant gift of the year in order that the work of our Lord will be multiplied abundantly throughout the world.

We as a family are looking forward to many more opportunities to minister, witness and evangelize to the world.

We pray that the ministries that your family chooses to participate in are a blessing to the Lord.

Truly there are so many opportunites for each of us, if we would just open our eyes and see. It is not only in money, but using your time, talents, etc.

The Lord wants us to serve wholeheartedly!!!

Angel Food Ministries

Our church is a new host site for the Angel Food Ministries. My entire family is thrilled!!! My mother got us hooked onto the ministry over a year ago and our family has purchased several times and feel it is a tremendous benefit to families. Also, if you are looking to minimize your food budget in order to contribute more to benefit others, this will help your family accomplish that goal.

Check out the ministry...

About Angel Food Ministries - Angel Food Ministries

What Is It All About?

It's getting near to that time of year, when we all need to be reminded about what Christmas is all about.

Family Holiday Priorities
Sharing Our Faith
Fellowship with Family and Friends
Good Food, and
Making Memories

Our family reviewed and discussed what our priorities are and we work to affirm them during the holiday season. It just helps to keep all of the demands you face on your time, talents and resources in the right priority and perspective.

I hope you enjoy this reminder about....

True Meaning of Christmas

Just a week before Christmas I had a visitor. This is how it happened. I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out next to the fireplace.

"What are you doing?" I started to ask. The words choked up in my throat and I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know. He then answered me with a simple statement . . .

"TEACH THE CHILDREN!" I was puzzled. What did he mean? He anticipated my question and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. As I stood bewildered, Santa said, "Teach the children!

Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that now-a-days Christmas has forgotten. "Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it before the mantle. "Teach the children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind, all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven."

He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. "Teach the children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of His promise."

He then reached into his bag and pulled out a CANDLE. "Teach the children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness."

Once again he reached into his bag and removed a WREATH and placed it on the tree. "Teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the real nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection."

He then pulled from his bag an ORNAMENT of himself. "Teach the children that I, Santa Claus, symbolize the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December."

He then brought out a HOLLY LEAF. "Teach the children that the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly berries represent the blood shed by Him.

Next he pulled from his bag a GIFT and said, "Teach the children that God so loved the world that he gave his begotten son." Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.

Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on the tree. "Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherds' crook. The crook on the staff helps to bring back strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keeper."

He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL. "Teach the children that it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior's birth. The angels sang Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good will toward men."

Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out a BELL,. "Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring mankind to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return.

Santa looked back and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw that the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said, "Remember, teach the children the true meaning of Christmas and do not put me in the center, for I am but a humble servant of the One that is, and I bow down to worship him, our LORD, our GOD."

Thanks for a reminder about the 'True Meaning Of Christmas'.

Operation Christmas Child

It's that special time of year!!! Christmas is upon us, but I must share one of our families special ways to kick off the holiday season. If you have never participated I encourage you and your family to contribute to this special ministry. Our family has been blessed to be a part of Operation Christmas Child for the past 5 years.

It is a special way to provide some much needed items for children around the world and to share the gospel and plan of salvation.

We have been saving up gift items throughout the year and we typically fill up and send two to four boxes per year.

Click on the link and see how to participate.

Psycholbabble Parenting

I really enjoyed the posting on Jess's site. Please read it for yourself....Making Yourself At Home

Psychobabble Parenting

It is a wonderful blog statment, full of tremendous wisdom.

A Journey Of A Lifetime

If I invited you on a wonderful, free journey of a lifetime with me over the next year, would you go?!?


Then start with me on this journey, it promises to be life changing...Reading through the bible in a year.

Do You Believe In Celebrating Praises?!?

My DH has a great praise report:

Today one of his co-workers told him that his advice was a tremendous blessing to her family. She had told DH that her neonate grand baby who was born at less than 1 lb and significantly premature and unlikely to survive about 5 months ago, was unable to be released from the hospital because the family had been unable to successfully transition her to feeding from a bottle. They were devastated and didn't know what to do...My DH shared that we had tremendous success with Dr. Brown's bottles and why don't they try them (all he could remember is that I was having difficulty and had tried 5 different bottle types and many more types of nipples to no avail). That was yesterday.

Today the grandmother was thrilled, her daughter went out and was able to purchase the bottles at WalMart and the baby was able to successfully bottle feed 8 oz at one time!!!

That is a praise report!!!

If you haven't heard of Dr. Brown's unique bottles and vent system, check it out!!!

http://www.handi-craft.com/

Living Far Away

Do you find that living far from your loved ones is difficult?

It seems like my DH and I are struggling more with this issue lately. We have been living in the boonies of the Texas panhandle going on 6 years and it seems like it is getting more difficult that we are not closer to parents and children. Children are over 7 1/2 hours away, my parents are 5 1/2 and my DH family is 1 1/4 hour away.

I guess it is even more of a challenge, because the gas prices keep going up and up and up. We have even been having to watch our trips to the 'big city' of Amarillo. So when we ever get an extended time off we are torn about where to spend some of our time.

We know that we are set to be here at least one more year to have our son graduate from high school, but we are not sure if the Lord wants us to consider moving after that or not. With the economic factors on the rise, it is an even greater need to start praying already.

So if you are a prayer partner, my DH and I have found it is never too early to start your prayer requests, so please join us as we seek to know the Lord's direction for our lives after May 2010.

Thank you!!!

Fireproof

This is a much anticipated, highly acclaimed movie. I can't wait to see the movie, check it out for yourself. If you were blessed to see "Facing The Giants", I understand that this is a movie that is 10x better than even that film.

Enjoy and may your family be blessed in watching this film

Exercising Your Rights

Sometimes I feel so frustrated with what is going on with our government. We are fortunate that our national representative makes quarterly visits to our townhall for public discussions, but what to do in the meantime???


I take the time to send brief email messages to the president, senators and representatives when I wish to strongly express my opinion. You should also take the time...

Also, make sure you keep yourself educated and up to date on the concerns that are dear to you.

I like to use the following link for my emails, check it out....http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

I just had to get my viewpoints posted on the President's economic bailout plan.

Please express your opinions also.

God's Blessings

I talk about looking for God's blessings each and everyday.

DH and I have been praying about our littlest son. He is Mr. Social and is at a critical stage in his life, where he needs interaction with other little ones. There aren't any little ones in our neighborhood for him to play with. He loves Sunday school and sees his church friends on Sunday mornings, but they typically live 30 miles away or go to daycare during the day because their moms work.

DH and I were looking for extra sources of income for a possible 'mother's day out' and let him go to a local daycare for a social day.

I picked up our local paper last week and saw an ad 'Childcare Needed for 2 1/2 year old on Fridays and Monday'. I called my DH and asked what he thought. I am not one to think about daycare (honestly, I love my own kids, but I have never been known to be the most nurturing person on a consistent basis with little ones). But this just seemed to be too perfect. The child ended up being a little girl about 32 months, potty trained and talking up a storm. Her mom was reluctant to place an ad for someone to take of her, but felt like she had no option. The grandmother who was watching her on the odd days suddenly took ill.

I have been blessed to have taken care of her for two days and can't tell you how we have been blessed. Our littlest is so happy and we can already tell. It hasn't been without challenges, he is having difficulty with trading and sharing things, but she is just as headstrong as he is, so he has met his match.

Some might not think this is a blessing, but I think it is. I have the pleasure of a sweet little girl playing with our littlest and instead of having to pay someone for overseeing his social time, we are getting paid and our son is loving it....I would say that is a triple blessing, but her parents feel a tremendous weight of relief as well. Pray that this continues to work out positively for all involved!

Budget...Why Do We Think That Is A Four Letter Word?!?

I can get obsessive about details:

Budget Guidelines Established in 2006
Housing 36%
Food 13%
Auto 11%
Health Insurance 5%
Ent/Rec 8%
Clothing 7%
Savings 5%
Med/Dental 4%
Misc 6%
Investments 5%
We set these guidelines up from reading and reviewing Crown Financial Ministries recommendations.

Current 2008 Budget Actual
Housing39.91%
Food9.77%
Auto9.49%
Savings/Investments/AutoInsuranceBuildup23.21%
Misc/Ent/Rec/Clothes17.61%

Let me also explain that this is a budget based on 61.67% of our gross income, 22.44 % of our gross income is absorbed with TRS/taxes/medicare/health insurance and the final 15.89% is dedicated to debt payment and tithe. We pay all our bills on the day we are paid, set aside our savings and live off the rest, so sometimes our food/auto/misc is less than the planned % is or we have an unexpected expense and this always happens and we eat off of our food stash.

We have a goal to have our home paid off in 5 years. This is realistic for us, we initially took out a 15 year note and are 4 years into our mortgage. Our goal is to establish an emergency fund of savings equivalent to 3 months gross salary and then the excess will all be put towards our mortgage payoff. Some would not agree with these priorities, but this is what we have established, there is a tremendous ease with having a house that is paid off.

Budget 101

Taking steps to get your budget and financial plans in correct order are a big deal and trying to get this established between a couple can be very trying. Maybe one of you is a spendthrift, you could each have different ideas about what your financial priorities are....so much to talk about...

We also agreed to Bruce Ammons http://www.conqueringdebt.com/

'Demonstration of Fearless Faith'

We, the undersigned, make a solemn vow to obey God from this day forward in
the area or tithing.

We understand that tithing
is:
Commanded by God. (Leviticus 27:30)
Commended by Jesus.
(Matthew 23:23)
An opportunity to prove we really love God. (John
14:15)
10% of our gross income. (Malachi 3:10)
"First fruit giving."
(Proverbs 3:9)
A demonstration that God has first place in our lives. (Deuteronomy
14:23LB)
To be given to our place of worship with no strings attached.
(Malachi 3:8-10)
An expression of our gratitude to God.
An acknowledgement
that everything we have was given to us by God. (Deuteronomy
8:18)
The biblical prescription for turning our hearts
wholeheartedly to the Lord. (Matthew 6:21)
A habit. We will tithe like
clockwork whether we are present or absent.

The intent of this vow
is not to limit our giving. It simply forms the foundation
for our
giving. We will remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading in the
area of giving offerings above and beyond the tithe.

We choose to
make this vow obediently and expectantly!

By becoming faithful
tithers,w e are trusting by faith that God will provide
for the needs of our family and help
us in our war on debt.

Signature______________and _________________Date__________

Seems simple to read, but to commit and do as a couple takes alot of prayer, commitment and discipline.

Then DH and I established a list of goals that we have continued to review and pray specifically for... Without going into too much detail, we have been blessed abundantly since we have being praying and seeking the Lord's guidance and correction in our finances.

Our attitudes have changed significantly about how we view our blessings and what our financial goals are...This did not happen overnight and I am sure that we still have alot of areas to grow and change.

Speaking about tithe. Since I have been a stay at home mom, I took over the responsibilities of overseeing our bill paying and budget. I must admit, that I always had the goal of giving 10% of our net (that is what David and I had committed to previously) but if I believed that our expenses for the month were too much, then I would wait to pay the tithe and see what was left at the end of the month, sometimes, there wasn't anything (especially during the summer) and I was okay with that.

Since our commitment on November 12, 2007 we have been committed as a couple to give our tithe (10% of gross) first and foremost as a 'first fruit' offering to our local church. We have been able to do this unceasingly since our commitment and have also been able to contribute more in offerings to other charitable organizations and missions that we have ever done previously. Has it been easy, no, it forces you to review and rearrange your financial decisions. We have learned to live on less and amazingly we are also realizing our long term financial goals better than we did when we had a six figure income between the two of us working full-time.

When we are not agreeing on a major purchase or expense, it has also been helpful, to pull out our commitments and review them, it reminds both of us what our long term goals are. Amazingly it has gotten these purchases in order. Sometimes we have put them off, other times we have decided that we need to complete the purchase but then look for ways that we can accomplish the purchase without using credit.

Would everyone agree with our decisions, probably not, but that is what we as a couple have decided to do. Am I working with a dishwasher and washing machine that needs to be replaced because they are beyond repair, yes. We are working diligently to find the funds and are praying that they will be provided within the next couple of months, or an amazing sale/clearance comes to our attention. Have we had unexpected expenses that have set us scrambling, yes. Have we had to tap into our savings when we would have preferred to leave it alone, yes. To be quite honest for us to have a savings account to consider in all of decisions, is amazing in the least for us...

So in reference to "Staying At Home and Loving It", it takes an adjustment more than I would have expected...but the blessings are abundant.

Budget...Why Do We Think That Is A Four Letter Word?!?

My husband was able to attend a christian financial planning seminar, I had hoped to go, but we ended up having a small son sick with allergies and fever... I was so looking forward to the session.

"Conquering Debt God's Way" by Bruce Hammons
http://www.conqueringdebt.com/

His web site is pretty good, but I got to tell you that his booklet is powerful.

My DH and I both committed to his 'Declaration of War On Debt'

We, the undersigned, choose this day to declare war on debt by making a
solemn vow to God, regarding our future financial direction.

We do not take this lightly. We understand that, "It is better
that you should not vow than that you should vow an not pay." (Ecclesiastes 5:5)
Yet, we choose to make the following vow in order to formally and publicly
declare war on debt. From this day forward, we resolve to:

• No longer accept just getting by from paycheck to paycheck
• Make rapid debt elimination our primary financial objective.
• Commit ourselves without reservation to CONQUERING DEBT GOD'S WAY.
  We will apply every step of action that pertains to our circumstances with
  complete follow through.
• Attack debt with a passion.

We believe that God may choose to miraculously cancel our
debts. However, we also realize that it took time to get into debt and it
will most likely take time to get out of debt. Whether by miracle or by
"dogged determination," we will be debt free!

Signature _________________and ______________Date_________

We completed this commitment on November 12, 2007