Don't assume!

I can tell you that I am sort of glad that we have not been in the ministry all of our married life...I might be a hardened bitter old lady by now! :) I remember years ago talking with one of my friends who is a ministers wife....we were talking about how much we loved the thrift store and we were swapping thrift store find stories. She told me that she found a Dooney and Bourke handbag for $4.50...this particular one was regular $200....she loved it! She carried it to church one Sunday and someone recognized the brand.....I personally wouldn't know the difference.....anyway....this person said......"Love the purse....Guess I need to get a job at the church so I can afford something that nice" my friend quickly told her about the thrift store but never carried it again because she said she felt like she needed to wear a sign that said "thrift store find....don't judge me"

It was so nuts but it made me evaluate the way I look at others....was I guilty of judging when I didn't know all the facts..probably!

Now fast forward ans we have been in the ministry for almost 4 years and I am on the receiving end of that judgement! It is very difficult. There certainly are those who give the rest of us a bad name....those who take money for ministry and live in utter extravagance....but when you live very frugally and make huge sacrifices all the time, it is so hard to have every move analyzed! I really do feel like I need to constantly explain our every move. If you have a question about how we spend our time or resources....come and ask us....do not make comments to others and do not make jabbing comments to us...just ask...I'll tell ya!!!! Don't assume cause you may just be really really wrong!

My big Dream!!!!

What is your dream? I mean your BIG dream from the Lord??? Do you ever feel like it is so big that it is ridiculous? I do!!!!! We moved into our house 15 years ago. It was such a blessing....it was owned by a drug dealer who went to prison...it was trashed but we could see the potential! We worked hard to restore it and we love it! We knew from the time that we moved in that it was not ours....we have always viewed our "stuff" as the Lords. Really from the very beginning Eric and I have known that we are supposed to give this house to our church(right across the street). Our church has a couple of amazing ministries...one is to provide furlough homes for missionaries and another is to provide homes for pastors who are hurting and need a place to come for healing hearts. Here is a picture of our house.

Then comes the second part of our dream. There is a piece of land here in Woodstock.... 87 acres right in the heart of Woodstock....and it is in foreclosure:) Here some pictures of it. It is way too long of a story to write here...but the Lord started burning a Big dream into our hearts. We would love for Driven To Encourage to own this land.....with several uses....one is that it is already set up as pasture land....we would love to have horses and a place for equine therapy(which is actually Emily's BIG dream) for mentally and physically handicapped children. Secondly we would have facilities for the kids that Eric mentors. And last...and dearest to my heart personally....we would have a large unit......for around 30 couples to live. Marriages are falling apart!!!! My dream is to have a place for newly weds to live for a year under the agreement that they will attend marriage classes and put themselves in a place of being mentored. They would continue to work or go to school and they would pay some sort of rent. We would open the classes up to any married couple who wanted to attend but we would focus intently on those 30 couples.

So what do you think??? What is your BIG Dream?????

JROTC

Marshall is in JROTC this year. He tried out for the raiders team and made it...he loves it. His team is going to Nationals this weekend and Eric is going to get to share his testimony on Sunday morning with all the teams who are there. We still can't believe the opportunities that He keeps getting!! I am so proud of both my boys...Marshall and my main man!!! Here is a picture of Marshall and Lindsey at the last meet.
Below is a picture of Lindsey and Hunter....aaaahhhh aren't they so cute!

Excuses???!!!

We have a whole generation of adults who have been allowed to make excuses for their bad behavior. Those people who never take responsibility for their actions...it is always someone else's fault. I think it starts at home!! Bad behavior is excused by parents and kids grow up to become adults who make excuses for everything in their lives. I'm gonna bet that if you talk with your 80 year old grand parents.....you will get a very different perspective! Below are some common excuses that I hear...

*Oh those terrible two's...to excuse fit pitching
*Boy's will be boy's....to excuse brothers fighting, or even pornography as they are older
*Oh she/he is going through puberty...to excuse bad attitudes
*It's her time of the month..to excuse EVERYTHING!!
*Teenagers...to excuse stupidity...crazy how teenagers are just expected to make poor decisions because of their age!!


Look familiar??? My point is that we are raising children who's behavior has not been dealt with and even excused. They in turn are adults who make excuses for everything in their lives. I tell my kids...there are and will always be many things that are out of your control, but you can be in control of your response. A true test of character is how we RESPOND in difficult situations.

Don't make excuses for your own bad behavior and don't let your kids...at any age!

Bad Attitudes

I know that my personality is black and white....so this may seem harsh...but my husband's personality is not black and white....he is much more encouraging and gentle than I am.... and we are totally on the same page on this one...so you can't blame this on my personality!

Bad Attitudes.....do not accept them!!! Honestly it is that easy! Do my kids ever have them...YES and so do I for that matter! The difference is that they are not tolerated and they are dealt with immediately! We do not accept eye rolling, slamming doors, stamping and stomping, back talking or deep sighing! The instance that we see any of it ..it is dealt with right that second. I might say something like....."I know you are upset but you may not act like that." We do try to give them acceptable ways to handle their emotions but we do not argue with them! If there is not instant compliance there are instant consequences!

When my kids were little I would say something like..."You may not talk to me like that...if you can talk to me nicely or without whining or in a big girl/boy voice...then we can talk...otherwise you may go to your room until you can talk to me properly." I also used this if they were talking to their siblings or friends in an ugly or mean voice.

As my kids have gotten older this is still the same rule...they are not allowed to talk to each other or to us in a mean or disrespectful voice. They are taught to use their words in an acceptable manor to convey their thoughts.....I say to them things like...."Let's try that again." Sometimes I will even say.."Let me show you hoe that sounded" and I will mimic them...and then ask the question....."Is that the way you want to talk or to be talked to??"

So what is the result of this....my older kids...13, 14, and 17 almost NEVER give any attitude..I can't say never because no one is perfect but I will say this...If I ask them for help..If I ask them to do a chore that is not their normal duty...If I ask them to drop whatever they are doing and come to me...THEY DO IT WITHOUT ANY ATTITUDE>>>EVER!!! They occasionally have attitude with each other but almost never with me. It just never has been tolerated. I do not yell at them....I never threaten them...I really do just simply say..you may not act like that or you may not talk like that. I have done that since they were little and they DO IT!

The other day I came down the stairs to find my son..10 speaking so ugly to his sister...I sent him upstairs and I went up to talk to him...I told him that it didn't matter what she did...he could not speak like that and I gave him alternatives that he could have used in the situation but I would not let him "justify" his behavior. I then told him that the entire next day he would serve her. He had to do her chores...he had to clear her plate...He had to make her lunch...get her drinks and speak kind words to her. Along with an apology of course! All was well between them!

SO basically no arguing just do not accept bad attitudes! :)

Where are my days going??

Oh me Oh my.....my days are crazy!!!! Homeschool is awesome but I have to sit down and reset my schedule. I do not have anytime for myself! I love to blog and think of a million things to write about everyday and then I get so busy I never get to it!!!

Buying $100 of groceries for $2.00?????

I am asked all the time about getting a ton of groceries for almost nothing. Let me first say that there are many things that I get every month and I pay 0 or almost 0: hair care, shaving products, dental products, body washes, deodorant, all cleaning products, condiments, frozen veggies, rice and rice mixes, pasta, spaghetti sauces, salad dressings, over the counter medication, feminine products, make-up

Other things I routinely get for 50 - 75% off: soups, canned veggies and fruit, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, protein bars, peanut butter, jelly, salsa, taco dinner kits, cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, butter, brownie and cake mixes,

Now back to the original question....could I buy groceries for my family and spend 10 a week......yep I sure could but I do not because to do so I would not buy fresh fruit and veggies or any meat. Above is a picture that I found on a popular web site showing how this person didn't pay anything at the register for those things. Now PLEASE hear my heart...I am not legalistic about food and if we didn't have any money to budget for food for whatever reason.....my standards would be different. BUT....I would not feed most of those things to my family on a regular basis. Have I ever given them boxed mac and cheese...you betcha....but I do not routinely buy it. I do buy processed foods sometimes but I really try to limit the amount I feed my family. You notice that I have cake and brownie mix on my "routinely get" list......I always have those things on hand for a special treat or to take to parties and get togethers.

I do not buy coke, candy, chips, sugar cereals or sugar filled bars and I never buy pop tarts :) I have not found that it is very realistic to think I could feed my family a healthy, balanced diet on 10 a week. My family gets enough junk in their diets from other sources so I try to feed them good stuff at home. What couponing does for me ....it cuts my overall bill by 50% or more even buying the healthy stuff.

Blessings keep coming!

This picture makes me laugh! My boys wanted to take a photo to make it look like they were not wearing a suit! Boys are so funny and different! Love my boys!

I have so many blessings! My amazing family is such a blessing! Salvation...beyond amazing!

I wanted to give you guys an update on the ministry. We have been so very overwhelmed lately. There are still many things that I just do not understand! We still have many needs especially stuff here at the house....things that have been put on hold year after year because we have not been paid. It seems like so many times the Lord allows us to get right to the edge...and then He swoops in....it is a VERY exhilarating place to be to see God work is is at the same time a frightening place to be....sort of like six flags....the scarier the better! :)

We have continued to get paid every week albeit late most weeks...still I have paid all of our personal bills on time. Well on the 29th of July I told Eric that we needed $2000 before the 31st to pay our salary, payroll taxes, health insurance, cell phone bill and another small bill for the ministry. That was at 9:00 am....at 11:00 am a man called Eric and asked Eric to forgive him....he said that God had laid us o his heart months ago and that he just kept forgetting to bring by a check. The check was for MORE than we needed by the 31st. It was so neat to see how the Lord had already started the process of the provision months before we actually needed it!

Eric is asking the Lord for 50 schools to speak in on top of the other commitments that he has. He is already getting many calls and we are so excited about that! I am speaking more this year as well. I LOVE to speak to women of any age but especially to women who are just starting off with their families...it is so awesome to encourage them as they are raising their babies!

I love ya'll! Please keep us in your prayers.....I know that the enemy loves to discourage and frustrate us and I want to be all that the Lord wants us to be!

Lots and Lots of Chicken

I bought 6 packages of Tyson Chicken Breast on the bone for .99 cents a pound. My total bill was $15.39. I brought it home...rinsed it all and put it in 2 large pots, fill with water to cover..add 1 stalk of celery to each pot. Bring to a boil...reduce to simmer..cover and cook for 1 hour.

I have 18 huge pieces of chicken from this batch. I personally prefer to have boned chicken when I am boiling it but I use boneless sometimes as well. I always use boneless to grill.

I pulled all the chicken and cut it into chunks.....Skimmed the fat off of the broth. I used 3 breasts tonight for our dinner. Chicken and rice...YUM a family favorite! I put about 1 cup in a small baggie and spooned a few teaspoons of broth over it so it wouldn't dry out and stuck it into the fridge for quesadillas tomorrow night. I made homemade chicken salad with part for lunch over the next few days. The rest I divided into family size portions for Chicken Soup, and Chicken Pot Pie for later. This saves me money and time!

Mama....teach your children basic table manners! This is an ongoing process...it doesn't just happen because you pointed it out to them once! There are LOTS of lessons to be learned at the table! It is just plain gross to watch an adult eat like a messy child! You can even make this fun.....almost any lesson can be fun and entertaining. Sometimes at our house we even have..how not to eat...and we all join in on bad table manners....even I show everyone at the table the food in my mouth and we have burping contests...there really are times and places for that! So have fun and work on a skill that will follow them forever!

More meal ideas with coupons

I make ooddles and ooddles of french toast all at once. I buy 5 or 6 loaves of bread on sale...I just got 10 loaves for 39 cents each at Kroger. I buy 3 dozen eggs and use about 6 cups skim milk, a little cinnamon and 1 stick of butter. The total cost is less than $6 and I make 100 - 120 slices of French Toast . I serve it with eggs, grits, and the toast on the night I make it and I freeze the rest. My kids pull it out in the mornings and pop it in the toaster. I very rarely cook breakfast in the mornings......besides scrambled eggs which we make a few times a week.

Grilled chicken or grilled flank steak.....I am always looking for a sale on these meats because we eat them all the time! My family is a real meat and potatoes kind of family....so these things are staples here! I use Italian dressing and Teriyaki sauce for a marinade.( I routinely get these for free or almost free with coupons) Here are some things I serve with the meat. Frozen veggies....I buy all the time with coupons for around 25-50 cents a bag. Green beans...again I collect them when they are on sale. Some kind of potatoes...I love potatoes I could love on them alone! Therefore we eat them alot! (I get lots of sour cream for free or almost free if I want to use it for these.) Salad....we eat alot of salad and raw veggies so I look for sales. I try not to buy items that are not in season and have a higher price tag. Mac n cheese..(pasta cheap with coupons...cheese on sale.....freeze in the bag for baking)

OK I will think of more later!

Couponing

It has been a busy week! Spoke at the Galleria..that went great! I spoke twice to packed rooms. Boy do I love to be able to encourage women! I read something the other day that said 95% of adults are fearful about speaking in front of people. I am in the other 5% for sure...the bigger the crown the more I feel I can let loose!

Started homeschool this week!!! Great start!

Had an interview with a local newspaper and that went well!

One of the questions I was asked over and over again this weekend was...what meals do I make with my couponing stuff... I have a few meals that I make with almost all couponing stuff but for the most part I use that stuff for supplementing my dinners. Where couponing saves me the most money personally is.....cereal, toiletries, cleaning products, snacks, yougurts.....below are some meals that I regularly cook with couponing stuff.


Spagetti...I wait until I have enough jars of sauce(they go on sale a lot!) to make a HUGE pot...while I am collecting those jars i pay attention to ground beef that goes on sale and I buy it along the way and freeze. I make as much sauce as my largest pot will hold. I usually add some spices to the sauce and also some crushed or cubed tomatoes either from a can(coupons) or fresh from Emily's garden, and the ground beef (tip: rinse the ground beef in a colander to get as much fat as is possible off before adding to your sauce) Freeze in gallon size freezer bags for meals later. Noodles are all from coupons. I add a salad and bread.

Taco's.....Taco kits routinely go on sale and I am always looking for ground beef just like for the spaghetti....When I find a good sale on the GB I bring it home and cook it all at once in a super large frying pan...I rinse it as well in hot water...season it and freeze what I do not use the first night in family serving sizes...make sure that you write on the bag what it is and a date. Now you have another quick meal for another night. I use the taco kits hard and soft...I take the seasoning packets out and store them to use next time I brown meat. I add cheese(which I routinely get on sale and freeze or store unopened in fridge...it has a long enough date to do this)Add lettuce, sour cream(another coupon regular with a long shelf life..... unopened) Any left overs are served the next day as taco salad.

Another post tomorrow...I need to school the kiddo's! Love you guys!Remember some days may feel like an eternity but you only have one shot with your babies and it goes so quickly...don't wish it away....embrace it with gusto!!!!

Bus pictures

Lindsey and I walked about 7 miles yesterday so today we decided to try our hand at public transportation. It was great. It is a great place to people watch...Lindsey made me use antibacterial stuff as soon as we exited the bus. She is funny! And you have to scroll to the next blog post and see her funny video! I look like I have been hiking in the hot sun all day but I thought it was funny of her. Have a great day!

AMTC Saturday

Below are some random photos..for your enjoyment. Our long walk. The beverages we have enjoyed this week! Me looking at an incredibility busy schedule. Lindsey looking cute as usual! Tomorrow is the big day for speed networking with the agents and managers..pray for us! And for those of you praying for the ministry....Eric spoke this morning at a mens prayer breakfast and a 60 year old man who is the father of one of his HS buddies was saved! He also had the joy of leading his cousin to Jesus while he was here visiting! And we got paid this week! :)

Movies

Lindsey was in 3 competitions today...great job! She doesn't seem nervous at all! We will know about call backs tomorrow night!

I want to tell you a little story....

I walk into a very crowded room alone....people are very quiet and the speaker stands to speak....He is funny at times....angry at times...sad at times...but every time he wants to show any emotion he uses Lindsey's name as his choice of words...now he doesn't know her personally but he continues to use her name in ugly profane ways. Out of the corner of my eye I can see her standing in the back of the room...listening...watching to see what I will do....will I leave...will I just listen to it even though I know she can hear it..I know it must hurt her feelings...what will I do......Now of course that is NOT a true story but if it was...you would all think I was a really bad mother for not leaving the room! And you would certainly think I was wrong if I KNEW that her name was going to be used that way and yet I still went!

This is why we do not go to see movies that use GD or JC in them....I find these words so profane...offensive. I love the Lord so very much...I believe that he hears and sees everything that we hear and see and I can't sit idle by while His name is being tossed around. I do not say this to be judgemental....everyone draws their line somewhere. I know some who will not even sit through shows that say..OH MY GOD...if that were our conviction...we couldn't even see children's movies. That isn't a slam on the families that have different convictions....just sharing where we are! Just food for thought!

Also I wanted to let you guys know that the Lord is continuing to supply. Eric is starting to book his speaking engagements in the schools and we couldn't do it without you all and your prayers!!

AMTC Thursday

Ok...so as you know we ended up leaving the Gaylord...for a little step down...to the Super 8.....The lady and her daughter who were supposed to room with us...left to be with someone else in a free condo....which is all fine except we do not have a vehicle. She assured us that she would come and get us and take us back to the hotel and she has a few times but she runs late and we do not like to be late.....so we have been walking...it is about 1 1/2 miles..which isn't bad but in Orlando in July...need I say more?

Now for the great part! Today as we were walking and sweating...for the 3rd time..Lindsey and I had an amazing conversation about how far people in other countries walk to hear the gospel and how this is an acting competition for pete's sake! Lindsey also told me about how she has been praying that the Lord would help her to remain humble through all of this and believe me this is an atmosphere full of egos. She told me that she is glad we were walking because it has built character and what satan probably meant for evil..the Lord meant for good! Worth it..you bet!!

AMTC Day 1

The pictures below are actually in reverse order....thumbs up from Lindsey because we are in a clean hotel! Pitiful face because of the horrible hotel along with a picture of the room that does NOT do it justice! And she and I on the plane!






Oh my goodness...you would not believe our first day here!!! We started at the Gaylord Palms Resort..yesterday...after flying in for free!!..thanks RD. We met our roommates for the week....very sweet mother and her 13 year old daughter. We were relieved because when you are sharing a room for a 8 days with someone it could be really awesome or awful! the Gaylord was over the top beautiful...but we are ignorant "high end" travelers! We were getting a "deal" because of AMTC for $149 a night off of the normal $340....so we go to check in and they start adding things like....spa fee..now this may sound good because there is an amazing spa at the Gaylord..but the spa fee is for the use of the gym and the pool...thing about it is it isn't optional! Then there was the fee to have a teeny tiny refrigerator in the room..again it comes with the room it isn't optional....a fee for the transportation to and from Disney...we are NOT going to Disney! After they were done it was $200 a night!

This may not seem like a big deal but for 8 nights on a shoe string budget it was HUGE! We found out that we didn't have to stay at the Gaylord although they would like for you to...so we decided to leave....I wish I could go into the whole story but it would be really long...but it is really funny! We started changing hotels at 11 this morning...we were briefly at a scuzzy Days Inn...Lindsey was in tears...we changed hotels in the rain lugging 3 HUGE suitcases across 6 lanes of Orlando traffic...long story but we didn't have a car...Now we are in a very clean..save hotel for less than half of the other one and we even get free breakfast in the morning :)I am thrilled to have this time with Lindsey! Pray for her tomorrow is her biggest competition!

Fathers Day

Oh how I LOVE my man! I am so blessed to have a husband who loves Jesus, loves me and loves my babies! He is an amazing father...he is crazy and fun, loving and kind! He teaches them to love Jesus not only in what he says but in what he does! I pray he feels honored EVERY day!

Birthday Boy

Friday Marshall turned 14...WOW...I am so very proud of him! What a precious young man he is to this mama! I love him so much and I can't wait to see the plans that the Lord has for him!!!

Packrat??

I am not a pack rat in general. I try really hard to ask myself..have I used this...will I "seriously" be using this in the near future. As far as my kids are concerned I do keep special or sentimental things they have given me and I keep their very favorite things...blankets, dolls, trucks...etc but for the most part I do not keep stuff.

I have a summer and Christmas ritual of cleaning out closets, rooms and the basement...I do enjoy this although my whole house is a complete mess right now...the process is always disastrous looking???

In the top of one closet are a few things from my childhood that I will always keep but one of the things that I have kept all these years is a baton. When I was 7 my parents let me sign up for baton lessons and they bought me a "real" baton. Not the thick kiddy kind but the heavy slender real kind! Why have I saved this...I thought that my kids might play with it...well maybe...but they haven't....no the real reason is because my parents did not have much money and anything that we did meant a big sacrifice for them....it represents a sacrificial gift of love to me. I'm never going to use it and neither are my kids..I can't really display it...so I am going to take a picture of it and I am going take it out of the closet.

I sure do love my mama and daddy and the way they loved me and my sisters. They gave me a godly heritage....and that my friends is PRICELESS!!