Giving Thanks

All of November, I have been thinking about what I am thankful for that day.  It has been a transforming experience. 

In past years, I had a desire to create a "Thanksgiving Tree" where all the members of my family could write what they are thankful for on paper leaves.  Then at the end of the season we could save them and each year look back at what we were thankful for during that season of our life.  Well, this year, it took shape and we accomplished the goal!  We all have been reminded of the blessings in our life and have become more thankful.   

 As for me, this exercise has shown me:

1. How my attitude can change toward everything going on in my life if I speak the things that I am thankful for rather than looking on the negative that may be going on around me or to me.
2. How much I have to be thankful for.

3. How it can change the mood in our home when we are focusing on our blessings.  

 While this was an outward expression to remind us of our blessings, it can and should be a daily pursuit.  Yes, I share what I'm thankful for in prayer by my self and with my family, and occasionally I journal about it, but what would happen if I wrote down what I was thankful for each day of my life?  I think it would make a big impact because there is just something that happens when we write things down; it allows us to look back on where we have been and it the process of writing helps us to remember things better. 

The following was the devotional thought from my A Heart at Rest devotional by Nancy Leigh De Moss from Revive our Hearts Ministries.

 

A grateful man or woman will be

a breath of fresh air in a world contaminated by

bitterness and discontentment.

Daily Encouragement (from scripture)

Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him (Col. 3:17)

Blessings to you and your family! 



Molly Saves! In the Laundry Room

It’s November, and I just love this time of year; the weather, the smells of yummy food, scented candles or a nice fire in the fireplace.  Well this issue of Molly’s Digest: Molly Saves! In the Laundry Room will help anyone out the that is trying to get out from under the laundry pile. 

·         Learn ways to remove stains using household items.

·         Make your own “rolling laundry cart”.

·         Make helpful organizational items using an old laundry box.

Even though his issue features topics about the laundry room, there are holiday ideas, great recipes to make and serve during this holiday time, and ways to have a “stress-less” holiday season.  My favorite is the review of the book “Unplug the Christmas machine” which will help you to refocus and make this holiday special and important in your own way.  We all need to step back, take a deep breath and enjoy the season and not let ourselves get so caught up in all the events of the season that is passes so fast and without much enjoyment.  You can go here and get a copy of Molly Saves! In the Laundry Room so you have time to prepare for this season.

I really enjoy my Molly Digests, and I have been inspired to cook new recipes, learn frugal ways to shop, cook and live, but I recently made one of the items that was featured in Molly Saves! In the Nursery.  Here it is:

My first “blessing blanket”!  I made it for my BFF’s new baby that will be born early next year.  I also made one for my nephew’s new little one who is due to arrive around the same time.

 

It was a lot of fun to make and hopefully it will be a treasured keepsake for these girls.  You can check out Molly’s Digest’s over here.  I hope you will be “frugally-inspired”

Blessings to your and your family!

* I was provided the Molly Money Saving Digest in exchange for my personal and honest review.

When in doubt, Seek HIM out!

Many of us experience seasons of sadness and helplessness here in this life.  However, if you call the Lord your Lord and have received Jesus as your Savior, you can be assured of He faithfulness to provide for you in the darkness of the hour.

This afternoon, I was crying out to the Lord about issues in my life that have become weights to hold me down and that the enemy has used to discourage me.  I cried out with a deep sense of longing asking Him to help me.  I turned to Psalm 25 (because today is the 25th day of the month...so spirtual huh?), and there He was consoling me, teaching me, and loving me.  How awesome is our God!  Are you in need today?  When in doubt, seek Him out!

¹ In you, LORD my God,
   I put my trust.
 ² I trust in you;
   do not let me be put to shame,
   nor let my enemies triumph over me.
³ No one who hopes in you
   will ever be put to shame,
  but shame will come on those
   who are treacherous without cause.
 ⁴ Show me your ways, LORD,
   teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me,
   for you are God my Savior,
   and my hope is in you all day long.
⁶ Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love,
   for they are from of old.
⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth
   and my rebellious ways;
  according to your love remember me,
   for you, LORD, are good.
 ⁸ Good and upright is the LORD;
   therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
⁹ He guides the humble in what is right
   and teaches them his way.
¹⁰ All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
   toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
¹¹ For the sake of your name, LORD,
   forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
 ¹² Who, then, are those who fear the LORD?
   He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.^[b]
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
   and their descendants will inherit the land.
¹⁴ The LORD confides in those who fear him;
   he makes his covenant known to them.
¹⁵ My eyes are ever on the LORD,
   for only he will release my feet from the snare.
 ¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me,
   for I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷ Relieve the troubles of my heart
   and free me from my anguish.
¹⁸ Look on my affliction and my distress
   and take away all my sins.
¹⁹ See how numerous are my enemies
   and how fiercely they hate me!
 ²⁰ Guard my life and rescue me;
   do not let me be put to shame,
   for I take refuge in you.
²¹ May integrity and uprightness protect me,
   because my hope, LORD,^[c] is in you.
 ²² Deliver Israel, O God,
   from all their troubles!

Review: Molly Saves in the Dining Room

Is it really October already? Where has the time gone?  Our lives are busy, busy, busy and it seems like this year has flown by so fast.  As I read this month’s Molly Money Saving Digest about saving in the Dining Room, it has caused me to stop and reflect on what is going on in our life.  It was interesting timing for me to get this digest this month, because we have been unable to eat dinner together as a family due to my husband’s work schedule this last month.  It is something that I have always tried to make happen at all costs. 

This digest was extra special to me, because it contains an article on Allergy- Friendly Entertaining.  As a family that has food allergies, any event that is accompanied by food is a challenge.  The article is great in offering cooking suggests, but it more importantly deals with the issue of how to approach entertaining in a polite and helpful manner, so as to accommodate your friends and family who have special food allergies.  I found the information excellent, for those who have food allergies and those who desire to have others over who may have food allergies.  It is a great Allergy Entertaining 101!

Are your kids eating you out of house and home?  Have them do the lesson on Food Finances in the Tightwad Training Camp section of the digest. (Have I ever said how much I LOVE this section of Molly’s Digests?  Oh, just about every month!) It is a great lesson to train kids in the art and skill of shopping and help them understand the cost of the items that they seem to want to slip in the cart when Mom isn’t looking.  Don’t they know we have eyes in the back of our head?  This section has not disappointed me yet, and I am a strong supporter of helping our kids gain life skills early and understand how to manage money in this age of entitlement.

The Dining Room is so much more than just the place we gather to nourish ourselves physically as I read in the article on Inspiration!, I was challenged to bring the Bible to the dinner table.  This is one tradition that I intend to try at our home.  We have struggled lately with our kids, goofing off a lot at the dinner table and I think this will keep their mind engaged in a life changing way as they are nourishing their bodies.

Eating a meal together is so important to the family unit and I encourage anyone reading this blog to reflect on what you can do to make this happen at your house.  It doesn’t have to be dinner, it could be breakfast.  Whatever you do, make time to break bread together each day with your family!

I encourage you to try out a Molly Membership today and begin learning money saving strategies for your family.  This month I am giving away a free copy of Molly Saves in the Dining Room.  Please leave a comment below on why you are interested in this free issue, and I will do a random drawing on October 20th the old fashioned way (putting the names in a hat and drawing one out). 

* I was provided the Molly Money Saving Digest in exchange for my personal and honest review.

Review: Molly Saves in the Family Room

September is here, and it is back to school for the kids, and families are getting back into their routines.  The schedules are getting full with various activities and it will take more effort to gather together as a family.  This issue of Molly’s Money Saving Digest is all about the Family Room.  It’s the room where we all spend time together.  In this issue, there are some great ideas for everyone, but my absolute favorite is the Tightwad Training Camp. 

Each month, I flip forward to this section of the newsletter to see what Molly has to help us in teaching our kids about “how to manage” money.  This is a priority for me and my husband, because we are always looking for ways to help our boys understand that money doesn’t grow on trees and sometimes you have to sacrifice “wants” to supply for your needs.  This is something that is hard to convey to them in this era of “entitlement”.  I think just this section is worth the monthly cost* for the Molly digest because the information is great!  This month it is all about budgeting your “Fun Money”.  There are great tips for everyone in this section, not just the kids.  My favorite is how to save by making your own iced coffee at home.

There are other great features this month:

·    Décor & More: How to repurpose and reuse old items and make them into something new.

·    Great Book Review: The Reluctant Entertainer by Sandy Coughlin

·    Creating Frugal Family Traditions

·    Great Recipes in both the Begin with the Basics section and Meal of the Month. 

I can’t wait to try the “Honey Lime Chicken” recipe featured in the Meal of the Month section.  I’m always looking for another way to cook chicken! 

I hope this review was helpful to you and encourages you to check out this months Molly Digest, or better yet try a Molly Membership for the next year.  Whatever you do this month, make sure you set aside time to get together as a family and come up with a fun new tradition together!

*Purchase Molly Saves in the Family Room for $4.95 or Sign up as a Molly Member and get each issue for $3.95 per month.

* I was provided the Molly Money Saving Digest in exchange for my personal and honest review. 

The joy in homeschooling

It is such a privilege to be able to teach my children at home.  Besides the “reasons” we homeschool, the best is that I get to actually see the joy when my child first learns how to do something. 

Yesterday, my 5 year old completed the first level in his Hooked on Phonics reading program.  To see how excited he was when he finished was a true “delight” to my heart!  He did it!  He pushed me to let him keep going on and he pushed himself and tried so very hard, and he did it!  I’m proud of him and excited that the more he learns to read, the closer he is to being able to read God’s Word on his own.  I think I just may bawl my eyes out when I hear him read his bible for the first time!

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."    

Proverbs 22:6

Molly Saves in the Closet

The August Molly’s Digest is out and it is all about “the closet”.  Perfect timing as usual, since I am in the midst of organizing items that have gotten out of hand; items to put in my kids portfolios, purging smaller sized clothes for my boys and replenishing them with “hand-me-downs” or determining what I need to buy, purging clutter that has seemed to collect and is causing us to be unproductive and a little stressed. 

In this issue, there are so many great ideas to help you organize, repurpose old items into something new, and get your closets in order.  When I saw the office that Eleanor Joyce created in a closet, I was amazed!  It was well organized and everything fit into a small space.   Molly gives great advice for how we can keep our closets uncluttered and provides links to items that help with many areas that have an impact on our closets.  She covers areas of contentment all the way to the places to shop for clothes. 

Love the Meal of the Month for August, because Kerry Ann shares how to make your own taco seasoning.  This is great for our family, because we can’t purchase the packets because of special dietary restrictions, besides they are really expensive.  I am also going to try and convert the vanilla pudding recipe to meet my son’s special dietary restrictions. 

It is a great resource for only 3.95 a month!

* I was provided the Molly Money Saving Digest in exchange for my personal and honest review.