Learning (and Laughing) in Prison

Being in prison seems to be a common theme throughout the Bible - from Genesis right through to the disciples in the New Testament, there are stories of people in prison, both literally and figuratively.


One of my favourite stories though has to be about Joseph.  I'm supposed to be well into Leviticus, like my son, reading about leprosy and uncleanness, but I'm, uh, a little behind, so being what it is, I get stuck in passages I love and have a hard time moving on as they are such rich passages (I say that a lot), full of so many lessons, I can't just read chapter after chapter without writing about it.  I used to do all that writing in my paper journal, but now, it's here, for the world to see, though truly, I still write it for myself.


I've written about Joseph before, probably the last time I attempted to read through the Bible, but I'm sure it wasn't with the debt goal in mind - though I'm sure it was related as back then we were building the house, so maybe it was with debt in mind, but not necessarily all our debt, that probably seemed way too hefty a goal to ever dream about!


So, Joseph....poor guy.  He really had it rough, but he did bring some of it upon himself, did he not?  He was a tattle tale, getting his brothers in trouble when he was just 17.  He probably thought he was pretty special getting the fancy coat from his Dad, getting all that extra nice treatment, not having to work in the fields with his brothers and only being sent out to see where they were.....good feelings were not brewing towards him.


Then he gets all these dreams, which I suppose God was showing he had a plan for his life and who wouldn't have wanted to share them?  But I'm guessing he didn't go about it in a humble way, or he was clueless about how to communicate what God was revealing to him as it wasn't received very well, even by his own father.  His Dad knew something was going on though and not unlike Mary, pondered those things in his heart - his son was special, but what did all those dreams really mean?


Well, God had some work to do in Joseph's life first - he needed some humbling I guess and some major life lessons had to be learned.  Unfortunately, I think God had to use some rough circumstances, even his own brothers, to accomplish His will in Joseph's life.  I'm sure it was very confusing and an extremely difficult time as he got sold into slavery by his own flesh and blood.  Yes, he rose to power immediately in Potiphar's courts, but at what cost?  Losing relationship with his brothers and losing all contact with his father, the one guy who thought he was pretty great.  I'm sure he wondered what his brothers told his dad.   Who cares if you're # 1 in Pharoah's courts if you really just want to be home?


But that was just where God wanted him.  Then, he's lied about by Potiphar's wife which gets him back into a pit where he started.  This must have been the straw that broke the camel's back for Joseph...ok God, what are you trying to say to me?  What do you want me to learn?  If he didn't say those things, he should have!  I would have been!  Clearly, he had the type of nature that makes the best of a difficult situation as he rose to power there, too, and was put in charge of all the prisoners - didn't know such a position existed!  Who was doing it before him?  Just curious...I digress....


What is interesting to note, is how long he remained in the prison.  It was for a series of two years plus as that was how long before the butler remembered Joseph interpreting his dream.  It may have seemed like God wasn't working, but the Bible says, as soon as Joseph was put in prison, Gen. 39:21, "But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison." 


So, even before he's released from prison, God is with him, showing him mercy, favour.  Isn't that what we prayed for the other day?  Mercy?  I'm seeing so many parallels in my own life through this great story.


We, too, are in a prison - the prison of debt.  I want to say that I hate being in debt, but I think I need to change my tune a bit.  I think I should say, I don't like being here, but I accept the fact I've played a role in getting here and while I'm here, I want to learn everything God wants me to learn.  Joseph probably didn't love living in a dungeon, but he rose to power and lived and, dare I say, thrived in his prison.  Lord, let me thrive in my prison.  Joseph was given certain personality traits, I'm gonna say he was a type A?  He used his God-given skills, never suppressing who he was, and as a result, God blessed him, even in his prison.  I want that!  May my God-given skills and personality be honed, developed and used during this time - I'm not loving being in prison, but I know this is a season that God can still use in my life, in my family's life.




The other interesting timeline to notice is that Joseph's time in prison had an end date.  If you ever listen to Dave Ramsey's show on the radio, once in awhile he actually has a family or a couple or even a single person come in and share their debt-free journey.  Then he has them do this countdown where he says, "3, 2, 1...." and then they scream at the top of their lungs, "WE'RE DEBT-FREEEEEEE!!!!!!!!"  All the while, they're playing Mel Gibson's famous "FREEEEEEDOMMMMM!!!!" quote from "Braveheart".  Oh my goodness.  I cry every time.  I cry for the family as I rejoice with them.  I cry because it's not me.......yet.  I cry because I long for that freedom.  I cry even as I write!  Joseph gets called on to the Dave Ramsey show.  His debt journey ended!  He didn't know when it would end, just like those families on Dave's show didn't know when their journey would end for sure.  They just had to be faithful, like Joseph, in the prison they found themselves in (most of the time they were also in prison, just for making dumb financial decisions in their lives).  Then God blessed their faithfulness and helped them get out of debt.  Joseph's prison came to an end one day - suddenly the butler remembered, "Oh yeah!!!! There's this guy who helped me interpret my dream!  Oops, I was supposed to tell you that a long time ago!  I sure hope he's still alive!"  He was.  And he was ready to get out of there - quick shave, washed up, ready to see Pharoah (i.e. Dave Ramsey) and he got to shout his debt-free scream, because not only was he out of jail, but after interpreting the dream, he gets to be in charge of ALL EGYPT!!!!  That must have been like shouting "Debt-free" with Dave and then Ramsey telling you that now you're the CEO of his company as you're obviously so good with money now!  I laugh.


So my point, my very long-time-to-get-to-point, is that I am in prison today, don't know how long I'll be here.  I will embrace it, attempt to thrive in it and I will look forward to the day when Pharoah calls me up, out of prison.  Then that scream will be so loud, the whole world will know our family is debt-free!  (We have talked about driving to Tennessee to shout it out - that's where Dave's offices are!)  I'm not sure we'll put made CEOs of the company, or in charge of Egypt once we're out, but I know there will never be more purpose to our lives after we achieve freedom.


Joseph was 17 when he told on his brothers.  Why does the Bible include that?  Then it says he was thirty when Pharoah put him in charge of Egypt.  That is a 13 year journey, starting with being a punk teenager who's Daddy's favourite to the head of a country.  I'm guessing he learned a lot in that period of time as he certainly wouldn't have been ready to lead a major empire at 17.  No one would have listened to him.


I'm not sure where we are in the 17-30 year Joseph Journey.....I'm hoping I'm closer to the end then the beginning!  Meanwhile, I sit in my prison, trying to rule my other prisoners that God has put me in charge of!  They are rascally, I tell ya.


One funny prisoner, our 3 year old, has made us rename our one cat, Whiskers - to just Whisk, as he regularly chops her whiskers right off!  I found a pile of them on my sewing table.  I laughed out loud.  He's also chopped all the kittens whiskers, so they, too, can never be named after their mother.  So funny being in this prison - at least there's always something to laugh at!

Two Blind Men and Eight Kids

Two Blind Men Receive Sight

29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

One of the really sweet things I love to take advantage of with homeschooling is that I can stop everything on a dime and call for prayer!

Normally we start our school day with prayer and Bible Study of some kind, but with this extreme weather, everyone has been staying in their rooms under their covers and literally doing school in bed.  In a way, I don't mind as then I can get stuff done in the kitchen or laundry, etc. and then focus more on the little ones.

Yesterday the cold was worse than ever it seemed - another burst pipe in the kitchen, no water coming out of the tub faucets (in spite of the fact a hole had been cut into the drywall last week to stuff in more insulation) more plumbing, another whole morning where my husband thought he would be working in his office, but found himself on the floor of our kitchen replacing pipes - again.  My 5 year old innocently asked, "Don't you think we should call in a plumber?"   - My husband just looked at her, "I AM the plumber"  (and a much better one than most, I might add, as he was there fixing it instantly - I didn't have to wait all day, bless him.)

Around 10 am, the kids start congregating, looking for a snack.  I can't believe how much my kids eat in the morning!  They seem to be completely empty. So, popcorn gets made, or they eat leftover oatmeal (yuck, but the little ones like it!  I don't question them!)  I stopped and quickly said, "Everyone in the family room!"

I wanted to grab my opportunity for prayer and Bible Study.  We follow the Bible League's reading schedule, so whatever day of the month it is, we read that section of Scripture and then I walk them through how I would study it, so they can start to pick up on what true Bible Study is.  They are great at reading it for the sake of saying, "I read through the Bible", but I know that they need to learn to make it their own.  One of them was going to bed last night, so I asked him if he was going to read first and he said, "Yes, I've got to get through Leviticus!  I can't stand that book!"   Then he and his younger brother start joking about how many days you have to be separated when you are unclean - who knew Leviticus could be funny.

So yesterday's section was much longer then just the few verses above, but I went right to the small section on the blind men.

Again, a story we've all read many times before, but yesterday it was such a rich time of study and discussion.

These were some of the things we talked about.

Two men sitting by the roadside.  A normal activity, I said, just sitting, as we were in the family room together.  Something these two men probably did everyday, just as we try to, but when they heard Jesus was walking by, what do they do, but cry out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us."  I asked them why they thought that additional "Son of David" phrase was included.  We figured it was another way to identify him, that they knew he wasn't just some guy, but had a special identity.  They didn't even know what the future held for Jesus and how he would become known as much more than just the Son of David.  He would become known as our Saviour!  We had the added benefit of knowing he'd die and leave this world, sending the Holy Spirit to be our Helper.  We could add many phrases on to his name if it were to be us crying out, "Lord, our most faithful provider, our patient deliverer, our constant companion, have mercy on us!"

But the blind men were told to be silent, to shut up.  They were rebuked.  I asked the kids if that happens to us.  They said yes.  Who tells us to be quiet?  The world.  People who don't want to know what we are doing as far as getting rid of debt is concerned because a lot of the time we bug them! Who else, I asked.  Satan. He always tells us to be quiet.  He doesn't want us to cry out.  He doesn't want us to believe in Jesus' name.  He wants us to doubt that he'll provide or that he even cares.

But the two men didn't listen to the voices in their ears.  They completely ignored them and cried out again, even louder!  "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us!"

Then Jesus stopped.  I love that.  He stopped.  He called out to them "What do you want me to do for you?"  He gave them a chance to tell him - exactly what they hoped for!  He calls out to us, too, "What do you want me to do for you?"  Oh, so many things!!!!

Such a simple response, "Lord, we want our sight."  Of course, I asked the kids what would we ask?  Lord, help us get rid of our debt.  Help Dad finish his work on time.  Help us get through this cold winter with no insulation on the entire first floor!  Help us find a way to protect our home for future winters.   Help us in our school work when we just don't understand our math! Help us be obedient (they were speaking for people 3 and under who weren't answering quite how I hoped!)  

What a great moment, a rich time of discussion.  I saw their eyes open to how scripture can apply to them.

The story has such a happy ending.  Jesus had compassion on them - beautiful.  Lord, have compassion on us, we prayed.  Jesus immediately restored their sight and they followed him.  I explained how in this case it was immediate.  It might not be for us, but we can still ask, we can still tell him our heart's desires.  And we must continue to follow him, no matter what.

So then, I told each child one thing they could pray for, in addition to their own personal requests, and they all went around one by one praying for freedom from debt, for Dad and his work, for help in our schoolwork, for our home and our need for warmth and protection (we went through an entire tank of fuel this month in the shortest time ever - a matter of 3 weeks as opposed to well over a month - that is over $700 - yikes!)

And then, just like that, it was back to school.  On with our day, but re-energized, re-focused, and encouraged.  He cared about blind men that the world told to shut up.  He had compassion on them.  We will continue to cry out as we sit along the roadside, just like them.

Hair Musings

Hair.  Who cares about hair?  Well, I do...at least a little. 


Let me share how we're trying to save money on hair.  I think I've explained this way earlier, but I am the one doing all the haircuts in the house - at least for the boys and the little girls. That saves us a ton of money as even the discount haircutters' fees add up with so many boys - 5 of them to be exact.  I'm no professional, but their cuts are pretty basic and you can't really go wrong.  RM hasn't quite decided if he wants me to go at his luscious locks (he has a lot of hair for a man his age - kind of Richard Branxom-y - the billionaire, just thought I'd throw that in....).  My oldest daughter also has a ton of hair, very thick and my little scissors can't even get through it, so she pays for her own, but even then, we only go to the First Choice Haircutters (the discount, no-frills type of place).


As for me?  Well, I'm slightly higher maintenance as I started to highlight my hair years ago and I haven't quite gotten my head (pardon the pun) around doing it myself and my oldest daughter has offered, but......not sure.....so for my latest set of highlights (before Christmas) I thought I would go to the local hairdressing school as it was almost half the price.  Well, it seemed like a good idea at first.....


The student doing my hair wasn't the most confident.  She had a teacher watching her every move in a chair behind me and she would check in on her once in awhile.  I even had to put in a few suggestions here and there!  I think what ended up happening was the chemicals got left on way too long and she applied them to the whole shaft of the hair as opposed to just the roots for a touch up which I was more used to.  My hair is already in rough shape as it is naturally fine.  On top of that, in the process of having multiple babies back to back, I lose tons of hair after each pregnancy and never gain it back in time for the next baby.  Add highlights into the mix and you've got a recipe for disaster if you get the wrong student at the local hairdressing school!!!!!  Oh, that's just what happened to me!


I walked out of there looking like Britney Spears.  Well, minus the beach body.  The stylist had over-highlighted for sure and had singed all the ends quite badly. What can you do?  You can't get them to fix it!  I just knew I'd have to suffer the consequences of having gone the cheaper way and hope for the best in the future.


All the while I was wondering how I was going to explain this to my regular hairdresser!  You know how that goes - they feel like you are cheating on them once you get a relationship with a regular stylist!  How funny.  This particular stylist has literally become a friend of mine.  We met in our little town here and started talking about how we had moved here from the wealthier town a half hour away.  Funnily enough, she had, too!  In fact, she had owned her own hairdressing salon in that very town!  She was working at the discount place as a nice break from owning her own business.  She enjoyed just cutting hair now, so to her it was the perfect place to work.  This worked great for me as a lot of the hairdressers at these discount places aren't that good, so here I was getting a cheaper cut, but by a serious hairdresser!  I loved it!  But now I had gone and got my hair done by someone else and they had done it badly!  She wouldn't be impressed.


Sure enough, I went in at Christmas with my daughter for her hair and she immediately saw something had happened to my hair that she hadn't done!  I confessed.  She looked at me with "Well, what do you expect" eyes and told me some things I could do to fix it until next time.  I told her it was strictly a budget issue and she understood.


In the meantime, there was really no money coming in, so I was starting to feel a little "hag"-ish.  I was ok to wait though.    Then RM gave me the green light to go, so I found a coupon and got a small discount on the cut and highlights (at least there was a little off!).  It was so worthwhile.  When I was about to leave to get it done, my mom asked me where I was going and I told her I was going back to the First Choice place as it was much cheaper than a normal salon.  I said, it doesn't have cappuccinos or a  fancy atmosphere, but it gets the job done.  Once there, my wonderful stylist friend was able to fix it as good as she could and, get this, to top it off the other stylist went out and bought me a latte  - right after I said there was no cappuccinos!  I thought that was a cool moment.


So, back to the hair question - who cares about hair?  How do we work it into our financial vows?  Well, I am committed to not paying full price on virtually anything and this includes hair.  Doing the children's hair saves us a lot.  Getting it done at the hairdressing school did not work out, but was a good experiment.  I will not do that again!  Getting it done at the discount haircutters is about as good as I can do.  I will never go to a fancy salon and haven't for years.  I always look for the coupons.  I try to go as far as I can between appointments.  In the end, I like to make an effort to keep a tidy appearance.  I am still my husband's bride and I enjoy looking nice for him every single day.  So a splurge, perhaps, but one that he likes, I like, and I like that he likes it!  So it hasn't been cut out of the budget. 


Ok, not a particularly meaningful post, perhaps more practical, but there you have my hair musings.....

Kitty-Hurt-Paws and The Loaves of Bread Miracle

Of course - it makes complete sense, doesn't it?  The fact that the most recent miracle would involve bread, isn't that just what God loves to multiply in the New Testament?

Oddly enough, it started with a trip to the vet.  So, we took the silly cat to the vet yesterday.  Well, he is silly.  He got in a cat fight with what we can only assume was another tom cat and he got cat scratch fever.  When I tried to book the cat with the vet, they asked what his name was.  I told them, "Well, my husband wants to call him Stupid Cat, but our children call him Dixie."  The receptionist howled and we both couldn't stop laughing.  Funny moment.

I took him in with the cat's owner, my 2nd daughter, and my son, who wants to be a vet.  They were both very concerned.  His little paw was even starting to look swollen to me and he was acting just like a child with a fever - tired and mopey.  With one look at the cat limping around the vet knew he had an infection (so did I!) and started immediately prescribing expensive drugs.  I told her we were on a budget - was there anything cheaper????  Oh yes.  You can do the drugs orally for HALF THE PRICE.  Isn't that interesting that they don't mention that UNLESS YOU ASK????  Sorry, just venting some frustration.

Then, she noticed the cat might have ear mites.  Yuck.  We got to see them under the microscope and everything.  Disgusting.  Right out of a horror film.  But very educational for my children!

Again, more drugs.  I asked if there was any other way to solve that without spending money????  She said, yes, use mineral oil and apply it yourself.  WHAT???  Funny how they immediately assume you'll just walk in and pay for everything without challenging them on any of their suggestions???  It makes me wonder how many other people never ask these questions and just assume the costs blindly.

So, we got away with cheaper antibiotics which are already working - the cat is no longer limping not even 24 hours later.  We passed on the ear meds and will do that ourselves - for free virtually.  It was still a hefty bill though even without all the extras - $130!!!!

I drove home feeling a little low as we'd spent so much.

On the way home, my son reminded me that we needed to pick up a few groceries that I hadn't gotten the other day.  I thought it was probably a good time as I only had two kids and a cat.  So in I ran.

Can you believe what the bread was on sale for?  And this was not advertised.  It was one of those walk in and find out moments - 25 cents a loaf.  Wow.  The freshness date was coming up so they needed to get rid of it.  Now, we aren't eating much bread these days, in fact, next to no bread, but for 25 cents a loaf, I was willing to bring it in for those who can eat it, as a super cheap alternative to the oatmeal we'd been eating.  My gluten sensitive daughter will not eat that, but she's got other alternatives.

I must have bought the whole rack - at least 20 loaves.  The cashier hoped I had a big freezer.  I do!

I was grateful as I knew we'd just spent a whack of money we weren't intending to spend, but the Lord intervened and quickly put some bread on sale to lift my spirits.  It helped as I broke the news to RM about his beloved cat and the vet bill.

More thanksgiving then: (I'll write at least 5 a day as I'm looking for that 25% more happiness!)

1.  The cat's ok and there was money to pay for it.
2.  Humourous moments with receptionists I don't even know.
3.  Little toddler falls that end up with fat lips that could have been more serious as he's already lost 3 teeth and can't afford to lose anymore!
4.  Babies that are back to sleeping well - thank you Lord!!!!
5.  Vet trips that are educational!

Oh, and a quick note - Ann Voskamp was misspelled in case you were trying to look her up.  Thanks S!

A Sword in the Dark

Now I have another reason for why I write.


I had the awesome opportunity yesterday to go see Ann Voscamp, writer of One Thousand Gifts.  I had heard her before (I wrote about that in an earlier post about being thankful in everything, then the miracle is imminent, if you recall.)  Though I'd seen her before, I was curious if her message had changed.  Nope.  Not one bit.  If anything it had improved.  Her passion was even greater.


Her message continued to be about joy.  She shared how she had struggled with anxiety most of her life until she discovered she wasn't a kingdom person.  Kingdom people, she said, see EVERYTHING, as grace.  She simply wasn't doing that.  She was seeing everything as God's way of trying to get her not give to her.


Once again she shared about "Eucharisteo".  Matt. 26:27 has been in my head all week as I have Ann Voscamp's daily calendar and sometimes I don't change it especially if it really hits me.  That was the verse from a few days ago and I just haven't flipped it as it is so profoundly simple, but meaningful, "And he took the cup and gave thanks."  "Gave thanks" is "Eucharisteo" in the Greek, meaning "Grace".  He saw the cup as grace, she said.  "Chara" is the root word which means "Joy" - the opposite of anxiety.  She said, "As long as thanks is possible, then joy is possible. Joy goes against how this dark world spins.  If you let something steal your joy, you let something steal your strength."  We all know that verse, don't we?  "The joy of the Lord is our......strength"!!!


This was good, too - she reminded me, we have to train our eyes to see things this way - thanksgiving must be a new life habit.


Here's another verse we forget, but have heard all our lives, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life."  Psalm 23.  But did you know "follow me" in the Hebrew is "Radaph" which actually means, Pursue, Chase, Hunt Down????  God is trying to pursue us, chase us, hunt us down with good things????!  All our lives!  Every day of our life, if we would try to see things that way, instead of the opposite way, that he is out to get us.


Before she ended, she talked about the pen.  Wielding the pen like a sword in the dark.  Satan hates the pen!  That was fascinating to me.  If he can keep me from writing, from seeing our journey as a great gift from God, then I'm out of order, I stay in the dark.  Satan wins.  So I am more determined than ever to write, even more, counting every test as a gift.


I think her final line was my prayer for myself to the Lord, "I will let you love me ANYWAY that you want to love me." 


Isn't that powerful?  Staying in debt could be a way that he chooses to love me as it is keeping me on my knees more.  He knows how prone to wander I am and he is jealous.  It wards off anxiety to see his timeline as another form of a gift to me.


So, I will continue to write, to wield the pen in the literal dark as the sun is not up yet.  I will continue to try to show his many gifts that really are too innumerable to track and like many who have done this before me, I'll write them down....(according to Ann, literally writing down 5 things a day that you're grateful for improves your happiness by 25%!)


1.  My morning coffee, it's back and I'm enjoying it!
2.  The pipes weren't frozen this morning!
3.  The dishes that didn't get put away last night - means I have kitchen debt, but means I have a kitchen!
4.  Hurt kitties - yes, one of our cats has something wrong with its foot, but I'm seeing this as an opportunity to have my son, who wants to be a vet, gain more experience as he'll come with me to the vet (I'm praying it won't be expensive!)
5.  Quiet mornings when everyone else is in bed - the only quiet time of my whole day - a gift!


Well, I could go on and on, but alas, I'm already 25% happier and I have a kitchen to clean up!

Shopping with Angels

Where has the week gone?  Our littlest has been up to his antics again which makes it super hard to pull off my early mornings.  But it is ok - he'll be two in April and I know this can't go on forever!






Quick health update - hubby is down 11 lbs now and dropping.  I am absolutely so impressed with how incredibly disciplined he's being.  He literally only eats what I hand him.  His snacking habits have disappeared and have been replaced by very weird new choices.  Get this, if he needs a quick snack, instead of grabbing what used to be abundantly around here like cookies or muffins, etc., now he grabs a can of herring, sardines, or tuna - ewwwwww!!  Or is it???  These are awesome alternatives if you go to the grocery store and look in the canned fish aisle.  Now they have amazing flavours, including smoked herring (my favourite, seriously!), tomato basil (herring or tuna) or lemon pepper (tuna).  As long as I find them on sale, I grab at least 5 or 6 for the week and they are an awesome snack on a rice cake.  You would not recognize our family if you were to come over, just by our eating alone.


I've been shopping with angels lately, I'm convinced.  All sorts of new ideas are coming to me and it seems to me that God has been in touch with the owners of the stores and has let them in on our new plan.  Seriously!  When I go shopping, the clearance vegetable section is almost always full of the types of vegetables I'm shopping for.  Not just that - I always go to the store after having gone through all the flyers and I think I've picked all the things that are on sale, but clearly the stores can't possibly put everything that is on sale in just a few pages.  Sure enough, as soon as I get there, I see that there are even more things on sale than I expected, so I feel like I'm succeeding in saving money even more!


The other day when I went to the store, I was in a particularly prayerful mood - just aware of how grateful I should be to have a cart full to the top and running over and I found myself literally putting the food on the conveyor belt one item at a time thanking God for each vegetable, each bottle of shampoo, each carton of eggs - it was a great opportunity to be really specifically thankful.  The experience continued when I got to the van - "Thank you Lord for this toilet paper!  Thank you for the bag of potatoes!"  Then the prayers turn to, "Strengthen my husband's hands with this food.  Help my children to grow strong."  It goes on and on.






One great idea that has been revealed to me is to shop in the international aisle of the food store and not the health food aisle.  The international aisle offers a lot of the same pastas, but they are just not labelled "Gluten-free" which doubles or triples their prices!  The Asian food alternatives are naturally gluten free as many of them are made from brown rice anyway or even from beans or peas, so that is where I buy my pasta now and it saves a ton just because it doesn't have the fancy gluten-free label.


My oldest does not love the new pasta alternatives, but uh, tough luck.  It's amazing to me to walk through grocery stores -  there are literally rows of food that I just walk by as every single thing down certain aisles simply isn't food! 




I will be honest.  After the detox was officially over, I did really long for my coffee again - it was all I had!  So I've been having one cup in the morning, which was all I used to drink in the first place.  I still put cream and sugar in it and it has been really wonderful!  But then the rest of the day it is just water or herbal tea (still black).  I'm down about 3 lbs - it is coming off slower, but I figure it's just taking my body time to adjust to this new way of eating.  We're both in this for the long haul though.  RM told me yesterday that once he's at the weight he wants to be at, he won't gain it back.  He's determined to maintain the newer weight and the newer way of eating.  He has definitely made a lifestyle change. 




Another interesting change is in our salad eating.  We would have a salad once in a while, but mostly I made one dish types of dinners where the veggies were cooked and mixed in with a sauce or something like that.  Perhaps a veggie plate would be on the table.  There were often vegetables left at the back of my fridge or in the veg drawer that had gone bad.  Not now.  Every vegetable gets used by the next shop - these past two weeks didn't see a single one wasted.  There are vegetables (or fruit) at every single meal - in the eggs, in the soups, in the variety of salads.  It is becoming normal and now my 3 year old and 5 year old are always asking for salad.  This is awesome!  That makes me very happy, to know they are getting wholesome food in their bodies - so great.  Homemade Greek dressing is one of our favourites, by the way. 




I normally buy cans of beans or chick peas as my bulk order of beans got used up ages ago.   But yesterday I bought giant bags of dry chick peas.  Way cheaper and not hard to make - simply soak overnight and cook the next day, so that'll go way further as it is a standard snack now.  We make the roasted chickpeas all the time now.




My baking daughter made an awesome cheesecake the other night (a treat for the visiting ladies from church).  To make it gluten-free we ground up a variety of nuts and some gluten-free cookies we had one hand, mixed it with a little butter, and voila! a gluten-free crust!  Yes, it had sugar and dairy for sure, but now these ingredients are seen as occasional treats, not daily indulgences.  It made the cheesecake taste wonderful because we knew it was a special, once-in-a-while event - this is how I want it to be.




So, am I giving credit to God when these ideas seem to be rather unexciting or just the next logical step and approach to healthy eating?  Yup, I am.  For me, these are all rather revolutionary thoughts and new ways of thinking that I just can't take credit for!  I believe he's answering my prayers for leading my family into healthier living and I'm grateful.

The Widow, Her Oil.... and a Receivable?

The Widow’s Olive Oil

4 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

² Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”
³ Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. ⁴ Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
⁵ She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. ⁶ When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
⁷ She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”


I shared this story with the ladies from church last night, but it is worth repeating.  In fact, the more I read it, the more it speaks to me.  Isn't that what delighting in God's word truly means?  Just sitting on a passage for awhile, meditating on it and letting God speak to you through it.


So, if you read the quick story above, you'll notice it is about a widow.  She must be young as it calls her children "boys", not men.  Her husband is dead, but he "revered the Lord".  Right away, I start feeling her pain.


In her distress, she cries out to the Lord.  If you walked with me around my house, you would see and hear me crying out to the Lord, often out loud, sometimes just under my breath, but always in my head, asking for his mercy on our family, for the burden to be lifted, for patience to endure, for wisdom in our daily living, but most often, I pray for RM - for success in his business, wisdom in his dealings with others, wisdom as he leads our family, strength through the long days.  I cry out to the Lord a lot.


The similarities do not stop there though.  The widow is crying out to the Lord because her husband's creditor's are after her - they want to take her boys as she can't pay her husband's debts.  I do not have creditor's coming to take my children, but I know RM has suppliers calling him all the time.  The problem is he can't pay them until he gets paid.  They don't care.  They want their money now.  So they call and call and call.   I know this, though half the time he doesn't tell me as he knows that can stress me out. 


This week the money was due to a key supplier (you want to keep your suppliers happy if you want to do work with them in the future).  We wouldn't be seeing money for at least another 3 weeks.  What to do.  More crying out to the Lord.  Then the thought occurs to RM, "What do I have in my house?"  Just the way Elisha asks the widow.  It had honestly never occurred to him before to ask for the money he was owed (the receivable) early.  We don't like to do that as we have to take our money at a discount, but this time, we didn't care, it was worth the discount in emotional output alone.  The only problem was, would our customer pay early?  They don't always have their act together enough to do that either.  But it was worth asking the question.


It was at this point, I hit the BMW in the parking lot.  I think this was why I was feeling so emotional on that day.  I knew money was tighter than ever, so when I hit that car, I fell apart as I thought, "We're done for."  I could relate to how the widow must have felt when they were coming to get her boys.  I felt like the creditors were coming to get my husband's reputation.  That was when my son prayed for me and that the customer would pay early.


When I got home from the fender bender, I emotionally shared with my husband what had happened.  He handled it well, like I wrote before, and that was when he shared they were going to pay early.  It is interesting to note that the customer made it a condition that they would only pay early if the receivable was below a certain amount.  It was, only a few dollars below.  That is interesting to me, and far from coincidence, because just like the widow was told to go and sell the oil and pay her debts, she was also told to live on the remainder.  Guess what?  That's what happened to us.  The receivable was enough to pay our main supplier and then there was leftover to live on.  Incredible.


It seemed we had "nothing at all".  There was no oil, or was there?  It seemed we couldn't participate in any miracle, but God gave RM the idea to approach the customer and they said yes.  The timing was perfect.  Sometimes God doesn't involve us in the miracle, other times he does.  Either way he gets the glory and I'm convinced it was because he knows we are not perfect, but we are trying to "revere God" just like the widow's husband.  By involving us, our children get to see how God is providing, you get to read it, I get to share it with others and hopefully more and more, others will come to know this miracle-working God.


The pressure is off - the Lord filled our jugs with oil.  We see his hand again.  If I lived in Bible times, I'd build an altar as a memorial, along with the many others we'd have built by now, so that we'd never forget his goodness to us.

Early Morning Ramblings

I am up very early this morning, 4 a.m.,  with what I can only assume is a hungry toddler - why else would he wake up this early?  Sometimes I don't think he eats enough at dinner, perhaps too many snacks before dinner, who knows.  This has happened more than once.  Earlier this week it was 3 a.m. - he then has something to eat and then goes back to sleep 2 hours later.  There is absolutely nothing I can do to settle him, except feed him some food.  Then, he's completely happy, sits quietly in his chair chomping away and I resolve in my head to make sure he has a good dinner the next night!  It's times like this when I think ok, let's bring back the caffeine.....in fact I just may.....mornings like this make me rethink everything!!!!


The only side benefit to this is that once he goes back down, he'll sleep a long time, up to 3 or 4 hours longer into them morning which is a bit of a break for me, so I know that is how I must think, "There's a reason for everything!"  I can't really tie this into debt-free living, it's just a comment more on being a mom and the sacrifice that is involved.  This boy is depending on me to keep him alive.  What a privilege to be able to!  Whenever there is food on his little tray, I can't help but think of the many starving children around the world and then I think of their moms - how do they stop them from screaming from hunger?  So, I can handle a little inconvenience.


Ok, now he's back in bed - just like last time, it took two hours for him to get tired.  How am I supposed to go back to sleep knowing everyone is about to wake up in an hour or so?  So, I went through all the flyers and have  made my list for the week with meal ideas as well as snack ideas.
Eating healthier has been a very interesting challenge as it seems so many of the things that are on sale are packaged foods.  I never bought them that much in the first place, but it means I have to really hunt for fresh food to be on sale.


We had a really great week of meals the last two weeks and very creative snacks, let me tell you!  Here are some of the things we eat now on a regular basis that everyone loves, that aren't too expensive, and are healthy to boot:


Meals: 


Chicken Lentil Tomato Soup
Basic Chicken Soup
Curried Turkey Coconut Lime Sauce on Mashed Potatoes (with coconut milk and oil)
Pork Lentil Potato Stew
Lentil Salad
Fried Beans with ham and onions
Greek Salad (I used everything in the fridge I could find including bok choy which I've never used before, pretty tasty!)
Turkey casserole with chopped nuts instead of bread crumbs on top - they loved it!
Roast Chicken (lots of different vegetable sides or salads)
Roast Beef (no flour in gravy)
Osso Buco done with pork - slow-cooked in two cans of tomatoes, salt and pepper and tons of rosemary - one of our favourite dishes
Salmon fettucine (using a good brand canned salmon - just as good as fresh salmon)


Snacks


Roasted Chick Peas with different seasonings (cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper)
Roasted Beans with seasonings (both these roasted bean snacks are a new favourite)
Homemade popcorn with coconut oil and seasonings
lots of fresh fruit and frozen in smoothies (with coconut milk)
Nachos with artichoke hummus (homemade)
Nachos with salsa (corn tortillas, no wheat)
Peanut Butter (raw) on rice cakes
Boiled eggs
Apples with peanut butter - another favourite
Nut balls (in a food processor - dates, 3-5 different kinds of nuts, coconut oil, a little bit of cocoa, coconut, mixed all together and put into balls - tastes like a dessert!  Amazing - never last long)
Cans of tuna or herring (my husband is pretty much the only one who eats the herring, but it's very good for you!)
Tuna salad on rice cakes


This is just naming a few things!  So, you see, it really isn't too tricky to eat healthier.  I  just have to plan the snacks.  Breakfasts have been really good, too.  We stick with oatmeal during the week and because we live near an apple orchard and there was a bumper crop this year, I've been able to get fresh apples at a bargain price all fall and winter.  So I make fresh applesauce everyone morning with about four apples to go on top of the oatmeal to avoid the usual scoops of sugar.  If I don't have the apples on hand, I use a bag of frozen fruit, add water and cornstarch and then there's a nice fresh fruit sauce flavour.  No one has missed the sugar.  I added a little maple syrup this week as technically the ten day detox is over, but once the maple syrup is gone, I probably won't do that anymore.  Then, to get a protein (every single meal and snack has a high protein element to it), I have boiled eggs, or scrambled eggs, or a bean salad of some kind.  Everyone is full by the time breakfast is over.


I'm continuing to read more on healthy eating and am really learning a lot from the book Trim Healthy Mama, by Serene Allison and Pearl Bartlett (two sisters and daughters of Nancy Campbell from the Above Rubies Magazine, which I also love by the way).  I highly recommend that book to explain why we gain weight when we think we're eating healthy.  It all comes to down to too much carbs.  Very enlightening.


So our family is feeling good, RM is down ten pounds, and I think we're on to a new way of eating and living.  I'm still learning to break old habits.  The kids have adjusted amazingly well.  My mother-in-law joked we'll be no more fun to be around with all the things we took out of our diet.  Oh well!


Interesting to note - we've allowed ourselves "sugar breaks" a couple of times due to birthday parties, etc. and my kids absolutely go nuts.  They can't seem to stop themselves.  Once the sugar is in their mouths, they don't sit back and say, "That's enough!"  No, they want more and more and more!  It is clearly a crazy addictive drug this sugar thing, so I'm quite happy to have it mostly gone out of our lives.  It turns them into monsters.  I also saw this with bread.  I didn't have eggs one morning and they were all still hungry, so they went to the freezer and found some bread and same thing - slice after slice of toast and butter - it was like they were animals!  I read somewhere that gluten has an addictive element to it - my kids were living proof!  They couldn't stop at one or two slices and begged me for more.

When I feed them the healthy stuff, everyone calmly eats and then calmly says, "Thanks for dinner, Mom." and walks away calmly.  There is no feeding frenzy.  But bring out a bag of bread and they act like sharks!  Mind you, this is store-bought bread - could be the sugar in the bread, don't know.


Who knows, maybe my kids are sharks in people skin!


Well, it is now 7:30 a.m. and I hear the first rumblings of children coming down looking for breakfast.....better get on that.....!

Who Turned Up the Heat????

Someone out there does not like what we are about and I think I know who!  Satan.  How do I know?  We've been experiencing so many great blessings that he must have thought, "It is time to step in and create some stress in their lives."


This is often how life goes, isn't it?  Valleys and mountain top experiences, to keep us humble and always on our knees.


It began in the kitchen, the dishwasher just doesn't seem to be doing its job, so back to handwashing.  Who cares, right?  I do!  Handwashing for 10 people who seem to use a LOT of dishes means I'm, seriously, always at the kitchen sink, leaving me little time for much else.  Ok.  I can handle that.  Then, I've noticed the microwave is making really funny sounds whenever it is used.  Hmmmmm.....well, I'm probably not supposed to use one anyway, but it sure does come in handy!


Then, the tests got a little more intense.  My oldest and RM were out running errands and what should have been just a quick jaunt out was taking a lot longer.  I wondered if something had happened.  Sure enough, I got the call.  "We've been in an accident, I need the number for the police. " From how he was talking I could tell it was more of an annoyance than something serious, but still.  Later, I found out, however, that it could have been very serious and that it was only God's protection over them that their lives were spared.  Praise God!  Now, it is the inconvenience of having to get the vehicle fixed, deal with insurance, all that pain in the neck stuff that RM just does not have time for.


No joke, the next day, I backed into a vehicle in a parking lot.  I couldn't believe it.  But that goes to show you how big our vehicle is - this other car, did I mention it was a BMW, was completely hidden from my mirrors, that's how small (and expensive) it was.  I nearly died.  How could this happen?!  I immediately felt completely sorry for myself as now we'd have to pay for the repairs on her vehicle, the very expensive BMW (why that car????) and there is no money for that - none.


The irony was I was out picking up things at the thrift store for my son who was going away on the trip - I had just saved so much money again and we'd found just what he needed and I was feeling so happy that God was blessing us again.  This is how I know it has to be the enemy.  Getting me at my weakest spots - you must know them by now, fear and discouragement.


But, my son, who saw his mother not doing so well, said he would pray.  We also prayed for early payment on a contract.  We drove home and I gave RM the news.  He took it well, but I knew it was just another thing I had added to his already full plate.  We had to run out together for another quick errand and on the way he told me he was receiving early payment after all!  Whew!  That will relieve the pressure.....remember, unemployed since June.....not an easy place to be.


I'm sure there are more tests in the wings, just waiting to be shot out by the one who hates what we are about, who knows we desperately long for freedom, who sees we're being blessed on all sides and hates this, too!  It is all he has!  He can only try with all his might to get us in a bad emotional state.  Sometimes he succeeds, but then we come around and try to be thankful.  In fact, there are so many things to be thankful for, especially in these accidents - that no one got hurt first and foremost and that there is money coming in to cover the costs.  Yes, it delays the paying off of debt, but God knows all of this.


On a more positive note, both accidents were great driving lessons for my daughter, without once being behind the wheel - she saw how easy they are to happen and how to handle them in the future, so I can thank God for that, too.


During this whole week of tests, I was reading a book on the Rwanda genocide, by a woman who survived, Left to Tell ( I highly recommend it) - that sure put my week in perspective real fast, too.  No one was hunting me down this week like she'd been hunted down.  I did learn something from her book though and I shared this with RM, too, who feels like he is being hunted sometimes.  She talked about how, if she ever took her thoughts off of God and his goodness, immediately Satan was right there, filling her head with lies, telling her she'd never survive, God hated her and he didn't care what would happen to her.  So she found herself, literally praying all her waking hours, never letting up, though Satan did still try to plague her with doubts continually.  God was all she had.  Her other way of coping, was picturing herself free, believing it would happen, imagining her life on the other side of the genocide, never allowing herself to fall into that pit of despair, which she had great reason to fall into.  I think the lessons for us are exactly the same.  So we continue to take God at his word, believing, claiming, speaking, praying his promises to us, knowing it is his plan for his children to be free as well, even financially, and then I picture one day what that will look like and it gets me excited.  I don't know when that day will be.  Neither did she - in fact it looked like it would never end for her, but it did come to an end and now she is living a wonderful life married with two children.  Her story is an inspiration to many.  Perhaps one day our story will be an inspiration to many.  As usual, for now, we press on!

God of the Eleventh Hour

Another great story about thanking God, waiting for the miracle and how God blesses children when they honour their parents....


I think I've explained that our children are in Bible Quizzing.  It's a Bible memory program that takes memorization to a whole new level.  It is absolutely mind boggling what these children are accomplishing in a very short period of time.  They love it so much (the competition, the social aspect, the tournaments, etc.) that it often gets them in trouble now as memorization gets seriously in the way of their school work.




They have about 4 tournaments a year that are in the area.  They live for these tournaments!  Then, there is a much bigger tournament called the Winter Nationals that takes place in New York.  Of course our kids wanted to go, and we did look into it in spite of that fact we had said no holidays, etc.  We figured if it was really cheap, perhaps we could justify it some way, but it turns out, it was quite expensive.  We had to say no.  The kids were, of course, disappointed. 




Everyone else on their teams were up in the air about going and so when we decided not to go, they also all said no - no one particularly had their heart set on it except our kids, one in particular.  My oldest son has been doing particularly well, scoring in the top 2 or 3 out of all the kids in the league regularly.  His team scores in the top 3 regularly.  They're good!  He's good!  So he had been really looking forward to the new competition in the States as apparently is it also on a whole new level.  The Americans apparently take it very seriously.




Then, things started to get worse.  All sorts of people started changing their minds!  They started emailing us telling us they were going!  My son wasn't happy about this!  It was fine if no one else was going, but now suddenly things were turning around.  After one practice in particular where everyone had talked about it all evening, he came home, sounding just like his mom gets, super discouraged.  I told him, "If God wants you to go, he'll make a way.  In the meantime, you just have to wait, surrender your rights to go, and pray."  He admitted his great disappointment, but said it out loud, "I will surrender my rights."  I felt badly and quite honestly didn't think a way could be opened up as the only way it would work was if someone offered to pay for our whole family to go and I couldn't see that happening.  We also weren't willing to let him go with just any guy from the league - we're still pretty careful who are kids are with.  RM couldn't afford the time away to take him on his own.




But things got worse again before it got better.  We had a tournament on the weekend and my son did really well again, perfect score all day and only one error.  That's when things got really bad - multiple students, coaches, Dads, Moms.....everyone it seemed to him, came up to him and said, "You've got to go to the Nationals!  Be on our team!  Why aren't you going????"  Each time he had to say, "Not this year.  It's too expensive."  It was starting to bug RM, too, as people just wouldn't lay off!  Again, he came home after a great day, but was down.  I didn't know, but he knew, it was the last day a name could be entered to be in the Nationals.  His name had not been entered.


He told me later he was even more disappointed because he really thought God was going to come through since he'd surrendered his rights!   To him it seemed like God wasn't coming through on his end of the deal.




Then the phone rang Monday morning.  "It's Mrs. B, Mom!"  I wondered why she was calling.  I don't even know her and have never spoken to her in my life.  She introduced herself as the Mom of another boy from the league who really wanted her to call me to find out if my son would be on their team as they had one more spot.  I explained to her why we were saying no and then she said, "I'll explain my suggestion."  She went on to say that she and her family were going down with a few other solid guys we knew.  She was offering to take our son in their vehicle and because they were driving down anyway, they would cover gas and hotel.  All our son would have to cover was the fee to get into the tournament which was quite small and he would cover that himself.  This was huge!  I was near tears again!  I quickly tried to call RM to run all this past him.  The kids knew something was up.  I dried my tears and pretended it was nothing and waited to hear back from RM.


When I finally could explain the whole thing to him, he was completely on board and also thought it was great.




We called all the kids together and told them the good news - #2 (our son) was going to the Winternationals!  Everyone, especially #2, was super excited!


So, I feel a miracle happened for our son.  He really honoured us by not complaining, fussing, or grumbling when we first had to explain we weren't going.  The Bible promises when you honour your parents it will go well with you in the land.  I told him that.  This miracle is a direct result of his honouring us.  I wanted him to know that God was blessing him.  I also explained how God is often the God of the eleventh hour, meaning he often comes through when there is no other hope.  This way he gets all the glory as there was no way we could have orchestrated this on our own.  It was the final day to get names into the tournament.   So great.


I share this story because once again I see how God is taking care of my desires for my children even when there is no money to spare.  He prompted this family to call us and the rest is history.  I'm so happy for him (oh, and down another pound!  Yeah!)

Running the Race to Win!

Good morning! 


First, a quick update on the detox that is still going on - Renaissance Man is already down 5 lbs. in just one week.   He's seeing numbers on the scale he hasn't seen since before we were married.  I am down only a couple, but don't have as much to lose as him.  Both of us are completely off caffeine (for now, anyway) and were able to do it without any headaches as we slowly took ourselves off.  That is the only way, from what I hear, to avoid the caffeine withdrawal headaches.  The kids did remarkably well last week, but took a break on the weekend due to all the festivities.  RM and I were still really careful with what we ate or drank.  RM's fitness is easy - it's just his work!  His current project requires him to lift 1000s of lbs. of steel all the time, so there's his weights!  Running around and feeding the animals gives him some cardio (well, sort of), so he doesn't need to join any gym.  I took some time off at Christmas from exercising, but am back at it - weights, cardio, the basics.


We're going to continue on, though technically the ten days are nearly over, and try to maintain staying off all the bad stuff, resorting to them as treats once in awhile.  As long as I have a meal plan each day and a snack plan, everyone is good.  It is definitely a bit more work, but I am trying to view this as long-term thinking again.  In other words, invest the time now and we'll benefit, the kids will benefit, with better health, better habits, in the future.


Our gluten-sensitive daughter is doing much better.  She once in awhile takes a little just because we always think maybe, just maybe, it isn't gluten - but sure enough, within minutes now, she feels so sick that she is often tearful, so it just isn't worth it.


I just really love how this newest journey parallels the debt journey as well.  We're anticipating the first little bit of weight to come off quite quickly.  It's like paying off the little debts first - no problem!  But then, the larger chunks of weight, like the mortage, will probably take a few months, or even up to a year, as the weight wasn't acquired overnight.  It took years to put on, just like the big debt.  It'll come off slower.  However, it could come off more quickly with seriously, outrageously healthy eating and seriously outrageously diligent fitness, just like debt can be attacked with gazelle (or in our case, cheetah) intensity.  Debt can be cleared with a detox, too, just of a different nature!  We detoxed our life of all the things that were hindering us from making progress.


Two verses come to mind, Hebrews 12:1,  "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..."


We are trying to run with that endurance.  How can you run a race with all the extra weight - financial or physical?  Can't do it.


Also, 1 Cor. 9:24, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize?  So run that you may obtain it."  That's us!  We are running to obtain the prize!  You'd be so impressed if you saw RM and how incredibly disciplined he's being.  He's eating less than I am and because he's seeing results so quickly, he's motivated to press on.  He literally only eats what I give him or what I tell him.  There are no more two servings, no more junky snacks.  He's impressing me and even himself!  To God be the glory!


Vs. 26 goes on, "So, I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.  But I discipline my body and keep it under control..."


We are not running aimlessly - we are attempting, with God's help, to discipline our physical bodies and our financial bodies.  If and when the cravings come for the sweet stuff, we are literally trying to take it as a wake up call to fast and pray for our situation, so there are so many levels as this is definitely a spiritual exercise for us as well.


One final thought on discouragement and pennilessness - I'm really loving it!  What?!  How can this be possible?!  I'm truly beginning to see what Paul meant when he said, "When I am weak, he is strong."  I had an embarrassingly pathetic struggle on Friday, when RM was going to take our daughter out for lunch with the gift card he had.  You see, that gift card, was supposed to be for me (and RM ideally - i.e. a date night!).  I was holding on pretty tightly to that and was feeling a little sorry for myself knowing I'd be missing out (and RM would be benefitting instead!)  RM saw this and looked at me with a gentle "Seriously?  Get over yourself look".  I took the rebuke and walked away thinking, "Of course, time with her Dad, who wouldn't want their daughter to have that - it's so rare, it's a great opportunity."  The pathetic moment was over and I dropped it knowing I was being rather selfish.  After that, I was quite happy for her and in fact, started suggested where they should go out, etc.


Then, who I like to call my BFFC (best friend forever cousin), came over.  We haven't seen each other in weeks.  Normally we connect weekly for prayer and conversation, but with Christmas, etc., we just hadn't been able to connect.  She passed me a card with a gift inside.  What was it?  Of course - a gift card to a restaurant I've been dying to try!  It was enough for RM and I to go out, just the two of us, and she even offered to watch the kids.  It was too much - I was teary instantly.  How did she know?  Well, she didn't of course - it was the Lord's mercy once again being extended to me.  She later said that she had tried multiple times to come by before the holidays, during the holidays, but it never seemed to work out.  I got it just when I needed it most.  This is why I am thankful for discouragement and having little money!  It really gives God an opportunity to shine down on me and lift me out of the pit.  If I had money falling out of my pockets and no trials in my life, would I acknowledge God as much?  I'm afraid I probably wouldn't, so this period of my life is becoming one of my richest spiritually as I see him blessing me, speaking to me, speaking to others on my behalf - it's just been amazing.


It goes back to being thankful in EVERYTHING, because the miracle is imminent.  Can't wait to go out for dinner!  Thanks BFFC (and hubby) - you guys are awesome!

A Mom's Story of Sweet Sixteen

We've got a big birthday in our house.  Our oldest is 16.  That is a big number and back in my day it meant driving!   She'll be going for the first part of the driving test today- the written test - yikes!  It's really happening!
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We didn't buy Christmas presents, but we will do birthday presents, but this year, we won't go overboard in this area, we'll be keeping it on a small scale even though it is a big birthday and even though it is going against everything in me that wants to spend, spend, spend - partly because I love spending (true!), but really, because I want to bless her. 


Our somewhat bigger, boring gift, but a necessity, will be driving lessons.  That isn't free!  But it is necessary if she is really going to be a driver and of course we want her to be and she wants to be.  She'll take those in the spring with a few friends who are also turning 16 this year, so that'll be a fun way to do them - with friends.


I was happy to do the lessons, but I did want to do something a little more special, if you know what I mean.  You can't wear driver's lessons on a finger or around your neck!  But anything that I wanted to buy would have been so expensive!  What was I going to do?  Listen to this great story...


I really wanted to buy her a meaningful piece of jewellery.  We did this when she turned 12 as well, as we also counted that as a very special year - the beginning of entering into young womanhood.  To us, turning 16 is the final stage of childhood and really the beginning of the young adult years.  I know that is not how the world sees it, but we do.  Well, guess what happened to that necklace - lost at a friend's place!  That's not why we aren't buying something more expensive this time, because she might lose it, but it does make me think twice about buying something costly!  Anyway, off I went to our favourite store down the street.....you guessed it, the thrift store.  Please don't think I'm cheap.  I'm honestly trying to be wise, yet bless my child at the same time.  Of course I was praying, for something to stand out at me, for a miracle of some kind.  The demon of discouragement was climbing back up on my shoulder.  First I looked in the clothing section - not much.  She actually loves the clothes there.  I don't know where they come from, but I swear the clothes are new.  We find stuff with tags on all the time and name brand mostly.  Nothing was jumping out at me. 


Then I went to the little jewellery section. 


Most of it is costume jewellery, and yes, a little tacky, but not all of it.  They actually had some really beautiful necklaces that looked new.  I actually had to call someone over to show them to me because believe it or not, they were behind glass (could they have real value?).  Turns out they weren't even locked behind the glass!  Oh well.  I asked her to bring down a few anyway.  Couldn't decide.  One of them had a stone in it, but I couldn't remember what January's stone was.  All of my sisters and I were given necklaces with our birthstones for our 40th birthdays from our parents.  It was very special and is still one of my favourite necklaces today.  So, with that idea in my mind and leaning towards that necklace, I called my son over and asked his opinion - which one do you like?  Ah, I don't know, they are all ok.  A boy, a brother, didn't seem to have an interest in jewellery, but then I asked him, if by chance if he knew what January's stone was as he does have an interest in that!  He loves stones, jewels....studies them all the time and has a big collection!  Oh sure!  Suddenly he cared which necklace - garnet is January's stone!  The one necklace that had a stone in it was a garnet!  Coincidence?   I told the lady immediately that I would take the one with the garnet stone - even the chain appears to be silver.  The price tag does not indicate it is a real stone and perhaps it is not, but then, I won't be afraid if she loses it!  I really love the necklace, I love the significance of it as it brings back the whole day she was born.  It carries on the tradition my parents started and I didn't have to blow the bank, though I would have and I wanted to!


Then, as we were walking out, I did see a shirt that I knew she would love, so I did throw that in.  As for other gifts, my boys are being super creative.  One of them is giving her his Converse sneakers.  She has wanted them since the day we found them in a different thrift store!  He wouldn't share, no way.  But being a growing teenage boy, unfortunately they don't fit!  So, he's wrapping them up and giving them to her as a surprise - she will absolutely love that gift!  My other son is giving her a can of sweetened condensed milk!  Funny gift, but she has been off sugar for nearly a week and will be so excited to bake something with that!


As for other festivities, normally we definitely go out for dinner, but this year, we'll stay home and I'll make her favourite food.  She's happy with that!  She's actually going to spend most of the morning with her Dad running errands with him after she gets her learner's license.  We have a couple of gift cards that could be used on lunches, etc., so she might just get a little restaurant in there which is also way cheaper if it is only two people, as opposed to 10!  Later, my sister is hosting a family tea for her which will be super special!  And, of top of all that, these wonderful friends who are all turning 16 this year will do something together as well once they all have their birthdays - maybe in the spring.  So I think she's going to be celebrated really well!


Once again, I see the hand of the Lord on my life.  He knows how I want to bless my children, yet how I want to be wise with our money.  He gives me concrete examples of his love for me and for them. 



The tests keep coming, for all of us - this was a big one for me, but God showed himself faithful.


I know this might be a bit of a stretch, but it is a great example to me of how God hears me.  I've been reading through the Bible and am in Genesis.  I read about Hagar and her son Ishmael.  Sarah had just sent them away because she did not want the son of the slave woman to be heir with Isaac.  Hagar put the child under a bush and left him there to die as there was no water left and she "lifted up her voice and wept".  She did not want to "look on the death of the child".  Is that not a little how I was feeling?  I see my daughter's special birthday coming up, no money to spend, no "water" left!  It is hardly a death of a child, but for me, a girl who grew up celebrating birthdays all day long, giving and getting gifts is huge - I didn't want to see her day, my dreams for her, just "die".  But God heard Hagar and her son's cries.  "And God heard the voice of the boy and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What troubles you Hagar?  Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.  Up!.....Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.  And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink."  Isn't it interesting?  Hagar is concerned for her firstborn, too - on a different scale, mind you!  God heard his cries and acted on the boy's behalf.  He knew something was "troubling" Hagar and told her not to be afraid.  I was troubled for sure, not crying, but troubled.  I think God really does this even now.  He hears our cries, our children's cries and he intervenes in big ways and in my case, a small way (though it was big to me!).  He opened her eyes to water, and my eyes, to that little necklace.  Because of my humanness, I think I would really jump off this debt bandwagon if I could right now, because it seems like it is in vain sometimes - I'd rather eat, drink and be merry!  But then these little signs happen and it keeps me from jumping off, but rather, keeps me on.  Maybe that little necklace will always be a sign to her and to me of how God answered our prayers this year.


The story ends so perfectly, "And God was with the boy, and he grew up."  That's it!  It's so simple.  So my prayer for my daughter will be just that - that she will always know that God will hear her when she is troubled and that God will be with her as she grows up.  He's done that for her mom, so he can do it for her.  Amen!

What a Week!

Well, for anyone wondering how our funny family is surviving this most amusing detox, we're doing great!  Most of us, that is.  I'm almost completely off the caffeine.  I refused to go cold turkey as I have done that before and the headaches were not worth it.  I'm managing to drink it black, which shocks me, and by the end of the week I think I should be fully off caffeine.  So far, with the slow weaning, I'm completely headache free which is such a miracle and an answer to prayer.


As you might expect, so many lessons are being learned, even by the children who are challenging me the most in this little experiment.


My oldest, who I thought would struggle out of all of the kids, said last night, "I think this is really good that we're doing this."  I agreed a little too quickly.  When we started to examine why she thought that, it was clear, she knew she did go to the sweet white stuff just a little too easily and deep down she knew something needed to change as well, but there was no way she could have done it on her own.  She's starting to find out that other food actually tastes good, too!  Last night, she also mentioned how much she loved the salad I had made!  I was shocked!  She kept going back for more servings (vegetables are unlimited and there was no creamy dressing).


My oldest boy has been really struggling as he normally just helps himself all day, or so I found out.  Now, he feels, there is nothing to help himself to that doesn't have to be prepared - i.e., no bags of bread for a quick slice of toast, no cookies, no bags of chips, etc.....sorry son, just a plate of veggies and homemade hummus!  At first I was rather perturbed and wanted to snap at his reactions, but then I quickly explained instead - "You may not be thankful to me now, but you will thank me when you are older and your joints aren't achy and you are living to a good, long age!  You will thank me when your children are making wise choices and not struggling with sugar addictions and when they aren't ridden with disease!"  Well, of course, there is no guarantee of all those things, but he got the point, and being my most sensitive and most quickly to repent, he came around and said, "I do want to eat healthy and I am thankful.....I JUST LOVE BREAD STICKS!"  Fair enough, but I think he understood, this is a long term plan, just like the financial plan - if and when we get out of debt, there is NO WAY we are going back to the way we used to live.  It's not a free card out of jail to go spend like crazy.  We will have to continue to live frugally and wisely so it won't happen again.  Same with food.


On a completely different note, it has to have been the coldest week since we moved into the farm - we've had multiple times where the water to the house froze and poor RM has to go thaw it out.  Yesterday a pipe in the kitchen burst, so it has been a week to remember.  Living here definitely has its challenges and is not for the faint of heart.  But I'm grateful as RM knew exactly what to do and had it fixed quite quickly.  Had we had to call in a plumber, it would have cost us 1000s of dollars.  We are definitely counting our blessings. 


So, this wasn't a particularly financial debt post, but as you can see, so much of our life is inter-connected.  The physical, the spiritual, the financial - and God is speaking into each one of these areas.  Just as we're hoping to see the debt weight go down, we also hope to see the physical pounds in our life slide away as well.  A friend sent an interesting quote from Tozer yesterday speaking about discipline in our lives and how so few have this.  He compared it to a violin and how if a violin didn't have taut strings, but instead let them hang loose and didn't have them "disciplined", that it would be impossible to play beautiful music.  That's essentially it.  We are challenging ourselves to be more disciplined in all areas of our lives - it is so good for us!  Hard, but good!  It can only benefit us down the road, especially as the kids grow up and become adults.   We are trusting beautiful music will be the end result!

Not Just Debt Intolerant

Happy First Day Back to School!  Oh, my kids are just so excited, I'm sure!  It will be a harder day for all of us, but not just because we have to get up earlier and not sleep in so much, we have also taken on a new challenge for the new year.  First, some background...

It is quite typical for most people to want to shed a few pounds after Christmas and that is definitely on Renaissance Man's list of things to do.  I always want to shed a couple, too.  Again, typically, that comes from exercising more and eating less as well as eating better.  That's the tricky part!  Both him and I have been at the same weight for a long time - we just can't seem to get past the numbers we're at.  Our metabolisms need a kick start, that's for sure.

At the same time, our second daughter who is 10, has been struggling for well over a year now with something we could not identify.  Her symptoms were basically sluggishness, headaches, stomach aches, random aches, just a general malaise - she never felt like doing anything.  She always felt bad.  The doctors were stumped and wondered if it was actually something psychological.  It wasn't.

My own research and "gut" feeling, pardon the pun, was that she had some food sensitivity that was affecting her.  The natural one to start with was gluten.  That really stunk as we love our bread and quite frankly, our white flour.  Have I mentioned how our oldest loves to bake????

In addition to my daughter feeling badly, my husband was also struggling.  He always seemed congested and never seemed to get better.  His arthritic toe was really bad and he was beginning to feel it creeping up into his knees, elbows and wrists, even.  He was starting to wonder if it was going to get worse before it got better.

Again, from what I'd been reading, gluten is a definitely inflammatory agent in the body, so I began to make this subtle suggestion that perhaps we should all go off gluten for awhile to see if it is affecting anybody else.  Then I made an even more radical suggestion.....

What about a small detox for the new year?  It made so much sense - we are trying to be debt-free, but are we not struggling with debt in other areas of our lives?  Past eating sins catching up with us?  Past habits, such as addictions to white sugar, white flour.......were they not affecting our health?  If we were going to make such radical decisions financially, why not try to make some physical changes, too?  The comparisons are almost too obvious that you can't help but see them - if we had kept going down the debt path we were on, the hole would have only gotten deeper and the danger would have been devastating.  Isn't it that way with our health?  We have been given this one body and many choices of fuel.  The choices we were making were simply what felt good, not necessarily what was best for us.  I wondered if we were on a similar path that was leading us to a scary end health-wise.

I am so grateful our daughter was so sick as it was a wake-up call we all needed.  So guess what we did - yup, another family meeting....the kids must dread these now as we always make some radical change after one of these meetings are held!

So this is what I said this time.  First I reminded them about our daughter and how sick she felt.  They knew this.  Then I described their Dad and how he also wasn't feeling well.  They also knew this.  Then I started to go through each of them and started talking about certain symptoms I was seeing in each of them or certain eating tendencies or the cravings they couldn't get by without satisfying, etc., etc.....oh, this they hadn't seen.  They never saw themselves as having any issues.  So, I went on.  I suggested, in the name of their sister's and their Dad's health, as well as their own, that we try something for at least 10 days, possibly longer.  Oh my goodness - this is going to be worse than giving up Christmas presents, are you ready?

Here it goes - I suggested we go off all gluten, all dairy, all sugar, all caffeine, all food, no just kidding - basically, everything that is bad!  It was hilarious to see their jaws on the floor!  WHAT!!??  They always joke that they are moving in with their favourite family in the church that always serves dessert - they were definitely talking about moving in with this family that day, I'll tell ya.

But then, just like with the Christmas presents, they came around really fast - I quickly explained the spiritual side to it as well.  We were all addicted to this bad food and we needed to change something as our health depended on it just like with the financial decisions we were making - the future generations depended on it as well.  I really was concerned for my oldest in particular as sugar rules her life.  I'm serious.  She maps out her day sometimes based on what snack she'll make later.  She absolutely LOVES sugar.  Today her metabolism can handle it, but when will it slow down?  She will be a very unhealthy mom at the rate she's going at and guess what?  Her kids, my grandchildren will be, too.  That's when it really hits home.  I'm training her to make my grandchildren sick. 

So, today, yuck, I had an awful cup of half-caff coffee, with, blah, no cream or sugar - terrible.  Tomorrow, I'll probably be down to either strictly decaf coffee or perhaps just water, imagine.  I'm a little worried about the headaches to come, but I'll do it in the name of kick-starting my metabolism again.  It has been in a rut for several years and I think this is just what it needs.

I am very concerned about the aches and pains my husband has been experiencing, so I'm really hoping this makes a difference.

I made a list of very funny foods, full of fruits and vegetables, nuts, even tofu.  There is literally no sugar left in the house as I can't trust myself or that one daughter to not cave.  The bread is all gone and there is only oats left and brown rice.

The kids are at the table immediately for every meal as they are hungry as soon as they're called!  Even my little ones are eating better as they quickly fell into the "give me a cookie trap" just like the older ones.

My one concern was how do I do this on a budget as everything fresh is so expensive?  Well, interestingly enough, as I prayed about it, I asked God to help me and to just show me ways to do this on the cheap.  When I went to the store, the first place I went to was the marked down vegetable and fruit section and it was FULL of discounted fruit and veggies.  I filled up my cart on very inexpensive food.  I also went and bought quite a bit of frozen fruit and vegetables as well.  Rice is pretty cheap and so are beans, so I got tons of that, too.  Because I had eliminated all the dairy, the bill came out to be about the same as before because dairy is so expensive.  Yeah!  I also don't buy meat anymore as we have a whole freezer full of it, so I'm grateful for that.  Sugary things are also expensive and bread had also been eliminated, so that also freed up money towards more expensive things like nuts.

The kids like to help themselves throughout the day - no more.  I'm trying to lovingly dictate exactly what they can have for a snack now, because if I don't, than it'll all disappear!  Every morsel of food is accounted for!  They don't need to lose weight and I don't want them to starve, so I'm trying to fill them up with good things, but not stuff them. I think it'll be an interesting period where they will have to learn, as will us older folk, just what being full really feels like.  I don't think any of us really know.  We're just used to eating all day!

An interesting thing to note, my one daughter who really needed to go off gluten was a different person - IMMEDIATELY!  What a relief that was to me. She already walks around with no symptoms, so that was definitely a problem for her.  I had been confused by this because we'd gone off gluten before and then she'd gotten appendicitis.  It wasn't necessarily related, but the doctors had told me to put her back on gluten after the surgery to see if she still had symptoms.  Well, surprise, surprise, she was fine.  It turns out, in my opinion anyway, that her gut had healed, so when we first introduced gluten again, she was fine.....for awhile, but it didn't take long for her to start feeling badly again.  At first, it would take a day or two to see a symptom after she'd eaten it, but then it was an hour or two and then recently, it was within minutes of eating.  So it was clear, her gut was injured again. 

So now we are on another journey - one of health, not just financial.  So like the title says, we are not just debt-intolerant!  We are trying to be unhealthy eating-intolerant, too!  So now I'll be giving updates on this, too - follow along!  My poor kids must wonder what will be next.....:)