Giving Works

Pondering...

"Is loving God -- and by extension, loving people-- what you are about? Is it what being a Christian means to you? Do you live as though faith, demonstrated through love, really is the only thing that counts?" Francis Chan 

Beautiful Reminder of the Grace and Love of God

Sara Groves' I Saw What I Saw

Frugal Friday

This summer, all the ads on tv offering cash for gold and the news touting the rising price of gold, got my attention. We gathered up our scrap gold and took it to a local jewerly store that we knew of that bought scrap gold. If a jeweler does their own repair work, odds are they will buy your scrap. I have no idea what they gave us per ounce, but I was happy with their offer for my ruined necklaces and add-a-beads. (showing my age on that one!) We even took some pieces that we weren't sure of being gold. They were able to test it to find out. They will be interested in anything you have of gold, even earring backs. You may be surprised at the value unused in your drawers.

A few weeks ago I watched the movie, Blood Diamonds. After watching that, I see 1 Timothy 2:9 in a deeper way than before. "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array." While the verse advises us not to dress in a way that is showing off, it could also be written to let us know those things are just not good to have, because of what mankind would be willing to do to each other to have them. I'd hate to think that someone was put into slavery in the mining camps or that boys were kidnapped, drugged and brain-washed to be child soldiers (little killing machines), so that I could have a fashion accessory, such as gold earrings. It could also be pointing us to better uses for our money, such as feeding others instead of wasting it on such useless things as expensive jewelry.

I have some pieces of jewelry that I don't wear much or at all. I may sell it too. It is too good for scrap, so where I'll find to sell it, I don't know. There are some that I wear often or am sentimental about, so I am hesitant to part with them. But I don't see me ever buying anymore fine jewelry. If you want to buy some jewelry that will make a real difference in the world, check out Brandi's, over at www.brandisthoughts.com All proceeds go to help orphans in Uganda.

Just a note: As an update to last week's Frugal Friday, we decided to give up our home phone line. We still have our high-speed internet, but no land line. This was a great move. We are saving around $60 more dollars a month this way! The phone line itself never seemed that much, but by the time they add all the taxes and fees, it totals quite a lot. So, yep, we cut the cord!

Pumpkins and a Pool

What do these two things have in common? My kids.

Last fall, our kids made a jack-o-lantern. This spring some of the seeds from that pumpkin sprouted. I decided to leave them. A few free pumpkins would be great this fall. Everyone who noticed them, mentioned how BIG pumpkin vines get with a  note of warning in their voice. I have plenty of room I thought to myself. This is just one of the vines. Its companion is growing on the other side of the steps.

 

You will notice that I didn't even get all of it in the frame! However, it is making pumpkins. Here is one.

 

Here are three of my cuties in the pool today.

 

It was a pretty busy day of swimming, cookie baking and checker playing. I am getting way to old to play checkers with these kids...they are ruthless!

Frugal Friday

This is a goodie for everybody, and I have my mom to thank. She wanted my help in adding some new features to her land line. Unfortunately, those features weren't available in her area, but the very helpful sales rep on the phone told us she could lower her rate by switching to a newer package. The same service, just a new lower rate. What??? We waited for the catch...no catch. I went home, called the phone company and told the rep I'd heard that they had some new packages that might lower my bill without changes to my service. They did! It's been months, and it is still lower - so no catches. Give it a try. It never hurts to ask. Savings = $18.

We weren't using our Rhapsody account much, so we canceled it. Approximate savings = $15.

We discussed canceling some movie channels from our tv service. At first, my husband wanted to keep them. A day or two later, he said, "Cancel those. We don't even watch them anyway. And send the money to our girls in Swaziland." What a guy! Savings = $23

We have $56 more each month to send to the orphans, and all it took was about 15 minutes of my time!

Take a look at all the services you have - internet, phone, cellphone, cable or satellite, music, newspapers, lawn, pool, etc. See if they can be lowered or eliminated. One time, our satellite provider lowered our rate, just because we called to cancel in order to switch to a company offering a lower rate. These companies do not want to lose you as a customer, so they may be willing to lower your rates without cuts in service. It is worth a shot. Let me know how much you save!

If you use some type of heating oil for your house, you may want to fill your tanks now. In my area, companies offer a much lower "Summer Fill" price.  Around here you just have to order 100 gallons or more to get the lower price. These offers usually expire at the end of July. So if you haven't done it yet and can, make that call before July is gone.

Loving Our Neighbor

Jesus was asked what the first commandment in the law was. He answered in Matt. 22:37-39, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." In Mark 10:31, He says, "There is no commandment greater than these."

Picture for a moment, your child - alone, scared, starving and being victimized on the other side of the world. What would you be willing to do to help her? You would move heaven and earth to rescue her! Then why do we so easily ignore the needs of other children? We think that it has nothing to do with us. It's not our problem. When we think that, are we loving our neighbor? Or ourselves?

I've always been a good little American consumer. In my teenage years alone, I bought enough clothes to clothe a third world country. Almost. After I married, my attention shifted to our home. I did want a haven for my family, but I also wanted it to reflect my well-defined taste. All the magazines say that our homes are an extension of who we are, right? So I spent a lot of time, energy and money on it. I viewed each of the houses we lived in over the years with a critical eye. Always aware of improvements to be made, projects to be finished and things to be purchased. No home was ever finished, I reasoned.

Then I met orphans. Even though I met them through friends who had been overseas, through books and the internet, I came to know them through their stories. It has changed me, forever I hope. How dare I to have ever thought, that I needed anything. Actually, I have everything. Even more accurately, I have more than I even need. Did you know that if you make more than $2 a day, you are richer than half of the people on the planet? If you own a car, you are among the 8% who do!

As I thought about loving our neighbor, Pastor Walter's story kept coming to mind. Children's Hopechest literature tells us, "Pastor Walter Malaza took hold of a vision from the Lord to feed and care for orphans by establishing 8 carepoints among the 10,000 people in his community (in Swaziland). Pastor Walter is now coordinating a work at each of the eight carepoints."

The Pastor Walter Story from Children's HopeChest on Vimeo.

Everytime I watch this video, I am so proud of him and inspired. I feel fired up and want to get involved further in the work there. I eagerly want to urge others to join the work. And most of all, I don't want another thing for myself. I have more than enough. And I weep. I weep for the orphans, for my complacency and that of others. We only cheat ourselves with our selfishness. Jesus tells us in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over..." Think about Pastor Walter. Pray for the him, pray for the orphans and what God would have you do. I'll be doing the same myself. "The definition of evil in the world is when good men and women see injustice and do nothing." Edwin Burke

Frugal Friday

I know a lot of people would love to give more to help the needy, but don't see how in this current ecomony. And a lot of others are struggling with their finances and trying to make ends meet.

Whenever we have an unexpected expenses, the first place I look to cut expenses is the grocery budget. It is the most flexible of all our current household expenses. I find I get a lot more cooperation out my family in stretching the budget, if they see how important it is. If they think the reason is important enough, they will go beyond cooperating to leading me into thinking of even more ways to save. So I encourage you to enlist your family in the process and brainstorm together.

One way to save is to simply make a pledge to not buy anything until the refridgerator or freezer or pantry is empty. Or make a pledge to eat out of your current stock for a week, a month, or whatever time period is feasible. Be creative with what you have. Some of the best meals come from such moments of making do with what you have. To help me succeed with a pledge like this, I try to stay home if I can. Somehow, if I leave the house, I end up spending money that I had no intention to. This way I save on fuel too.

Having breakfast for supper is a cheap and tasty alternative, and it is fun to do for a change anyway. It cost little to cook up some pancakes or waffles, eggs, oatmeal or grits. Biscuits and gravy are inexpensive, but my family considers them a real treat.

The Re-Fried Bean recipe I posted is so good put into wraps to make bean burritos. They are cheap, filling and delicious.

A meal of beans and rice is another inexpensive option. And the only one that many people all over the world eat, or wish they could. Meals like this remind us in a tangible way of the needs of others and tend to make us more thankful. I often eat a meal of rice for lunch, just rice, salted and buttered. Now, I happen to love rice. If the rest of my family felt the same, our grocery bill would be much lower!

Another filling meal that tastes great is vegetables and cornbread. The vegetables could be whatever you like, beans or peas, corn or potatoes. Just follow the recipe on the back of the bag of cornmeal to make your cornbread. Just a note: cornbread tastes better baked in an iron skillet.

If you have family members that cannot consider a meal a real meal if it doesn't have meat, try cooking a slice or two of bacon for them to go with the meal. Sometimes that is all it takes.

We often eat supper leftovers for lunch the next day, but sometimes what is left is not even a serving. When that happens, I just add that spoonful to a container I keep in the freezer for that purpose. I just keep adding to that container until it is full. Then we have what we call, Mystery Soup. The soup will usually already have enough liquid from leftover beans or stews or soups, so all I have to do is heat it up. No batch of soup is the same, but it is always good. We make bread or toast or rolls to go along with our Mystery Soup. Easy and delicious.

Last year, when milk was so high, I cut whole milk in half with water. It did not taste as sweet, of course, but was acceptable, especially in baking or over cereal. You could also trade in your usual beverage for tap water. www.bloodwatermission.com ran a 40 Days of Water campaign during Lent, encouraging participants to drink only tap water for 40 days and give the money saved to clean water projects. Did you know that $1 can provide clean water for one person for a whole year? It doesn't take a lot to make a world of difference in another persons life.

If any of these ideas help you to make your ends meet, I am glad. Because they've helped me many times. But if you can, I encourage you to put these ideas or your own into practice on a regular basis, maybe only once a week, and give the money you saved by eating frugally to the charity of your choice. Every 5 seconds, a child dies because he or she is hungry. I know the problems of the needy can seem overwhelming, but whatever we can do will make a difference to at least one. One can be alive, because of our actions today. I hope to share more frugal ideas and if you have one to share with me, please do. Thanks!

The Easiest Re-Fried Beans Ever

www.allrecipes.com/Recipe/Refried-Beans-Without-the-Refry/Detail.aspx

I Love This!

I love this song! In fact, I love the whole album, and it is rare for me to love every song on an album. If you'd like to get Lisa Chan's album, you may send an email to the folks at www.cornerstonesimi.com to the attention of Danny Bloom. The price of the CD is $15, plus $2 for shipping. The proceeds of the sale go to Children's Hunger Fund. So you get some wonderful music and feed hungry children all in one!