So here's where I'm starting..

I have a lot of catching up to do today with my posts, so this will be my starting point. I've already uploaded a way behind weight loss vlog and a blog post, and I need to do several posts on here. But it basically amounts to this. We've been too busy living life to blog about it! So that's good right!!
My husband and I went on a weekend getaway to Nashville at the first of last month. Then two weeks later we turned around and went on a family vacation to the Ozarks. Then we had Memorial Day, and for some reason (don't ask why we got it mixed up) we celebrated Father's day this past weekend!

So Nashville was awesome!
Hubby planned this whole romantic weekend (for no reason at all) complete with roses delivered to the  house and getting me the day off work, and clues about the weekend I had to hunt for!!

We went to the Grand Ole Opry, ate some yummy food and just got to be a couple and have dates! It was awesome!! My mother in law was sweet enough to take the kids for the weekend, but we missed em so much after 2 days without em, we came home early. We just didn't know what to do without them!!

Then I hustled and got all the clothes washed, house cleaned and then headed out again. This time as a whole family, to the Ozarks! We went to Mountain View and picnicked on the square, went to Blanchard Springs caverns and took a tour. Then we headed to Branson and had more adventures. I will do another blog about how we saved so much money on our vacation later also. We did ride the ducks, a little shopping, Silver Dollar City, saw an Imax movie, and just ate some amazing food. Also we had a blast at the pool in our hotel too which was so great!!!

Here are some pics if you missed them on Facebook.

Then we went to visit with my sister's future in laws and my extended family for Memorial Day. Ate some yummy bbq and fished. Great times!!

Oh also, somewhere in there, Joshy got glasses, we bought a patio set-now we cook out 2 or 3x a week and I chopped all my hair off and went blond. Really blond!!

Also, last weekend we made Harry Potter wands. I will do a separate post on that later as well. Can't believe it's already the middle of June and we have started back school already!! Oh also I've been working more on the book too. Up to 75 pages now :D So that's what we've been up to. Have you guys had busy summers yet too?

Fun in the Sun!

So I am working on a blog on how to save on vacations, as well as a synopsis of our Branson vacation. But this one is for my own benefit. While we do still school through the summer, it is mostly hands on stuff, enrichment activities, field trips and outings with whatever workbook stuff we need to finish mixed in. I still can't believe my kids are going into the 1st and 3rd grades. Josh is finished with Kindergarten math and all his other workbooks. The only thing we still need to work on is reading. But we found out towards the end of the year he needed glasses so that should help him loads. Hannah finished Math and language arts, but has a few things to work on to supplement. I think especially since I won't be babysitting this summer much, and Jonah is getting a little older, we will be doing weekly outings to the Library, Zoo, or fun places. I also want to do a couple "art camps" this summer too. I know it's a little late (and really, too far and too costly) to do art camp at a studio, but we are going to get together with some friends and do our own I think! It's going to be fun. I'm going to start this weekend, compiling and narrowing down my pinterest favorites and MUST do activities, and collect the materials needed.

I wouldn't really call it a bucket list, but more of a to do list. The goal is to do as many things on here as possible, and chip away at the bigger projects as much as I can. So here they are, in no particular order.

Field trip(s) to zoo.
Weekly library trips as much as possible.
Try to go to the Malco movie day at least once.
Have a water play day in the back yard with friends.
Plan art camps.
Work on my book. I'd like to be finished with a good chunk by summer.
Lose 20 more pounds by August 15.
Deep clean the house from top to bottom and get rid of all unnecessary clutter, junk, and toys.
Have at least one yard sale.
Work on the front flower beds-weed and mulch, get ready to replant in the Fall.
Make homemade fruit Popsicles.
Go to the farmer's market a couple times a month, budget permitting.
Pick fruit from Cedar Hill Farms/Jones Orchard.
Learn to can, providing our tomatoes turn out well.
Teach Hannah to cook some basic things.
Get Josh reading better.
Stay on top of mowing the grass.
Play board games.
Have weekly movie night.
Serve in first church service, and attend 2nd service.
Take Jonah to see the Casey Jones stuff.
Go to the Memphis Botanic Garden.
Go to the Pink Palace.
Go to the Children's Museum.

MEGA BUCKS!!!!

So I haven't done a major stock up trip like this in a while, and certainly not posted about it. Of course, I shop for my family of 6 (if you count my dog) 2 times a month and I buy most things enough to last. I have been, (with the rising cost of food plus us trying to eat much less processed stuff and healthier foods it costs more) paying around $175-$200 on average for two weeks. That typically includes baby stuff, replenishing stock up items and fresh fruits veggies, bread, etc. Everything pretty much that I'm going to need accept TP and diapers, which I buy on amazon now. But since Jonah is getting older, we are starting to introduce the potty, and so I will occasionally buy pullups ever so often and see if he is ready again. If not, when they run out, I go back to buying diapers on amazon. Also, sometimes I buy paper towels on amazon, sometimes at the drug store, it just depends. Today I bought them at CVS. Before I go into the details of my haul today, I want you to be thinking in your head, how much you would estimate all this food and stuff to cost. Got a number in your head? I'll give you a hint, I paid WAY less, of course-using coupons, stocking up on super low sale prices, and using rewards bucks. So here's a rough breakdown. I went to 3 stores: CVS, Kroger, and Aldi. I used lots of coupons, mostly at Kroger since they double.

At CVS: In the ad, they have a deal on P&G products. So the paper towels are sparkle, but they should have been bounty, I'll get to that in a minute.
They had a deal where if you buy $30 of select P&G products, you get $10 back! I had $10 from last week that I hadn't used, so I knew I could expect to pay about $20 before coupons, and get $10 back.
Here's what I bought: (and No, I did not shelf clear, there were probably 40 bottles of soap on the shelf and she said there was more in the back. :)  )

14 bottles of Dawn Dish soap $.99
6 boxes 100 ct. Puffs tissues
2- 6 pack Bounty paper towels -- *My store did not even get any Bounty IN stock in the first place, so she substituted Sparkle for me instead. But most stores will probably have a display of it since it's on the back of the ad advertised.
Then I used 2  $.50/1 dawn hand renewal and 2  $.25/1 any dawn, and I used 2 $.25/3 puffs singles. Not much but it took $2 off, Then I used my $10 previous Extra bucks and after tax I paid $20, and got $10 back. So I got all that for $10!!!!


At Kroger:
They have a HUGE mega sale going on right now with LOTS of freebies and very cheap things. Definitely worth a couple trips. (Since you can only use 2 like printable coupons in one transaction/per visit.)
The deal with the mega sale this time around is you have to buy in groups of 5 mega items, you may mix and match. So you can buy any 5 mega items, and then at the end of your total, it will take off $5 for each group of 5 items (basically a discount of $1 each, but you have to buy in 5's!!)

So here's what I bought.
I do not have the links to the coupons I used but if you want to know, send me a FB message or leave a comment and I will let ya know.
Prices listed are assuming you buy 5 to get the deal, so I already take the $1 off per item.

Mega:
2 Minute Rice (select varieties, I bought 2 brown boil in bag) $1.99 ea
2 Pampers Baby wipes, 72 count $1.99 ea
2 Cascadian Farms Organic Cereal, $2.29 ea
2 General Mills Cereal large box, $2.99 ea
2 pkgs Pullups, $9.49 ea
1 International Delight 1 qt $2.99 ea
1 Pedigree select dog food, $10.99 ea
1 Kraft cheese $2.99
2 Crest toothpaste $2.69
---------------->3 sets of 5 will take off 3 $5 discounts at the end!!!


Other great prices:
6oz Blueberries $1.50 (blackberries are this price too FYI)
16 oz Strawberries $1.50
2 gallons Skim milk, Kroger brand $3.19 ea
1 Kroger Sugar $2.39 ea
Always feminine pads, select varieties $5.69 each (advertised printing a $3 back coupon wyb 2, $1.50 savings each)

Coupons I used: 
1 International delight $.55/1
2 $.50/1 Pampers wipes coupon from coupons.com, both double to $1 off
2 $.50/1 Minute Rice printable coupon from Minute rice website, both double to $1 off
$1/1 Pullups Kroger E coupon
$2/1 Printable pullups coupon
$1/1 Crest E coupon
$1/1 Crest from PG insert
2 $.50/1 Cascadian Farms coupon, doubles to $1
2 $1/1 Always coupons from PG insert
$5/$50 Kroger card purchased from boy scouts.** If you want one of these let me know. I have several friends whose kids are in scouts, and there are 2 of those Kroger cards as well as other discounts on them. They are wonderful!!

Total after coupons: $65.13
Total Savings: $52.48!!! (46%)
Along with my receipt also came a $3 off (as mentioned above) for purchasing 2 Always. These are called Catalina coupons because you get them AFTER you buy the item.
I also got a $1.50 off 3 and a $2/5 General Mills coupons. These are great to pair with the sale this week as the boxes on sale for $1.99 are the extra large 1lb boxes!

At Aldi, I also did awesome! 
They do not accept coupons because they don't carry many name brands, and when they do, coupons are not accepted for those either. But the prices on the regular items that I buy week to week are typically 25-50% less than at kroger, even Kroger's name brand.
Here's what I bought at Aldi.

1 bag pretzels
1 bag baked bbq chips
1 box graham crackers
1 pkg oreo type cookies
2 cases bottles water (these are $2.29 for a 24 pack, every day price! Can't be beat!!)
6 bags frozen steamer broccoli
1 bag frozen peaches
1 bag frozen peaches, strawberries and mangos
2 Fit and Active brand pizza pockets
1 lb lean Ham lunch meat
2 loaves whole wheat bread (think Nature's own brand) $1.29 every day price!!
2- 6 pk English muffins, $.99
1 bag onions
1 package hot dogs, ( I know, I know...horrible for me, lol)
1 pkg hot dog buns,
1 pkg hamburger buns
1 package 3 large tomatoes $1.99
2 packages green bell peppers $1.49 each
4 cups Fit and active fat free yogurt $.39 each
1 bag Spinach mix $.99 (on sale this week GREAT PRICE)
1 head living lettuce, Bibb $1.99 (this is comparable to Kroger price, not really cheaper)
1 bag baby carrots, $.99 every day price
2 pkgs 1 lb each,  fresh 93% lean ground beef $3.99/lb (MUCH cheaper than kroger)
1 100 ct sandwich baggies, sealable $2? (lost the aldi reciept sorry, that's why I don't have all the prices. But if you don't have a super deal on name brand baggies, Aldi is the place to buy them. They charge about the same as the generic kroger brand, BUT they have double the amount in the pkg.)
1 pkg paper plates
1 pkg plastic cups_________________
 ALL THAT, for  $63!!!!



So I got all this food and products for $143 and got $10 back at CVS, and $3 back at Kroger,
so total of $130!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope this helps encourage you to stock up and shop around. You really can save a ton when shopping for your family by making a few different trips.

No School today!! April Fools!!!

No but really, in honor of April Fools we are having school today. I'm not kidding. We homeschoolers are just cool like that. Since we school year round, we get way more than the typical 180 days in, but we are free to take random holidays, necessary sick days (or weeks) without fear of makeup work on top of regular school work, and we can drop everything and travel to Grandma's house in the middle of the week. We can take vacation when we want, not just in summer or spring break. For example, we are going to the Ozarks in May for mini vacation. Then, in Fall of 2014 we are going to Disney world and the crowds will be so much easier and the heat won't be unbearable either! Anyways, that was a random side note, but point being, Harrisons are out of school today.

Instead, on the agenda are these things:
clean the master bathroom
do the dishes
plan dinner
Play some wow with the kids
Cut my coupons from Yesterday

Oh! That brings me to my next issue-I cancelled our paper subscription. The Commercial Appeal was doing a really crappy job of putting together a complete paper, and week after week I had to call in and complain and get them to bring a replacement paper. I'm not sure if the whole paper was there, but I wasn't getting the ad inserts or coupons. It was kinda hit or miss. I was paying $14 a month for the 7 day a week paper in order to get Sunday coupons and Midweek coupons (since they decide to split the coupons we recieve throughout the week, I had to subscribe to the 7 days to get the mid week coupons too. Sneaky sneaky!) Well, the $14 would be worth it if it would have all my ads, coupons etc in one place.

The Sunday paper typically contains CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Target, Kohls/Jc Penney, possibly Michaels/Joann's, and a few other things but those aren't guaranteed week to week,  in addition to the coupon inserts.I would open up my paper and find Walgreens, Target, and some random ads only most days. That means no CVS, No Rite Aid, no Kohls (which these are the ones I want) and/or be missing coupon inserts as well. So I would call and get the automated system and on Sunday's if you navigate through it, they will just put in for you to get another one thrown. Most always the replacement paper was much better, and complete.

Then it started happening on Wednesdays. Sometimes I wouldn't get my Kroger Ad, Aldi Ad, or the coupons that come mid week.
So I was getting really upset when I stopped getting complete papers, and 2 weeks ago, I called and talked to a person (again, and they told me they could offer me a credit. I said I didn't want a credit, but I wanted them to put the coupons in my paper for the next day.) Nothing.... so when it didn't happen the NEXT week, I called wanting to speak to a mgr, was told that all I could do was have them leave a message. So I cancelled. It's not worth it for me to pay for something if they aren't going to give me what I pay for. Ya know?? So instead, I bought 2 papers from the roadside paper guy and guess what!! They were only one dollar!!! So I can get papers cheaper that way, and then just get the midweek paper at the drugstores with my extra bucks!

------------------------------------------

Besides couponing type stuff, we had a pretty good weekend. I had a good birthday I guess. My sweet hubby bought me roses, and Hannah made me a homemade card. I spent most of the day grocery shopping and running errands though, Although I did get taken out to eat Saturday. It was pouring down raining most of the weekend which was lame. We didn't get to do our egg hunt because of all the rain and mud, but I did get to have the traditional perkins meal with 2/4 of my sisters and parents. Then we went to my grandparents house to visit for a little while. But Hannah was feeling kinda sickish, so Jacob stayed home with her, so I did not want to stay too too long, and was home by dinner time. All in all, a busy weekend, and today it's back to the normal grind!

2013 is lookin up!

So I realized the other day that the last time I updated this blog was in January, and it was for a grocery matchup. I figured I should update on my life in general.

Since then:

We have battled weeks of various illness in our family. My sister had her baby 7 weeks premature (he's now home and they are doing great!) Jacob and I are doing great losing weight and I've even started a new blog just for my weightloss journey. To this day I've lost over 48 pounds!! I still need to lose about another 70-80. I even started a youtube blog where I'm posting videos of how I'm doing etc. if you are interested in that.

Kids are doing great. We started a new history curriculum- Mystery of History which I really love already! It integrates Bible history with world history and puts key historical figures in the timeline of the last 6000 years.

Hubby's job is going great, he even just got a raise. I won't say we don't have issues or that we have a perfect life, but I have found that right now I am living in contentment of where God wants us to be.

I participated today in the 40 Days for Life, which was so encouraging to see others standing up for the rights of the unborn. Next Saturday I'll turn 28.

Yeh that's pretty much it! Oh, we bought an elliptical, and I've been using it to workout too some. Jacob's losing alot of weight too. I'm so proud of him, and the kids too-we are eating way better as a family especially together.

Still couponing. Still doing church/small group/awanas. Still homeschoolin'.  Not much else has been happening, sorry if that's boring. But I didn't want it to be months till I made another update, so here ya go!

Kroger Matchup Midsouth, week of 1/29/13

Kroger Mega Sale,
Buy 10 participating items (mix and match) get $5 off your total at the end. This means it will
take off .50 cents for each item, but you must buy in sets of 10. If you buy 11 items, 10 items will get 50 cents off each and the 11th will not be discounted.
This is DIFFERENT from the sales that say $10/10 at kroger. Those items are NOT part of the MEGA sale and therefore you do not need to buy 10 for those; they are simply $1 each.

Also, remember that you cannot stack coupons at Kroger. So if you have a coupon loaded to your card, that is fine as long as you don't
plan to use Manufacturer coupons you've clipped. It will default to taking the E-coupon on your card and WILL NOT ACCEPT your paper coupons.
One more thing: Kroger only accepts 2 Internet printed coupons for the same brand name per transaction, and every cashier I have seen has been a stickler about
not letting you do multiple transactions in the same store trip. Also, I was recently told that you can not use more than 4 of a coupon for similar items. Meaning if you buy
4 bags of Tostitos and use 4 coupons for $1/1 Tositos, that's it. You can't use any more Tostitos coupons. This has been my experience, not sure if this is official policy or not.

Don't forget, just to clarify that you may only use 1 coupon for each item that it attaches itself to. Meaning You may buy 2 bags of Tostitos and use either
TWO  $1 off 1 coupons    OR   only one coupon that reads $1 off when you buy 2 bags. The only exception is if you have a Manufacturer coupon AND a coupon that says "STORE COUPON"; those you can stack.
Kroger does not allow stacking but other stores like Target and the Drugstores (CVS, WAGS, RA do).


Any questions feel free to FB message me or call/text me.  :)  :)  :)

Ok, back to the Kroger Mega sale. These are the items I plan to buy when I go shopping this week.

KROGER MEGA

Betty Crocker Mac N Cheese $.49                                              FINAL PRICE:  $.49 

Skinner Pasta  $.49                                                                      FINAL PRICE:  $.49

Hunts Tomato sauce or diced tomatoes $.49                               FINAL PRICE:  $.49

Rotel Tomatoes $.48
                   Use 40c/2 coupon that will double to $.80/2 
                                                                                   FINAL PRICE: $.08 ea wyb 2

Ozarka 3Liter Water  $.49                                                           FINAL PRICE:  $.49

Canned Freshlike Vegetables  $.49                                             FINAL PRICE:  $.49

Ragu Pasta Sauce $1.29
                   Use $.60/2 coupon that will double to $1.20/2  
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE: $.69 each wyb 2
 

Progresso Light Soup $.99
            Use $.50/2 any progresso coupon that doubles to $1/2
           OR    Use $.25/1 progresso LIGHT soup that doubles to $.50/1
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE: $.49 each 

Starkist Tuna pouches or tuna creations $.99
                 Use $.55/2 coupon that will double to $1.10 off 2
                                                                                                   FINAL PRICE: $.44 ea wyb 2

Frank's Hot Sauce $1.69
                Use $.50/1 that will double to $1/1
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE: $1.00

Kleenex Tissues  $.99
         Use $.55/3 that will double to $1.10/3 from Coupons.com
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE: $.62 each wyb 3

           OR    Use $.50/3 that will double to $1.00/3    
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE:  $.66

Hefty Ziploc Bags $.99
            *There may be $1.00/2 coupons but I don't have them   
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE:  $.49 each wyb 2

Pringles  Super Stack $.99
                 Use $1 off coupon wyb 4 cans
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE: $.74 each wyb 4

French's Yellow Mustard $1.00
                 Use $.30/1 coupon that doubles to $.60 off
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE: $.40

Kelloggs Cereal $1.99
                 Various coupons on COUPONS.COM for $1/2 and $1/3
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE: $1.49 each wyb 2

Heluva good Sour cream dip $.99
        Use .50 coupon that will double to $.99 From Facebook if still available
            OR  Use $.75/1 coupon from insert                       
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE: $.24 

Kraft Singles, select varieties $1.49
           Use $.55/2 coupon that doubles to $1.10 off/2
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE: $.94 each wyb 2

Oscar Meyer Carving Board lunch meat $2.99
        Use $1 coupon from Kroger.com loaded to your Plus Card
            OR  Use $1/1 coupon from Coupons.com
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE: $1.99

Land O' Frost Lunch Meat, 1 lb  $3.49
        Use $.50/1 coupon that will double to $1/1
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE: $2.49 for 1 lb

Birdseye Frozen Chef's Favorites $1.49
        Use $.50 coupon that doubles to $1 off/1
                                                                                                    FINAL PRICE  $.49 

Good Morning!! God Bless and Merry Christmas!!

Actually that's what I wanted to talk about this morning-Christmas. I have been praying and seeking God's will about a few things lately, mostly at the suggestion of some questions from another homeschooling friend that I simply did not have the answer to. Of course, if there is something you don't know, what else should you do but read the word of God, and pray? That's it! Sometimes the answers don't seem to come, but usually God will either send an answer or peace in NOT knowing. We aren't meant to know everything, and the Bible clearly does leave some big questions unanswered. I believe though, that  that is where our faith comes in. We can step out in faith and choose to believe even though we don't fully understand. Also in faith, is the fact that I believe for a good chunk of things that the Bible doesn't expressly forbid, nor endorse specifically, that the Bible gives us Christian liberty to act in the way that we feel God specifically does convict us as individuals.

Let me clarify. One of the things that I have been seeking answers about is Christmas. Why do we use pagan symbols in our tradition of Christmas? It is widely know that some of the traditional symbols are also pagan symbols of long ago. I was told there is a Bible verse about Christmas trees specifically that forbids them! Of course, I just basically said I don't have an answer to that! I certainly agree that if the Bible says not to do something then we shouldn't make excuses or try to justify it--gay marriage and live in boyfriends come to mind. Let me mention now that I am NOT casting stones here. I just want to, in the spirit of transparency, admit that I have not lived a sinless life, and  believe that my sins are no bigger or smaller/better or worse than anyone else's. So in this time of seeking, I was not simply looking for a way to justify my keeping of Christmas nor point out someone else's error in not keeping it. I was just looking for a clear answer from God's word, as to what was the truth here.I feel no need either, to justify my convictions at this point. I only share them now because I know that there may be others out there who are praying and seeking and could use some encouragement. So, now that I have expressed that, I can move on with the rest of this post!!

I did some research on my own in the past few weeks and here is what I have found to be true.

#1) Symbols are just that. Symbols. Because our world has been around for thousands of years, and there have been many nations and cultures to come about, each having their own symbols. I think for the most part, a symbol can be what you mean it to be. Christians all over the world that choose to keep Christmas today, clearly do not have Christmas trees and candles because some pagans used those symbols in their idol worship thousands of years ago. I think the heart of the people is what matters. If I was kneeling at my tree in worship of the tree itself, then that would of course be wrong, but we do not do that. But to my family, candles and lights are a symbol that Jesus is the light of the world.

2)  We don't know what day Christ was born. But that shouldn't keep us from celebrating. Unless you are going to outlaw every. single. holiday.  EVER.    or festival  or feast-even those in the Bible, how can you argue that it would be wrong to celebrate Christ's birth? I understand that we don't know his birthday, and they likely didn't even celebrate birthdays back then. However, anything that promotes worship and love of my Lord is a good thing in my book. If the worshipers are sincere, then they have a connection with God and I believe he will honor that. As Christians we celebrate holidays that were not in the Bible, and some that are.  Thanksgiving and Easter are also not expressly mentioned in the Bible, but in my book they are both important! No one could argue (I don't think) that the puritans who came here seeking religious freedoms to go to church and to read their Bibles and pray openly in public, would have created a holiday to be idolatrous or frivolous. They were giving thanks to God for the bounty and the survival of those who had made it through the journey and providing provisions for them through those hard months. The wanted to celebrate and give thanks to their God and their new found friends. The Bible may not mention of our specific holidays, but it does say that some things are worth celebrating (ie Weddings) and they certainly had their own traditions in Bible times every year-all which were intended to honor God. 

In my opinion, December 25th is probably not the day he was born-like a 1/365 likelyhood pretty much.... but since we don't know, it's as good of a day to celebrate as any. And we have so much to be thankful for too: God sent his son to save us! That is huge! I think it is important to remember this, and celebrating Christmas every year is one way that I honor that.

3) Christmas has gotten too commercial. One of my favorite Christmas movies- A Charlie Brown Christmas, is especially good at pointing this out.  This time of year, many people have scrapped Christ completely from the holiday, and kids are asking for more and more things. It is clearly a highly marketable holiday, and there's plenty of money to be made. Most people are too busy to be bothered even with giving at this time of year anymore and are only concerned with what they can get instead. In fact, in the movie, there is an especially poignant line from Sally, Charlie's younger sister: "All I want is what I... I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share."  Obamaphone anyone? In a world that is more greedy than ever before, I see even more reason to keep Christmas! Especially in America, we feel entitled to take whatever we want, earned or not. We deserve it, right? That's such a great line for where we are today that it's hard to believe the movie was made nearly 50 years ago (yeh, I know, right!).

To me, it is a reminder though, that God's free gift to us is the best gift of all. While God doesn't say we should give gifts specifically to others, since it is his birthday we celebrate, I believe when done with a sincere heart --and that is the key--it honors him. In a world that seems to be seeking evil more and more each day, it can sometimes seem a fine line to live in this world instead of it. When I give gifts to others, it isn't to promote some materialistic thing. It is to show them LOVE above all, and in loving them, I am honoring Christ. A dear friend of mine is heading up the annual toy drive this year and it has just been amazing to see God work through this. Every time she hears about a need, God provides the perfect thing! It's a simple way to share love of Christ with those who need it most! She told a story yesterday about how her husband had given his coat away to a man he saw without one yesterday, and she had, without him knowing, just bought him a new one! Her family works so hard every year to help organize collecting and distributing toys to and from people in our local area. And without fail every year, her family gets sick. We both feel it is the evil one attacking her family for serving God. Because serving IS something Christ called us to do, and to me, giving IS serving. It's not about how much money I can spend or even save, Christ cares very little about that. But bringing joy to my kids and others I can share gifts with, lets them know I love them, as Christ loved me. I expect nothing in return, and in fact, prefer it that way. So it doesn't matter that some people spend thousands of dollars on top of the line toys for their crew or focus on getting the latest Ipad. To me, they can choose to serve the world if they want-we may not ever have an influence on some of them. I'm just gonna continue to keep Christmas and giving to others in whatever way God permits me to, because I believe nothing warms his heart more than his children loving on others so much so their his love spills out of them and they have a chance to share WHY they give! I give because it's a reminder of God's gift of Love to us, and, as my pastor so beautifully said last Sunday- Sincere giving is an act of worship to our Heavenly Father.

So, it is, without a doubt in my mind, a beautiful thing to celebrate Christmas. However, if you feel in your heart, that God for whatever reason, is calling you to do otherwise, you would be wise to listen! The Bible tells us in Colossians 2, that keeping Sabbath on a certain day or keeping certain festivals are a matter of personal conviction after Christ came. We are no longer under the old law, but rather, Grace. So it is with joy, I will celebrate this year and every year we have left on earth. And I will say that my dear friend is also right, as she feels convicted to do otherwise. If you would like to do some reading on this, I found a great article this morning here:  Answers in Genesis  that you might find interesting as well.   Regardless of how you celebrate, Peace, and God bless you!