The Message

"Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive to hospitality.

Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.

Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. " I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it."

Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or it he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise hi with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good."
Romans 12:9-21

My sister Keren just gave me a "Message" New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. I had said something about wanting to get one and the next thing I knew she had gotten one for me. Thanks Keren! I have enjoyed hearing others read from the Message over the last couple of years. Though I wouldn't use it for my regular bible (I like the NAS for that) it is really fun to read from too. It makes you sit back and think about verses that you have heard all your life. Check out Keren's post that made me want to get the Message even more.

What version do you like best for studying from? How about for reading from? What do you think of the Message?

Frugal Gift # 11 ~ Basketball hoop

I thought I would share this not so much because I think you all want a homemade basketball hoop but because I just wanted to share with you the fun we have had with kids making presents for each other.

Jonathan made this for Aaron for his birthday. Aaron loves balls and all sports and this was a perfect fit for him. Jonathan cut out the cardboard (I helped a little with the pattern) and colored it (you can kind of tell that wasn't his favorite part). We took the lid to an ice cream bucket and I cut out the inside and Jonathan attached the old orange bag to it and then we attached it to the cardboard. Jonathan used some of his blue duck tape (one of his birthday presents as he loves tape and crafting.) to put around the edges. We put some Velcro on the back so that it could be hung up on their bunk bed. All in all it was a fun project and Aaron liked it.

I have had so much fun helping the kids make gifts for each other. They love to craft and they love secrets and special times with mom. It is fun to watch them think about what somebody might like and then strive to create it. I try to keep an eye out for gifts that kids can make so that I can help them with ideas. Our kids have always been good siblings (they truly care for each other and are generally very good at sharing) but helping them give each other gifts that they put time into has truly been a blessing. They also enjoy making gifts for Ken and I. It is such a fun surprise to get all these little packages on Christmas morning filled with various little crafts that they put together. I think having them make homemade gifts makes them think about the recipient more than just going out and going shopping for a gift. That is just my opinion, what do you think?

Clothing your family frugally

We have been so blessed with being able to clothe our family of 6 with a very minimal amount of money. I am often so amazed at how abundantly God blesses. This past month has been one of those times when I have been in awe of His abundant way of doing things.

One of the main ways we get clothes is through hand-me-downs. We don't go around asking for them but still they come and we are thankful. The picture below is an example of the clothes that were given to us last week. With hand-me-downs we often cannot use everything we are given but we try to graciously receive whatever is given to us, then we go through it and find the clothes we can use now, wash them up (It might be kind of silly but I always like to rewash any clothes we get) and put them in the drawers. I also look carefully through the too big clothes and try to decide if it is something that would be worn in a year or so. These also I wash up and then I put them in a box and label them with the approx. sizes and whether it is for boy or girl and then put them in the kids closet. In this way when a child grows out of his clothes we have quick and easy access to a bunch of "new" clothes. It is much quicker than going on a shopping trip.

When going through the clothes I also look for possibilities for remaking of clothes. For instance this week I was given a skirt that I am not interested in for myself but it had fabric that Mara will really like. I plan on making it into a skirt for her. I have also made big men's pants into pants for the boys, big dresses into little dresses, exercise pants into swimsuits, etc.

Also while going through the clothes I will take out any that have holes or stains, that I don't think anybody will want to wear (I is common to get this stuff in the hand-me-downs as well, but don't complain, just do something with it.) These I turn into rags, quilts or rugs OR (Gasp!!) I simply throw it away.

With the stuff that is left I try to think of somebody else who might be able to use it. I then pass it on to them. I also do this when we have simply been given way more than we can use (I am really trying to steer clear of overflowing drawers). If I can't think of anybody in the right size I will save it for a garage sale or donate them.

If you aren't given hand-me-downs but would like some, these are a few ideas that I have: Volunteer to help with a group garage sale. When it is over and there is usually a lot of clothes left offer to help get rid of them. I have also noticed clothes being offered on Freecycle. Also if you hear of somebody that is has gone through their closets and has clothes that they are wanting to don't be shy, offer to take it off their hands.

Other ways we get clothes cheaply is to: Sew, shop at 2nd hand stores, go garage saleing, and shop sales. Ken's clothes are mostly bought new on sale and we buy a few other things that way as well. I go to garage sales and 2nd hand store rarely but I am amazed how God blesses the times I do go and I have been able to find things that we need for very good prices. Sewing I use mainly for dress clothes and aprons.

What is your favorite way to clothe your family without breaking the budget?

A Giveaway!!!

I am so excited! Vision Forum is letting me hold a giveaway on my blog.

You have a chance to win "The League of Grateful Sons" DVD. This sounds like a fascinating story about men in World War 2 who remained faithful to God in the midst of war. Click on the picture to find out more.

This sounds like a wonderful DVD for using in your homeschool or just to enjoy watching. Great fun for all the World War 2 history buffs.

If you haven't ever visited Vision Forum site you should check it out. It is the kind of place that I start drooling over. :-) They sell products that portray a love of God, family and country. They have very neat stuff.

To Enter the contest please leave a comment below. Please make sure that I have a way to contact you (your name linking to your blog or an e-mail address), so that if you win I can get your mailing information so that the DVD can be sent to you.

You can enter the giveaway through December 19. After that we will randomly select a winner. So have fun!

Works for me Wednesday ~ Family room solutions

This morning I thought I would share how we made everything fit in our family room. Ken has a very big desk set and we also wanted to have chairs, a treadmill (that Ken uses every morning!), and the TV in this area and were a little perplexed on how to make it work. We decided to pretty much make it into two rooms.

When you get downstairs you first see this area (above) where the desk is.

Ken is always wonderful about keeping his desk clean and neat. So it is a nice looking area. This is where are computers are so it is out in the open which is nice.
This other bookshelf (the narrow one to the right) is also in this area. On this we keep a lot of our homeschooling books.
This (above)is the other side of the desk. The bookshelves are what creates the wall. Here is where we keep most of our books. We love books and I am sure we are going to have to get more and more books shelves over the years but for now this holds most of them. (I have decided to try to utilize the library more and not buy as many books however).

This is the other side of the room. We were able to make it so the windows were in the room with the chairs and the books, rather than causing glare on the computer screen.

Anyway that is our solution that works very well for us!

This room still needs to be decorated which is in the works. I will try to share pictures when I get done.

Check out more solutions for everyday problems at work for me Wednesdays.