Linda's Lunacy

Faith, Home, & Family

The Bible in 90 Days – Week Four

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It’s time for our Week Four Check-in!

I know I said last week I would be caught up. I was mistaken. lol I’m still behind, but still reading!

I always find the weekends harder to get all my reading done.

How’s everyone doing?

 

Don’t forget the Bible in 90 Days Twitter Party!  To make keeping up with the party easier, they’ve started a TweetGrid for the parties. Here’s the link:

http://tweetgrid.com/grid?l=2&q1=%23B90days&q2=From%3AMomsToolBox+OR+From%3AJulieDutch&q3=TO%3A_YourUserName&htag=B90Days

You can follow all the posts with the #B90Days tag.

 

Here are a few links:

Visit Mom’s Toolbox for the weekly Bible in 90 Days post.

Links for all the bookmarks for the chronological plan:

 

You Are Here in the Bible (Ted Cooper of the Bible in 90 Days Ministry created You are Here in the Bible to help Bible in 90 Days readers get a snapshot of most of the books of the Bible as they were reading. His aim was to keep readers reading and not researching, therefore preserving more time for reading the entire Bible.  This link takes you to page of links to each of his entries.) These You Are Here in the Bible pages are great for yourself, or to do together as a family.

 

 

Ok, it’s time to leave a comment below with your progress.

God bless you in your journey to read The Bible in 90 Days!

Paying it Forward with Gutzy Gear

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Thanks to Madame Deals Media and Gutzy Gear I had the opportunity to purchase school supplies to giveaway.

I was sent $25. to buy a backpack and as many school supplies as possible to fill it. Not to keep for myself or my kids, but to giveaway to a child who needed it.

Since I only had $25, I opted to get a small backpack, as backpacks can get expensive. I found this small one at Walmart for $7. In fact, I bought all these supplies at Walmart. School starts here the first week of August, so when I received the money, all the school sales were over. I still found some good prices at Walmart, I would have gotten the spiral notebooks that are cheaper than the composition notebooks, but they were out of them. My kids like the composition notebooks better, as do as lot of kids, I think.

school supplies

Not included in this picture is a small bottle of hand sanitizer that I inadvertently left out. Included are:

9 composition notebooks
1 pencil box
1 handheld calculater
1 box of crayons
1 box of colored pencils
1 package of pens
1 package of mechanical pencils
1 pack erasers
1 pack of glue sticks
1 pack of index cards
1 ruler
1 -3 pack of tissues
1 small bottle of hand sanitizer
and the backpack

Here’s my receipt for all these. $24.79 before tax and $26.28 after tax.

Gutzy Gear also sent me 2 Gutzy Gear strap covers and a package of Gutzies to add to the backpack.

gutzy gear

The filled backpack with the Gutzy’s and the missing hand sanitizer.

backpack

Never heard of Gutzy Gear? Gutzy Gear includes these really cool shoulder straps for backpacks, or any kind of bag your child carries, duffel, sports, dance, etc. Gutzy Gear then offers Gutzies patches that have velcro on the back and stick to the shoulder straps. There are currently over 50 designs to choose from, with more being added all the time. I opened all the Gutzy Gear and added it to the backpack.

gutzy gear backpack

Gutzy Gear patches are a fun way for kids to decorate their backpacks while expressing their likes and interests. Since the patches attach with velcro, they are easily moved around or removed for trading with their friends.

gutzy gear

 

Ok, I had fun shopping for the supplies, filing the backpack and decorating it with Gutzy Gear. But the best part was giving the backpack away!

My family runs our church’s clothes closet. We accept clothing and household donations from the community, sort the donations, then give everything away for free to community. We open to the public on Saturdays from 10-12. While it is a lot of work, it is also a great blessing to our family to be able to work together to help others in this way.

So I took my Gutzy Gear decorated, filled to the brim backpack with us to giveaway to a child that needed it. This little boy came in with his mom and I asked her what grade he was in and if he needed a backpack and school supplies. She told me he was in first grade and didn’t have a backpack, that he was carrying a satchel to school.

Look at his little face! He was sooo happy to get the backpack. I handed it to him and he immediately put it on. I had to adjust the straps while he had it on. lol It was heavy with all those supplies in it, but he didn’t care. He put it on and wore it the whole time his mother was looking at clothes. You can tell by the shelves in disarray behind him that it was a busy morning. He didn’t care. He just kept smiling and wearing his new backpack.

I was so blessed to be given the $25 to go shopping and the Gutzy Gear to giveaway. Even though we give away clothing and household items on a weekly basis, to see how happy this little boy was to receive something that most kids take for granted was just amazing!

Thank you Gutzy Gear and Madame Deals Media for making this amazing moment possible.

 

*Disclaimer- This backpack giveaway was sponsored by Gutzy Gear and Madame Deals Media. I received $25 to purchase these school supplies. Everything listed on the receipt and pictured here was given away. I received no other compensation. Opinions are my own.

Saturday on the Farm

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I’ve been busy this week trying to stay caught up with preserving out harvest. The zucchini is staying ahead of me, though. lol I shredded 5 two cup bags worth of zucchini this week and put them in the freezer. In the big bag in the back, you can see two other small bags I already froze. I put the small bags inside a big bag to keep them from falling all over the freezer. And my toes. lol I have about  6 or 7 zucchinis waiting to do something with. As soon as I get the energy, I want to can pineapple zucchini.

frozen zucchini

Here’s some of what we harvested this week. Zucchini, raspberries and what we think might be the last picking of the green beans. There’s still some out there, but we have to make sure we save enough for next years seeds.

zucchini red raspberries

And more red raspberries another day.

red raspberries

Here’s my helper Hannah picking an Armenian Cucumber.

garden harvest

Here’s my  youngest, Zach with our harvest that morning. Two Armenian Cucumbers, yellow squash, a tomato and a green pepper. yum!

garden harvest

I was surprised this week with two more Hibiscus flowers. Beautiful.

hibiscus

Have you harvested any interesting vegetables lately, or had any surprise flowers?

 

Here are a few links I found interesting and helpful:

Propagating Elderberry Bushes
Maple Sugar – how to videos
Homemade Fertilizer

Use Lime to Kill Ticks
Greenhouses Made From Old Windows and Doors
DIY PVC Tomato Cage

 

[Read more…]

Our Homeschool Week in Review

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We only had four school days this week, due to Labor Day. Dad had the day off work, so we took the day off school. It was nice to have an extra day off.  🙂

The kids are getting more serious about their music now. Abby sings on the Youth Praise Team at church and is taking piano lessons, Calen is learning how to play the guitar, Zach is now learning how to play the guitar taking lessons from Calen. Hannah is practicing the piano and teaching Abby, and also learning to play the violin. This is a very music filled house most days. I love it. Well, except when the guitar and the piano are playing different songs at the same time!  Then it’s a crazy music filled house! lol Oh, there has been some interest expressed in learning the drums, too! yikes!

I thought it might be fun to include a video of Hannah practicing the violin. She agreed to let me post it! lol

You can ignore the little brother walking back & forth, and putting the kitten into the shot. lol

 

Here are the reviews I did last week for The Schoolhouse Review Crew, in case you missed them:

Math911
Everyday Cooking
Notable Novelists – card game

 

 

Here are a few links I found interesting and helpful:

Free Customized Homeschool ID Cards
Map Puzzle – Make your own!
Embracing a Family Homeschool Culture
Printable Notebooking Covers
Homeschool Planning Notebook
10 Way sto Build Excitement in Your Homeschool

 

To see more homeschooling posts, visit Weekly Wrap Up.

This Week’s Favorites

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This Week’s Favorites is a collection of articles I loved to read, recipes and crafts I want to try, or recently tried.

 

Natural Health:

Homemade Remineralizing Toothpaste Recipe
Cold, Sore Throat Tea
Peppermint Oil for Sinus Problems
Healing & Detoxing Baths for Those with Chronic Illness and Chronic Pain
Non-Toxic Bug Repellent Recipe with Coconut Oil

 

To Read or Do:

How to dehyrdrate and store food – video
Building a Stockpile of Medicine
Pertussis Outbreak and Some Facts
30 Awesome Kids Apps for the iPad
20 Ways to Reuse Coffee Grounds and Tea Leaves

 

To Cook:

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Balls
Baked Zucchini Fries
GF tortillas
Taco Bake Recipe
S’more Muffins
Fruit Cocktail Muffins

 

To Craft:

Crocheted Stained Glass Flower Potholder
The Best Crocheted Potholder
Crocheted Teddy Bear Square
X’s & O’s Baby Blanket
Mitered Granny Square

 

I hope you found lots of new favorites, too!

God, You’ve Got Mail – Book Review

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It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today’s Wild Card author is:

 

 

and the book:

 

Destiny Image (August 21, 2012)
***Special thanks to Susan Otis of Creative Resources, Inc for sending me a review copy.***

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Danette Crawford is an evangelist, author, international speaker and TV
host who became a youth pastor at age nineteen and by twenty-one was
traveling as an evangelist. She is founder and president of Joy
Ministries Evangelistic Association, which ministers to thousands
through its twenty-one outreach programs. Her television program, “Joy
in the Morning,” is broadcast weekly into over 165 million homes
nationally. She is a graduate of Lee University with a magna cum laude
in psychology, and a master’s of arts degree in counseling from Regent
University. The author of Don’t Quit in the Pit and Pathway to the
Palace, she has been featured in programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, many other
networks as well as in newspaper and magazine articles. She and her
daughter reside in Virginia.
Visit the author’s website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

A young mother of an infant, abandoned by her husband, learns that God is well able to abundantly provide for her needs. Faced with financial hardship, she’d present her bills to God, and wait for Him to supply the funds. Relying on God‘s
promises for abundant provision, she held firm in faith and each month
her needs were supplied. Danette Crawford, author, ministry leader and
television evangelist whose program reaches more than 165 million homes
each week, shares fifteen keys that unlock God‘s
promises. True experiences from her life are combined with biblical
principles, reflections, personal application and a relevant prayer.

Product Details:

List Price: $15.99

Paperback: 272 pages

Publisher: Destiny Image

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0768403073

ISBN-13: 9780768403077

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:


–>

 

Chapter 1
“I Am More than Able to Meet Your Needs”
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in
Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 4:19
I had to deal with
financial hardship long before I became a single mother. During and after
college, I traveled as an evangelist, and I relied completely on monetary
contributions from other people. In this phase of my life, I would often look
around and think, Okay, who’s going to
help me now? The truth was, I had already learned that God would provide for
me. Whenever the funds I owed to a particular convention center or other venue
didn’t come in from the collection I took at the church where I was preaching,
then the money would be waiting for me in my mailbox when I got home. Yet, even
though I knew in my mind that I ought to trust God, it took a while for my
heart to catch up and internalize that lesson.
Learning to Trust the Lord as Provider
I was preparing for a
city-wide youth crusade, and I was excited because I knew that a lot of young
people would be saved and ministered to. But the question kept nagging me:
Where in the world would I gather enough financial support? Many people had
made a commitment to give money, but, when it came down to it, they had backed
out for various reasons. Just days before the payment was due, I was
ministering at a Sunday morning service in a small church several hours away.
As the service came to a close, I still didn’t have enough funds to cover the
payment, which was due the next day. I felt the Lord leading me to drive to
Oklahoma City that afternoon to attend an evening service there. I wasn’t even
thinking about the possibility of collecting funds there, because I wasn’t
scheduled to minister in Oklahoma City. Yet, I felt very strongly that the Lord
was telling me to go there. So, I got in the car with my young companion, Shea,
and we drove to Oklahoma City. We arrived just in time for the evening service.
Much to my surprise, the
youth pastor who was leading the service began to talk about our upcoming youth
crusade! Someone in the congregation stopped him and said, “The young lady
evangelist who’s holding the event is here tonight.” The youth pastor then
asked me to come up to the platform and share about the crusade. I did, and
when I had I concluded my remarks, he took the microphone back from me and said
to the congregation, “This is a God thing, and if God tells you to help her in
any way, please do.”
As the service let out,
Shea and I moved about on our own, shaking hands with the congregants and
talking to some of them. When the crowd had dispersed, I was left standing
alone—without having received any financial gifts. I met up with Shea, and we
started making our way outside to our van. Shea said, “Did you see that lady in
the last row who was in a wheelchair?”
“No,” I replied.
“After the service, she
motioned for me to come over to where she was, and she asked what we needed,”
Shea went on. “I told her, ‘Seven thousand dollars by tomorrow morning,’ and
she wrote me a check!”
Talk about something to
shout about! We were both excited and bewildered. But then, worry put a damper
on my excitement as I thought, What if
her check isn’t any good?
The next morning, Shea
and I went straight to the bank. When we presented the check to the teller and
asked her to cash it, a strange expression crossed her face. She asked us to
take a seat in the waiting area for a minute. My mind began to go wild with
worry. This is a bad check, and they
think we’re responsible, I
thought to myself. What if they’re
calling the police? What if this? What if that? The minutes that passed
felt like an eternity. Finally, the teller returned to the window. She
apologized for the inconvenience and told us that she had called the woman
whose name was on the account to verify that she’d written the check for
$7,000. She then informed us that everything was fine, and she cashed the
check. Hallelujah!
The Lord taught me a
valuable faith lesson that day—to trust Him to provide, even if it meant relying
on the least likely of avenues. The last person I would have expected the
necessary funds to come from was a lady in the back row of a church in Oklahoma
City where I hadn’t even been scheduled to speak. Part two of that lesson was
when God said, “You had enough faith to get that check into your hand, but you
didn’t have enough faith to believe that it was good.” It’s true—I didn’t. But
God was teaching me to look to Him alone, and never to man, for my provision.
You Never Know How He’ll Meet Your
Needs
Father God will always
get His provision into our hands, but the channel through which He sends it is
often the channel we would consider the least likely. I’m convinced that the
Lord “sets us up” to build us up. The “setup” is that the funds never come from
the expected source, and the “build-up” is for our faith. Father builds our
faith on every step of this marvelous journey we are on with Him, as long as we
trust Him.
Look to the Lord Alone
When we are in the midst
of financial pressure, we have to be careful not to get angry and upset with
those around us whom we think should be helping us. This is true for all of us,
no matter our position—whether we’re single parents, businesspeople, pastors,
and so forth. We should always look to the Lord for our provision and not rely
on the arm of the flesh.
God taught me this
principle long before I became a single mom, but I forgot this particular faith
lesson when met with the mounting financial pressures I faced when I was
suddenly in the position of having to care for a newborn baby on my own and
without a steady source of income. Basically, my faith in God’s provision went
out the window.
One day, as I stood
staring at my file cabinet and pondered the bulging folder of bills marked
“Due,” I began to get angry. My dad could
write one check and pay off every one of my bills, I thought, and he wouldn’t even miss the money. As
the bitterness mounted in my heart, the Lord spoke to me. “It’s not his
responsibility to pay your bills now that you are grown,” He said. “But I’m
your heavenly Father, and I can write one check and pay every bill you have.
And I definitely wouldn’t miss it, because I own it all.” He went on to say
that He not only could, but He would, if I would only trust Him.
Wow! God has a way of
getting right to the point with a word of truth. The truth was, I shouldn’t
have been looking to my dad—or any person, for that matter—to be the source of
my provision. My heavenly Father was just waiting for me to look to Him. And
today, your heavenly Father is waiting for you to look to Him for your every
need. Jesus instructed us to pray, “Give
us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11 nkjv).
It doesn’t say, “Give us this day our monthly bread”; it says “our daily bread.” I don’t know about
you, but I kind of like to have the whole month budgeted out. And, if at all
possible, I like to know my budget for the upcoming year! But God doesn’t
usually work that way. His way requires us to place our trust in Him and to
walk by faith.
It’s in His Hands
God got through to me
loud and clear that day—so clear, in fact, that I began to treat every incoming
bill as if it didn’t have my name on it. As I mentioned before, I started
leaving it up to God. When I would go to my post office box and find a pile of
bills, I’d simply look up and say, “God, You’ve got mail!” Then, I’d take God’s
mail home with me and place it in the folder labeled “Due.” I wouldn’t open
that folder again until the money was put in my hand. At that time, I’d say,
“Okay, God. Which of Your bills do You want me to pay for You?”
My mortgage payments,
utility bills, and all other expenses were always paid on a monthly basis,
despite my lack of a steady income. Even with my ex-husband’s delinquent child
support payments, God saw to it that we never paid a single bill late.
All that You Have Comes from Him
The Lord taught me that
everything I have comes from Him. Every dollar, every meal, every piece of
clothing—everything I have comes from Him. He taught me to ask Him what He
wanted me to do with every dollar that came into my hand—that was an important
key to having all of my needs met. After all, we have this assurance in
Philippians 4:19 (nkjv): “My God shall supply all your need according
to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” If my needs aren’t met, something
is wrong. Maybe I spent God’s money on something I wanted or thought I needed
instead of paying one of His bills. As we learn to ask God what He wants us to
do with every dollar He puts into our hands, we can be free from stress and
worry. When we receive bills in the mail, we can simply look to the Lord and
say, “God, You’ve got mail!”
Trust Your Provider, Not Your Provision
The Lord often tests us—a
truth I was shocked to discover as a new Christian. In Exodus, we have an
example of God testing the children of Israel for several reasons, but
primarily to see whether they would respond in obedience and to gauge their
heart attitude toward money. It was a setup to see whether they would trust in
God and rely on Him to provide for their daily needs on a daily basis.
God provided food to the
Israelites while they were fleeing Egypt. It came in the form of manna, which
fell daily from heaven. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down
bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough
for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my
instructions’” (Exodus 16:4).
A passing score on the
Israelites’ part would have been one that proved their complete faith and trust
in the true Provider, not their provision. And this is a test that each of us
must pass. Sometimes, we get used to trusting in our provision—our paycheck,
for example—that we lose sight of the One from whom it came. We just cruise
through life, never realizing that our trust has shifted from the Source of
everything to our salaries. When this happens, our trust in God weakens to the
point where, if we lose a job, go through a divorce, or face an overwhelming
situation that causes financial strain, we find it hard to hang on because the
thing we’ve trusted in is slipping through our fingers.
Our heavenly Father
promises to supply our daily bread—all of our needs (Philippians 4:19). But we
can’t plead the promises of God if we aren’t living by faith in God. One
covenant benefit of being a child of God is the confidence that He will keep
His part of the covenant and supply whatever we need. We need to rest in that!
Trust in His Promises
When you go to the
doctor’s office for a checkup, the receptionist asks you to produce your
insurance benefits card. So, what do you do? You pull it out of your wallet
with confidence because you know you have benefits! You don’t say, “I have
benefits, but I’ll go ahead and pay for this visit out of pocket.” That would
be foolish. And it’s the same when it comes to our covenant benefits as
children of the King. Pull out your list of benefits—the Bible—to find a
detailed compilation of all of the covenant blessings that belong to you. Those
blessings include health, provision, peace, and joy, to mention just a few!
Heaven doesn’t have any
bread shortages, so don’t walk around with your head hanging low. Hold your
head up and boldly stand on the Word—your benefit Book—as you trust God to give
you your daily bread. Your means of provision may change, but your Provider is
the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Psalm 37:25 says, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have
never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” So,
don’t worry. God has never forsaken the righteous, and He isn’t about to
abandon you. Never will you need to beg for bread. You may need to exercise
your faith in Him to receive your daily bread, but that’s a great place to be,
because your intimacy with the Father grows as you rely on Him more and more.
Building Trust by “Just Enough”
When the children of Israel
were crossing over from the land of “not enough” (Egypt) to the land of “more
than enough” (the Promised Land), they had to walk through the land of “just
enough” (the desert). In the desert, they had just enough for that day. They
didn’t lack, yet they didn’t have an abundance of food or provisions. They had
just enough—their daily bread, or manna, from heaven.
Similarly, when Jesus
commissioned the Twelve Apostles, He gave them the following instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a
staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra
tunic” (Mark 6:8–9).
Whenever we cross over to
a new place or ascend to a higher level, we come through a period in which we
have to rely on what I call the “daily bread.” Why is this period necessary to
pass through as we move up to the next level? Because the next level will
require an increase in faith and trust in God.
Every time our ministry
is about to cross over to the next level, I’m required to walk through the land
of “just enough.” It isn’t fun, but what should we expect from a process that’s
meant to kill the flesh? This is the reason many people choose to remain in
their comfort zones rather than crossing over into their “potential zones.”
Over the years, each time
our ministry has outgrown its office space and decided to relocate to a larger
facility, the larger facility inevitably cost more—and I had to believe God to
give us the extra funds every month. As I stepped out in faith, we had just
enough to make each monthly payment. We never had any extra money, but we
always had just enough to meet the payment. It was as if God was doling out our
daily “manna” during these seasons of crossing over to the next level.
The same process applied
to me as a homeowner. When I first bought my house, I had just enough money to
pay the mortgage and utility costs every month. Groceries weren’t even in my
budget! But God always made sure that I had enough, even if it didn’t look very
promising on paper. It’s during this “daily bread” stage that we are
continually stretched and our faith is challenged to grow. These seasons are
never comfortable to the flesh because they are designed to rid us of all waste
and excess. The flesh has to be disciplined in order for us to climb to a
higher level.
Don’t Get Too Comfortable, or You
Might Just Get Stuck
One problem with our
flesh is, it likes the familiar. We grow comfortable with what we know, to the
point where, when God calls us to journey to a better place, we don’t feel like
moving. The manna for the Israelites was a temporary provision. God didn’t plan
for them to remain in the desert dining on manna for the rest of their lives.
It was their provision for the process of crossing over to the Promised
Land—the land of more than enough. They could have made the transition in a
matter of eleven days, but, because of their grumbling, complaining, and
unbelief, they took forty years to cross over. Imagine—four decades of eating
manna!
When your manna begins to
dry up, it doesn’t mean you are going backward. It means you are going
forward—forward into the Promised Land. Exodus 16:35 says, “The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that
was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.” They
were given manna until they crossed over to the destination God had been
leading them to all along.
In my own life, as well
as in the lives of others, I have seen the “manna” begin to dry up on the
precipice of a divine destination. At that point, the flesh screams out, “Don’t
mess with my manna!” The provision I initially resented has become familiar,
and my flesh resists any further growth that’s required for me to cross over to
a new place, even if it’s a better place.
I was ministering in a
city when I met a Christian woman in need of physical healing. In the middle of
a miracle service, the Holy Spirit began to move in her, and she received her
healing. Later, she told me that instead of rejoicing over the healing she had
received, the first thing she thought was, Oh,
no! I’m not going to receive my disability check any longer.
When God messes with our
manna, we can get a little worried if we have been depending on the manna for
any length of time. Due to the financial strains I faced after my husband left,
I became a participant in the government-sponsored Women, Infants, and Children
(WIC) program when my daughter, Destiny, was very young. I received formula,
cereal, milk, peanut butter, and a couple of other items each month. We were
beneficiaries of this program for about eighteen months, while I got back on my
feet, financially. One day, when I was filling out the paperwork to reenroll in
the program, the Lord spoke to me and said that it was time to get off the
“manna.” I reached the part where it asked me to write the income I expected
for the next six months. As I went to fill in the amount, the Holy Spirit spoke
to me again, saying, “Is that what you are expecting?” I had been praying for
God to increase my monthly income to a certain amount—an amount that would have
disqualified me from the WIC program. I was faced with a dilemma: trust in God,
or trust in WIC—the “manna” I had grown accustomed to relying on. I knew I
could count on my manna. What was I going to do without it?
I was going to cross over
to the next level—that’s what I was going to do! I wasn’t going to need my
manna any longer, but I needed to take a step of faith. I decided not to
reenroll in the program, and I never went back on WIC in the years that
followed, because I knew God had spoken to me, even though my flesh was
screaming out for the manna.
It was amazing! Very soon
after I obeyed the Holy Spirit, my income increased—sure enough, by an amount
that exceeded the WIC guidelines. What is the “manna” in your life that has
begun to dry up? Don’t get nervous when God messes with your manna—it’s a good
sign. It means that you are about to cross over to your Promised Land, the land
of more than enough. Don’t get stuck on the manna. God has something much
better for you.
God Is All You Need
When you take what you
have and you look to the Lord, you will always have more than enough. Remember,
He owns everything—it’s impossible to “overdraw” on your account of covenant
blessings from Him!
A good illustration to
help you remember this truth is found in the biblical account of the feeding of
the five thousand. Matthew 14:19 says, “Taking
the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and
broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave
them to the people.” Jesus took what he had—that was His starting point.
And that’s where most people quit. They look at their resources and they get
depressed and discouraged, feel sorry for themselves, or try to manipulate
others to give them resources. Just simply take what you have.
Second, Jesus looked up
to heaven. Don’t look down—look up and hold your head up. This is where your
faith and your trust come in.
Then, third, Jesus gave
thanks. Stop complaining about what you don’t have and start praising God for
what you do have. A grateful heart of thanksgiving is always a forerunner for
an increase in blessing. If you aren’t thankful for what you have, why would
God give you more?
Fourth and finally, Jesus
took a step of faith. Although He had only five loaves and two fish, He started
giving out what He had—now, that was a step of faith! When we take a step of
faith and just start doing what we now we should do, provision will always be
there.
Matthew 14:20–21 says, “They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples
picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of
those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.” They
all ate—all five thousand men, along with an additional number of women and
children! Not only did they all eat; they were all satisfied. They didn’t just
get an appetizer. No one left hungry. And, on top of that, there were twelve
basketfuls left over! Now, don’t tell me that God doesn’t do big things with
small resources. He rarely did big things with big resources, but He always did
big things with small resources.
Father God wants you to
take what you have, look to Him, give thanks, and then take a step of faith as
you walk in obedience. Don’t despise small beginnings. Don’t let the size of your
resources, the size of your storm, or your perceived mistakes hold you back.
Father owns it all, and He is ready and willing to meet all your needs!
Little Keys to Abundant Provision
Key #1: Trust your Provider, not your
provision.
Questions for Reflection and Personal
Application
1.
Have you ever found yourself faced with a
financial need that you never would have been able to meet on your own? What
was the outcome?
2.
Do you make a habit of seeking the Lord’s will
regarding how you manage your money? If so, what kind of direction has He given
you in this area?
If not,
what can you do to invite God to become more involved in your fiscal
management?
3.
Have you ever passed up an opportunity for
promotion or progress because you were “stuck” in the familiar? What was the
result?
Prayer
Ask God to help you to trust Him as your
provider and to rely on Him to meet your needs as you seek to obey His Word and
follow His will.

 

My Book Review:

God, You’ve Got Mail is an awesome book to help you get control of your finances in a godly way. This is not a financial how to book, but rather this book will teach you to take your financial problems to God. Once you recognize God as your provider, and follow what He says about your finances, you financial life will flow much smoother.

I learned a lot from God, You’ve Got Mail, and I can’t wait to put into practice what I learned.
*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. My opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Math911 Review

by

As part of The Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received a free download of Math911 to review.

 

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Math911 is for students who believe that Algebra must be a struggle, difficult and complicated. Math911 is the easiest and most economical solution for Algebra students. The Math911 approach is what learning Algebra should be: quick, fun, and easy. Math911 will let you absorb Algebra effortlessly.

Math911 is intended for students who are convinced they can’t do Algebra. As student concerned educators, you and I have to deal with the challenge of reaching ‘at risk’ students who have experienced many years of failure with Algebra. You’re also faced with the challenge of finding effective, affordable tutorial software. That’s why I developed Math911. Since 1989, Math911, nee Algebrax, has been helping educators like you. As a member of NCSM, NCTM and NASSP, and a teacher of Mathematics since 1963, my experience ensures getting a proven partner with trusted service.

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Check these features:

With a Mastery Learning approach your students are never graded for wrong answers, only correct responses; they work at problems until they ‘get it.’

Topics are arranged by chapter, section and levels. Within each level are all the types of problems that identify the concepts that your students must know in order to be successful in Algebra including Graphs and Word Problems.

All problems are algorithmically generated.

10 minute learning curve.
Step by Step solutions.
Only Free-form answers.
Dynamic Grade reports on all screens.
Needs no internet connection.
Can be networked.
Free Home Use For Teachers
Free Upgrades
Free Install on New PCs

 

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From Hannah, who is currently taking Algebra 1.- “It’s ok. The program was a little confusing at first. It was about the same level as my regular algebra 1 course.”

I also had my 17 year old son use it. He finished Algebra 1 this past school year. He is a tech geek, so he couldn’t get past the retro look of the program. Those were his words, “retro look”. I do think that regardless of how he feels about the look of Math911, that the program would have helped him with algebra. Algebra has been his least favorite subject, and thinking back over last year, Math911 would have really helped him. And I think the program is just fine without any flashy graphics. 🙂

I did a few levels myself. This old girl, who barely passed algebra in high school, did pretty good. I guess having to learn it to help my students has helped me. Now, if I had had this program in high school, I would have gotten a better grade. While there is no teaching of a lesson, when the student gets a problem wrong, the program tells them how to solve the problem by showing them. Then the student can practice those style problems some more until they have mastered them.

It takes a while to get used to using the program. I was confused at first. As the problems appear on the screen with what appears to be no directions. The directions are at the bottom of the screen, however. You just have to remember to look to the bottom of the screen for what to do. Once you get used to it, it’s not a big deal. It’s just an adjustment from how one usually reads a math problem.

You can view sample screen shots on the website.

Because the program can only be downloaded onto one computer, you have to use the same computer every time. Not a problem for us, as we have one school computer and the kids take turns with it. It your student normally grabs whatever computer is available to work on, that might be a problem for you. However, Math911 has a solution. You can get Math911 on a flash drive. Very convenient.

 

The Standard Version of Math911 can be downloaded from the website. This Standard Version is a free complete Algebra One Course. There is an option to upgrade to the Premier Version for $49.95, this is the version on the flash drive I was talking about earlier.  With the Premier Version users will have free lifetime updates, free technical support as well as access to additional Mathematics Courses with separate grade reports for all family members (including Mom and Dad !) The courses included are: Intro Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, Statistics, Trigonometry, College Algebra, and Pre-Calculus.

And if you scroll all the way down on the website, there is a Homeschool Special.  There is a code to use at google checkout and it makes the cost $9.95.

As a mom of 6, I really appreciate that with the Premier Version you get free lifetime updates, the additional courses, and free technical support. I can’t tell you how many programs I purchased for my older two, who are now in there twenties, to use for high school, only to be unable to use it with my current high school students. This is a great money saver for families.

 

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*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this download in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. My opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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