Grocery Shopping Just Got FUN!!!

Well, it's been a while. Haven't had much to say and I knew you wouldn't want to hear my rant about what's going on with our government and all that craziness; I mean, why would you want to hear my opinion, when all you have to do is turn on the TV and hear a million other opinions? So, I've been off doing bigger and better things, well maybe not bigger, but certainly BETTER (in my opinion).

Let me preface this by saying that I don't like grocery shopping. I don't know why, my kids are all grown up, I don't have to carry them in the basket and listen as they shout "Mommy, can we buy this or Mommy, I want that" anymore. Maybe that's WHY I don't like it anymore; it used to be exciting, but lately it's been BORING.

Sorry to have to admit that for as many years as I can remember, grocery shopping has been: make the list, go to the store and buy the stuff on the list, come home with the stuff from the list and put it all away. Pretty boring, right?

And, on those few occasions, when I would take time to clip a coupon, I really felt saving a buck or two was a big thing and I was oh, so proud of myself.

You see, I really am a cheapskate and I really LOVE sales and hate to spend a ton of money on anything. But, I didn't want to invest the time and effort it took to clip the coupons and then many times I felt I could buy the store brands for even cheaper than the brand items even with the coupons. So, all that said, it didn't accomplish much and I continued in the "no-brainer" pattern for many years.

Enter the Grocery Game and then Southern Savers. Wow! Thanks to my friend, Debbie, for explaining the Grocery Game to me and helping me through those first few initial lists and all the explanations. Then, another friend, Jessi, helped me out by sharing Southern Savers with me.

What in the world am I talking about anyway? Well, these are both websites where you can go and compile a grocery list. The great thing is, that these sites show you what items are on sale at specific stores and what coupons you can get from newspapers, internet, mailers, etc.... The fun begins when you start buying items that are on sale and then adding the coupon on top of that and saving a bundle of money. Remember, I LOVE saving money.

Anyway, the first thing you need to do is start getting the Sunday paper and keep the coupon sections. Don't clip the coupons, just keep the whole section, cuz you won't know what coupons you need until you read the list for your particular store and the particular items you need to buy.

I know it sounds confusing, but it's really not. It does take a bit of time to get used to it all.

Debbie and Jessi both have racked up quite a bit of stuff and savings over the past few weeks. I'm not nearly as adept or savvy as they are, but I'm learning and it's FUN.

This week I went to two grocery stores: Kroger and Ingles. At Kroger I spent $70.58; but my total savings with coupons and store deals was $62.82. Woo Hoo!!

At Ingles I spent $69.82; and a total savings with coupons and store deals of $58.76.

I didn't buy anything that we will not use.

I am finding that we are accumulating quite a stockpile of some items. My daughter had to organize and clean out the pantry the other day to make room for stuff. The reason behind this is because most items come on sale about every 6 to 8 weeks. So, if they are on sale and you have several coupons you need to go ahead and buy all that you can until they come on sale again, so you won't run out and have to pay full price.

Okay, I'll stop here. I could go on and on about this and I guess you can see that I am a bit pumped. But, you gotta admit, it beats politics, healthcare and the whole gamut of dramatic emotion related to that!!

Don't get me started on that one....

Lucy Throws Pie At Bill Holden

One of my favorites. Lucy, Ethel and Fred at the Brown Derby in Hollywood, spotting one of their first movie stars.

Hard Thoughts About God in Parenting

This is a powerful post put out by Tony Reinke, Sovereign Grace Ministries. He was quoting from C.J. Mahaney's thoughts on Jude and how sometimes, as Christians, we have inaccurate views of God in relation to His Fathering of us. There are a lot of great insights here for all of us who are parents or who plan to become parents.

"In his recent sermons on Jude, C.J. spoke about the tendency of Christians to have an inaccurate view of God the Father and to have “hard thoughts about God.”

In the first message C.J. said, “I have interacted with many Christians over the years who are not certain of God’s love for them. They can be reluctant to admit it, but they aren’t convinced in their heart and mind that God loves them. In light of their sin and the holiness of God they wonder whether God does indeed love them.”

After the message C.J. received an email from a father who fears that he is unintentionally introducing to his children these hard thoughts about God. He wants to know what to do to model the grace and love of God to his children. Here is the email exchange between C.J. and John (not his real name).

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Hi, C.J.—

Thanks for your message from Jude on Sunday. It is always a privilege to hear God's Word through you. I am reminded of His grace to me through the truths preached by you over decades now.

When you noted how we often have hard thoughts of God and fail to appreciate His initiating love, I immediately thought of my example and communication about God to my kids. And when you asked at the end, "What are you most worried about?", I think it is that I will hinder my children from knowing that God not only rightly expects their obedience and submission—a bar they cannot possibly reach—but also that he loves them as a Father so deeply that He sent His son for them.

I am afraid they do have hard thoughts of God and that’s largely because of my own sinfulness (anger, impatience, anxiety), which I am eager to continue killing by the Spirit. But apart from that, the question I have is, how do we as parents insist that our children obey us in the Lord without cultivating hard thoughts of Him?

Grateful for any thoughts you would have on this.

John

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John,

This a great question that I can’t possibly cover fully in one email. But here are a few thoughts that I hope are helpful.

• You have the privilege of introducing them to God the Father and describing the ways in which he is different from you, different from all sinful fathers, and how in any way you are like him it’s only because of grace that you reflect him. See Luke 11:11–13.

• Your honest confession of your sin to your children will protect them from having hard thoughts about you or God.

• Communicating your affection for them—and joy when you are with them—promotes both good and accurate thoughts about God.

• Initiate time with them at both planned and spontaneous times. Don’t leave them with the impression that they get most of your attention when they disobey. Let them know you are so grateful for them and love being with them as much as possible.

• Bless your children with many gifts in many forms! See Luke 11 again. Study your children in order to discern what gifts would genuinely bless them and then purpose to surprise them as often as possible.

• Requiring appropriate obedience does not promote hard thoughts about God. This only happens when we do so in self-righteousness or anger. See point 2 again.

• Frequently preach the gospel to them (and not at them). Reveal to your children just how far God has gone to show his love for sinners like us.
  

My friend, if you follow the example of our gracious God, your children will not have hard thoughts about him. They will have accurate thoughts about him—and a deep love for you.

I hope these brief thoughts help, John.

C.J."