My Best Deal and a Secret to Shopping

So I promised you all a "Best Deal" post today! I have been blessed to find some great deals so wanted to share them with you all.

So my sister and I have figured out a secret to shopping  - actually my sister learned and then taught me- to look for things off season. We have had a super hard time finding summer tops - and had learned last year to start looking for them ALL year long. Then we realized that we needed to start doing the same thing for fall/winter things as well.

So over the last week or so I have began to look not only for the summer stuff and short sleeved things that I love to wear most of the time, but I also began to look for things for fall/winter. And I have been blessed by two great pieces!!

This first one is a cape- it is one of those on size fits all things - so it works great now and will work great when I reach my goal in weight loss. I think it is so pretty. And for only $3.00 I say that is a great deal!!!

Today I went to the same little thrift store in a nearby town that is only open a couple of days a week - and found this awesome denim jacket!!!

 

Picture does not do it justice.

(Be watching for a post about denim later this week.)

 

I love denim. And this beautiful white denim jacket is just perfect! There is a chance that it might be too big once I lose the rest of the weight that I want to lose to reach my goal - but thankfully I have the ability to take it to the consignment store and get the $3.00 out of it that I paid for it- if not  maybe even more $. It was worth the $3.00! I love it and can not wait for weather that will give me the ability to wear it!!

 

Have you found any good deals lately? I would love to hear about them.

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By the way - I have been getting slammed with what I believe to be spam comments. So I just wanted to say on here - if you  have commented lately and I have not responded - I am so sorry, it is because it is hard sometimes to know if the comments are legit or not. I really think they are spam though.

 

Farm Cooking.... "Guacamole Plus"

Have you noticed how expensive avocados have been lately? I love avocados. In fact, I love them plan and simple just as they are grown!! But sometimes we like guacamole. I was very excited when I was introduced  to this new way to make guacamole using only one avocado. That helps with the food budget - and helps add other nutrients as well by adding the peas. :O)

*another great recipe from the seminar at camp meeting*

enjoy :O)

Guacamole Plus

1 cup frozen green peas or drained and rinsed canned peas

2 ripe avocado, peeled

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

1 T fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1. Blanch peas in boiling water for 2 minutes , then cool with cold water and drain well.

2. Mash peas using potato masher or fork, for creamy texture use food processor.

3. Add avocado to mashed peas.

4. Mix in onion, cilantro, and seasonings.

5. Serve with chips or your favorite dish.

*Cook's Comment: This guacamole is enriched with fiber and protein from the peas. It also contains cancer-fighting phytochemicals from the garlic, onion and lemon.

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By the way, I have made this and I have to say it is SO good!! It is good enough to eat straight up!! Yum!! This recipe will be added to my frequently used recipes!! Try it - you won't regret it! :O)

** by the way- be on the look out for a "My Best Deal" post, hopefully I'll get it ready to post this afternoon :) 



Beloved Names of God...series..Star out of Jacob

Star out of Jacob

"I shall see him, but not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smile the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth."

Numbers 24:17 KJV

 

• Name of God the Son
• Jesus is referred to as the "Star out of Jacob" once in the KJV.
• The Star out of Jacob symbolizes a descendant of Jacob who will outshine all the rest.
• Speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Balaam tells King Balak he has had his eyes opened by God, and he can now see what will ultimately come from the Israelites--the people the kind now opposes.

 

"I shall behold him, but not nigh" (Numbers 24:17 KJV). Balaam lived about seven hundred years before Christ, but he knew he would see the Messiah- just not in his lifetime.

 

Many People believe that the Lord was coming long before He actually arrived. Some suffered and died for that belief. Now that is real faith!

 

How much stronger should our faith be, knowing that these ancient prophecies came true? We know Jesus arrived- and one day He will return!

 

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For the Month of July we will be doing a series about Brain Health -so I will probably suspend most series I have been doing. I just don't know if I will have time to keep up with them. So the next part of this series will probably be August 5th and the name we will be looking at is "Abba." 

 

 

The Attitude of Gratitude..series

Thankful people are refreshing, life-giving springs, while unthankful people pull others down with them into the stagnant pools of their selfish, demanding, miserable ways.

We have all known people who were unpleasant to be around because of their negative, down-in-the-mouth way of looking at life. Perhaps we also know what it is to have our own attitudes affected adversely by such people. Thankfulness is infectious; it poisons and contaminates the atmosphere of our hearts, homes, and other relationships.

But gratefulness is squally contagious. Do you remember the story of Pollyanna, the orphaned child who was sent to live with a cantankerous aunt who didn't want her? Do you remember how the whole climate of that home and community was literally transformed as Pollyanna introduced a joyless, thankless town to "The Glad Game"? At first, people made fun of the strange little girl who insisted on finding something to be glad about every time anything had happened. But ultimately they were compelled by the power of "the attitude of gratitude."

*part one- come back next week for part 2*

Essential Oils ...series ...some warnings

Today I wanted to share a couple of the power point photos talking about those who need to be careful about using certain essential oils, some can be dangerous.  

This first one is Epileptics- they need to avoid Basil, Birch, Dill, Fennel, Rosemary and Wintergreen essential oils.

If you have High Blood Pressure- You need to avoid Rosemary and Thyme essential oils.

 I decided to write those out just in case anyone has problems reading what is on the photos.

Ok - sometimes people who are on some medications are told not to drink grapefruit juice while taking the meds. And according to some studies it is safe to use the grapefruit oils because apparently they do not contain what ever it is that is in the juice that will cause a bad reaction when taking meds.

You should be able to click on the photo and read what it says. If anyone has any problems and is interested in what is said on the photo - just leave a comment and let me know and I will type it out.

Again - I am not selling any essential oils and I am not even saying that anyone should use them - I just wanted to pass the information along that I learned - just in case it is something that you, too, are interested in. Come back next week - I will have some more information. We will even have some recipes to help with different disorders and also recipes for cleaning supplies coming up. 

John 15 series...verse 3

Today we will be looking at verse four of John 15.

 

Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you.

John 15:3

 

 

The red letters in my red letter Bible tell me that these are words spoken by Christ. Hew as talking to His disciples.

 

A wonderful book that I just finished reading has a wonderful quote speaking of this very verse. I'd like to share it with you today:

 

"Just a short time before, these disciples had been bickering and arguing- unwilling to humble themselves and wash one another's feet. But in ministering to them Jesus humbled Himself, and their hearts had been touched. Now He could say to them, Ye are clean. They didn't have a very good track record, yet they didn't have to put in several weeks of good behavior before they could be forgiven. He said, Now ye are clean. Don't you like the sound of those words? We are cleansed as soon as we come to Him.

 

Not only that, but these disciples were not yet perfect and mature, never to sin or fall or fail again. In just a few hours they forsook Jesus and fled. one of them denied Him. All of them were ashamed of their connection with Him. Their faith failed so miserably in the difficult time of trial.

 

But Jesus, even though He warned them of what was going to happen, still could say to them, "Now ye are clean." They could be accepted by Him and be branches in the Vine. They didn't have to bring forth the fruit first- but rather, through the continued connection with Him, the fruit resulted."

 

 Quote from this book by Morris Venden: 

 

Sometimes in order to better understand a verse, it is a good idea to read the verse in different translations. Because this verse was a bit challenging to me - that is what I did. This time I was best able to understand this verse by looking at a paraphrase version:

 

"Your characters have been shaped already because I shared the Word of God with you and you accepted it as such."

John 15:3 from "The Clear Word Bible"

 

Another great verse that goes right along with this verse and its message is 2 Corinthians 3:18

 

"But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

2 Corinthians 3:18

 

Preaching to the Choir and More

I love sharing about the important and benefits of a healthy lifestyle. I also realize that many of you that read my blog are probably much healthier than I am. So sometimes I feel like I am preaching to the choir. But it is so very important for people to know the importance of taking care of the body that God has blessed us with. I also feel there is a lot of false information floating around or the newest craze in this area or that - that is actually not that good for us. So I hope that by sharing things that can truly benefit our health, that I am able to combat just a bit of the false information.

I wish Dr would study for themselves the natural things people can do for themselves that would help with different issues and then be willing to take the time to share the valuable information. It seems there are certain people who will only listen to what the Dr days and then when all that Dr is doing is prescribing pills- pills that, in fact, cause worse side effects than what the patient was dealing with before hand- well that is frustrating and wrong.

There are things we can do for better health. We can make better choices in what we eat, drink and what we do with our time.

So I hope you all don't mind if I do my best to affect the little part of the planet that I can reach with important information. Information that I don't think is shared enough. Especially with all the false information that is going around.

God has given us free will. We are able to make our own choices. We are so much better off when we turn our wills over to Him and allow Him to guide and direct us. When we ask Him to guide us, He is faithful.

As long as there is false information going around. I feel that it is important for me to speak out for truth. And I hope by doing so that I can help encourage someone to choose to incorporate different elements into their lifestyles to bring them better health.

 

***You really can affect your health by the choices you make!***

 

** Make your choices wisely! **

Don't Waste Your Time

Last week I was on my computer looking for a photo that my husband had wanted. As I was looking I noticed a folder of some photos of me and my family that my Mother had given me several years ago. I began to look through the photos. Some I liked, some I did not. As I studied the ones I liked, I was surprised at the amount of photos that I thought I looked nice. I hadn't quite found my style in a lot of them, but thankfully as I have aged I have figured out more and more of what looks nice on me and what really doesn't.

As I looked at the photos that I was pretty happy with, I wondered if I had felt good about myself at the time the photo was taken. I again visited the old idea of liking myself and accepting myself. Too much of my life have put too much thought and attention into what I didn't like about myself. I have spent too much time focusing on the negative instead of the positive. That is another place in which I am choosing to grow in. These days I am trying to focus on the positives although I have times that I slip into the dark side of being negative. I try to focus rather on the fact that my body has been through a lot and it had gotten me through a lot. I had continued to be strong even in the midst of chemo. I had days of low energy but never did it give out on me.

Instead of allowing the negative to steal my joy, I will continue to do my best to appreciate my body and accept it. And to recognize the positives and the improvements. I will probably always have negatives that I could focus on, but I don't want to waste any more time with that. I wasn't to live a life being happy with myself and the improvements that I have made. I will put my e3nergies into taking care of myself and realizing that this is the body that God gave me. And I need to accept it and appreciate it.

So please join me - Don't waste any more time with the negativity- focus on the positive. Appreciate the body God has given you. If there are areas you are not happy about ask Him to guide you in what you can do to change it and if there is no way to change what ever it is. That is the time to ask Him to help you to accept it and to even like it. He is faithful. I know- I had to ask Him to help me like what I saw in the mirror when I was bald- as He did. As my acceptance of my situation would fade as it did ever so often- I would pray again for God to give me acceptance and to like what I saw and He always answered my prayers.