Update on The Reading Corner

Over the week-end, I finished reading the 2nd book in this series- "Prophets and Kings". And I started book number 3 - "The Desire of Ages." I am only on about page 60 by now- but wow! This book is awesome!

Sorry for the blurriness of the photos. As you can probably tell by these photos it will take me longer than the month that it took me to read "Prophets and Kings." In the photo above you can see that there is so much more packed onto each page - and this book is over 800 pages. But I am sure it will be well worth the time to read it. As I read through these books - I am drawn into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. I am understanding more and more His love for us all. And at the same time I am also learning how badly Satan wants to destroy us.

"Through every age, through every hour, the love of God had been exercised toward the fallen race." DA 37

"Angels from the courts above will attend the steps of those who come and go at God's command." DA 48

Does It Really Save Money?

On my last thrifty post I was asked if I thought that it would be cheaper to use home made laundry detergent. In the long run - I really do think it will be cheaper. I ended up paying a bit over $3.00 for each of the washing soda and the borax. And with each batch of laundry detergent calling for just one cup of each of these - I think that the boxes will end up making at least 4-5 batches. And with the bar of soap - if you really want to save more money you can always invest in a multi pack of Ivory soap(I used a coupon when I bought my pack-even though I did not use Ivory soap with my first batch of soap-I bought a bar of the Fels naptha stuff.) So once you invest in this stuff it will be a good amount of time before you have to replace things. Also you are only using 1 - 2 Tablespoons of soap per load. So it really does last for a good amount of time.

I had an old Tupperware canister and I put my home made soap into it and put a spoon into the canister. So not only does it save money, it is easy to use. So Yes - I believe that it will save money in the end.

Home Made Laundry Detergent and Other Thing

I shared on Friday how I had bought most of the supplies to make homemade laundry detergent. Well I was able to find the Arm and Hammer Washing Soda and so I finished up my soap. On Friday when I did laundry I used my new home made soap and I have to say I was very pleased with it. I used a old large spoon - not a serving spoon but more like a tablespoon sized spoon - don't think it actually dips out a tablespoon of stuff though. I am using 2 of those spoons of the soap per load. I do have a front loader washer. I had read that it is good to use about 1 - 2 T. per load. And if it is a large load or heavily soiled you'd want to use the 2 T. or a bit more. The next time I do laundry I may use just one and see how that works. I just wanted to make sure that the clothes came out clean. And sure enough with using the 2 spoons of it worked good.
It is nice to find things that not only save money but that work really well too!

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Speaking of things to do in order to save money - I have mentioned how I had read about using the foam insulating things under the outlet covers on a previous post about saving money. I had read about these on the Budgeting with the Bushman's blog. Well I have looked at my local Lowes and Home Depot and have had no luck finding them. I have obviously not had any luck with anyone willing to help me either. I had wanted to find them in person so I could really look them over but it looks as if I will have to resort to looking on Amazon - which is what I think she said she did. Anyway - while at Lowes, I did pick up some caulking that I am going to use to go around some windows that seem like they are allowing some air in around them. I also got some caulking to use around the base of the back splash of my kitchen cabinets. Some of it is no longer there - so I will be working on that this week.

It Is Worth It

Job had surrendered his life to Jesus.

Satan accused him of only following God because of the blessings that God had blessed him with.
God said, "Behold all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person."

Satan unleashed all sorts of havoc in Jobs life. His oxen and camel were stolen, his servants killed, his sheep burnt and he lost all 10 of his children - ALL in one day.

Job was sad and was discouraged. He could not understand why all of this was happening to him. He even questioned God. But he held true to God.

"But He knows the way that I take;
When He has tested me, I shall
come forth as gold."
Job 23:10

Satan is still at work today. He is still trying to convince people that it is not worth it to surrender your life to Jesus and to live for Him.

Oh - but I forgot to share an important part of this story with you all - " Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning: for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13. He also had 7 sons and 3 daughter. .... After this Job lived 14o years, and saw his children and his grandchildren for 4 generations."
Job 42:12-13,16

How amazing is that?!

When you are struggling through trials and temptations, just remember, "Be still, and know that I am God;" Psalms 46:10a

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14:1-3

We may go through trials and temptations but we have Hope.

"He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved." Psalms 62:6

Sabbath Praise

If you have never heard this song before - please take the time to listen to it. Even if you have heard it - You WILL be blessed! I know I was. :o)

Choosing to be More Thrifty

Well after reading about people making their own laundry detergent - I decided I would finally try it. About 6-8 months ago I had bought the Fels naptha soap and a box of borax. The store did not have any washing soda - so I waited. Well this past Friday when I went to the store - I looked for some washing soda- they were out. Shoot... Well I decided that I would at least start getting the soap ready -so I grated the bar of soap. I have a question for anyone who uses the Fels naptha - is it yellow? I had seen someones picture post about making soap and their soap flakes were white - I am guessing that they were using Ivory soap but I thought I would ask just in case my bar of soap might have just changed colors over the time period of sitting in my cabinet.
When I was grating the soap - I notice it was pretty hard soap -so my question is -is it normally hard or is this maybe another thing that happened while sitting in the cabinet?

Right now I have my soap grated in a bowl along with some borax. This week I will be buying the washing soda! I am looking forward to trying the soap and seeing how it works. I am also thankful to have options to be able to make my own and therefore save some money. Once your initial investment of the products - it actually will last a long time - since you just use one cup of borax and one cup of washing soda - and the boxes are pretty big for just about $3.00 per box.

I have also decided not to do laundry as often. I had gotten into the habit of washing my clothes too often. Not waiting till there was a good sized load. We have large capacity - well probably extra large capacity washer and dryer. So that is another change that I have decided to make around here. I don't think it is a good idea to wait all week long and have many, many loads on one day but I do think it is a good idea to wait till you have a good sized load before you do laundry.

Some people may prefer to wait and do all their laundry all on one day - and that is fine if it works for you. I just prefer not to. When I have done it that way, it is just a pain trying to match up all of the sock and such. I am thinking that it will work out that I will do my laundry 2 times a week. But we will see.

There is an important thing to remember having to do with your dryer. It is a good idea to clean your lint catcher(can't think of anything else to call it at the moment) the thing that you pull out of your dryer to take the lint off, after each load. I believe it will help the dryer to work a lot more efficiently and will also help prevent fires. Lots of stuff gets stuck in those little tiny holes and it is actually a good idea to wash them periodically. And also - just in case you haven't figured it out - it is also best to remove the lint after each use. I am sure you all know that but just wanted to add it - just in case.

Well that's about it for today. Looking forward to what other changes I can make around here. What ideas do you have? :o)

Grace - Is It a Free Pass?

I was so happy today when I heard a speaker on a Christian radio station say that he was not very happy with a new idea going around that basically says that since there is grace then we can do what ever we want. And it is just not like that. Well this is something that I have been NOT too pleased about hearing from some other speakers on the same radio station. It is way to close to the idea of ~if it feels good do it.

It's like people think that God has not expectations of His people. Have they not studied through the old testament? It does not take very long at all to realize that God asked His people to keep His commandments - yep - the same commandments that were written by the finger of God on stone tablets. That sounds pretty important and pretty permanent to me.

God asked His people to repent of their sins and to follow Him. And when they did this, they were blessed. There were battles after battles that were won because God fought for them. As the people surrendered their lives to God and made Him king in their lives He could bless them. But oh so sad were the many, many times that the people started to worship the idols of the heathen nations around them.

Back and forth the children of Israel went- serving God - being blessed - then they would fall into worshiping idols. And it seemed that each time they chose the idols over God it became easier and easier for them to be tempted. And finally God's mercy ran out - He had tried and tried so many time - over and over and over - and the people just would not listen. And because our God is a God of Justice - He had to allow the consequences of their actions. And God allowed their nation to be taken over by the Babylons.

So I don't know why we would be so foolish to think now - that God does not expect anything out of us. By the way - over and over in the New Testament he also said Keep My Commandments.

Here are just a few:
"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." John 15:10

"If you love Me, keep My commandments." John 14:15

"Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.4. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2:3-4

"Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:19

And one of my favorites:
"Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city." Revelations 22:14

Anyway I will get off of my soap box- I just don't want people to be fooled - Satan likes to use a little error with a lot of truth -that way he can fool people. Study your Bibles for yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern truth. May you be blessed as you study the Word of God! :O)