Nov., 2010 Blog?, Archives, Silver Lining to Recession, Pie Crust, Gr atitude, Vinegar/Car, Gems
Posted by: jhbreneman <jhbreneman@...>
ENCOURAGEMENT TO WOMEN
Compiled especially for you with love by Lois Breneman
Nov., 2010 Blog?, Archives, Silver Lining to Recession, Pie Crust, Gratitude, Vinegar/Car, Gems ~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~:~*~
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LOOK, A SILVER LINING IN THIS GREAT RECESSION
50 WAYS TO SAVE BIG AT YOUR GROCERY STORE
COCONUT OIL PIE CRUST
GRUMBLING OR GRATITUDE?
TWENTY-FOUR THINGS TO ALWAYS REMEMBER
WHITE DISTILLED VINEGAR TO THE RESCUE FOR YOUR CAR!
PRECIOUS GEMS
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10/11/2010 -- by Mary Hunt - http://www.DebtProofLiving.com - Used by permission
Once every 10 years, the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and the Center for Marriage and Families at the Institute for American Values, conduct a huge study that produces a document, “The State of Our Unions,” the latest of which has just been released. The study paints a portrait of marriage in this country using fascinating information on how couples are fairing under the intense economic pressure of the Great Recession. The results are surprising, if not encouraging.
The divorce rate is down. Since the downturn began in December 2008, millions of Americans have adopted a home-grown bailout strategy. The study shows that instead of looking to the government or other outside institutions, couples are relying on their marriages and families to weather this economic storm. Instead of bailing out when the job says goodbye and the going gets tough, couples are finding their marriage to be the economic and social safety net. As a result, divorce rates actually fell in 2007 after a dramatic rise in the years leading up. The report concludes that without question, marital stability in the U.S. is up.
Credit-card debt is down. The study reiterates the fact that credit-card debt is toxic in marriage. The greater the debt, the higher the likelihood that a couple will divorce. Great news is emerging that shows Americans are paying down credit-card debt like crazy. Outstanding revolving consumer debt has been dropping every month, down from $988 billion in December 2009 to $865 billion in July 2010. America’s great credit-card binge seems to be winding down and that’s important for the quality and stability of marriages in the U.S.
Home economy is up. This recession, according to the study, is reviving the home economy. More Americans are growing their own food, making and mending their own clothes and eating in more often. Restaurant sales fell in 2008 for the first time in nearly 40 years, with a trend that continues. Household production, the study points out, reinforces a sense of solidarity between spouses and also between parents and children. Home-produced goods promote a happy marriage and family life. Bottom line, thrifty couples are the happiest.
50 WAYS TO SAVE BIG AT YOUR GROCERY STORE
by Lois Breneman - Copyright 2009 - Revised 2010
* Plan your meals around each week's grocery store sales. Write up a sketchy menu plan, but be flexible.
* Take advantage of the labels for grocery store items giving the price per ounce or serving. These are very helpful.
* The store brands are usually less expensive and have the same ingredients as higher costing brands. Take advantage of that.
* One time it is worth a return trip to the store later in the week would be when a favorite fresh produce item is marked way down. It may be worth an extra return trip - or ask your husband to stop by on his way home from work.
* Never pay full price for staple grocery items that keep over a long period of time. Items like toilet paper, tissues, paper towels, napkins, toothpaste, toothbrushes, Ziplock bags, cleaning supplies, etc. are often less expensive at a dollar store. These stores take coupons, but do not double them.
* It does not pay to stock up too far ahead on certain staples such as salad dressings, mayonnaise and other dated items. If you do, you'll lose money.
* Most grocery stores have a special place where they display marked down meats daily - those with dates ready to expire. Plan to have one of those packs of meat for dinner the evening of your grocery shopping. You may decide to freeze some as well.
* A slow cooker allows you to turn less expensive cuts of meat into delicious, melt-in-your-mouth meals.
* Since meat is often the most expensive food in a meal, use less of it in casseroles. Cut chicken breasts in half, lengthwise for smaller servings. Have one or two meatless meals each week. Use other protein in that meal.
* Save by buying bags of onions, lemons, or other citrus fruit, rather than purchasing them individually or per pound. Freeze lemon juice in ice cube trays for cooking use and spur-of-the-moment fresh lemonade.
* Make large pots of different varieties of homemade soup at a time. Freeze individual servings for lunches, if a microwave is available. Serve "Free Soup" as well. Keep a container in your freezer for any leftovers, such as cooked meat, broth, gravy, sauces, beans, rice, pasta and vegetables. When it's full, heat it up, add anything else you want, and serve your free flavorful soup!
* Buy whole carrots in one, two or five pound bags, rather than sending more on baby carrots, unless the cost is slashed. Buying 5 # bags of organic carrots on sale is an especially good buy. Peeling isn't necessary - just scrub well with a vegetable brush, or scrape with a sharp paring knife.
* Some grocery stores offer a discount on gas, depending on how many points you accumulate in a given month. Using a gift card to buy your groceries doubles your gas points. Some Christian schools are also set up to receive a percentage of your grocery store purchases, given by the store through a gift card purchase, so inquire at your school about that. This won't save on your grocery bill, but may allow more families to take advantage of Christian education, by keeping the cost down.
* Use paper towels only for the messiest jobs. Otherwise use cloth towels. Some families also save on napkin purchases by making wrinkle free cloth napkins.
* Rather than wiping up babies and toddlers at mealtimes with napkins, paper towels, or a dirty dishcloth, cut an old towel into eight cloths, zig zag the edges, and use those or baby washcloths (dampened). Using a specific color will help to reserve them for wiping up Baby after meals. They do a better job than paper towels anyway.
* Make your own baby food. You will not only save big, but it will be much healthier for your baby, with no fillers or preservatives.
* Save up to ten times the cost of herbs and spices by buying them in bulk at a health foods co-op, rather than your grocery store.
* Use reverse osmosis, a distiller, or a filter (least expensive option) for your drinking water and eliminate purchasing bottled water.
* Take an inventory of what you already have in stock in your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Make sketchy meal plans from that. Also if you see you are well stocked up on shampoo, cream rinse, skin lotions, paper towels, toilet paper, toothpaste and all purpose cleaners, etc., make a list to carry in your wallet, so you don't buy more, even if on sale. Use what you have on hand.
* Make your own laundry soap for pennies per load (for 3 cents or less), rather than spending as much as 45 cents per load.
* Rather than buying special sprays to wash produce, spray them with diluted white vinegar. Let set a few minutes to kill germs and rinse. Natural organic dishwashing soap works well, and liquid organic-type cleaners are also available in concentrated form and go a long way (Melaleuca, Amway, Shaklee).
* When a bottle of shampoo or cream rinse seems to be empty, add a little water and shake it up. You can often get a few more shampoos out of it.
* When a tube of hand cream, makeup, etc. seems to be empty, cut the tube in half and you will find it's not empty at all! Put the contents in the bottom half and the empty half will fit over the bottom to save it until it's used up. Plastic containers of hand cream, etc. can also be carefully cut with a knife in order to use up the remaining contents.
* Save slivers of soap bars. After you have a few, put them in a shallow dish of water and microwave for a minute or two. When softened, each sliver will mold onto a new bar of soap. Dove or Ivory works especially well, but other soaps stick together too.
* Cook and bake from scratch as much as possible. Bake your own bread, cookies, desserts, pizza, etc. Buy baking yeast in bulk at a health food co-op or at Sam's, rather than in individual packets. It keeps very well in the freezer.
* Many items bought at warehouses such as Sam's or Costco's can save money, but to keep food from spoiling before it's used, split some perishable items with a friend or family member.
* Avoid packaged and processed foods as much as possible. They often contain sugar, corn syrup, dyes, preservatives, MSG, sodium nitrates, and ingredients your mind can't even take in when you read the labels. Neither can your body take them in, without adverse effects. Fresh produce, meats and dairy products are usually located around the perimeter of the store. Buy mostly whole foods as God made them.
* Buy a few bushels of cooking apples at an orchard, and make applesauce, using a Squeezo or Victorian strainer. It makes quick work of the job. Cut out the blossom end, cut the apple into eights, and cook. This wonderful tool separates the stem, peel and the seeds from the applesauce! Freeze as much as will fit in your freezer and can the rest. Skip the sugar and add stevia just before serving. Buy fresh corn, green beans, strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, etc. in season when on sale and put in your freezer.
* If you don't get the newspaper, it's worth picking up a Sunday paper just for the coupons. Use coupons and take advantage of double coupons (50 cents becomes $1). Many times an item that you have a coupon for will also be on sale, making your savings a double bonus. Some stores even offer triple coupons. You can save money using rebates as well. Some stores offer free items, if you send for a rebate.
* If you qualify for the Senior Citizen discount, shop on that designated day - Tuesdays at many stores.
* Serving healthy foods to your family will save on added expenses for cold and flu remedies, etc., and cut way down on misery too! Cut back on junk food. Eliminate soft drinks. Read labels.
* If sweets are a downfall for you and your family, don't buy them. Make just a few healthy desserts and keep them in the freezer.
* If the store is out of a sale item that you need, get a rain check at the office, so you can benefit from that sale the next time.
* For breakfast, remember that cooked cereal is healthier and much less expensive than packaged. Boxed cereal is very expensive in comparison and most are loaded with various forms of sugar.
* Many times the most expensive items in the store will be at eye level. Often you can look down closer to the floor for better buys.
* Purchase produce in season. Skip watermelon when it's sky high during the winter. Eat fruits and vegetables found on sale.
* Plant a garden and freeze as much as possible. Be sure to grow herbs that you can dry and use herbs to perk up dishes. If you don't want a large garden, try square foot gardening.
* If possible, save money on apples by buying them at a nearby orchard. The flavor and quality is much better as well.
* Don't allow your produce to spoil in the refrigerator. Use it as soon as possible. Use green bags to keep produce fresh longer. Wrapping celery in aluminum foil will keep it fresh much longer as well.
* Buy bread, milk and orange juice on sale and freeze to save extra trips to the store. Drink about 1/4 cup first, since liquids do expand when frozen.
* If fresh produce spoils or gets moldy after just a few days, or if milk sours or cheese molds before the date, on your next trip go to your grocery store office and let them know in a polite manner. They want to know. Having your receipt will help, but sometimes that isn't even necessary for them to gladly refund your money. They are good at making it right. Always check over your receipt for mistakes, which happen from time to time.
When we work hard to put these tips into practice, we should see our grocery spending go down and our family will be healthier. Why not save this list and check to see how you are doing a month or two from now.
COCONUT OIL PIE CRUST
Thanks to Meagan DeLong in North Carolina for this great recipe!
1/2 tsp. salt (preferably sea salt)
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. coconut oil (instead of shortening)
2 to 3 Tbsp. cold water
2. Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface.
3. Roll pastry on lightly floured surface, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down pie plate, 9 x 1 1/4 inches. Fold pastry into fourths and place in pie plate; or roll pastry loosely around rolling pin and transfer to pie plate. Unfold or unroll pastry and ease into pie plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side and being careful not to stretch pastry, which will cause it to shrink when baked.
4. For pies baked with a filling, fold pastry over pie plate and flute edges. Bake as directed in recipe.
5. For pies baked completely before filling is added, such as coconut cream or lemon meringue pie, heat oven to 475. Prick bottom and side of pastry thoroughly with fork.
Our problem in America is not that we don't know we are to be thankful, but often we choose to complain instead.
by Barbara Rainey - Used by permission
Does it ever seem surprising to you that God made the Israelites wander in the wilderness for forty years because they grumbled? My kids may have spent thirty minutes in their rooms for griping, but forty years? What a severe discipline! Ouch, it seems harsh.
God clearly is not pleased with grumbling. It doesn't make Him happy to hear His children complain constantly. Sound like any children you know?
Being grateful is a choice. It’s not a feeling dependent on our circumstances, as we clearly see in the Pilgrims’ lives. They believed that God was in control—“Providence,” they called it. They responded to the circumstances of their lives with a perspective that said, “God has allowed this for our good.”
John Piper has written in his book, A Godward Life: “Remembering our dependence on past mercies kindles gratitude. Gratitude is past-oriented dependence; faith is future-oriented dependence. Both forms of dependence are humble, self-forgetting and God-exalting. If we do not believe that we are deeply dependent on God for all we have or hope to have, then the very spring of gratitude and faith runs dry.”
Gratitude is what we express when we take time every Thanksgiving Day to remember God’s past mercies and provisions and then pause to thank Him for them.
The stories of those who have gone before us inspire our faith. When we consider those great saints listed in the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrew 11 or our Pilgrim forefathers or those men and women we know in recent times who have modeled great dependence on God, our faith is stretched and increased. Their example of placing all hope in Jesus Christ encourages us to do the same.
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Those who sailed on the Mayflower knew their Bible well. They were convinced that God existed and could only be pleased through faith (Hebrews 11:6).
Someone has said, “Faith is a firm conviction, a personal surrender, and a conduct inspired by your surrender.” The Pilgrims were totally surrendered to God, and they believed that He was leading them to the New World. So they went, confident that He would guide and provide.
The Bible is full of verses on giving thanks. Our problem in America is not that we don't know we are to be thankful, but often we choose to complain instead. The Psalms contain a number of verses that call thanksgiving a sacrifice:
He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me. Psalm 50:23
Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving. Psalm 107:22
To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the LORD. Psalm 116:17
Why is it a sacrifice to give thanks to the Lord? Because being thankful forces us to take our eyes off ourselves and put them on the Lord. Giving up our self-focus is the kind of denial that pleases God.
As a nation, we have inherited a remarkable gift in our freedom to worship, but we have strayed far from our roots and heritage. We must return to the faith of our fathers. Developing a heart of gratitude is the beginning step in growing a stronger faith. Remember what God has done and believe that He will take care of us in the future.
Adapted from Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember by Barbara Rainey, copyright © 2002. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, http://www.crosswaybooks.org.
TWENTY-FOUR THINGS TO ALWAYS REMEMBER
Author unknown - Thanks to Jacinda Horning for this!
1. The biggest handicap in the world is negative thinking.
2. He who cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.
3. Patience carries a lot of wait.
4. It is better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt.
5. A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small package.
6. Inch by inch life's a cinch but by the yard, it's much too hard.
7. The best angle to approach a difficult problem, is the "try"angle.
8. Faith without works is like snow on a stove.
9. Have a positive attitude - it's contagious.
10. The more you judge the less you love.
11. What you say reveals much - what you don't say reveals much more.
12. The easiest person to deceive is yourself.
13. We should never let adversity get us down - except on our knees.
14. The longer one carries a problem, the heavier it gets.
15. Your religion is what you do when the sermon is over.
16. Success comes in cans - Failure comes in can'ts.
17. The golden rule tarnishes unless polished with use.
18. A marriage may be made in Heaven - but the maintenance is done on Earth.
19. Problems are inevitable - misery is optional.
20. Remember actions speak louder than words.
21. Jesus is coming - prepare NOW.
22. You can only keep one thought in your mind at a time - make it a good one.
23. Don't lose your temper, no one else wants to find it.
24. Take the time to pray - you'll be glad you did!
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Ladies, please send me your cute kids' quotes (old or current) to be included in the newsletter. Thanks!
I was talking with Elise (6) about a Bible verse today and I asked her to repeat where it was found. She said, "It's found in Problems 10:1." I couldn't help it, it made me laugh. Proverbs is full of wisdom, but if you don't follow that wisdom, you will be in Problems! :0) ~ Tracy Coupe in Ecuador
From the mind of Madelyn (3): "Mom, I was communicating to Ben. I was jumping to the music. That's how we frogs communicate is by jumping to the music!" ~ Liz Smith in Washington
So many ladies are going through very tough times and need our prayers!
Some have lost loved ones and others have lost jobs, homes or their good health.
Pray each day for the protection of our troops, as well as for their families left at home!
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