"For I am mindful of the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. You call upon me and come and pray to me, and I heed you. You seek Me and find Me: Now you seek Me with all your heart and I am at hand for you, says the Lord..."
- Jeremiah 29:11-14a; Matthew 7:7

I don't think there is one person reading this who hasn't seen the turn that our nation, and even our world, is taking. On every news channel we see reports of unemployment rates skyrocketing while the value of the dollar drops and signs of a “New World Order” become more and more obvious.Maybe you yourself have been laid off, maybe you don’t even know where your next meal is coming from, or maybe you’re reading this from a homeless shelter.I don’t know your situation, but God does... (continued at Internet Cafe Devotions)

Please visit me over at Internet Cafe Devotions and join in reading the awesome, inspiring posts that are added each day by a wonderful team of blessed and bright ladies!

This Week's Menu

There comes a time when we all have to look in our pockets and find the harsh reality that we really haven't been as frugal with our husband's (and our own) hard earned money. This was my reality this week as I regretfully paid too many people in one week! I knew, however, that we still needed groceries...we all need food right! So, after cancelling my expensive Nutrisystem program (which does work!), I took some time to re-evaluate how I can best utilize half of what I was spending on that in order to make nutritious, healthy and cost effective meals for Brian and I. Thanks to some suggestions and encouragement from friends, I think I was able to make it work!

My goal:

$45 per week for groceries (works out to $180 per month for two people which means, $90 for two people, to provide for at least 2 meals per person, per day...whew!)

Do it with a focus on taste AND nutrition. I don' know about you, but Brian and I love food (thus why we're now working on losing weight :)). We cannot deal with food that doesn't taste good AND fill us up. I've tried the rice and beans thing, bland, cheap foods, and yes - it "works", but, it's bland!

So what do we need in order to be successful here:
- Must be $45 or less for the week
- Must be tasty
- Must fill us up
- Must be nutritious

So with a little help from Campbell's Kitchen and Coupon Mom and The Hillbilly Housewife Club
I think I'm going to be able to make this work!

Here are some tips for helping you be successful with your grocery budget friendly meals:

• Plan your meals around the sales going on. Check your sales online for your stores that you go to, and plan accordingly. If chicken is on sale, go with chicken, if beef is just not going to be doable, go for something else. If tuna fish looks like it would be good, go with it! This takes some time, but it is worth it If you don't go into the store with a list and a game plan, you are going to go over your budget.


• Search online for printable coupons. Coupon Mom has some great sources as do sites that you can find just by searching online for printable coupons. Also, check out the websites of your favorite products! Often times they have printable coupons for your favorite products.


• Don't go food shopping when you're hungry! I'm sure you have all experienced this - you wind up buying more because you're hungry - have something before you leave the house so you stay focused on what you need - and only what you need!


• Don't fall for sales that say, for example, 10 for $4. You probably don't need 10! Just get what you need, most of the time, you can still get the sale price, but read the sale label to make sure.


• It's getting to be nice out lately. Check out local farmer's markets and local, independent produce stores. We have a chain here in south eastern PA called Produce Junction that has REALLY affordable produce that is just as good as the produce in the grocery store. You are paying for the convenience of purchasing produce at the grocery store, which sometimes makes it more expensive. Local farmers and "mom and pop" stands mean that you might be able to negotiate your produce prices. Also, outdoor flea markets, such as the Columbus Flea Market in south NJ, often have produce stands that are awesome. If you are near Amish Country, check out their roadside stands - you'll be helping local families thrive while buying local, good, nutritious produce at a great price.


• Plan accordingly for when you need "staples" - by this I mean flour, sugar, etc. Things you don't buy every week, but need to make what you eat. For those instances, plan for at least $15 over your $45 budget.

So what did I get yesterday? (First off, God is so awesome - as we were walking into the store, Brian found a $10 bill on the ground - almost exactly what we went over in our budget - which was $50.) - This was all gotten at Path mark:

- 10 individual cups of yogurt
- 1 bag of mixed greens (FREE w/ coupon)
- 1 bag russet potatoes
- 4 lbs 80% ground beef
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (which are thick and will be filleted making them into more meals)
- 1/2 gallon organic milk (which expires in June! Organic milk has a longer shelf life - go figure!)
- 1 cantaloupe
- 1 bottle salad dressing
- 3 packages 24ct toilet paper
- 3 packs large, white button mushrooms
- 1 large red onion
- 4 cans of various condensed soups
- 1 bag egg noodles
- 1 large can chunk chicken
- 1/2 lb swiss cheese
- 1/2lb mozz cheese
- 4 hamburger rolls (from the bakery - just buy what you need - you don't need a 12 pack!)
- 4 Portuguese rolls (from the bakery section)
- 2 large containers Smart Balance
- 4 sticks butter
- 3 half gallon containers of Florida's Natural Orange Juice

and a few other things that I can't remember...

All together, we spent $66 - but mind you, there were several things there that will last us MORE than one week - so, when I did the math for the things I will JUST need for THIS week, I stayed within our $45 budget. And that was without coupons - just sale items. And what am I eating this week you ask?

Monday - Salisbury Steaks with veggies
Tuesday - Lunch: Left overs. Dinner: Baked Crispy Chicken with veggies
Wednesday - Lunch: Left overs. Dinner: Chicken Mozzarella Sandwiches with salad
Thursday - Lunch: Left overs. Dinner: Meat Loaf with baked potato and vegetables
Friday - Lunch: Left overs. Dinner: French Onion Burgers with vegetables
Saturday - Lunch: Left overs. Dinner: Chicken Noodle Casserole with vegetables
Sunday - Left overs

Mind you this is just for Brian and I. If you have children, you may have to be more creative in your menu. We're being pretty liberal here, if you ask me :). Also, remember to spend the money you need to stock up on things that are on sale - i.e. meats, frozen veggies, frozen fruits, baking supplies. And always - eat what you buy! No wasting! It's true - there's starving people that would kill to have what you have! And if you wind up with something in your home that you KNOW you won't eat - please, donate those things to your local food bank, or Freecycle them. Support local farmers when at all possible and remember...GOD IS YOUR ULTIMATE PROVISION - Trust in HIM to provide for your EVERY need - "Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight!"

AND PLEASE - DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE AWESOME RESOURCE OF ANGEL FOOD MINISTRIES! - THEY ALSO ACCEPT FOOD STAMPS FOR THOSE WITH THAT RESOURCE!!!

Who is In Control?

In this time when the main stream media is focusing on how our "government" is in control of all things...they are only half right. The government is in control of MOST things - including manipulating our minds to thinking that they are the good guys while, behind the scenes, we are all being played as puppets into their schemes and "their" idea of how all of this - the world, the last chapter, - will play out. But there is one thing that "they" forgot - GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL!!! Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will NOT return to bring peace, but JUDGMENT, to cleans the world of all unrighteousness, to make a NEW heaven and a NEW earth to HIS specifications - which includes no more lies, no more tears, no more pain...OUR KING SITS ON HIS THRONE! His distaff is raised, ready to lower at His command - bringing an end to ALL unrighteousness and lies! So to the Illuminati, Bilderberg group, Council of Foreign Relations, "government" (aka New World Order) - You may rule and instill fear FOR A TIME - but woe to YOU LIARS for HE ALONE REIGNS and HE ALONE will have the final word and it will NOT be in your favor! HIS CHILDREN KNOW HIS VOICE and they KNOW THE TRUTH THAT YOU LIARS ARE TRYING TO PUT DOWN LIKE BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS THAT CONTAIN DEADLY POISON - WE know TRUTH and YOU ARE NOT IT! The ONLY truth lies within the WORD OF THE LORD GOD JESUS CHRIST!!! Woe to YOU LIARS as we sit here - at the end of all things! I pray for your repentance! I pray for your eternal soul! Repent, believe and be baptized to receive eternal life - before it is too late...behold...He stands at the door and knocks!

Happy Easter! He is risen! Celebrate the risen Christ for He defeated death so that we who believe may have eternal life!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life!" - John 3:16

Was there ever a time in your life, prior to becoming a Christian, when you examined your life and said, "How can God possibly use me? My life is too messed up, I've done too many bad things. God can't forgive me...not someone like me."Well, I've been there.

Come visit Internet Cafe Devotions to read about how we are truly New Creations in Christ

In Other Words Tuesday

“Heaven must be in me,before I can be in heaven. ”

- by Charles Stanford

I often wonder what heaven will be like. The Bible gives us a tiny glimpse of what heaven will be like, and I'm sure most of us who have put their faith in Christ have that picture well planted into their hearts - a place with no more pain, no more sorrows, no more tears...a place of eternal joy. Having had gone through some pretty rough patches in my life that have cause pain, sorrow and tears - the idea of an eternity without those feelings sounds perfect to me! However, the one thing that I often forget, is that the greatest part of what heaven will be like is the part where we get to spend eternity with Christ! Could you imagine...getting to actually walk with Christ, talk to Him, have Him answer your questions, getting the opportunity to thank Him, to worship Him in person!? Wow...what a day that will be...I can only imagine!

Heaven, though, for the believer who is suffering on earth now, is something we long for, but not something we can really wrap our hands around right at this moment. Therefore, it is up to us to ask Christ to put the Heaven inside of us until we can actually get there. Jesus said to His disciples, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." This wasn't just a saying or something mystical that Christ was throwing out there at these men, they were words of wisdom and of direction in that, for most of us, we're stuck here until we die - enduring trials, asking questions, feeling hurts, and putting up with things we don't really want to deal with. With all of the sin in the world, Jesus knew that it would be more than difficult - it would sometimes feel impossible to get through each day without wanting to throw ourselves off a bridge! The words, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" was practical advice for the believer in that we are to grab hold of what we know about the reward that we are promised in heaven - the promise of eternal joy - the payoff for all of our suffering. It is our hope, it is our payday for those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Yet it is not enough to clutch that hope and keep it to ourselves, never sharing with others (we learned that in preschool that we have to share!). It is our responsibility, as believers, to share that hope that lives within us, with others - believers and non-believers alike. When our brothers and sisters in Christ are feeling discouraged, it is our responsibility to share the heaven inside us as a reminder of the Heaven that lies beyond us...the hope, the promise. When we see someone in need - the homeless man on the street, the addict trying to break through, the single mom just barely hanging on, the man who lost his job and can't face his family...it is our command from Christ to share the hope that is Christ with these people especially. Why? Because we are commanded to love one another - not just love other believers, but love all of His children (all that He created)...regardless of our own personal (flesh based) feelings toward that person. "Love the sinner, not the sin" - you've heard that, right? Well that is what Christ wants us to do...to love...and to share that love, unconditionally, without regard for "our own feelings" towards the person. After all, what else is Heaven if not the purest form of love? Therefore, before we can live in heaven (eternal love), heaven (love) has to not only live within us, but radiate out from us, from each and every pore...but most of all, it has to flow from our mouths, and from our hands - the tools of the trade of faith that have been given to us by the ultimate source of Heaven (love) - Jesus Christ.