Okay. This one takes some courage. It’s a weird thing to post. But I’m weird.

I don’t know who reads this ridiculously random blog. More people than I thought, or my mom is clicking on it all the time.

So I won’t go into detail in case any of you are of the Y chromosome.

But you never have to buy “feminie products” again.

Stay with me! Ecology! Frugality! Whatever it takes for you to not write me off right here…

Just read about it. Unless you’re a man. Then just spare yourself the inevitable confusion.

http://www.lunapads.com/department.aspx?DeptId=4&PriceCat=2&Lang=EN-US&SID=d71be7ec-a28a-4d88-af74-9d041d43dc12

And if you’re visual…

http://www.keeper.com/photographs.html

And, yes, Internet. I do have one and love it.

Okay. See? This is why I want to be their BFF…

http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/2009/10/moore-of-family-freak-show.html

https://www.intentionalkingdomliving.com/794/

The perfect government is not a Democracy.

The perfect government is a Monarchy – with a Perfect King.

– Z Man

https://www.intentionalkingdomliving.com/795/

“I the LORD do not change.

“Return to Me and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty [Lord of hosts / Jehovah-Sabaoth].

“You ask, “How are we to return?”

“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.

“You ask, ‘How do we rob you?’

“In tithes and offerings. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says Jehovah-Sabaoth, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it…

THEN all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.”

Yep. The ultimate goal in tithing? Evangelism.

https://www.intentionalkingdomliving.com/796/

You never know. Just saying. It’s like a slot machine up here in my head. And I’m not a salesperson, I just play one on my blog.

If you ever wondered more about your body, buy this book. If you are sick of the emotional roller coaster that fake hormones give you (aka witchy woman), buy this book. If you want to feel what you were created to feel (intimacy-wise) toward your man, buy this book. If you don’t think surgery is the answer to being “done” with kids, buy this book. If you ever judged someone who did Natural Family Planning, buy this book. (This is not the same thing).

I’m just saying.

http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Charge-Your-Fertility-Anniversary/dp/0060881909/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256645903&sr=8-1

…You may find this hard to believe. But I don’t sit around thinking about what to blog about.

But here’s what’s going on in my brain. It’s a summation from a video that went with the Patriarchs study combined with a lesson from church. (I am an editor’s nightmare! Good thing this isn’t a magazine.)

Genesis 18 when Abraham pleads with God for Sodom:

The bottom line in this scene is in verse 25: “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

The cool thing was God esteemed Abraham’s opinion. He positions Abraham in the role of prophet. Amos 3:7 says, “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”

And Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong ot the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever…”

We learned at church about how our faith is based on knowledge. We know it because it was revealed. But knowledge in the Word is never just head knowledge. It is always experiential. But at the same time, it transcends emotions, too. God himself took the initiative to make Himself known to man through His Word. At least that’s what we say we believe. All other religions result from man’s attempt to know truth. Big difference.

Anyway, yes. God is so glorious that words cannot describe, though we try. So there are secret things to Him. Things we can’t handle yet or we’d drop dead. But the things revealed are what we build our lives on. And the best part? We can never say, “You never told us!” YES HE DID. Anything negative we need to know is there. And all the mysterious, secret things? They. are. all. glorious. Reassuring, eh?

so. so. so… Here’s the deal. God is Just and Right. All the time. What God thinks, He says. What He says, He does. God is light. In Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). He has no dark side. No emotional problems. He never has an ugly thought toward me if I’m covered in the blood of the spotless Lamb.

So this phenomenal God engaged Abraham in a diologue. He invited a mere man to “walk with Him so that He could teach Abraham how a man can walk like Him.”

Two questions:

1. Can God trust Abraham? (Gen 18:17 says, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”)

And

2. Can Abraham trust God? (Could Creater God ever do wrong to His creation?)

So. Can He trust you? Can He trust you…

– To not forget where you came from?

– To know what to share with others and what to keep to yourself?

– To not try to share His glory?

– To not get arrogant when He blesses you?

God saw the answer was yes. So He cast Abraham in a second role: God’s friend (James 2:23). The Greek word James used was philos, which means love based on common interest. When we totally adopt God’s interests (the way Abraham & Moses did, for example) we are His friend.

The 2nd question. God invited Abraham to ask these things. He prompted him to inquire – “what if there are found 10 people righteous in Sodom? will you destory it then?” – for every reverent person to live after Abraham who wonders the same thing.

Will the Judge of the earth ever do wrong?

What matters more to You – the many wicked or the few righteous?

No, He will never do wrong. And when you wonder about all the junk out there, remember: God’s sovereignty can terrify us only if we are uncertain of His love. Only to the extent that we abide in His love can we be comforted by His sovereignty.

Those are your two bookends.

{God’s Sovereignty} {God’s Unfailing Love}

Whatever is between those two (why do innocent children sometimes suffer? why don’t you save everyone? why did you save me?) will be answered one day. Until then, we have a Most High God who refuses to separate His sovereignty from His love.

Right now. Go buy The Jesus Storybook Bible.

Look, you don’t even need to have kids to get something out of this one. Best kids’ Bible ever. Just browse it first if you don’t believe me. But read the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac and then come talk to me. And the Jesus actually looks middle eastern, praise God! Our boy barely listens, but my man and I just stare at each other after every story. The author’s pastor is/was Dr. Timothy Keller, who let’s face it, is amazing.

http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Storybook-Bible-Every-Whispers/dp/0310708257/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256579623&sr=8-1

Yes. That’s it exactly. Where has this chick been all my life?

http://www.conversiondiary.com/2008/03/mommyblogging-and-water-well.html

So I told you I’m learning about frugality. I know, along with the rest of the country. But hear me out. This has been a 5-year journey. But I’ve only been couponing for over a year. I resisted for a long time. I say that like it’s a good thing to wait a long time to get free or almost-free things for your family and others.

Anyway.

I wanted to pass on my 5 favorite Frugal Bloggers. There are tons more, but these are mine. One of them lives in Kansas, so her prices most accurately reflect those in our stores.

On with it…

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ Money Saving Mom. This chick was frugal when frugal wasn’t cool. Her mom put her in charge of food budget, couponing and grocery shopping in high school. She knows everything. My favorite thing about this couple is they’re like 60-70% towards their goal of buying their first house with cash! (They’re big Ramsey fans). They’re just now in their 30’s. Think of all the money they can give to Kingdom Living from now until they die because they soon won’t pay anything each month for rent or mortgage. And he’s a lawyer. Whoa.

http://www.grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com/ This lady doesn’t coupon, but still finds a way to feed her family of 6 with 60 bucks a week. She is very creative in making things stretch. And coupons aren’t the only way to make your budget Kingdom-friendly.

http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/ Common Sense with Money. She’s a former CPA and very smart. She shares all kinds of tips for saving money, and not just on groceries. I’ve learned a lot from her.

http://www.momsneedtoknow.com/ I love reading this one. She is in Philly and lots of her posts have nothing to do with the Midwest. But she’s funny. In her bio she wrote something like, “I’m not as nice as other frugal mommy bloggers. Or at least I cuss a lot more than them.” She goes on these really funny rants. I’ve learned a lot from her, too.

http://jane4girls800dollarannualbudget.blogspot.com/ Okay. This lady is my financial hero. As a single mom she feeds her 3 daughters, two dogs and herself on Eight Hundred Dollars a Year!!! I know. She explains how. It took her 3 years to get where she is now. But come on.

Here’s the low down: The basic premise is to get a good stockpile going so that you can “cherry pick” each week. Meaning you have lots of basics on hand, including cheap meat, so all you buy each week are the best deals. They match up each store’s weekly deals with coupons that are out there, showing you how to get tons of stuff for $3 to $30 a week. Some of it you may not need or normally eat. But hey. If it’s free, you can get it and give it away.

Here’s how I look at it. It takes me maybe 2 hours a week to cut coupons, check blog deals, and shop at two different stores (versus just going to Dillon’s or just Wal-Mart or whatever). My receipt regularly says I save $15 – $90 each time. If I save us that much for two hours’ worth of work, then a part-time “job” that “pays” $7.50 – $45 an hour is pretty worth it!

It takes a while to get your rhythm. And I have weeks where I cuss the whole system, get burnt out and just shop. But for the most part, this has really revolutionized how I look at my job around here. My man really appreciates me making things stretch. And it feeds my competitive desires – I’m constantly trying to challenge myself to see how good a deal I can get.

And remember. It’s not about just hoarding cash you save. It’s about getting your family set so you can give give give to others. That’s the big picture I try to keep in mind. Otherwise I feel cheesy about the whole deal. No, you’re not a repressed 50’s housewife to implement these things. You are powerful and playing a huge role in your family, community and the Kingdom in our generation.

Have fun with it!

“Some days I don’t feel like being vulnerable or transparent, no matter who it would help. Some days I just want to act like I’ve always done it right. Some days I don’t want to give, I want to take. And some days I just want everybody out of my personal business. My times in Egypt are painful for me to remember. Embarrassing for me to admit. Leaving nothing for others to admire. But each morning the Holy Spirit woos me once again to the place where I meet with God. The God of grace bows low and meets with me. I am suddenly confronted by the majesty of my Redeemer. The One responsible for any good in me. And once again, my heart is moved, and I surrender all. Morning after morning.” – Breaking Free

https://www.intentionalkingdomliving.com/802/