Psalm 29 - Strength & Peace

"Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name;
Worship the LORD in holy array.
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters;
The God of glory thunders,
The LORD is over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful,
The voice of the LORD is majestic.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everything says, "Glory!"
The LORD sat {as King} at the flood;
Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.

The LORD will give strength to His people;
The LORD will bless His people with peace." (NAS)

It is humbling to think of His strength. He has complete power over nature; something we can do nothing to control. Simply by speaking He can destroy mighty trees and cause animals to bring forth new life. I love the last two lines. "The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace." With all that's going on around us, the great fear that people have because of the economy, the worries about making ends meet, the concern for where our country is headed, this is such a reassuring promise. The promise was made to God's people, Israel, but it's a promise we can claim today as well. People are feeling powerless, overcome with worry about tomorrow. But our God, the awesome God who ruled over the Great Flood, is ruling still today. And He will give strength to those who follow Him; He will bless us with peace. Isn't that what everyone is looking for? If only we would stop trying to find it in ourselves, and would look solely to the Source of all strength and peace.

A Weekly Plan

I've been thinking for the last little while that I need to create a weekly schedule for myself. I think this will help me have a more ordered life and home, which is always a good thing! Here's the plan that I've been working off of for the past week and a half or so:

Monday: Cleaning Day! This works well for me, since usually at the start of the week I have the most energy and desire to get things accomplished. And besides that, usually over the weekend when my Handyman is home with us, I tend to let the housework go by the wayside... so by Monday morning, there's lots to be done!

Tuesday: Shopping Day! Since my Handyman bought a work van, I've had the luxury of having my own car during the day for the first time since we got married. It's been very fun to have the freedom to go and do what I'd like to do whenever I'd like. But at the same time, I've found myself going to the store several times a week, usually with a purpose but sometimes just to get out of the house. While its nice to have that option, I've realized that I end up spending money when I go to the store, and if I don't go, I don't spend anything. So, since my Handyman and I are really trying in earnest to be wise with our spending and live like no one else, I've decided to relegate my shopping to one day a week. That way I'll save on gas and will no doubt save money at the same time. Since my local farmer's market is on Tuesday, I've made Tuesday my shopping day.

Wednesday: Baking Day! I have been making various cookies, sweet breads, etc. and freezing them in serving-sized portions for my Handyman to take to work with him. This is cheaper and healthier (and tastier??) than buying packaged snacks, so its a win-win.

Thursday: Laundry Day! I don't have any commitments on Thursdays at this point, so this makes a good day to get everything washed, dried, and put away.

Friday: Cleaning Day, Take 2! After four days, there's definitely plenty that needs to be done again to order the house and let us enjoy a clean home as we head into the weekend.

Saturday: The day is open to doing something fun with my Handyman and my baby girl.

Sunday: A day of rest!

So, that's my weekly plan. I think it's going to help me stay organized, and I won't come to Friday after a week of doing nothing, feeling completely overwhelmed with all that needs to be done.

1000 Gifts

1. Soft baby coo's of contentment, coming from her crib on this sunshiny day.

2. Green leaves through window, reminders of the gift of life.

3. Silly kitties, rolling and stretched long in contentment.

4. Blue skies full of the promise of a new day.

5. Adoring daddy, delighted by his baby girl.

6. Long walks on warm summer nights.

7. Bright blossoms, given to say "I love you."

8. Soft warmth of babe in arms.

Thank you, Father, for you many gifts...

Trip to the Farmer's Market

I got some yummy looking veggies at the farmer's market today. I can't wait to have some for dinner tonight!

Great Deals!

As part of my goal to live life intentionally, I have been making a real effort to be wise with our spending. I've been following some blogs that list the deals that you can get at various stores every week. I haven't done much with it for the past several weeks, but this week I couldn't pass up the deals. Here's what I got:


20 SoyJoy bars at $1 each
Used 1 B1G1 coupon from the 5/31 SmartSource insert
Used $1/5 coupon
Used $2/10 coupon from the 5/31 SmartSource insert
Spent $16.45 out of pocket
Got $20 ECBs back.

That's right!! I got paid $3.55 to get 20 SoyJoy bars. That's what I call a bargain!

Then I also bought 5 boxes of Always Infinity pads. I haven't tried them yet, but I've heard they're amazing! It's an unadvertised deal at CVS this week. They're normally $10.79 a piece for a big box, but they're on sale for $4.99 this week. I used the following coupons:

1 $4/1 coupon from the 6/7 Procter & Gamble insert
1 $1/1 coupon from the 6/7 Procter & Gamble insert
1 $3/1 coupon
2 $1/1 coupons

Total after coupons was $15.51. I used $5.87 from a CVS gift card, and spent $9.64 out of pocket. That's 5 boxes for less than the price of 1 box at regular price! It averages out to $1.93 per box. Yippee!

Update! - Whole Wheat Bread

Today I made a loaf of bread using the same recipe I posted here, only this time I added wheat gluten to the mixture. What a difference!! The bread is sooo yummy! The texture is great, and it isn't heavy like the last loaf I made. I'm so excited to have found a great way to make my own whole wheat bread. I wasn't sure about adding the wheat gluten, but I found some made by the Bob's Red Mill brand at the store last week, so I thought I would give it a try. I'm so glad I did!

Home-made Jam

Last night my husband ran to the store to grab something we needed with supper, and found strawberries on sale for $0.50 for a one pound box. He bought two boxes, and they were absolutely delicious!! We ate them all last night for dessert. Mmmm. Nothing beats fresh strawberries. This morning I decided to back to the store to buy a bunch more so I could make my own strawberry jam. I was very disappointed to find that the price had gone up to $0.99 per pound. I'm not really sure what justifies the price doubling over night? Anyway, they were so good, and I was so excited about the prospect of making my own jam, that I bought 10 boxes anyway. And $0.99 doesn't seem like a bad price, anyway. If it is a bad price, don't tell me. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

I've never made my own jam before. I used to help my mom do it every year, but it's been a long time since I've done that. I read about it online, though, it seemed pretty simple, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I did have to go out and buy jars and lids, and I also bought a pair of jar tongs for getting hot jars out of the boiling water. I think this initial batch of jam probably is significantly more expensive than buying store-bought, but it's so tasty, and now I have most of the needed supplies, so it will be less expensive if I do it again.

I wasn't sure how much jam I would be able to make with the amount of strawberries I bought, but after making one batch I think I have enough to make 2 more batches. That will be 12 jars of jam! I am thrilled! I have to take a break from making it, because I ran out of sugar (I had no idea how much it takes!). But as soon as my Sweet Pea wakes up from her nap, or my husband gets home from work, I'm off to the store to get more sugar and finish making this sweet treat. Here's a picture of my first batch. The feeling of satisfaction I get from having worked to preserve my own jam is invigorating!