God has challenged me to write about how He will supernaturally pay off our mortgage in 5 years. I am a homemaker, my husband is a teacher, and we have three children. Our mortgage balance at the start of this blog is $97,802.62 with a projected payoff date of May 11, 2035.

Sounds foolish, huh? The Bible says that, "...God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;..." So I am choosing to be foolish and trust Him. He's never let me down before.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Joy in the Mist

I absolutely love being a homemaker.  Nothing makes me feel more complete than the work that I do to care for our family.  One of my favorite tasks is grocery shopping.

Some may think I'm crazy.  But I get such joy out of writing up my grocery list during the week of our payday and then going out and tackling that list, at the end of the week.  I am like a cat ready to pounce on the deals, bargains, and sales that out there for the taking.

My first stop this week was Karns.  I got their 10lbs of ground chuck for $2.79 and their 10lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.99.  Of utmost importance is knowing what the going rate is for these staples.  I was sharing with a friend once that just because something is a BOGO or is on sale does not mean that you are getting the best price, in particular at the mainstream grocery stores.  I know that I can get chicken breasts for $1.79 at the lowest on sale at Karns or Price Rite, so I'm okay with $1.99.  On one very occasion I happened upon ground chuck on sale for $1.99 at Giant, but the going rate is anywhere from $2.69-$2.79, so I am fine with the price I paid at Karns.  There are times when I'll shop for the yellow tag meat (mentioned in a previous post).  In this case I wanted to stock up and I had a coupon for $5 off a $50 Karns purchase.  Buying the meats helped me to reach that amount.

Other deals they have this week are five 8oz. chunk or shredded Kraft cheeses for $10 minus an additional $5 off with a coupon in their weekly circular which can be picked up in the store on found on-line.  In other words, I got 2-1/2 lbs of cheese for $5 which amounts to $2/lb!  This is an amazing price for cheese!  The best part is that I can go back and get the deal additional times.  Fabulous!

Lastly I picked up a loaf of Sara Lee bread that was on sale for 2 for $3.  I only got one--do you know that if something says "2 for $5" or "10 for $10" that you don't have to get that amount?  I thought this was common knowledge but my sister questioned me about this once so apparently not everyone does know this.  If you have to buy a certain amount it will be listed.  For example, Karns' Turkey Hill ice cream was 3 for $6 and it said in the ad "must buy 3".  Otherwise you can buy whatever amount you want and figure the price by what you buy.  So, I bought one loaf of bread, used a $1 off coupon from a newspaper that I don't pay for which a kind newspaper lady regularly brings to our house, and my bread costs me 50 cents!  I'm lovin' it!

My final grocery stop was at Sharp Shopper in Middletown.  I cannot say enough about this store.  The prices are insanely low and you can always find what you were never looking for but cannot live without :-)

On this trip some of the highlights were bags of granola for 69 cents/lb.  I wasn't looking for granola, but I can certainly use granola.  Trail mix, yogurt parfaits, muffins...the possibilities are endless.  They also had Helluva Good mozzarella chunk cheese for 79 cents/lb.  I picked up three of those puppies.  Cheese is a staple in the Webb household (hence the need for a return trip to Karns mentioned above).  Their Kraft Macaroni and cheese is 3/$1.00 which at that price I will pick it up every time.  I just cannot see paying $1 for a box of mac and cheese that feeds 1-1/2 people in our family.  Mayo was on my shopping list and I picked up a jar of Miracle Whip light for 99 cents.  Sharp Shopper is a store where there are certain staples that are sure to be there, past items that have made a brief appearance never to return again, and definite surprises awaiting shoppers with each visit.  For these reasons, it is my favorite grocery store.

James 4:14 says,  

What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

When I think about the joy I get out of being a homemaker, it floors me to realize that there is going to be an even greater and lasting joy in being eternally in the presence of my Savior.  In the time being, I am finding joy in the mist.



Monday, August 12, 2013

Praise Him

During praise time in my prayers, I try my best to stay focused on God rather than me.  My intentions are to let Him know how I admire His character and not just what He does for me...I am struggling with doing that this morning.

God is doing an amazing work through my book.  I see and hear about that work in the testimonies of those I come in contact with on a regular basis.  Yesterday, a friend came up to me with a big smile on her face wiggling her fingers in front of me and excitedly declared, "I didn't get my nails done!"  Not too long after that a man approached me to talk about how he now realizes that he needs to get his whole family involved in when he sets up his budget.  A woman spoke to me of how she caught her husband's attention because she was reading my book (she is not an avid reader like he is).  He is not a believer and he asked her if it had "spiritual stuff" in it.  She said that yes it did.  Since that time, she has seen the book mysteriously relocating to various locations in the house without her laying a hand on it.  Several people I spoke to have been challenged to take a second look at their grocery spending to see how they can shop smarter.  And these are merely the stories that have been shared with me.  There are many more that I may never hear.

Beyond the testimonials of others, God is developing a testimony out of me.  My confidence is growing.  God is so evident in my life right now that I struggle to doubt Him in anything.  For so long I wrestled with whether Personal Finances Personal Freedom would amount to anything.  But God has been bringing about opportunities that I never dreamed would be possible.  Father, I praise You for Your undeniable work in my life.  Thank you for the privilege of fanning my gift into flame!