Monthly Archives: January 2012

I am because he is the I AM

Posted on by

0

I am a planner, I joke with my friends I could plan a wedding in one day. Truth be told, I probably could. With having the ability to plan at the drop of a hat comes the weakness of this gifting, a lie really that I can fall victim too. The lie is that ‘I can do it’, that ‘I make things happen’. When there is nothing farther than the truth. My plans, ideas, creativity from the one who created air, water, my breath, every strand of hair on head. He is the ultimate creator. It is because of Him I dream, I inspire to be more, I crave love. It is because of Him I live. How could I not give back, pour all that I am back into Him. Those dreams, they are possible because of Him. I can do nothing without Him.

Dreamers need God. To often they can be found afar off on a branch trying to face there fears on our own only to be suffocated in the intensity of the world.

Without God we can do nothing.

I AM beautiful because HE IS BEAUTIFUL.

I AM PERFECT because HE MADE ME PERFECT.

I AM BECAUSE HE IS THE I AM.

Identity | I will be me

Posted on by

3

Since the new year I have found myself gripped in fear. Wondering, questioning, crying out to God how? Where? When?

I have found myself week after week coming home just to collapse in a ball of tears. This is not normal for me, unless the Lord is stretching me and asking me to surrender something really big in my heart. And that is just what is happening. But beyond that, in 2012 I am finding that God is asking me where is my identity coming from? How do I think my value is established? Is how I see myself based upon my comparison of others, of my past, of how well I have performed in the past, or do I judge myself based upon the goals I have for tomorrow. I found I was guilty on all counts. I had been judging myself against my past success. Comparing myself to other photographers. I was doubting Gods ability to work all things together for good.

I had detached from the promises of God and became self-centered. I had placed the role of God on myself and I was crumbling under the pressure. No one can live up to that, we were never suppose to be the ones to hold it all together. There is this beautiful thing called the cross comes into play. That is where every fear, tear, dream, goal, and aspiration is to be laid down. There were a couple days that I “woke up” from this dissolution that I thought I could hold it all together. Trying to work 30 hour job + running a photography business + my personal life was not working for me as I tried to balance it all. I now realize that I cannot figure out my life in a timeline, what I can do is live today to the fullest. There is NO need to try and be another person, or a person I use to be. I am who I am. Wonderfully, beautifully made.

I will never be any other photographer. I have things they don’t they have, and vice versa.

I cannot compare myself, my body,or my talents to the talents, or my body from years ago.

I cannot do everything.

I must choose.

What is it that makes me come alive?

What inspires me? Whatever the answer is, this is what I will do. Regardless if it is the popular choice. Regardless if others understand. I will follow my heart. I will trust in God.

I will be me.

I will choose a spirit of excellence over a spirit of perfection.

I will walk out my salvation in the fear of the Lord.

I will sing my praises to God.

I will not hold back from living life.

I will be me.

I will not fear failure.

I will not fear success.

I will love deeply.

I will be the daughter of God that God created me to be.

How?

By getting in the word of God and discovering more and more of who + what I was created to do.

I will be me.

Check out this song HERE. I am listening to it on repeat as I type this blog. Its called “Making me Over”

What I learned from shopping with coupons

Posted on by

0

Well tonight I took my coupon binder and I walked into target confident I was about to save a trillion dollars, okay maybe not a trillion but $100 would be nice.  Well I walked out learning a lesson. Being an extreme couponer is hard work! As I walked out I realized I need to write a blog on this. Cause I learned alot and I am hoping you can learn from my mistakes and from my gains. This was the first time I used store coupons with manufacture coupons on top of sale prices. I typically just use coupons here and there and am happy to save some money. But this time I actually went in pre-planning what to buy and with what coupons. I only purchased items with coupons this trip.

So to start here are my lessons I learned from tonight:

  • I went in without an actual total of how much I would spend – Not a huge no-no, but it could have helped me.
  • I went in on a Monday night. Uh- not smart. I should have gone the second I got my sunday morning ad. The really good deals I could have gotten for free were GONE. Lesson learned = EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM
  • Always bring your entire coupon binder. I went in thinking I was going to find some aveeno haircare products aka shampoo, but realized they were more expensive than I wanted to pay even with $4.00 in coupons. So I looked in  my hair section and sure enough I had a $3.00 off coupon for another brand for two products and the shampoo + conditioner was on sale for $3.50. Now you do the math. Yep, I paid $.50 for one bottle of shampoo. And the sale price for the conditioner. (Pretty much buy one, get one free scenario)
  • I also had extra toothpaste coupons which was perfect because check out the toothpastes I scored. They also have $10-$13 of coupons in each package plus floss + travel size toothpaste or mouthwash. So I bought an extra package of toothpaste simply for the coupons. (haha)
  • Go into the store BEFORE you go in with your coupons so you know what the prices are of everything
  • Read ALL the fine print. I found myself at walmart thinking I was getting a steal of a deal and making money on cleansing bars by neutrogena + aveeno only to re-read my coupon and see that the item I was stocking up on was on the excluded list:/ Oh that little fine print.
  • I DID go in with my shopping list and I wrote out everything I had coupons for those items BUT…
  • I did NOT know the actual price of all these items. This is very important. Seems simple enough, but I neglected to do it on all my items.

 

What I got on this trip:I bought less than I had intended + I also bought more products that I intended because of some of the deals I got.

Price before coupons: $32

Total saved: $12.83

Total percentage saved: approx. 40%

I was hoping for something grander than that but I have to say I am happy with what I got, it was all on my list. But I will be going back to the store when the shelves are re-filled to get the rest of the items on my list that where either free or under $.50ea.

Feminine Products total paid: $5 | Saved $4.00

Shampoo: Paid $4 | Saved 3.00

Hair Spray + Acne Medication were both half priced after coupons

Toothpaste I didn’t save all that much using only .75c coupons BUT they were a good investment with the coupons I got from both of them plus the free products inside.