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What I learned from shopping with coupons

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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.

2011 | Let me take you out of my box

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Wow, what a year! 2011 has surpassed my expectations and dreams to say the least. Yet I feel like it is just a foretaste of what is to come for 2012. In 2011 I found myself holding on to promises, dreams, hopes, goals. But sometimes we hold onto dreams to tightly and as a result there is no room for God to move because we have built a pre-conceived box around our goals and hopes and  are only able to see things according to how our mind thinks it will play out. But when we choose to stop grasping so much at the dream in our heart and surrender it to God we find endless possibilities and opportunities. This is what I found this year….

Well I had typed out each month this year and what I did. But a timeline doesn’t seem fitting for this post. Seems like the easy way out. Behind the timeline is what matters. What my heart was going through, the journey God was leading me on. That is why I want to write. That is the purpose of this blog.  So I scratched the month-by-month timeline. Because at the end of the day it isn’t about accomplishments, it all comes back to my heart posture before the Lord. So with that said, where have I stood over the last year?

I have found myself clinging to Jesus, to Abba God tighter and fiercer than ever before. You see when you pray for something, and then you stand face to face with answered prayer everything in the world will try and pull you apart BUT all of heaven will be standing there with you backing you up if it is Gods will. Fear will try and grip you, but faith will take over and remind you of what life is all about. Doubt will try and creep into your mind, but Hope will remind you all things are possible with God. Answered prayer comes in so many forms. It is our job to open our eyes and to not limit God to how He will answer those prayers. It is NOT our job to try and answer our own prayers. He is God. He is eternal- His ways are not ours. This I have learned, and am learning how PERFECT His ways are, especially compared to my idea of what I’ve thought my life should/would look like over the years. But the funny thing is if I dig past all the boxes, all the ideas of how my life would plan out at the root of it- it is the same dream. It is the same plan.

love.

This year I choose to take God out of my box I had Him in. When I did I found myself deeper in love, my faith increasing, my hope restored, I found my first love all over again. I found love conquers all. It always has, and always will.

Just let love in.

The ache for 2012

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It is that ache in your heart to see whats within you released. To see the dream made manifest. To see the picture in your imagination on paper… This is what my heart aches for… Praying 2012 is the year of just that.

That 2012 would be: The longing of my heart made manifest.

There are so many dreams within my heart that I cannot bare to hold in any longer.

Tears escape from my eyes as each one waits a little longer.

Some know there time is coming soon, drawing near.

Other dreams I am unsure of just how to execute them…

It is an ache, a longing for more than what is before me. To release that which has been given to me. A gift, a song, a picture. Oh to be all that we are called to be. This is my desire. 2012 do not disappoint.

One year later.

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Today I am reminiscing on one year ago and the amazing men and women the Lord put in my life when I did the OneThing internship {July 2010- December 2010).

I am reaping from that which I sowed one year ago. The tears, the fears that I let go, the surrender, the sleepless nights…No one quite understands what going through the internship is like unless you have done it. So many of us came into internship needing a touch, needing to be revived, to be reminded of our first love, needing to face our reality. I went in desperately wanting a real touch from the Lord. The internship {for those who have not followed my blog} is designed to put you in the the position to sit before the Lord 5-12 hours a day after taking a class on topics such as End Times, Intimacy with Jesus, Revival… It gives you the ability to talk with him, to pray with Him, to worship Him longer than most people will ever do daily without being in a house of prayer. In this time you find yourself {or at least I did;} facing a decision will you continue to believe the lies the enemy has spoken over you, or will you take the truths that your first love speaks over you?

I found myself in the furnace of His love letting go of each and every dream- all for His love. It was the best of times. Yes, even the surrender. Because to surrender is to show you trust the one you are surrendering to, that they will be faithful to there word. This year I have been seeing the fruit of the surrender to His perfect timing, to His will. The cries in my heart God heard. He never once turned his gaze from me, he heard every word that came from my lips and my heart. Even in my unbelief, even in my unknowing of how he would accomplish that which He said He would, He is doing each and everyday working everything for Good.

Today I take a moment to thank God for those who He has brought into my life over the last year. My fellow interns have changed my life and continue to everyday. God put us all together for a time such as this. He knew where we needed to be loved, pushed, stretched, disciplined and He brought just the right people in our lives to do just that! To all my OTI family I love you, let us NEVER forget how far the Lord has brought each and everyone of us even if you cannot see it today or tomorrow let us hold fast to the truth of Gods nature that He has never led us astray nor will He ever. Whether in the wilderness or under the apple tree His goodness abounds. I love you all. Let us all give thanks for the amazing work He has done, and furthermore for His unending love that is never dependent upon our faithfulness to him.

My roomies

“For such a time as this” God put us together

God changes.

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God is always changing me, forming me, shaping me, molding me into the image of Him. But how God changes is not how man changes. Mans ways are ever fleeting, ever changing trying to keep up with the pace of life. Where as God stays at one pace unafraid that something greater may come along, he stands strong on the words he spoke thousands of years ago knowing that when He speaks life happens. God is not intimidated by speakers who may have the potential to have a larger following, nor does the latest model concern him as to whether He will still be all glorious and still seen as beautiful . God is the standard for all things. So many times we try and fit Him in our box of what life will look like, how much money we will make, how many kids we will have, the house we will own and so on. Yet God looks inward at the heart, He desires change there first and foremost. He is not afraid to offend knowing that it can bring forth great fruit. He is not afraid to kneel down and love on the sickest of the sick, the poorest of the poor. Jesus is not afraid to love. If then I being a christian should follow Jesus I should never the changes which God is continually working out in me. For they are all done with one word in mind.

LOVE.

Gods way of changing is through love. He is love.

Real change starts from the inside. It then flourishes to a point in which it cannot be contained within and bursts forth manifesting itself on the outside. But when it has burst forth nothing can contain it, all can see its glory. Love radiating forth from a human body- let love have its perfect way in you. Right here + right now.

Is not life more than things?

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As of late I have found myself tired, almost exhausted. I have been so blessed have the opportunity to work 40-50 hour weeks between my two jobs. I found myself last night laying in bed praying to God telling him I have to much on my plate, and I needed His guidance as to what should stay and what should go.

Then tonight I nannied a family I have never met before and my life was changed. It felt almost like a slap in the face. They lived on the bare necessities, if even that. They had saved up to be able to hire a nanny and go out to eat at one of the fanciest restaurants in town. As I sat there on there living room floor with my arms outstretched while the youngest of the three girls ran towards me with a big smile just waiting for me to catch her and tickle her something in me clicked. Who cares if they didn’t own a couch, or more than one board game. What life comes down to is not things. Yes it is easy to say, it is easy to preach especially when you have access to things 24/7. I have lived that. I have been one who said life was more than things, but I am now realizing I didn’t quite grasp it all to well. Living without “things” that some deem as necessary is possible. It is not some huge stretch really. Which makes me wonder besides love what is necessary? What is needed? Is not love the greatest gift one can give?

  My heart posture is what the Lord wanted to change when I gave him permission last night in prayer He revealed this to me today. It was not my circumstances that needed to change, it was how I looked at them. God always wants to dig deeper, to the root issue. And praise God He does, where I prayed telling God instead of asking God what was wrong in my heart He graciously heard my prayer, saw my willing heart and showed me what it was that needed to change.

my heart.

Thank you God for always answering prayer though its not always as we would expect, if ever it is always perfect in its timing and its ways.

“Old Love”

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The question is asked,
“Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young couple clasping hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love?”And the answer is given.
“Yes, there is a more beautiful thing. It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path.Their hands are gnarled, but still clasped; their faces are seamed, but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired, but still strong with love and devotion for one another. Yes, there is a more beautiful thing than young love. Old love.”

- Anonymous

He knows.

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Wow, its been awhile. Anytime I have thought about blogging on here I am overtaken in how much has happened in the last several months since traveling. So where do I even begin? How do I begin to tell of Gods goodness, of His faithfulness? There is so much, to much perhaps, I am undeserving of this all.

I am a sinner saved by grace who has found extravagance in the heart of the one who set me free. I was never intended to live in lack, shame, or guilt. Instead freedom is my portion. And so I set every weight aside, everything which might ensnare me all for the hope to advance in this race, to run the race well. To come up leaning on my beloved.

I am learning Gods ways are not my ways. I am learning to rest in knowing that I do hear His voice, yet it is not my job to try and figure out how His plans for me fit into my life timeline. He planned it all before I could take my first breath. He knew the pain and heartache I would endure. He knew the trials even before I knew how to take my first step. He knows my frame inside and out. He knew what I would need, He knew what would stretch me, what would make me crumble, he knew what would revive me, what would build me up. He knew who He could use to get me to those deep places in my heart to acknowledge my desperate need for a savior. He knew what would bring me to my knees in ultimate surrender time and time again. God has always been there, He has always been standing by my side holding my hand saying trust me. Slowly but surely I have been, not in my own strength but His.

I now find myself on solid ground looking out at the horizon in awe of the beauty of this life God has chosen to give me. I am unworthy. This fall is particularly spectacular. God has taken my breath away in this season. He has promised me many things, and He has not failed to show himself faithful in each promise. He knows. He knows precisely what I need, and when I need it. Just a hint/tip what we need typically has NOTHING to do with convenience or making life easier- in fact in my experience what we need are people/situations to remind us of our human frailty, of our desperate need and desire for love, for a savior. These situations aren’t always sugar covered but instead they lead you into the depths of your heart and mind testing both to see where your allegiance truly lies. Sorting out lies, idols, and fears from the truth that is love.

I discovered knowing that God knows is very powerful in ones heart. I need not fear knowing He hears my prayers, my fears, my tears. He hears, He see’s, He knows. He after all walked in a flesh and blood body too, facing the very same things the human heart faces.

I also discovered God is very good at surprises. After all, He knows when we need a good gift or two.