Grocery Game?

My new friend, Debbie who I met last week at Cedarly (more on that later) told me about this 'Grocery Game' website that she is doing. She said she cut her grocery bill from $150 a week to around $56-$60. Just wondering if anybody else out there has done it and if it was worth it to you?

Grocery Game

Bye Bye Now...

Well, tomorrow we are off for a week! Our friend is coming to stay with the kids (she has my cell phone so feel free to check in if you can!) and we are headed to Delafield, WI to Cedarly Pastors Retreat - best part about it - its free!

Pray for us, this week is supposed to bring 'reset and refreshment' that is much needed. And something else? No internet! We won't know how to act! I'm sure I'll have pics and stories when we return. Have a great week everyone!

Check It Out

Hey, check out my friends new website! She creates,designs or redesigns just about anything you'd want! She is fast, efficient and able to give you just what you are looking for, I love my blog she created for me! http://inspireddesignbyanne.com/

SYATP

Have you ever thought it was a great idea to sing karaoke and once you pick the song and go on stage you get a crazy feeling in your stomach like "What was I thinking?" Well, we had a little of that this morning. Last night our Student Pastor, Matt and area youth pastors put on a rally called Ignite, to get the kids excited about the annual See You At The Pole. I have to admit I had heard about SYATP but never thought much about it since my kids were too young. This is the first year that anyone has really talked to the kids about it at all and they came home last night really excited about doing it and wanted to go this morning. You are supposed to go 30 minutes before school and gather with other students, faculty and parents to pray around the flagpole. The problem is that there was no flagpole at school. Lindsey was certain there was a flagpole behind the school in the parking lot and sure enough, on the side of a different building, was an extremely ragged, very small flag sticking out of the building. It was the building next to the school (the school is actually in a church building so I think its connected) that seems to be some kind of half-way house for men. There was a man outside taking out trash and I asked if we could use his flag. I could tell he had no idea what I was talking about but was receptive. He went inside and got the gal in charge. We explained again what we were looking for and they graciously agreed.

All the while, many of the other students were arriving in this parking lot to go into school, teachers too, the principal. It seemed as if everyone was looking over towards us to see what was going on but nobody seemed to be looking for a SYATP group. It became more and more clear that it was just us, and I could tell that the kids were disappointed and possibly ready to run. Maybe just becasue I was there with them and that is so not cool! But we hung around for awhile and finally decided to go ahead with just us.

I had asked them to each pray and I would finish up. I figured I would need to say the prayers that needed to be said in light of the circumstances that we were supposed to be there and that was fine, I figured the fact that they still wanted to do it was good enough for today. But Lindsey started and said just a perfect, beautiful, to the point, prayer to our Heavenly Father. And Kurt followed up much the same. I stood there with my teen/pre-teen children and was thrilled to hear how much the get it. They prayed for their friends, teachers, families... everybody else but themselves! It was awesome. I did wrap up, only to reword some of the things they had already said and thats it, we were done.

I am so grateful for the people in their lives that stirred this event for today. God is at work through the people in His church and I appreciate all of the efforts that were put in to last night. It was crazy, I think I heard there were about 150 students there and many adults who are involved. Very, very cool.

Update

Well, we have started the school year off with a bang. Kurt and Lindsey are getting settled in their new school and really seem to be enjoying it. It is so much more relaxed for them and more our speed! They each have only 20-25 students in their grade instead of 200! Emma is slowly, very slowly adjusting to 1st grade. I think she's doing fine with school, more having a hard time adjusting at home to being so tired from her day! Poor kid goes to bed at 7pm and is asleep by 7:02! But all in all everybody is doing well.

With the recent staff changes (Nicole quitting and Pam replacing her) my work ours are a bit different. Pam and I are each working full days at a time so we can also be home for full days. When I am there, Tuesdays and Thursdays, I answer the phones in the front office and try to answer the many random questions that come in! But my main job is still working with Ramona, our Children's Director, which I really enjoy. I am coping so much better this way than last year, working 4 hours 5 days a week. I have a new found appreciation for all of the working moms out there, that's for sure! After being a stay-at-home mom for over 12 years it was a really tough year for all of us.

Tim is busy as usual, nothing new about that. Just in new and different ways than I think he ever imagined. God (thru North Point) is launching a new campus in November and it has brought about a brand new kind of busy for Tim. He just loves it. I cannot imagine God using him in any better way. It does however come with lots of new responsibility that again, he never imagined. The 'stress' is a good kind, the kind that stretches and grows a person. It has been an interesting process that I hope and pray will continue. Please be praying for this adventure! He continues to preach every other week with Dennis until next year when the final stages of the transition take place. More on that when the time comes!