Missions Conference: Cottage Prayer Meeting

This week at our church, we are having Missions Conference. Tonight we spit up on groups and met at individual homes. At each home there was a missionary to speak about their mission field.
Our mission family was Bro. Mike Groves and his family. They are going to go to New Zealand.

My daughter wrote about the meeting and even videos some of the beautiful music we were blessed with. Check out her blog , you will be blessed.

One thing that struck me was Bro. Mike said allot of churches are not taking on missionaries because of the economy. That is so sad. Our country, although we are in a recession, we are still very wealthy compared to the poverty throughout this world.

My prayer is that more churches will be taking on this missionaries that are willing to sacrifice and go. We can be a part of their team and support them financially and with prayer.

Our homeschool group from our church is planning an missions trip to Mexico in May. We are going to be doing some serious fundraising for this trip. I will have a blog up in the near future to explain what we will be doing on our trip. I'll let you know when that is up.

Please go check out Rachael's Blog about the Cottage Prayer Meeting tonight.
Also, another touching post that shows how God works is on Shaivangi's Blog..Check out this awesome testimony.

This is my works for me this week. The Missionaries need all our support, financial or prayer.
I hope this has inspired you to become involved and work for missionaries...That's what works for me!

How to make a budget and stick to it: Part 1

How to Make a Budget and Stick to It

A realistic budget is your best weapon against overspending.

If you want to keep your spending under control, it's essential that you make a budget. A budget allows you to get a handle on the flow of your money -- how much you make and how much you spend. With that information in hand, you can make intelligent choices about what to buy with your hard-earned cash.

Make a List of Your Expenses

The first step in making a realistic budget is figuring out where your money goes. To keep track, make an expense record.

Limitations of computer programs. Unfortunately, most computer programs that track expenses only analyze your check or credit card payments -- they don't record your cash outlays.

Make your own expense record. Rather than relying on a computer program, keep track of your expenses in a low-tech but comprehensive way: with some paper and a pen. Here's how:

1. Use one sheet of paper per week to record your expenses for two months. By doing this, you'll avoid creating a budget based on a week or a month of unusually high or low expenses.
2. Begin recording your expenses on the first day of a month.
3. Create seven columns on the page, one for each day of the week. Record the date at the top of each column.
4. Carry that sheet with you at all times.
5. Record every expense you pay by cash or cash equivalent -- check, ATM or debit card, or automatic bank withdrawal. When you make a payment on a credit card bill, list the items paid for.
6. At the end of the week, put away the sheet and take out another. Go back to Step 3.
7. At the end of the two months, list seasonal, annual, semi-annual, or quarterly expenses you incur but did not pay during your two-month recording period. The most common are property taxes, car registration and maintenance, magazine subscriptions, tax preparation fees, insurance payments, and seasonal expenses such as summer camp fees or holiday gifts.

Coming in Part 2: How to determine your total income

Tennessee Caviar

I prepared this for a get together we had tonight for our church Missions Conference. Everyone was asking for the recipe..so I thought I'd post it here. I keep the ingredients on hand to make this at the last minute...its is fast and easy. Plus, everyone LOVES it. Really, try it on your family, you won't be sorry!

Tennessee Caviar
Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) cans black-eyed peas
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (10 ounce) can Ro-Tel tomatoes
• 1 (11 ounce) can shoe peg corn
• 2 chopped roma tomato
• 1 med onion chopped fairly fine
• 1 (16 ounce) bottle Zesty Italian salad dressing (I use Fat Free) any brand will do

Directions

Mix up and serve with tortillia chips or fritos scoops.

You can substitute to your liking; Some additions:
minced garlic
chopped green or red peppers
garbanzo beans
Use your imagination!

Tackling Doors!

I have been so busy that I didn't get to get this post in until the day was almost over.
So here I am....Better late than never, right?

Several year ago my dear husband built a really nice apartment on to our home for my mom to live in. She was totally separate, in that you could only enter her apartment by going outside and entering by her door. It was very nice. When we built it, it was planned that when she needed help we'd put a door through the kitchen...so this door was already framed in within the wall...Smart man!

She fell ill one morning and I took her to the hospital and she was admitted. I called my husband and before I even got home that evening, there was a big hole in the wall...lol-This man lives to knock holes in walls...lol

Anyway, about 4 days later mom died in the hospital. The hole remained unfinished for 1 1/2 years...we used the apartment but never finished the door.

Fast forward to this week. We came across a friend who is working locally while his family is in Northern Michigan...The economy is really, really bad there. Anyway, he needed an apartment.

So we decided to rent it furnished to him and guess what we did last night and today....INSTALLED A DOOR> We decided to install the door and push the refrigerator back infront of the door(which locks).

That way, in the future when we need it open for our other parents that might move in...it is ready.

I have no pics cause I was rushing around getting paint everywhere.

We did get it finished and have just some finishing touches to do..

There you have it. My tackle!

Bloggy Giveaway Carnival: Seeking His Face Edition: WINNER IS......

Bloggy Carnival Giveaway Winner is........

Lexi
Cenni (@) gmail.com
Congrats
email me asap
Thanks