Old Navy:
5 bathing suit mix and match pieces:
retail: 88.50
savings: $66.50
how: $5 swim and shorts sale 6/26-6/28 + 15% off entire purchase coupon (old navy weekly ad)
Total OOP: $22 (76% savings)
(i won't have to buy new bathing suits for another 5-10 years after getting this incredible deal! That's less than what 1 suit usually costs!!)
Target:
Pictureka Card Game - bday present for a friend
retail: $7
savings: $5
how: $5 off any Pictureka game from coupons.com
Total OOP: 2.07 (71% savings)
Publix:
4 Bananas
1# Asparagus (on sale)
3# of fuji apples (on sale)
*Food Lion competitor coupon for $2 off $5 produce purchase*
Ragu sauce x 4 (BOGO + coupons)
Dove dark chocolate bar (coupon for free chocolate from Mars)
Lipton Iced Tea Bags x 2 (BOGO + coupon)
Crystal Light x 4 (my all-time fave summer drink!) (BOGO + coupons)
Lysol antibacterial cleaner spray x 2 (BOGO + coupons)
Publix ground cinnamon (full price - gasp!)
Tabasco green jalapeno sauce (mmm! - coupon for $.75/1)
8th continent soy milk (I'm not usually a soy milk drinker, but i'll gladly be one when i can get it for $.50 - a whole heck of a lot cheaper than reg milk this week!) (on sale + coupon for $2 off)
retail: $61.43
savings: $42.70
how: BOGOs + coupons...Advertised savings (BOGOs, etc.) = 24.31, Coupons (store, competitor, manufacturer) = 18.39)
Total OOP: $18.73 (70% savings)
There are a ton of other deals and freebies with coupons this week but not on anything else that I regularly use. I don't buy much meat so that keeps the cost down. I also stocked up last week on Morningstar Farms products when they were totally free with coupons, sabra hummus (another pretty good protein source for me and TOTALLY tasty!), and I have a good stockpile on beans (yet another of my fave lean protein sources) on hand from a trip to Sav-a-lot a month or so ago. Not buying too much meat works during this season of my life and helps keep my grocery bill down...
Today's shopping trip totals...
Retail value: $156.93
Total OOP: $42.80
Total Savings: $114.13 (73% savings!!)
Total grocery and household product spending for June (inc. Father's Day card, cleaning products, body wash, a stockpile of Celestial Seasonings Chai Tea (only goes BOGO 2x/year or so), and a few other non-food items)
Retail: $175.61
Savings: $107.88
Total OOP: 67.73 (savings of 62%)
Total spending on eating out 6/09: $12
Friday, June 26, 2009
"Cents"able Savings
(Disclaimer!!!!! PLEASE know that I write this in all humility and do not want to appear to be bragging. I merely want to share with others how gracious the Lord has been to me over the years and the lessons I'm learning each and every day in being a faithful and generous steward of HIS money - on loan to me (Psalm 24:1). I hope that this can be an encouragement to anyone reading this and provide some practical ways to save...I'll try to update weekly or so with the deals I come across if life/school/work allow!)
I generally consider myself to be a frugal woman. My parents raised me to understand the value of the penny (every 100 = $1!!) and all other denominations of money. They helped me understand that we have to work for our money and that we can't take it for granted. They have always encouraged me (both by their words and, more importantly, their lifestyle) to save, to make wise decisions, and to plan for the future. They've also taught me many lessons in generosity. It's true, they rock!
Those lessons from my folks coupled with an understanding that "my" money is actually the Lord's and that I am to be a faithful and generous steward of it has helped me over the years. I enjoy the freedom of sticking to a budget and knowing where my paychecks are going. Two of the biggest blessings of seeking to be intentionally frugal are the two biggest investments I've made - my home and my graduate education. There's not enough room here to explain HOW HUGE of a blessing this humble home has been over the past 4 years on SO many levels...such sweet memories reside within these walls. It has also been a great investment (and prayerfully will continue to be whenever it comes time to sell!) Prayerfully, I am on course to graduate with my Master's next December without any loans - I cannot forecast what tomorrow will bring, but if nothing tragic happens, this is quite plausible. WHAT a blessing!!
Recently some colleagues and I started dialoguing about saving money, making frugal decisions and meals, and the world of couponing. One thing led to another and a few of us have truly started bargain-hunting at Publix, Target, CVS, etc. I'm no expert and find myself learning new things each time I prepare to go to the stores, but just this month, I've saved a good bit of extra money at Publix using new techniques (I've always been a friend of the BOGOs).
Here is a list of some of the websites to which I look for help in navigating deals...I'd say I take 10 minutes a day to look at about 6 websites that do the leg-work for me. These gals (most of whom are stay-at-home moms) scour the ads, get the heads-up from many manufacturers, and post the hot deals. They often link straight to the printable coupons and tell you in which Sunday ads to find other coupons, as well as alerting readers to other great savings, freebies, etc. I could never find the kind of deals these gals find on my own!! I'm more than willing to let them do all the searching :o)
www.frugalcouponliving.com (my favorite for publix deals)
www.survivingthestores.com
www.thefreebieblogger.com
www.kingdomfirstmom.com
www.fiddledeedeemom.com
www.momsbyheart.com
(yeah, a lot of them have "mom" in their titles b/c a lot of the bloggers are moms. I figure now is the time to start learning these lessons so that if I am blessed with the opportunity to be a wife and mom, I will have an arsenal of tools to use to help save money for my family and so I can save more and be more generous now (and then too!). Besides, it's fun! oh, and gentlemen, don't think you can't learn from this too - what a blessing it'd be for you to save money now and for your future family!
THOUGHTS ON COUPONS
I used to be of the camp that thinks that coupons equal extra spending on items that'll never be used or that having coupons makes one spend more money on things they'd never otherwise purchase. Well, without self-control that certainly could be true! I've learned, however, that careful planning and hanging onto coupons as well as giving up brand loyalty can yield a huge savings! I used to buy generic just about everything b/c it's cheaper than the name-brands, but now that i've tuned into couponing, I find that i'm getting the name brands for a fraction of the cost of the generics! Below find some random thoughts of mine regarding where to find coupons and how to use them most effectively...
1. Build your coupon stash...
~Sunday paper inserts (buy the paper yourself, ask friends for theirs if they don't coupon, etc.)
~Front of the store coupons. There are all sorts of coupon inserts at Publix, often located near their weekly ads, but sometimes scattered throughout the store...just the other day there was a random display with a coupon book called "Family is its own reward" that contains $25 in coupons. Will I use them all? nope, but picking up a few of them cost me nothing and I've already used two different coupons from it and there are others that i'll likely use too! **Pick up at least two of any coupon book so that you can get 2 coupons to use during BOGO sales**
~Printable coupons. I never imagined HOW MANY coupons are available online - most directly from the manufacturers of some GREAT products! I'd say most of my savings come from printable coupons - i only print what i need, when i need it, to save paper and toner (investing in a cheap B&W laser printer for school and using scrap paper has made it a very minimal expense for me...if you use an ink-jet and don't have awesome access to scrap paper, you might need to evaluate the cost/benefit ratio a little more). I've gotten high-yield coupons from Coffeemate, Kraft, Sabra Hummus, Post cereal, Dial, Morningstar Farms, etc. You might have to sign up for some of them (such as on the betty crocker website, the pillsbury website, coffeemate, etc. I created a gmail account solely for this purpose) but it is well worth it!
~Peelies. Look around publix for those little machines that spit out coupons or those products with coupons stuck to them.
~If you want to get really serious, there are websites where you can bulk order coupons for very cheap...i don't foresee myself doing this, but if you have a large family, it might be well worth it! You can find info about this option from the aforementioned websites/blogs.
2. Use coupons wisely...
~Whenever possible, couple coupons with in-store sales. Ex. Ragu is BOGO this week...I bought 4 jars and used coupons...
~Use 2 coupons for BOGO items (you are still buying 2 items). Continuing with the Ragu example, I used 4 coupons (from the Family is its own Reward book mentioned above) and got each jar of pasta sauce for $.35 apiece - instead of their usual $2.19 apiece! I also did this to get Crystal Light for $.99 apiece and the boxes of Lipton Iced Tea bags for $.08 apiece (another set of coupons from the "Family" booklet) - these prices are WAY cheaper than the generics and all items that i will certainly use! Last week I got 2 4-packs for Yoplait YoPlus for $.25 apiece...i've never had YoPlus before, but it was cheaper than my usual yoplait's and I've really enjoyed it - both in taste and it's nutritional value!
~Stack manufacturer and competitor's coupons (even better if on top of store sales!)
...The publix policy on coupons is that you can use 1 manufacturer coupon and 1 store/competitor coupon per item. Last week I got 4 packages of Morningstar farms burgers for FREE by stacking manufacturer and competitor coupons. Publix will be refunded in full for the coupons, so it's not cheating them.
...I've used Target, CVS, and Food Lion coupons at Publix without any trouble whatsoever. Some say you can use Rite-Aid coupons, but i don't think there is one around here so I don't feel it's really fair to consider them a competitor. If someone knows of one around here, let me know and then I won't have any reason to feel guilty!
3. Plan ahead
I used to head to the store with a general sense of what I was going to buy and always wound up buying more than I'd anticipated. I now go to the store once a week with a list and a stack of coupons. I'm learning about stockpiling certain items that i frequently use (thankfully, i have lots of storage) and planning meals based on what's on sale instead of the other way around.
I love to eat fresh food and have two thoughts on this...(1) every now and then there is a coupon for produce, meat, etc. which is awesome, but there is always something on sale, so that's what i buy! (2) the money I save on other stuff can be used to buy more fresh stuff and i'll still be within my budget for groceries!
I'd say that it takes about an hour to go through the weekly deals (using frugalcouponliving.com), put together the coupons I have on hand (from inserts, booklets, etc), and to print the ones I still need. I don't think that's too bad, even for those with kiddos, if the time yields a big savings. Again, each person/family is different and for some, the time is too much of an investment and the budget doesn't necessitate delving into coupons too deeply.
4. Have FUN!!!
I was nervous the first time I went to publix with a big stack of coupons and coupons from food lion and target. I thought the cashier and the folks behind me would hate me! I've found exactly the opposite, however! I've had more than one cashier remark to me about what a great deal I've gotten, encourage me in using coupons, ask me where i'm learning about couponing, and even laugh out loud because of the spending/savings ratio! It's really, really fun to help others learn about it too! We're having a good time encouraging each other at work and i've found it to be a conversation starter (in a good way) at Publix, too! How much fun to not only be saving money but also to be helping others learn how they can save (esp. in today's economy!) and helping to put a smile on their faces! I've also enjoyed giving coupons that I'm not going to use to others who I see purchasing certain products and leaving coupons sitting with products so that the next person who comes by to grab that product will enjoy a visit from the "coupon fairy"!
ok folks, I think that's all for today!! I'm also going to post the fun deals I got today at Old Navy, Target, and Publix. Feel free to share your thoughts, your suggestions, your resources, or your deals either directly to my (previously dying a slow death) blog (www.breakroomruminations.blogspot.com) or on facebook. I'd love to hear what other folks are learning about savings at the stores these days!!
Hope you found some helpful tips in here :o)
I generally consider myself to be a frugal woman. My parents raised me to understand the value of the penny (every 100 = $1!!) and all other denominations of money. They helped me understand that we have to work for our money and that we can't take it for granted. They have always encouraged me (both by their words and, more importantly, their lifestyle) to save, to make wise decisions, and to plan for the future. They've also taught me many lessons in generosity. It's true, they rock!
Those lessons from my folks coupled with an understanding that "my" money is actually the Lord's and that I am to be a faithful and generous steward of it has helped me over the years. I enjoy the freedom of sticking to a budget and knowing where my paychecks are going. Two of the biggest blessings of seeking to be intentionally frugal are the two biggest investments I've made - my home and my graduate education. There's not enough room here to explain HOW HUGE of a blessing this humble home has been over the past 4 years on SO many levels...such sweet memories reside within these walls. It has also been a great investment (and prayerfully will continue to be whenever it comes time to sell!) Prayerfully, I am on course to graduate with my Master's next December without any loans - I cannot forecast what tomorrow will bring, but if nothing tragic happens, this is quite plausible. WHAT a blessing!!
Recently some colleagues and I started dialoguing about saving money, making frugal decisions and meals, and the world of couponing. One thing led to another and a few of us have truly started bargain-hunting at Publix, Target, CVS, etc. I'm no expert and find myself learning new things each time I prepare to go to the stores, but just this month, I've saved a good bit of extra money at Publix using new techniques (I've always been a friend of the BOGOs).
Here is a list of some of the websites to which I look for help in navigating deals...I'd say I take 10 minutes a day to look at about 6 websites that do the leg-work for me. These gals (most of whom are stay-at-home moms) scour the ads, get the heads-up from many manufacturers, and post the hot deals. They often link straight to the printable coupons and tell you in which Sunday ads to find other coupons, as well as alerting readers to other great savings, freebies, etc. I could never find the kind of deals these gals find on my own!! I'm more than willing to let them do all the searching :o)
www.frugalcouponliving.com (my favorite for publix deals)
www.survivingthestores.com
www.thefreebieblogger.com
www.kingdomfirstmom.com
www.fiddledeedeemom.com
www.momsbyheart.com
(yeah, a lot of them have "mom" in their titles b/c a lot of the bloggers are moms. I figure now is the time to start learning these lessons so that if I am blessed with the opportunity to be a wife and mom, I will have an arsenal of tools to use to help save money for my family and so I can save more and be more generous now (and then too!). Besides, it's fun! oh, and gentlemen, don't think you can't learn from this too - what a blessing it'd be for you to save money now and for your future family!
THOUGHTS ON COUPONS
I used to be of the camp that thinks that coupons equal extra spending on items that'll never be used or that having coupons makes one spend more money on things they'd never otherwise purchase. Well, without self-control that certainly could be true! I've learned, however, that careful planning and hanging onto coupons as well as giving up brand loyalty can yield a huge savings! I used to buy generic just about everything b/c it's cheaper than the name-brands, but now that i've tuned into couponing, I find that i'm getting the name brands for a fraction of the cost of the generics! Below find some random thoughts of mine regarding where to find coupons and how to use them most effectively...
1. Build your coupon stash...
~Sunday paper inserts (buy the paper yourself, ask friends for theirs if they don't coupon, etc.)
~Front of the store coupons. There are all sorts of coupon inserts at Publix, often located near their weekly ads, but sometimes scattered throughout the store...just the other day there was a random display with a coupon book called "Family is its own reward" that contains $25 in coupons. Will I use them all? nope, but picking up a few of them cost me nothing and I've already used two different coupons from it and there are others that i'll likely use too! **Pick up at least two of any coupon book so that you can get 2 coupons to use during BOGO sales**
~Printable coupons. I never imagined HOW MANY coupons are available online - most directly from the manufacturers of some GREAT products! I'd say most of my savings come from printable coupons - i only print what i need, when i need it, to save paper and toner (investing in a cheap B&W laser printer for school and using scrap paper has made it a very minimal expense for me...if you use an ink-jet and don't have awesome access to scrap paper, you might need to evaluate the cost/benefit ratio a little more). I've gotten high-yield coupons from Coffeemate, Kraft, Sabra Hummus, Post cereal, Dial, Morningstar Farms, etc. You might have to sign up for some of them (such as on the betty crocker website, the pillsbury website, coffeemate, etc. I created a gmail account solely for this purpose) but it is well worth it!
~Peelies. Look around publix for those little machines that spit out coupons or those products with coupons stuck to them.
~If you want to get really serious, there are websites where you can bulk order coupons for very cheap...i don't foresee myself doing this, but if you have a large family, it might be well worth it! You can find info about this option from the aforementioned websites/blogs.
2. Use coupons wisely...
~Whenever possible, couple coupons with in-store sales. Ex. Ragu is BOGO this week...I bought 4 jars and used coupons...
~Use 2 coupons for BOGO items (you are still buying 2 items). Continuing with the Ragu example, I used 4 coupons (from the Family is its own Reward book mentioned above) and got each jar of pasta sauce for $.35 apiece - instead of their usual $2.19 apiece! I also did this to get Crystal Light for $.99 apiece and the boxes of Lipton Iced Tea bags for $.08 apiece (another set of coupons from the "Family" booklet) - these prices are WAY cheaper than the generics and all items that i will certainly use! Last week I got 2 4-packs for Yoplait YoPlus for $.25 apiece...i've never had YoPlus before, but it was cheaper than my usual yoplait's and I've really enjoyed it - both in taste and it's nutritional value!
~Stack manufacturer and competitor's coupons (even better if on top of store sales!)
...The publix policy on coupons is that you can use 1 manufacturer coupon and 1 store/competitor coupon per item. Last week I got 4 packages of Morningstar farms burgers for FREE by stacking manufacturer and competitor coupons. Publix will be refunded in full for the coupons, so it's not cheating them.
...I've used Target, CVS, and Food Lion coupons at Publix without any trouble whatsoever. Some say you can use Rite-Aid coupons, but i don't think there is one around here so I don't feel it's really fair to consider them a competitor. If someone knows of one around here, let me know and then I won't have any reason to feel guilty!
3. Plan ahead
I used to head to the store with a general sense of what I was going to buy and always wound up buying more than I'd anticipated. I now go to the store once a week with a list and a stack of coupons. I'm learning about stockpiling certain items that i frequently use (thankfully, i have lots of storage) and planning meals based on what's on sale instead of the other way around.
I love to eat fresh food and have two thoughts on this...(1) every now and then there is a coupon for produce, meat, etc. which is awesome, but there is always something on sale, so that's what i buy! (2) the money I save on other stuff can be used to buy more fresh stuff and i'll still be within my budget for groceries!
I'd say that it takes about an hour to go through the weekly deals (using frugalcouponliving.com), put together the coupons I have on hand (from inserts, booklets, etc), and to print the ones I still need. I don't think that's too bad, even for those with kiddos, if the time yields a big savings. Again, each person/family is different and for some, the time is too much of an investment and the budget doesn't necessitate delving into coupons too deeply.
4. Have FUN!!!
I was nervous the first time I went to publix with a big stack of coupons and coupons from food lion and target. I thought the cashier and the folks behind me would hate me! I've found exactly the opposite, however! I've had more than one cashier remark to me about what a great deal I've gotten, encourage me in using coupons, ask me where i'm learning about couponing, and even laugh out loud because of the spending/savings ratio! It's really, really fun to help others learn about it too! We're having a good time encouraging each other at work and i've found it to be a conversation starter (in a good way) at Publix, too! How much fun to not only be saving money but also to be helping others learn how they can save (esp. in today's economy!) and helping to put a smile on their faces! I've also enjoyed giving coupons that I'm not going to use to others who I see purchasing certain products and leaving coupons sitting with products so that the next person who comes by to grab that product will enjoy a visit from the "coupon fairy"!
ok folks, I think that's all for today!! I'm also going to post the fun deals I got today at Old Navy, Target, and Publix. Feel free to share your thoughts, your suggestions, your resources, or your deals either directly to my (previously dying a slow death) blog (www.breakroomruminations.blogspot.com) or on facebook. I'd love to hear what other folks are learning about savings at the stores these days!!
Hope you found some helpful tips in here :o)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
on sacrifice, redemption, and the disciple's heart.
"To be transformed into the image of Christ I must begin to do the will of the Father in the same place where He began: He emptied Himself. There is for any serious disciple, quite simply, no other starting place. It is a matter of beginning today to say no to yourself - specifically, about something you've been insisting you must have, specifically about something you have been refusing. This is step one. You travel the road 'toward Jerusalem' from there, gladly taking up the cross (which is step two: saying yes to God) and following, knowing where the road led Jesus. It did not - and don't forget this! - end with a cross. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven.
His prayer for us is, 'Father, I desire that these men who are thy gift to me, may be with me where I am.' (John 17:24)."
~Elisabeth Elliot
I enjoy when an author or pastor imparts the Word without hesitation or compromise. Here, Elisabeth forthrightly asserts two necessary components of a serious disciple's life, neither popular attributes as the zeitgeist encourages narcissism and selfishness.
I am guilty as charged; I recognize in myself the desperate need to grow in saying "no" to my desires and "yes" to God. I, in many ways, remain a child of my culture. I am grateful that the Lord chooses to use imperfect people to do His work (2 Cor. 12:9) and that He continues to work in me to refine me (Ps. 66:10; Job 23:10; Ps. 26:2; 1 Pet. 1:7).
One could incorrectly infer from the passage above that being a Christian means leading a vapid, ascetic lifestyle; how erroneous an assertion! The God of the Bible longs for us to join Him in adventure (the book of Acts is teeming with action - and that is just 1 of 66 books of the Bible!) and desires for us to experience fullness of joy throughout our lives (Ps. 16:11; Ps. 21:6; Ps. 36:7-8). We must remember, as Elisabeth avows, that the story did not end with Christ dying on the cross. On the third day, Christ rose again. This is the very foundation of a Christian's faith.
While denying myself, carrying the cross, and obediently saying "yes" to God at each juncture might not be fun at the moment, there remains the promise of resurrection and redemption. Is it hard at times? Absolutely. Do I succeed always? Absolutely not. Will I ever make it past that which Elisabeth refers to as the "starting place?" I don't know, nor do I know if that would be beneficial. I do not want to lose sight of that basic tenet - for in it lies the message of the Gospel, which is as applicable to my life today as it was on the day I first understood and accepted it as Truth. I am confident that as I "empty" myself each day (sometimes each moment) and set my face "toward Jerusalem," God will continue to transform my desires to match His, and I will experience joy, unbound and unfettered. That which brings true and lasting joy is found only in Him, not in the things of this world - of this I am convinced, though some days I struggle to live out this aphorism.
Suddenly, in light of the promise of resurrection and redemption, saying "no" to myself and saying "yes" to God does not seem like much of a sacrifice at all. As compared to the cross Christ bore, my sacrifice is nominal, at best. No matter what God asks me to give up, be it a dream, a material possession, a timeframe, or an attitude - or what God asks me to accept, be it a hardship, a blow to my pride, or a season of persecution, I can be confident that He will redeem it in His time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, [Jesus] said to them, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?'" Mark 8:34-36
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17
"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..." John 1:12
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9
"For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried." Psalm 66:10
"But he knows the way I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold." Job 23:10
"Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind." Psalm 26:2
"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:7
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2
"But [the Lord] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9
"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11
"For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence." Psalm 21:6
"How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights." Psalm 36:7-8
Amen and Amen and Amen.
His prayer for us is, 'Father, I desire that these men who are thy gift to me, may be with me where I am.' (John 17:24)."
~Elisabeth Elliot
I enjoy when an author or pastor imparts the Word without hesitation or compromise. Here, Elisabeth forthrightly asserts two necessary components of a serious disciple's life, neither popular attributes as the zeitgeist encourages narcissism and selfishness.
I am guilty as charged; I recognize in myself the desperate need to grow in saying "no" to my desires and "yes" to God. I, in many ways, remain a child of my culture. I am grateful that the Lord chooses to use imperfect people to do His work (2 Cor. 12:9) and that He continues to work in me to refine me (Ps. 66:10; Job 23:10; Ps. 26:2; 1 Pet. 1:7).
One could incorrectly infer from the passage above that being a Christian means leading a vapid, ascetic lifestyle; how erroneous an assertion! The God of the Bible longs for us to join Him in adventure (the book of Acts is teeming with action - and that is just 1 of 66 books of the Bible!) and desires for us to experience fullness of joy throughout our lives (Ps. 16:11; Ps. 21:6; Ps. 36:7-8). We must remember, as Elisabeth avows, that the story did not end with Christ dying on the cross. On the third day, Christ rose again. This is the very foundation of a Christian's faith.
While denying myself, carrying the cross, and obediently saying "yes" to God at each juncture might not be fun at the moment, there remains the promise of resurrection and redemption. Is it hard at times? Absolutely. Do I succeed always? Absolutely not. Will I ever make it past that which Elisabeth refers to as the "starting place?" I don't know, nor do I know if that would be beneficial. I do not want to lose sight of that basic tenet - for in it lies the message of the Gospel, which is as applicable to my life today as it was on the day I first understood and accepted it as Truth. I am confident that as I "empty" myself each day (sometimes each moment) and set my face "toward Jerusalem," God will continue to transform my desires to match His, and I will experience joy, unbound and unfettered. That which brings true and lasting joy is found only in Him, not in the things of this world - of this I am convinced, though some days I struggle to live out this aphorism.
Suddenly, in light of the promise of resurrection and redemption, saying "no" to myself and saying "yes" to God does not seem like much of a sacrifice at all. As compared to the cross Christ bore, my sacrifice is nominal, at best. No matter what God asks me to give up, be it a dream, a material possession, a timeframe, or an attitude - or what God asks me to accept, be it a hardship, a blow to my pride, or a season of persecution, I can be confident that He will redeem it in His time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, [Jesus] said to them, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?'" Mark 8:34-36
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17
"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..." John 1:12
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9
"For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried." Psalm 66:10
"But he knows the way I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold." Job 23:10
"Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind." Psalm 26:2
"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:7
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2
"But [the Lord] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9
"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11
"For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence." Psalm 21:6
"How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights." Psalm 36:7-8
Amen and Amen and Amen.
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