Here it is...E2E!

The BIG reveal..."Empowered to Empower!"

The end of last year God gave me a vision of what He wanted from me for 2010. Often times we find ourselves making New Year's Resolutions and they usually are all about, "ME, ME, ME, ME, ME." "I gotta hit the gym, I gotta make more time for me, I gotta do this or I gotta do that..." and it typically pertains to ourselves.

But, this year, I wanted my resolution to be different. Specifically, I felt that the LORD wanted my resolution to be about me investing in others. A transfer of power and discipline of sorts. You see, financial freedom is more than just some marketable slogan, it is biblical and empowering. So, that is why I believe God gave me "Empowered to Empower." Here we go...

I got addicted to couponing only after humbling myself. See, I always saw couponing as for the less fortunate, the poor, and the needy. Since I did not see myself in any of those terms, using coupons was mentally written off as time consuming and "below" me. But, through the pruning of the Holy Spirit, God convicted me into a life-altering realization: those who use coupons were the WISE ones and I was the fool. They are wives, home makers, business women, concerned mothers, prudent souls who see frugality as not just a hobby or financial enigma, but as a lifestyle.

The ultimate back-breaking straw for me is found in Matthew 25:15 “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability..." Now, we are all most likely familiar with this parable...but have we ever picked up on the last few words in this verse? God has given to each of us according to our individual abilities! Let me expand this passage a little. Some of you may have heard of "talents" in this passage paralleling "talent" today ( i.e. musical, athletic, etc.). In the Greek, this term literally meant physical possession of financial value. These inidividuals were challenged to invest/spend their money wisely. It is from there that the story and its lesson progresses. God definitely wants us to levy all of our talents for His kingdom as well...but, in this case, let's focus on the financial lesson to be learned.

God knows what it is we can handle and when we can handle it. How do we expect God to entrust us with any more than we can currently bear if we bear it in a way that doesn't honor him? We can't! That is, we can not until we show ourselves approved of our present financial situation. Showing ourselves approved is not merely tithing or giving the occasional offering, although this is the first cobblestone along the journey to financial breakthrough. Our financial well being is a wholistic approach rooted in the very mind of God and His Word.

My husband and I have come a long way over the last year, but I felt the nudge of God on this other issue: grocery shopping. And so, He birthed this idea out of me to share the passion that He has developed in me over the last few months. E2E will be a time of sharing, fellowship, laughter and maybe even some crying ;)! Ultimately, I desire for this group to be a haven for women who want more out of their finances. With God as the nucleus, I foresee this coupon club becoming more than a Friday or Saturday outing! I genuinely want those who attend to leave with a new perspective and a fresh outlook on their own ability and the "talents" God has given them.

This is my prophetic decree over you...
"Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations above the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall you be when you come in and blessed shall you be when you go out!"
"The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless ALL the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today, and are careful to observe them."

Deuteronomy 28:1-6 & 28:12-13

In Him,
~Jenni-Lynn~

P.S. I still have a special testimonial to share with you...so just keep checkin' in!

Crime Scene Investigation...

This was the crime scene that Trey and I came home to this afternoon...

Detectives Shennie Shen and Jenni-Lynn were at first significantly perplexed by their findings.

You see, the crate began the day in the corner, flush with the wall...and the ironing board was standing behind it, wedged between it and the wall and the washing machine. The obvious culprit was our 4 pound Shih Tzu (Nala); yet, she was no where on the scene. Both detectives searched the laundry room, high and low, finding no Nala. With sunken hearts and on the verge of hanging caution tape and calling in the homicide team, here came Nala from the other side of the house with a "what's up mom and dad?" smirk on her face. We scanned the house to find two locations of restroom usage and several things not where we left them, but other than that, we guess she played queen for the day.

The weird question was, how did she escape exactly? In my best Sherlock Holmes interpretation, she must have shimmied up the ironing board to its highest point, scaled to the top of the crate, and then leapt to the lip of the baby gate, plummeting to the other side. I checked for injuries and found none. These two gumshoes have been duped by an 11 week old puppy.

We're just glad she is OK and will obviously have to rethink the laundry room kenneling as an option.

Rite Aid...R-O-C-K-S!!!

I had such a pleasant experience shopping at Rite Aid over the past couple of days and this is why....



I know what you are thinking...what's up with ALL the maxi pads??? Well, they were FREE! lol
This is what I bought:
(1) Oral B Cross Action Power Toothbrush=FREE (after single rebate checks)
(1) Kotex Maxi Pads= .99
(8) StayFree Maxi Pads= FREE
(8) Nivea Lip Care= FREE
(4) 4-packs GE Light bulbs=FREE (after single rebate checks)
(1) Carmex= .99
(1) Listerine Vanilla Mint Mouthwash= made .50
(1) Tylenol Cold & Flu= $2.99 (after single rebate checks)
(1) Tylenol 8 hour= $1.99 (after single rebate checks)
(2) Loreal Facial Cleanser= $2.19 each
(1) Lipgloss= $1.99
(1) Eye liner= .59
(2) Nutra Nail Max Strengthener= $1.99
(2) Neosporin w/ cream and 3 band aids in each box= $3.99 for both
(2) boxes of Band aids (sheer)= $1.69

WHEW...I think I got everything! What I should have spent before store specials and coupons...$199.41. I know you are probably thinking, "that's INSANE!" It is. I would NEVER spend that kind of money at Rite Aid, Walgreens or even CVS. But the beauty of it all... is that I didn't; in fact, I paid no where near that amount..By the way, that should just show you how expensive places like this are....BUT with coupons, anything is possible! ;) Isn't that in Scripture somewhere?!?!?!

Now for the moment you have all been waiting for...the total!

I spent $17.90 :) FABULOUS. I KNOW.

Also, Rite Aid is hosting the game of LIFE...You all remeber the board game, right?!?!? I LOVE it! It is basically like Monoply at McDonald's...you buy products that are marked with a Life game piece in the ad and you collect them to win! FUN stuff.

With ALL that being said...I will be starting a "Coupon Club" in the very near future. I will post more details in my next blog...so stay tuned! God has really given me a vision of some things I would like to see happen in the lives of the women around me, and I would love for you to be a part of it! So, you will not want to miss my next blog. I will have a guest blogger who will impart to you all an incredible testimony of some serious discipline and God's favor. Ha! That's all I am going to say about that!

I hope you were inspired and most of all intrigued by this blog. I will close with this...

E2E

This is my New Year's Resolution! ( I will explain what E2E means in my next blog)...I know. So suspenseful. But It will be well worth the wait! (Well, atleast I think so) ;)

In Him,

~Jenni-Lynn~