I don’t have a lot of time to hop on and post something profound today. I have a son with either a case of the flu or some slight food poisoning…I’m hoping for the latter since I have a Hearts at Home conference this weekend to speak at and it would be a really bad time for me to have the flu!!!! PRAYERS APPRECIATED!!!!!!

So, in the mean time, I have a post running over at my friend Glynnis’ blog on hospitality on the road ideas to do over the upcoming holidays. Take a peek, leave a comment and you’ll be entered into the drawing for a giveaway of my book A Life That Says Welcome: Simple Ways to Open Your Heart and Home to Others. Click here to read the post.

Also, my friend Wendy, (Mackenzie’s current ‘mom’) is also planning to run another post by me on her blog so you might want to pop over there too. It should be up sometime this week, It too involves a giveaway. Can’t ‘cha tell we Proverbs 31 gals love to give stuff away!?!?

In the mean time, I will be playing nurse as I prepare for the conference this weekend and go crazy with the disinfectant spray and hand washing!

Have a great week and may the flu stay far from YOU!!!!

Real Life Blessings,

Dear Deer–

Yes, you sweet, innocent, lovely auburn creatures. You need to get out of Clinton County…..and fast!

You see, both of my sons just finished up Hunter Safety. It is a course designed to keep them safe while toting compound bows, razor-sharp broad head arrows and muzzle-loaders, but keeping YOU safe?

Not so much….

So bright and early tomorrow morning, they will wolf down homemade biscuits and sausage gravy, don their camo gear, shinny up a deer blind (a huge stand in a tree you will not notice) and take aim at you!

Oh dear, my deer….run for your life!

I know they enjoy venison steak and cowboy chili made from ground….well….you!  I know they tell me the deer population NEEDS to be thinned out each year.

I only have bad memories of the movie Bambi. It still makes me cry!

So, take my advice…..scat!!!

When they return home empty-handed….I’ll offer to take them out for Chinese. 

That is their second favorite kind of food.

You, my deer, are their first!!!!

Sweet-I-Told-You-So Blessings,

Hi all! Not a lot of time to chat today. I am taking my sweet mother out to lunch and on a shopping trip for her birthday. then back home for her favorite- homemade blackberry crisp.

She is 76 years young today.

Those of you other ’40 somethings’ (or older) who are fortunate enough to have your parents still living–do not take them for granted.

Call your father.

Write a letter to your mom.

Tell them how much you appreciate everything they did for you over the years.

Isn’t is amazing how when we are young, it is easy to pick out our parents’ “non-strengths” and find fault with them? I was just sure my mom was the most old-fashioned, strict, stick-in-the-mud sometimes. The older I get, the more I see only her strengths and marvel at what an amazing job she did raising two kids as a single mom.

She is my hero…..

Hug your hero today, even if from afar……

Sweet Blessings,

I arose last Friday morning at 3:45 am. While I was NOT looking forward to the early morning wake-up call, I had been looking forward to meeting the gals of Fruit Cove Baptist Church and their womens director Linda, for many months. We were headed off to a retreat together on gorgeous and quaint St. Simons Island. As my new friends Cindy and Dee picked me up from the airport and headed up the coast, we came to the bridge that leads to St. Simons…..

Then, we checked into our rooms at Epworth by The Sea, a beautiful retreat and conference center that has roots that go all the way back to the Wesley brothers, John and Charles. Here was the tranquil view from my room…..

And just look at the darling cottage I passed on the way to eat all of our meals. The food was fabulous. In fact we joked that this should have been called the ladies “Eat and Retreat” instead!!! They even got me to step out of my midwestern comfort zone. Yep….I ate grits for breakfast!!!

I toured the downtown shopping section with three new friends, Wanda, Carol and Shannon. Wait! Where are the traditional ‘tourist’ shots of the four of us running around downtown? Oh yeah….we were too busy looking for a temporary tattoos to get for fun. We never found them. I settled for a cute toe ring instead. That is about as wild as I get! Anyway….here is a shot the view of the ocean from the peer near downtown……

Epworth has the coolest old, towering oak trees covered with Spanish moss. It was here that I took my TAWG time each morning (Time Alone With God). Then we met in the main hall for all of our session on the topic of More of Him; Less of Me: Transforming My Spiritual Life

Our final session was Sunday morning in this darling chapel. It so reminded me of the church across the street from my childhood home; the first one I ever attended as a little girl when I began loving Jesus (okay…and loving the cookies and punch they served between Sunday School and church)……

And here is a group snapshot captured on my phone. Kinda hard to see everyone but this is an awesome bunch of ladies!!!!!!

Well, I am currently stuck in the Jacksonville airport waiting for the weather to clear in Atlanta so our plane can leave. I’m praying I don’t miss my connecting flight. (And my boys are probably praying I do. If I get stranded overnight in Atlanta, that means no school for them tomorrow!)

It is always an adventure serving God. Where will your adventures with Him take you this week?

P.S. Here is an update. I finally made it out of Florida and to Atlanta where I ran faster than Usain Bolt to make my connection. Now I am home. My luggage, however, is apparently taking a little tour of the country somewhere! And tucked inside are my kids’ gifts from my trip. YIKES!!!!

Sweet Retreat-taking Blessings,

Classes and co-ops for my kids have begun for the year. Mitch takes three high school courses on Wednesday afternoons. Spencer treks off to the homeschool academy for an entire day and five classes on Thursdays. One of his classes in Computer 1. And is he ever having a hard time with it!

Now, it isn’t that the kid can’t surf the net with the rest of the eleven year olds in the world. He can locate a funny clip on You Tube in seconds flat. He knows how to type an email to a friend and can maneuver around the keyboard without any trouble.

Enter Miss Erika and the Mavis Beacon typing program.

You see, Miss Erika requires that the class learns the correct way to type. You know, fingers positioned on the proper keys. No “two-finger-hunt-and-peck” methods allowed. 

It has my normally jolly child in a complete tizzy.

His twenty minute typing sessions each day are timed. And, when finished, Mavis Beacon (the smiling, friendly cyber teacher) informs him of how many words per minute he achieved.

Yikes!

Lets just say his first attempt was barely in the double digits!

And so, he stresses and obsesses and fumes and frets as his fingers pound away on the “keyboard-turned-enemy” that is my laptop.

However, today Spencer discovered a button.

A beautiful button.

It is labeled “Start Over”

So now, when the timed test catches him off guard and he doesn’t quite get out of the chutes at the whistle, he can always click on the “Start Over” button.

No harm. no foul.

The slate is wiped clean and he can proceed again.

I know there are times I need to reach for the “Start Over” button in my  own life.

When I’ve yelled at my kids; disrespected my husband; neglected my Bible; polished off the last few brownies in the pan. In fact, I did all of those just last week alone.

How about you? Anyone need the “start over” button?

It is only a click away.

P.S. My cyber friend, Cheryl, over at “momsinneed of mercy.blogspot.com“ is offering a great giveaway this week. Hop over to her site for a chance to win a signed copy of my book A Life That Say Welcome; Simple Ways to Open Your Heart and Home to Others. Simply leave a comment to be entered. She’d love to hear from you!

Sweet Starting-over Again Blessings,

Sometimes being a parent is pure pleasure.

Holding a newborn baby and marveling at the life in your hand; the picture of the love between you and your spouse.

Watching your toddler discover the world; to learn to take those first wobbly steps.

Seeing your child master a skill; to ride a bike; to play the piano; to knock a baseball clear out of the park.

Or witnessing them develop good character; raking leaves for the neighborhood widow; returning to a store after they discover they were given too much change.

Such discoveries make a mother’s heart proud.

But other times, being a parent is pure pain.

Those times when you watch your child make a wrong move; choose a wrong path or hold a wrong view.

How much easier it is when they are young and you can simply make them “do the right thing”.

How painful it is when they are older, to let them begin to make their own mistakes and then, learn the painful lessons that those choices often bring.

A friend just asked me last week what is the best parenting advice I’d been given. I answered,

“To pray that God will allow your kids to experience whatever they need to (mistakes and all) in order to become totally and completely sold out and living for Him. And that they will know that we love them unconditionally no matter what. Frightening prayer. We moms would rather control, shelter, make decision for our kids. And there is a place for that sometime when they are young.

Todd and my greatest fear as parents has not been having a wild child, but having one who is playing “good church/homeschool kid” and obedient on the outside, but who does not have a real relationship with Christ and later, chucks all things Christian as a young adult (seen it happen DOZENS of times)!!

I’d rather have one who is honest, wrestles with real faith and then, in God’s perfect timing, makes it their own. Of course we train them in the ways of the Lord. We let them experience His work in our lives. We take every opportunity to point them to God. But we remember that how we finish is more important than how we start. But we moms are fearful and freak out because we equate a “perfect-yes-ma’am-no-sir-docile-outwardly-obedient-envy-of-the-moms-at-church” child with success as a parent.

One who is a pistol means we are a “bad mom”; However…..fast forward many years. Sometimes (of course not always) the “perfect” ones are living life on the wild and sinful side and the “pistols”?  Well..they are totally sold out to Jesus.

Don’t try to shove your child in the perfect box. They don’t always fit. And some kick the box open and run for the unholy hills.

Oh yes….along with this prayer…ask for patience too!!! ”

Yes, sometimes parenting is painful. But seeing a child make a wrong choice and then, when confronted, exhibit honest remorse, a real change in behaviour and a renewed committment to Christ…..well…..in a strange way, that can be a pure pleasure too.

Hang in there moms. Parenting is always a mixture of pain and pleasure.

Now, congratulations to the following two winners of last week’s give-away with Jonni McCoy. Email me your home address by clicking on the “contact Karen” button. Jonni will get your copy of Miserly Moms out in the mail right away! The two winners are:

Paula; Timestamp: September 1, 2009 at 10:53 pm

and

Ang; Timestamp: September 2, 2009 at 10:56 am

Sweet Blessings,

Hi everyone and thanks for the prayers as we moved Mackenzie to North Carolina. I’ll update you all…..um….I mean “y’all” about that next week. (Better get used to talkin’ southern as my Midwestern daughter will soon be converted, I’m sure!)

This week, I want to introduce you to my friend and fellow author Jonni McCoy of Miserly Moms. Be sure to leave a comment. She has a great book to give away to a few of you who do!

So…here’s Jonni

 

Jonni is one of the leading experts on shopping and frugal living and has been helping increase the shopping power of people for twenty years.  Her first book rocketed to best-seller status, giving people a refreshing perspective on being frugal — one that refused to give up a sense of class or fun. Since then, her workshops, articles, additional books and media interviews have brought money-saving skills to people across the nation. Jonni’s best-seller, Miserly Moms-Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy had its fourth edition released in May, and her cookbook, Healthy Meals for Less, was released in September.

Jonni has also been featured as a money-saving expert by the Wall Street Journal, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, Woman’s Day and Woman’s World magazines, Focus on the Family, CBS.Marketwatch.com, SmartMoney.com, Dr. Laura, Oprah.com, About.com , Bottomline Business/Boardroom, Family Life Today radio, and The Gayle King Show.

Now for our interview…

Jonni, you are known as the ultimate “miserly mom”. What got you on the road to being frugal? Did you grow up that way?

Parenthood brought about many changes — but frugality was not one that I expected. My husband and I had a pleasant lifestyle. Adding a child made it even more pleasant. But, as the years went by, I could see that I had to make a choice. What was best for my child?  I am not frugal by nature: It was something I had to learn in order to survive. I was raised overseas, where we lived in large homes with at least five servants. I attended private schools and a University. We traveled to exotic countries for our vacations, several times per year.
After my son turned three years old, I began to see the importance of having a mom at home with a child in order for him/her to grow up well. But there was no way I could quit because I was earning 55% of our family income and we lived in an expensive area (San Francisco Bay Area )
So began our odyssey into frugality.

What areas do you feel women spend too much money on in our society? What can they do instead to save money?

I see people spend way too much for groceries and eating out. Families have become so busy that premade food and prepackaged snacks are a staple in most homes. The average grocery bill is almost double what it needs to be. That goes for eating out as well. The average family spends $100 per week (or $5000 per year) eating out. That’s a lot of money.

Tell us about your book Miserly Moms. How did you come to write it and what topics does it cover?

I did tons of research to learn every trick for every penny I could save. I eventually arrived at what I call the Eleven Miserly Guidelines. When I follow all of them faithfully, I could feed a family of four on $40 per week (in 1991). This may sound extreme, but the results were amazing. We were able to stay in our home, keep our cars, have another child, keep me at home, and even go on vacations.

Many people think that my husband must have been making a bundle to make this happen. He wasn’t; and with my loss of income, we were living on half of what was the average household income in our region. As people saw that we were still healthy, happy and didn’t dress frumpy, people asked me to copy my notebook of ideas. I did that for awhile then my husband encouraged me to write them into a book. That notebook became Miserly Moms.

You are offering a great giveaway to readers out there. What is it?

I am offering two of your readers a copy of Miserly Moms (4^th edition just released in May). I hope it will help them to live well in our tough economic times too!

Awesome! Thanks for visiting with us today, Jonni!

Okay….now for the giveaway. Leave a comment anyday this week letting us know the area that it is hardest for you to get under control when it comes to spending. Is it groceries? eating out? Impulse mall shopping? Clothes for your kids? College debt?

Two winners will be announced next Monday to win a copy of Jonni’s helpful book!

Money-saving blessings,