Let Me Help You Understand...

     I haven't blogged in a hot minute. Why? Because mostly, I think about doing it then get distracted with other things. But more recently, life happening has made me realize I probably need to write more than react to the situations around me. So here I am, going to write about something that I've learned. Something, that I know, will rub some the wrong way, the right way, and in no way. This is something I need to get off my chest...

    I made a post on my social media a few weeks ago on Pride Night at the Nashville SC game. It was a selfie, in my Pride kit, and it read: "Y'all means all. I am an ally. #FreeMomHugs #JesusWasAnAlly" I thought nothing of it. It's true - it's true to me and so many I know. But I've learned that some have had an issue with it. Questioning whether or not this holds up against what I believe as a Christian. Questioning, albeit inadvertently but still, if this affects me signing and adhering to the Statement of Faith put forward by our homeschool group. I realize it's my social media and I don't have to explain myself.  What I feel, though, is I need to take a minute to address these people and anyone else who has not been vocal in their disapproval, so that hopefully they understand better why I posted that, and what I meant.

    First, I want to ask the question: what does Jesus say? What does the Bible say? Well, any Christian (and really non-Christian because of how poorly Christians have handled this....but I'll get to that later) knows that homosexuality is listed as a sin in the Bible. Actually, sexual immorality.  It talks about it in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Ok, cool. Here's the kicker: there are a list of 12 other sins that the Bible talks about. Those are: lying, greed, gluttony, envy, lust, pride, wrath, laziness, deceitfulness, theft, vanity, and drunkenness. So if that's what the Bible says, what does Jesus say? Jesus says those things are wrong. Jesus says we're to refrain from such things, and if not, repent for them. Jesus also, and most importantly, says to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus ate with sinners, he loved them in spite of their sins. He didn't give them a free pass, but he didn't condemn them. He also talked about those free from sin being the first to throw stones when they wanted to murder the adulterous woman in the streets, and no one could throw a stone, so there's that....

    Secondly, I want to define the term "ally". Merriam-Webster defines it as, "one that is associated with another as a helper; a person, or group that provides assistance and support in an ongoing effort, activity, or struggle." It would appear my use of the word "ally" is what might have caused the biggest concern. That, using ally, means that I morally agree with the life decisions of those around me, that Jesus morally agreed with those around him - by me saying he was an ally. Looking at the definition though, it doesn't lend itself to agree or disagree morally with anything. Being an ally offers help, assistance, support.

    So why did I make the post? Hold on, because this is where I'm gonna blow the top off.... I made the post because as a Christian, a follower of Jesus, I am TIRED, EXHAUSTED, ABSOLUTELY DONE with the Bible cherry picking. I am so far over making homosexuality the sin above all sins. Let me make something crystal clear: as Christians, we are told that no sin is above the other. There is no sin that is worse than the other. Christians that lie, lust, have pride, overeat, are vain, etc are sinning the exact same as those living in sexual immorality. So why does this end up being the thing Christians have the hardest time with? I have no idea. But it has to change. Christians MUST do better. We have to be more accepting of people and quit judging them by their sin. If you're not willing to constantly broadcast your own SAME WEIGHT sin, quit doing it to the LGBTQ+ community. I made that post because I refuse to believe that we serve a God that isn't true to His word, and is elevating one sin over the other. I made that post to be an example of what being Jesus to people looks like. I made that post because I love people. No exceptions, no reservations, no stipulations. I made that post because Jesus loves everyone in spite of themselves, and if Jesus does, we have no excuses not to. Christian to Christian - if you have a problem with that, I would encourage you to dig deep and ask yourself why. I am not the problem.

Couponing 101 - Step 1

Over the las week or so, I've had 5 different people text/call/e-mail asking me about how I do my couponing.  Tim says to me "maybe you need to blog about it".  So, I decided I'm gonna start a series of blogs that will post every couple of days giving you little bits and pieces of what I know/have learned.  I don't claim to be extreme or to have all the answers, but I have gotten decently good at saving some money :-)  So if some of my tips can help, I'm happy to pass them on!

A little bit behind why I started couponing... When we moved to Arkansas a year an half ago, our financial situation didn't end up being what we thought it would be.  We discussed options of things we could do and really the quickest, easiest one that really fit our family was for me to figure out how to coupon.  Like most moms (and maybe even dads), I started out of necessity.  If I could save $20, that was a win - that was part of a credit card payment!  I quickly found that it was like a game.  Each week figuring out the sales to match with my coupons.  A race to see how much I could actually save and maybe how many things I could get free!  Because let's all admit, "free is for me".  This was my way of contributing to our family budget.

So, the first step I want to share with you is: Know where your coupons come from.  When I first started, I thought you only got coupons from a Sunday paper.  Get one paper, you get your coupons.  After talking with some friends and reading some online forums, I quickly realized you can get coupons in SO many different ways, you just have to know where to look!!

The local Sunday paper is where you're gonna get the majority of your coupons.  Some cities have more than one Sunday paper.  Know which paper has the coupons, or the best coupons (in Atlanta there are 3 papers and all 3 contain coupons.  But 1 paper contains more than the other 2!).  Get more than 1.  Get as many as you want.  I usually get 3 or 4.  Don't be afraid to look through the paper and make sure the coupons are there.

You can also get coupons from online websites.  The ones I like to use the most are www.couponmom.com, www.coupons.com, www.smartsource.com, www.redplum.com and www.grocerycouponcart.com  All of these sites have AWESOME amounts of coupons and offers to choose from.  Be aware though, some of these sites are linked together so you'll eventually reach a "print limit" on the coupons.  But on one computer, I can usually get about 4 prints of the same coupon plus what I get in the paper.

Look at using E-Coupons.  If you have a Kroger card, you can use their website and other sites with e-coupons to load straight to your card.  It saves the time/ink/paper in having to print them and they're ready to use within an hour of you loading them.

Check the websites of the stores you like to shop at.  A lot of people don't realize you can get coupons for that particular store off their website.  I just printed out $100 in coupons from Target's website.  Big coupon amounts towards toys my kids are wanting for Christmas.  And guess what - YOU CAN USE COUPONS ON BLACK FRIDAY!!  So make sure you check your websites for coupons!

So these are just some ways to get as many coupons as you can.  I recommend getting a binder, page separators with tabs to label, and a pack of baseball collector sheets to separate your coupons.  This will help you organize all the massive amounts of coupons you're about to go get!!

Let's Try This Again...

OK, Blogger, I'm gonna give you another shot.  Last time I took the time to write out a blog, you deleted everything - even my URL!  So, let's see if this time you can manage to keep everything intact!  If so, I'll blog with you later!  And, go!