Sunday, January 22, 2012

Day 4: Meal Planning



"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."  Proverbs 31:27


Meal planning is one of my favorite things to do in watching over my household. We have to feed our families, so it only makes sense that it is part of the "affairs of our household."
I do understand that some of you do not find meal planning to be a fun task.
You may be thinking:
"What am I supposed to make?"
"Is this healthy for my family?"
"I'm not good at cooking, so I don't know how to make anything good."
In today's age, we have so many conveniences in cooking that our Mothers and Grandmothers didn't have. So many easy recipes and pre-made, healthy foods are available.
I'd like to share what God has laid on my heart regarding meal planning. I got so discouraged years ago when my kids were toddlers about what to feed them besides macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets. My husband and I did not want to eat that everyday, but the kids were not about to eat asparagus at 4 years old! So, I prayed about it. God really does care about every aspect of our lives. Just ask, and He will provide the solution to any problem. What an awesome God we serve!

This is what works for me.

1. Decide how many days for which you are going to plan meals. I wouldn't recommend doing a daily meal plan. I would recommend a weekly or bi-monthly meal plan. This way, you can make efficient trips to the grocery store and you always have fresh food on hand.


2. Take inventory of your fridge, freezer, and pantry. This will help with shopping, too!


3. Sit down and decide what meals you would like to make on each day. Do a "3 meal day" or just do a supper meal plan. Like I said, whatever works best for your family. Try to plan meals that use what food you still have on hand.  Also, pick things that you like.  Pick something for everyone.  Maybe do a day for each member of the family.  It will be a fun family activity and everyone will look forward to "their" day.


4. I like to use a calendar to write the meal plan out and put it on the fridge. It's easy to see and everyone in the family knows whats coming up. Plus, you don't have to try to remember what you planned for that day with all 400 other things going on inside your brain.


5. Go grocery shopping. Keep in mind the food inventory. Don't buy what you already have on hand. Don't forget staples like flour, sugar, milk, etc.


6.Stick to the plan! However, if something unexpected happens in the middle of the week and you need something quick to fix for supper, do not hesitate to swap out that meal for something else you had planned. This happens at our house a lot. I'm sure none of you know at all what I am referring to! :)


God wants us to be prepared, and according to Proverbs 31:27, He wants us ladies to watch  over the affairs of our household.  Eating is a major affair in our homes, I would think.  Let's watch over that, too!
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Check out these other blogs as well about 10 Days of Proverbs 31.  Good times!  Great information. Blessings all around.


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13 Bloggers, 13 topics, one Great God.
A series on the different aspects of Proverbs 31. Here is a list of the bloggers and their topics.











Hope you all enjoy!! Feel free to explore the blogs. We have some very talented women participating.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Day 3: Keeping an Eye on your Finances

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"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."  Proverbs 31:27



Today, I want to talk about keeping an eye on our finances.  This is a topic that most of us either love to discuss or one that causes us to shutter in horror at just the sound.  I'm a "numbers person" so I like to analyze spending habits and things of the like.
Yes, I know.  I'm kind of weird.  HaHa!
For everyone else who is a little nervous about dealing with finances, I'm here to tell you that there is help out there.  The Bible, of course, has the best advice and instruction of dealing with your finances.  Become accustomed to using your Concordance in your Bible if you have one.  You can also search for scriptures dealing with money online at www.biblegateway.com .  This site is my go-to site when my Bible is not at my fingertips.  Search for scripture in almost any Bible version.  It's great when you are preparing for a Bible study lesson as well.
The Internet also has some great advice on budgeting, paying bills, paying off debt, and saving money for large purchases or just for the future.  Google and Bing both have great search engines.  Just go to one of the sites, type in something like "budgeting help" or "managing my finances", and many sites will pop up ready to help you get your finances whipped into shape.
Verse 27 of Proverbs Chapter 31 talks about this fantastic woman "watching over the affairs of her household."  The Lord intends for us ladies to do just that.  The Bible doesn't say we have to be experts at it.  Just do what works for you, and what what glorifies God!


Here is what I do to keep watch over our finances at home.
  1. Keep all the bills in one place where I can find them.   "Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed." Proverbs 15:22    I have a great monthly bill organizer/folder that I purchased for $1 at the local discount store.  It is great!  It has a ledger (page with lines & columns on it) and a pocket to hold bills for that month all on one page. It's very handy.  I write out all the bills that are automatic on the ledger and keep the unpaid bills from the mail in the pocket.
  2. Pay bills on a schedule if possible, and on time. "Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” 2 Kings 4:7      My husband I each get paid twice a month.  So, I pay bills on those days.  It's become almost like a ritual.  We deposit our checks into bank, and then pay the bills that same day (to include tithing.)  This way, you don't forget to pay anything.
  3. ALWAYS balance the checkbook.   "Know well the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds;"  Proverbs 27:23   Invest in a great calculator if you need to, but always balance the checkbook.  And, balance it often!  How are we supposed to know really how much money we have and be good stewards of God's portion to us if we don't know how much there is?
  4. Pay yourself every month.  "Four things are small on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise: The ants are not a strong people, but they prepare their food in the summer;" Proverbs 30:24-25     Savings.  Whether it's a rainy-day fund, or your daughter's wedding fund, or a small fund for an upcoming vacation--put some into savings.
  5. Budget, budget, budget!   "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he may have enough to finish it; lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all those seeing begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish." Luke 14:28-30   Maybe this one should have been number 1, but here it is at number 5. This is, in my opinion, the most important.  Do not spend $300 on groceries when you only have $200 to spend.  Something will end up going unpaid in another area, and then a vicious cycle begins.  Budget, budget, budget!  It will save your sanity as well :)
In keeping with the theme of the Proverbs 31 woman, by keeping an eye on our finances, we will be watching over the affairs of our homes.  We can all do this.  God calls for us to be smart about the provision He has blessed us with.  Let's be faithful daughters of the One True God and work hard at this one.  We will be so very blessed for it!

Thanks for stopping by today :)  God Bless!


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Check out these other blogs as well about 10 Days of Proverbs 31.  Good times!  Great information. Blessings all around.


Photobucket
13 Bloggers, 13 topics, one Great God.
A series on the different aspects of Proverbs 31. Here is a list of the bloggers and their topics.











Hope you all enjoy!! Feel free to explore the blogs. We have some very talented women participating.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Day 2: Keeping an eye on Safety of your Home

Our dog Jasper "protecting" our home.

"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."  Proverbs 31:27


Is your home safe?  Maybe it's physically safe, but is it safe in all other areas?  Spiritually?  From predators?

Would you know if it was or not?

There is so much evil lurking around out in the world these days.  It's enough to make any gal a little jittery about the safety of her home.   So, how do you know if your home is "safe?"

First of all, we need to become accustomed to praying over our home (yes, the actual house) and over our family living within its walls.  I am surprised at how many people I know that think that God is "too busy to really care" about our actual house.  I can tell you that HE DOES CARE.  God wants us to pray a hedge of protection around our homes.  He has protected far greater and much less things--I think He can and WILL protect our homes.

Prayer is easy.  As  Proverbs 31 women-to-be, we need to put prayer as Numero Uno (No. 1) on our priority list.  Philippians 4:6 says:
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
That brings me to the 2nd thing we need to keep in mind while keeping an eye on the safety of our homes.  We don't need to worry or be anxious about what might happen.  Everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.  Give it all to God!!  He can handle anything.  If you start to worry, give it to God.

I'm not saying everyone needs to go out and purchase a top-dollar security system, install barbed wire fencing around the property, and get a huge watch dog in order to be safe.  I do want to say that God gives us the wisdom we ask for in such matters.  If you live in a neighborhood where crime seems to be a problem, maybe a security system or a big, gnarly dog is what you need.  Lets not get crazy and go completely unprotected!  However, if you live in a small, quiet neighborhood or town and crime hardly ever graces the pages of your local paper, you probably don't need extra security around your home.  Use your best judgement.  Pray and ask God for wisdom and guidance.

At our house, we don't have a security system.  We live in "small town Texas."  We know almost everyone in town and have for many years.  All of these people are my security system.  We all look after each other's homes.  It's a great aspect of living in a small town.  We do have a "miniature" dachshund named Jasper (see picture above) that protects us from all the "evil" Schwans delivery trucks, UPS trucks, and anyone driving by with a trailer.  He knows no stranger, however.(haha!)

I do get regular email updates from the Registered Sex Offender database for my area.  I do try to keep a watchful eye for what may be coming in under the radar.   I also like consumer Reports.  They do a great, unbiased job on comparing products for safety.  They do everything from shampoo to baby car seats to tires.  Sometimes, things are recalled and like to know.  Below are some great websites I find useful in protecting my home.  (I am not including any products since I don't endorse any one product.)

Registered Sex Offender database:  http://www.familywatchdog.us/
Home Safety:  Consumer Reports How-To's
Praying over your home:  http://psalm121.ca/protect.html  (This one I just stumbled upon recently--looked pretty good!)
I hope some of these websites are helpful to you.  Of course, with the last one linked to a ministry page, please do your homework Biblically.  Look up the scriptures anyone references and be sure of their meanings.

We can all have safe homes when we lift them up in prayer each day. God is our ultimate protector and He wants us to rely on Him.  He created all of this--He can and WILL protect us!  Praise God.  We thank you, Lord.
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Check out these other blogs as well about 10 Days of Proverbs 31.  Good times!  Great information. Blessings all around.

Photobucket
13 Bloggers, 13 topics, one Great God.
A series on the different aspects of Proverbs 31. Here is a list of the bloggers and their topics.











Hope you all enjoy!! Feel free to explore the blogs. We have some very talented women participating.