Over the past few months, I have been learning how to stick to a budget and save as much money as possible. It has become something that I really enjoy! Ben has been telling his colleagues how much money we have been saving, and many have asked that I start a blog to share my money saving tips. I have finally gotten around to starting this blog, and I am very excited about it! I would love for you to visit my site! Also, if you have any money saving tips, I would love to hear them! My blog is http://couponingmom.com.

A lady from church emailed this. I thought this was an interesting article that would be helpful for us all. It is written by Gary Henry.

There is a strong, vibrant link between loving God and longing for His word. If Scripture study is nothing to us but an obligation or a chore, we ought not to be so bold as to say that we love God or that we take Him seriously. It is no less true with God than with anyone else: we are delighted to receive communications from those whom we love. "This is the love of God," John wrote, "that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3).

The problem that many religious people have, however, is that while God's words are sweet to our taste in general, we shrink away from the parts of His word that we ourselves most need to hear. Thus our three goals should be: to long for God, to long for what He says, and to long for whatever He says!

There happens to be a quite practical reason why we should be open to whatever God says. As J. I. Packer has pointed out, "One of the many divine qualities of the Bible is this: that it does not yield its secrets to the irreverent or censorious." If we find some of God's words less than sweet because our hearts are not open and receptive to our responsibilities, then it's not likely that we'll even understand the meaning of the words we need to understand. Adopting a resistant attitude is a sure way to cut ourselves off from the comprehension of God's words (John 8:43,44).

If we are eager to hear what God has to say, however, and if we are also eager to do as He instructs (James 1:21,22), then we will certainly be able to understand all that we need to understand. And not only that, but we will become hard-working, thorough students of the Scriptures. We will be more than dabblers in God's word. Perhaps we shall even be able to identify with the well-known words of Martin Luther: "I study my Bible as I gather apples. First, I shake the whole tree that the ripest might fall. Then I shake each limb, and when I have shaken each limb, I shake each branch and every twig. Then I look under every leaf."

"Make it the first morning business of your life to understand
some part of the Bible clearly, and make it your daily business
to obey it in all that you do understand." - John Ruskin

I need a brief moment to express a pet peeve of mine: people who do not answer emails!!! Why do people not respond to emails that clearly request information and require an answer? Please someone answer this for me...it makes no sense to me! I don't expect you to be psychic...please do not expect me to be!

Note: This was not directed at anyone who will read this. The nonresponders are nonpleonasters :)

I just finished watching Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention. I must say that I am now fired up about the Republican ticket! I don't think that John McCain could have picked a better running mate! She is just what this country needs!

I truly believe that John McCain is the best candidate. I have a lot of respect for anyone who can endure being a POW for any amount of time but especially for years.

On a side note, Ben works with a lady whose dad was a POW with John McCain. He wrote a book about his experience. I haven't read the book, but Ben told me about some of the details of the their experience. It is amazing what they went through and what they are still going through.

I know that it has been forever since I updated and so many things have changed, but right now I wanted to ask prayers for one of my very good friends from graduate school (Lauren Kirkland). Her husband Clay just found out last week that he has testicular cancer, and it has metathesized to his abdomen (a golf ball size tumor near one of his kidneys). They have also been told that he will need to save some of his sperm if they want to have children because of the radiation that he will have to receive. He has an appointment in Indiana on Tuesday with the doctor who treated Lance Armstrong. Lauren and Clay are a wonderful couple with such wonderful love and respect for each other that is rarely seen in the world. Please pray that his cancer will be treatable and that they will have the strength to get through this.