An Offering {Thankful Thursdays #59}

I remember as a little girl being given a quarter to take to Sunday school for an offering every week. As I grew older, I took part of any money I earned dusting and vacuuming for my grandmother and babysitting as an offering. When I got my first paycheck at 17, and gave my first real tithe from real money I worked for, that feeling was exciting.

Throughout those years, my parents taught the difference in tithes and offerings and that giving should be enjoyable, not painful. I’ve never been in the position to give all I had, but I received a give all offering when I was given a sandwich from a little girl in my class.

An Offering

Imagine being in the garden with Jesus the night of His arrest. The words He spoke, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13) The gentle words spoken to a disciple who would later deny Him, the words for the one who betrayed Him. What an offering for these men and for those who deny Him today!

Jesus a perfect being became sin for us. He did so because of the promise God made in sending His Son to save the world. The horrible beating Jesus took was for you and me. The pain of hanging on the cross was for you and me. Being placed in a tomb was for you and me. But praise God, on the third day, Jesus did just as He said, He rose from the dead for you and me.

I have not heard of any offering as the one Jesus was for us. But I know He loves us in a way like no one else to lay down His life for you and me. To take the punishment of death and separation from God, so we don't have to. That is an unbelievable offering we should quickly accept and be willing to share with others.

Memorial Day 2016

Since I've been working on my genealogy, I thought I would share a small glimpse of the heroes in our family. May we never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country. ~ Nathan Hale

Jesus Is The Sweetest Name {Thankful Thursdays}

Over 900 times in the New Testament, you will find the name, Jesus. Such a sweet and powerful name! The name Jesus is known around the world and when His name is spoken, people know who He is whether they are a believer in Him or not. I’ll never forget hearing my husband’s aunt and cousin singing the song "Jesus is the Sweetest Name I Know" to my father-in-law when he passed away. All the noise and drama in the back of the room hushed to the sweet words of this song.

Jesus is the Sweetest Name

Not one time in the Old Testament is the name Jesus mentioned, but there is the name Joshua. Joshua led the Children of Israel through battles, across a river and into the Promised Land. During those years, he stayed steadfast in his allegiance to God and to the people. Joshua was a type of our Lord, who is our Joshua. When Jesus was on earth, He stayed steadfast in his allegiance to God and to you and me by facing the cross and the tomb. Today, He fights our battles; He leads us across the rivers of life while protecting us, and He is our Saviour. One day, He will walk each of us into the presence of God.

No matter what people tell us, Jesus is Lord! He will not cease His lordship until He has us safely in the fold on the other side. A mighty name, a powerful name, Jesus is the Sweetest Name I Know...

There have been names that I have loved to hear,
But never has there been a name so dear
To this heart of mine, as the name divine,
The precious, precious name of Jesus.

There is no name in earth or Heav’n above,
That we should give such honor and such love
As the blessed Name, let us all acclaim,
That wondrous, glorious Name of Jesus.

And some day I shall see Him face to face
To thank and praise Him for His wondrous grace,
Which He gave to me, when He made me free,
The blessed Son of God called Jesus.

Jesus is the sweetest name I know,
And He’s just the same as His lovely name,
And that’s the reason why I love Him so;
Oh, Jesus is the sweetest name I know.

The Lord My Banner {Thankful Thursdays}

Moses had a great responsibility as leader of 2 million people during the years of the Exodus. With that many people, there were bound to be problems. The Bible talks of grumbling over food and water several times and while those are worthy things to be upset about, grumbling is never the proper thing to do. Sometimes the Israelites had to go to battle for their survival and to take the land God promised to them. During those years, God knew what He was doing, and He became The Lord My Banner for His people.

(Jehovah - Nissi) The Lord My Banner

The Israelites found themselves up against Amalek. While Joshua led the battle, Moses was at the top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand. (Exodus 17:9) While the battle raged on, Moses held up his hands and Israel prevailed. When his hands lowered, Amalek prevailed. It is not possible for one to keep their arms up for long periods of time; Aaron and Hur helped by holding up the arms of Moses throughout the day. At sundown, Joshua and the Israelites won a great victory in this battle.

I can't help wondering if the people thought Joshua deserved a memorial in honor of his obedience and bravery; he deserved it, but none was built. Instead, Moses built an altar to honor the Lord, and he called it Jehovah-Nissi --The Lord My Banner.(Exodus 17:15)

Just like the Israelites, we face battles.  Some are God chosen while others are because we chose a different path than God's. Either kind of battle cannot be won in our own strength. We have to let the Lord - Jehovah-Nissi lead the way so we can trust on Him to win the victory.

Jesus Christ is our Banner. Let’s lift Him up daily because He will give us the perfect victory over every enemy.

Manna: A Symbol of Jesus

What a patient and loving God we serve. Even when we are weak in our faith and blaming others for situations which they are not responsible for, God sees and hears everything. He knows when to send those handfuls of purpose to help in strengthening our faith. When the Children of Israel least deserved a handful of purpose, God sent them manna. He provided a heavenly treasure to keep them from starving while on their journey. Today we have Manna – Jesus, satisfying a longing in our soul that can only be satisfied through Him.

Think about Jesus, white and pure from sin, and sweet as honey. God sent manna to feed the Children of Israel while they journeyed to the Promise Land. God sent Jesus Christ, His son to feed the soul of man on his journey to the Promise Land. While our physical bodies need different things to survive, our soul depends on only one thing and that is Jesus Christ, He is the Manna for our soul.

Manna: A Symbol of Jesus

Jesus is accessible to everyone. (John 1:29) The manna was on the ground every morning; all they had to do was pick it up, it was a free will gathering. Salvation is here today for anyone to partake of it; they have the free will to choose Jesus.

Manna had to be gathered every morning; it gave nourishment for the day. We need a daily walk with Jesus because the strength we receive today will not be enough for tomorrow. Renewing our mind with Jesus daily is essential to make it through the day.

There was a time limit was given on gathering manna each day. When the morning sun became hot, it melted. If it was not gathered before then, someone did without.  A time limit is set on the access to Jesus and salvation; one day it will be too late. (Hebrews 9:27)

Jesus, just as the manna, is an undeserved gift from God. God loved us enough to give His only Son to give us life eternal; all we have to do is reach out and take Him as our Saviour before it's too late. (John 6:35)

Jesus Christ, The Son {Thankful Thursdays}

The Old Testament talks of a promised Messiah. But the first time the name Jesus Christ is mentioned in the Bible is in Matthew chapter one. In this chapter, there are three periods of fourteen generations of names. Many of those names are familiar while some may not be as notable to a reader as the others. But, one name stands out like a shining star, one Person to whom all the others must give allegiance, Jesus Christ – The Saviour, The Anointed One. There will come a day every knee will bow before Him, even those who were in His ancestral line.

Jesus Christ, The Son

When Jesus came to earth, He did not come to take over Herod’s throne. Although Herod worried enough about a new King of the Jews, he sought to have Jesus killed. Herod’s heart was like many today, a heart that refuses to allow Jesus to rule over them.

There is a song that talks about how we were on Jesus’ mind while He was hanging on the cross, but you know, Jesus the Child-King knew us even before the start of His ministry years. He knew you, my friend, long before He even came to fulfill the promise made by His Father.

While Jesus was on earth, He lived as a Jew, He preached to the Jews, and He even died for the Jews and other people. Jesus came because He was the promise to Abraham. Think about this – God manifested in the flesh as Abraham’s seed, and yet the One who made the promise to Abraham.

We serve a mighty God. He uses ordinary people in extraordinary ways. He keeps His promises, not one is broken.

Buying Convenience: Is It Really Worth It?

As you all know, I love saving money. The feeling you get when you see the extra money still in the account after grocery shopping is amazing. Money that can be used for something else or tucked away for a rainy day when it is needed. One thing I changed years ago was to stop buying convenience. Buying convenience, is it really worth it? For my family, no, it’s not worth the extra money.

When I grocery shop, I don’t normally buy convenience items, I buy ingredients. I’d rather spend a little extra money and have the ingredients on hand to make a variety of food items than to buy an item that will be eaten at one meal, or quickly snacked on and then be gone.

Buying Convenience: Is it worth it?

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I’m using Jell-O for this post because it is what I had on hand for pictures. I pack a cup of Jell-O in my husband’s lunch box every day. The added sugar helps get him through his day working to keep the roads and highways safe for drivers. It is one tiny splurge I spend very little money on that we all can enjoy if we choose to eat any.

A four-pack container of Jell-O is only a $1 at our Wal-Mart, but I would have to spend $3 on Jell-O cups to get the same amount of cups that I get out of a $1.36 box of Jell-O.

Investing in reusable cups was NOT expensive, but it was an expense that was up front and I was glad to make it; I only paid about $2.50 for an 8 count package. Once the cups were purchased, there was nothing else to spend money on except for the boxes of Jell-O.

I have two sets of cups that I use. The Betty Crocker  3oz cups are my favorite because they have flat lids for easy stacking; I have had these for several years. I bought these containers at the Dollar Tree and sadly, I can’t find them anywhere anymore. The Glad cups drive me crazy because they are not meant for stacking easily, but easy lid storage and honestly, I had rather have easy stacking than easy lid storage.

With us buying our water, I added the cost into my calculations. For twelve cups of Jell-O, I only spend $1.41, which is a savings of $1.59 if I were to buy premade Jell-O cups.

While buying convenience is not worth it for our budget. I understand not everyone is on the same level of saving money. Do you buy convenience, or do you avoid spending money on it?

Have you missed any of these posts on saving money? They may be of help if you are looking for ways to save on groceries.

• 7 Tips On Buying In Bulk


• A Savings


• Shopping With A Price Book