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I haven’t done this series for a while but felt it was much needed.  We can ALL do little things each week that will help cut back on the money that is needed to live on this earth.  The more that I can help cut back on the money that is needed to run our family, the more money that we can have to help others and do things that we would want to do as a family.

Here is my frugal productivity for the past week……………….

What is that??????  You might wonder why I have a hunk of liver…… Yuck, I can hear the gagging now:) 

Don’t worry, I was too.  I had some blood work done over these past few months and my iron levels have been low.  I regret to say  that I can’t be diligent in making sure that my iron intake everyday is what it needs to be.  My doctor offered a supplement but I decided to do some looking as to what else I could do.  Google brought  me to a term of “homemade liver pills.”  

I know, I know, gross.  But necessary.  You can search yourself on the health benefits of liver—there are many. Plus the testimonies of people who take these and the increase on their energy levels is supposed to be much greater.  I will keep you posted on that one. I purchased some grass fed liver from our local co-op here.  It cost me about $8 and I got a big package of it.  I didn’t look at the weight, next time.  I took it and cut it up into little pieces.  Which was hard to do when it was fresh.  But most of my pieces are small.  I then put them on parchment paper and a cookie sheet and froze them.  After frozen, I placed them into a container and into the freezer they went.  I filled up 2 quart sized bowls.  This should last me all month and then some.  Each day, I take out 2 pieces and if they are too big–I just cut them up.  They are a little easier to cut when they are frozen. 

I then have my glass of kombucha or water ready, because you don’t want these to thaw for a moment on your tongue:)  I swallow one and chase it down with liquid.  You don’t even think of the taste or even have a hint of flavor or smell.  It kind of reminds me of swallowing a chocolate melting disc—if I was to do that:)  I have been taking them for 3 days now and have not even thought about the fact that I am eating raw liver:)   More news on my results in the next month.I also had acquired some butternut squash  this past week.  They were rather small and some would think they weren’t worth cooking up—but never waste food if you don’t have to.  I put them on a foil lined cookie sheet and placed them in my oven on 350 and cooked them until they were done.  It took about an hour each batch.  I threw some acorn squash that we had in as well.  I don’t particularly care for that, but if you mix it with the butternut you don’t even tell it is in there. 

I then removed the insides by scooping them out and placing them into a large bowl.  I smashed them with a potato masher and we have this beautiful looking pumpkin puree.  I filled up my quart bags and placed them in the freezer.  We will now have pumpkin to make our muffins and breads with over the next few months.  I got 10 quart bags filled and it took me all afternoon to do it, in between school, children, messes, and life.  I figured I saved at least $20 by not having to buy pumpkin.  It was worth doing the extra work.  

Another frugal thing I did this week…..was to remove our air conditioners!!!! Woo hoo!!! Bring on the fall weather:)  As most of you know, this is our first summer here in Western North Carolina a much different climate than “cooler Michigan.”  Most days this summer with “real feel temps” were in the 100s!  Which wasn’t so bad when you could spend it all day at the lake, but a person can only sit so long at a beach all day.  I like doing things.  I like being productive and feeling like I accomplished something. I didn’t mind our summer at the lake but I enjoy doing school, having routine, baking foods, and doing things that make me feel accomplished.  This I KNOW will save on our electric bill over the next few months.  Until we will need the heater on. 

Another great thing about cooler weather is that the clothing will dry when hung outside.  Sounds backwards right?  But as soon as the hot summer with humidity came.  Not humidity like we were used to but you do know it rains for at LEAST 5 minutes everyday here in the mountains.  It will literally be beautiful and sunny and then you can walk outside and it will be sprinkling and then mysteriously just stop.  So strange.  But we have learned that if you wait, it will go away, clear up completely and life will move on.   Unfortunately for a person who enjoys hanging her laundry out, it does not do well.  I have learned to only hang out towels during the summer months and that it will take all day to dry. 

But now I can hang out all of my laundry and it will dry within a few hours.  So nice. I get up early and have my 2-3 loads washed before the sun comes up.  I then hang them out on the line and after lunch they are ready to be brought in.  I bought a drying rack and put it on my front screened in porch and put things like socks and underwear on that to dry.  I love it.  I hate using the dryer because I know it uses much electricity.  Another way to cut down on our electric bill!!!

I’m sure I have done many more things………..for one, I don’t drive as much because we are busy with doing school—that saves on gas.  I am thankful gas is so cheap again.  I can fill up my 15 passenger van for $50!!! It seems a full tank will last me a few weeks if we keep our driving limited to church, the store, and to the park.  I can’t express how nice it is that we have a park about 1 minute from our home.  The drive to the library takes 3 minutes.  The only reason I drive is because it is down the mountain and off a main road.  Too dangerous for little ones.  Makes us able to save money and still do extra things.

Okay, how about you?  Any frugal productive things you did this week that you would like to share?  Post a comment and share with others on how you help your family save money.

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will REJOICE and be glad in it!  Be blessed!

I am not a hoarder by nature.  I weed out and clean out as soon as too much clutter piles up. I even throw things away prematurely and then later realize that, “oops! I needed that.”  Oh well, God is working on my impulses.

My house is fairly clean, most of the time.  You can open closets and not have them overflowing with stuff.  You can sit down on any couch and not have to move things over.  If I send you to get something out of my bathroom, you generally will be able to find it, I know exactly where it is.  I am not bragging, but I have learned to become organized in my outside appearances in my life to run it effectively.

But what about the inside of me, how is that organized?  Do I allow things to get piled up on the inside—bitterness, offenses, unforgiveness, anger, frustration, or hatred?

If you were to ask me this question years ago, I would be ashamed to admit what was on the inside of me.  I held onto much anger.  I had a lot of resentment towards my husband because of my own lack of knowledge.  I did not know how to make a relationship work.  I knew how to do many others things, but having a successful husband and wife relationship I knew nothing of.

My husband and I got married while we were young.  We were in love, enjoyed having babies, and the world was our oyster.  Throughout the years, we continued onward having babies—just because we enjoyed them!  We had many.  Life rolled on, bills came, issues came out, life happened.  Arguments and fights would occur and never be completely resolved.  I am not one to confront easily, I’d rather smile and move on.   But little seeds of bitterness would  start to form on the inside of me and when my husband would say something, I would begin taking offense and getting hurt.  I was beginning to put up walls towards my husband.

Life continued, we still had babies, there was never any doubt that we didn’t want a bunch of them—but life got stressful at times.  Even though we put ourselves into these positions, God can work EVERYTHING out for our good.  Our hearts really did want to do whatever God had for us, but our bodies sometimes looked at the things of this world and distracted us.  When we would have arguments, I would just want to get up and leave!  But wait, where was I to run to?  Where was I going to go with 10 children and a 15 passenger van.  Was I going to just leave everyone behind—my sweet little nursing baby?  No I couldn’t.  Would I just leave and get a job and put all of my children in school and daycare?  Oh my goodness—we would never be able to afford any of that!  After mulling over irrational decisions in my brain, finally God had me where He needed me—quiet and listening.

Quiet moments  in our own life is when God can talk to us and we can hear him clearly.

I’d pray and seek God to work on my pride.  I’d ask Him to reveal to me where these roots of bitterness and anger were coming from and then I started to work on myself.  Me!  Not my husband, myself.

In Exodus 15:22 it says the bitter was made sweet.  This is the story of Moses and the people grumbling and complaining about their “lot in life.”  They got up to the water hole and took a drink and said, “We need a new water hole, this one is bad!”   Some of us may think that when our marriage is bad that if only we had a new husband, all would be better.  We can just throw this one out and get a new one.  Get a new fix in life.  Just as we get a new home or a new car.

But guess what?  Those new homes and new cars, break down too.  They get old and worn, just as our marriages can.  Don’t be ready to just throw stuff away so quickly.  We have to maintain our marriages just as we do our things.  God may put you in these situations, even though you may have put yourself in some of these by past decisions.  You might of made mistakes, they might of made mistakes.  You have to believe what God’s word says.  He can make them sweet.  He does it, I personally have experienced it.  But we have to do.

These verses say when the people grumbled the Lord showed Moses a tree.  When he threw the tree into the water, it made it sweet.  The tree is represented as Jesus.  When we put Jesus into our lives first, that is when the Lord can make things sweet.

When I look to the Lord to help me become a better person, a better wife to my husband is only when it happens. I can try my best on my own, but will fail miserably.  My first thought would be to get a new husband.  My husband would be able to say the say thing about me–I am  not perfect.  But we are both willing to work on things to become stronger together as we should.

What is my “quick fix” for getting a new husband?  Getting into God’s Word daily to help MYSELF work on areas that need to be turned from bitter to sweet!

Be blessed as you enjoy your day!  Amy

P.S.  I am happy to say that my husband and I will be celebrating our 20 year anniversary this year!  Marriage is work.  Probably harder than having 10 children–work!  Even though we have struggles and we have issues, at the end of the day, my husband is my best friend.  He has my heart.  He will defend me and love me more than anyone can.  Life is what YOU make of it.  You can choose happiness or you can choose bitterness.  What’s your choice???