Ok Government, Let's Think About This for a Minute....

I have to say that I have never been so worried about the state of our economy as I am now. I, along with many others are unemployed (even with college degrees). The Federal Government is having to scrape to find money. Maybe if we just look at te obvious issues, we will see the problem. And taking a look at the Bible would probably be good as well.
I feel like we should begin looking at those who receive government assistance. People who get food stamps, WIC, TennCare (or equivalent) and other funding. I know of far too many people who are commiting fraud agaist the government in order to recieve these items. Most of this is people who recieve these funds while living together without claiming the other person as income. Whatever happened to getting married first?? So many people are choosing to not get married because they will then have to claim the other's income and will lose their funds. So, they go out, take vacations, buy fancy electronics, but then also get their food, insurance, childcare, school, and sometimes gas mileage paid for by us, the taxpayer. I hold issue with this, especially when they talk about taking money from my Granny's food stamps and social security that she deserves since she can't work at 76 years old. Why don' we institute drug screenings like Florida and random suprise home visits for those who receive these government funds. This would probably catch some of those who are cohabitating without reporting it, as well as those who aren't taking proper care of their children. I have heard, although I cannot say for certain, that women on state assistance can have a child and stay at home for the first year of the child's life while drawing welfare and other government assistance. This is supposedly to encourage bonding with the child. I was at home for 6 months of Annalee's life and then went back to work and a more bonded with her than most of the moms who do this. Also, what prevents this woman from having a child every year that we as taxpayers have to support?? Not only that, but there are so many who make cash (and substantial amounts of cash) and don't claim it, then draw alot of money in assistance. I even claim the money I make for my growing bow business. Why can't everyone else??
So, I say that we need to revamp not our social security program, but our Welfare program. Let's weed out the people who are violaing the program, then maybe there will still be a USA here for my child. And Yours.

In Christian Love,
LeAnn

Divine Diva Deal of the Day- September 13, 2011

I know that I am always posting Kroger deals, but I love coupon shopping there!! They now have a football game going on on their site, and you can win coupons for FREE items!! Today I won a free box of Newton's Fruit Thins (which I LOVE!!) Below is the link. You can play once each day for 12 more days. So play each day to get a chance at something FREE!!

Kroger Kick Off to Savings

In Christian Love,

LeAnn

New Book Club Beginning October 1st!!

I am planning to begin a new book club on October 1st, 2011. The first book will be "A Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George. I have heard many, many good things about this book, and since the Proverbs 31 woman is considered the woman after God's heart, then I thought this would be a good place to start. You only would need to purchase the book and have Windows Messenger to participate in the club. We will be meeting every Tuesday morning at 11 am and every Tuesday Evening at 7 pm. Both times we will be discussing the same lesson, this just gives two opportunities for you to join in. There is also a workbook that you can purchase to go along with the book that would probably be helpful. Please comment below so that I know you are interested and get your copy of the book. I have a link to Amazon below where you can get used copies of the book for pretty cheap. I look forward to spending this time of study with all of you!!

Love in Christ,

LeAnn

Food for the Spirit September 12, 2011

After yesterday being the anniversary of September 11th, I have decided that today's devotion should be about having faith in God to get us through all the tough times. It makes a good point, that Christians do not always have a life full of Victory, but that we must have trials in our lives in order for there to be a Victory. But we must never forget that we al have Victory in Jesus!!

Enjoy this devotion from Worthy Devotions!!
http://www.worthydevotions.com/christian-devotional/victory-awaits/trackback

Love in Christ!!
LeAnn

Heart of a Child: September 11th, 2011 Edition

Today is the tenth anniversary of the September 11th tragedies. I watched with the rest of my senior Calculus class at Giles County High School as the second plane flew into the second tower. I saw it live.
Anyways, that's where I was on that fateful day. But Annalee, my little princess, wasn't even a twinkle in my eye at that point. I sat thinking this morning as our pastor, Brother Greg, stated that there would be a lot of questions to be answered following a video about the tragedies, how will I explain what happened on that day to Annalee when she asks?? I know it is a while before I have to worry about this, but it is something we will all have to face at some point. I looked around as all the children left the sanctuary for Children's Church and thought about how none of them had the chance to live in a pre-9/11 world. A time when we didn't think an attack on our own soil was possible. A time without fears of Anthrax attacks, without xrays at the airport, when we could take our normal shampoo and soap on a plane ride. Passports weren't necessary to go most places on vacation, usually only a birth certificate was needed. Many, many soldiers were still alive, and most soldiers fighting today were just grade schoolers. I didn't even know what a Muslim was, only knew Sadaam Husein was a mad from far away, and had no idea that my mom's favorite color (yellow) would become a color on the terror threat scale. I always thought of firefighters as heroes, but never really thought that there could be that many lost at one time.
So, what to say to your child when they ask about 9/11?? Well, here is my idea:
There were some people who were very confused. They thought that their god (who is not the same as our God) wanted them to attack us in order to go to their heaven. So the men took over some airplanes and flew them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, which were these two very tall buildings in New York. They also flew an airplane into the Pentagon, which is where the military gets its orders, and were trying to fly one into the White House, where the president lives, but some very brave passengers overtook them and it crashed in a field instead. After the towers were hit with the planes, alot of police officers, firefighters, and EMTs rushed in to help get the people out. The bad thing is, one of the towers collapsed, and then the other, and a lot of people died. After that, we went far away where the bad people lived and had to fight to find the people responsible. Now alot of things have changed to make the country safer, but things are alot harder too.
I will tell her how much simpler things were before all of this, but that no matter what happens or has happened, God was and will always be there for us and her. And so will her Daddy and I.


What will you tell your children about the events of 9/11??

In Christian Love,

LeAnn

Divine Diva Deal of the Day-September 1, 2011

Today's Deal of the Day is a pretty cool one (especially for me who LOVES couponing at Kroger!) If you go to http://www.cellfire.com and sign in, then choose Kroger (or one of it's partners) as your store, then you will find a coupon worth up to $2 off your purchase at your store!! (Coupon amounts range from $0.25-$2) Hopefull you will get the $2 like I did. Then it is loaded on your card, ready for you to use. Let me know what you save!!

Food for The Spirit September 1, 2011

I have found myself thinking for the past couple of weeks that I should give up my Wednesday night Bible Study class. I have been battling back and forth about it for a while. Last night, after being reminded that it was Wednesday and I had church that night (because I tend to forget what day it is), I stumbled upon a lesson plan for preschoolers about Hannah. I know that Hannah is the subject of this Sunday's Sunday School lesson, so I decided that a little back story on Hannah would make for a good fit. I didn't really read it and set off to church, proud to have my polished lesson in hand. When I got to church, I looked over the lesson. Turns out, God had an idea for what I needed to be taught. The lesson focused not on the normal story of Hannah that we all learn, the story of unyielding faith that the Lord that she so trusted would hear and grant her prayers, but focused on the kept promise of Hannah to her Lord. (Lord were you talking to me:) ) I taught the kids (I had 5 last night, a new high attendance for me.), but I was really teaching myself more than anything. I LOVED teaching those little kids and for the first time in a while, it didn't feel like something I had to do, it felt like something I was CALLED to do. This is one promise that I plan to keep to the Lord!!

Please feel free to comment below with your stories of promises kept to the Lord and how they brightened your life. I would love to hear from you!!

Ok, I am going into the unknown here...

Blogging is something that I have heard of and thought about doing for a long time. I have recently become a stay at home mom, which, although I love doing, was not my first choice. I was placed into it by a sudden layoff from a company that I had worked at for three years. Although I thought that at first, I now feel that I was placed here by the Lord. I get to spend more time with my daughter and see how much she changes each week, each day, each minute, and each second. I get to spend time with my husband and ask him about his day. All things that working long hours kept me from. Alot of people around me laughed at the idea of me being a stay at home mom for very long. I even had a throw pillow given to me that reads "My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance" I have never been the domestic type. So, in my quest to become the woman that is mentioned in Proverbs 31-a woman who is what the Lord intended me to be- I have discovered many time and money saving tips that I would love to share with you. Along with these tips, I will also have a daily devotional each day to feed your spirit as you feed your family. I feel that we as mothers and wives must have a close walk with the Father if we are to be this type of woman. Today's posts will be sort of an introduction to what each section will hold. I plan to have a recipe, a game, lesson, or activity for interaction with your children, and/or a cleaning time or money saver each day in addition to the daily devotional. I hope that you will enjoy this blog as much as I plan to enjoy sharing it.

May the Love of the Lord light your way today!

LeAnn