I was working full-time and had a 3 year old and a 10 month old and we were in the midst of some heavy financial troubles.  I spent a lot of time during my work day searching the web, learning about various successful bloggers and teaching myself how to set up a blog along with all the technical stuff that went on behind the scenes.

I knew NOTHING about internet marketing, SEO, or keyword research.  I started this blog blindly, writing about whatever ways I could think of to save money.  I never dreamed that almost 2 1/2 years later, this blog would still be up and I’d still be posting to it.

Over that time, my family has changed, my finances have changed and most importantly, my vision has changed.  I now have 3 children (ages 5, 3 and 1) and I stay at home with them.  I’ve educated myself through various means on how to make money online and along the way I’ve met some WONDERFUL people.

Also during this time, my husband has worked hard to build his business and has even recently expanded to meet the demands of his clients.  So, although we don’t have to scrimp like we once did, it’s still on my heart to help others who don’t know how they are going to put dinner on the table because I have been there.

Do you know the biggest reason why it’s STILL on my heart?  Because during this long and painful journey, I had many people help ME.  Words of encouragement, links back to my site, and donations all got me to where I am today.

So many times I wanted to give up, but there was always someone who pushed me to keep going.  When I had no food, someone sent me money for groceries.  When my husband’s truck & guitar were stolen, MANY people helped us raise money to replace the guitar.  When I got pregnant with my third son, I heard congratulations instead of grumbling (like I did in the “real world”).

So although my online endeavors have expanded greatly and I feel like I “know what I’m doing”, this blog remains my “baby.”  I started here, I learned most of what I know here, and I got through some of the most difficult times of my life here.  I may never know all of the people who visit this site, but my hope is that as long as this site is here it can somehow continue to be an encouragement to others who may be struggling.

Lastly, I don’t know if any of the people I have mentioned will read this, but I want to say THANK YOU!  Thank you to every person who has encouraged me, who has listened when I needed an ear and to the people who have taken time out of their life to help me.  It’s so amazing that my life can be so changed by people that I’ve never even met…all thanks to a simple blog.

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As a unique way of looking at what blogging really means, a few of us gathered together our thoughts on how blogging can change the world and our individual lives. This is what we came up with:

“Can A Blog Change the World?” by Ruth: “Blogging as an opportunity to use your voice for what you truly believe in, changing your world for the better”.

“My Blogging Journey” by Stephen: “Life has been a journey of twists and turns for me. As an introvert it has sometimes been a little bit too stimulating…if life has taught me anything, it is that the world is an amazing place with so many struggles, challenges, opportunities and stories from real people.”

“At the Speed of Blog” by Steve: “What I have seen in the way mankind has changed in the form of communication during my lifetime.”

“All About Me” by Donny: “All About Me – Well maybe not all. I wanted to take a minute and give everyone a chance to get to know a bit about who I am, how I got here, what I hope to accomplish and why I am looking to Internet Marketing and, more specifically, Niche Blogging for income.”

“Turning Dreams Into Goals” by Donna: “For the past year my dream has been to make enough money working online so that both me and my husband could work from home. We have a business that I currently run from home and I wanted to turn that over to him while I created websites.”

“Why I Blog and Why I’ll Continue to Blog” by Michelle: Inspired by others who ‘care’, I got to thinking about the world we all live in and how we have this amazing communication channel we know as the World Wide Web: I wondered if by blogging, can I change the world? Here’s some of the thoughts that quickly came to mind”

“Blogging Vision 2010” by Jen: “AkitaJitsu’s “Niche Blogging for Non-Techies” is all about answering technical questions about building niche blogs in a non-technical way. Jen (aka, Akitajitsu) started the blog a few months ago, and has written a plan for the blog’s future. She hopes this blog will become a popular resource for niche bloggers.”

“Blogging to Change the World – My World” by Leslie: “Blogging can be a hobby, something you do for fun. For me, it changed my world for the better. It made my life the dreamlife I always envisioned.”

“Niche Blogging” by Loren: “Making goals, missing goals and maintaining blogging relationships.”

There are two reasons why I don’t already have an earthquake emergency kit ready to go.  One, I am a procrastinator.  I am one of those people who think “oh it won’t happen to me” and then get slapped with reality, when things do indeed happen to me.  I feel like they’ve been predicting the “big one” forever and if it hasn’t hit by now, it probably won’t happen in my lifetime.  How ridiculous is that?!

Secondly, the cost of putting a kit together can be a little high.  You need about 3 days worth of food and water and for my family, that’s quite a bit of emergency supplies.  We do have some water stored away, but I really don’t think it’s enough.  And considering that water is probably the most important part of a kit like this, I should probably fix that really soon.

If a pre-made earthquake kit is not in your budget, you can actually put together your own supplies.  At minimum, you’re going to need non-perishable food, water, and a first aid kit.  Some extra things to consider are a flashlight, thermal blankets, ponchos and other items to protect you and your family from the elements.

And remember, just because you don’t live in an earthquake area doesn’t mean you are safe.  Earthquakes have been striking some strange places that haven’t had any seismic activity in the past.  And a kit like this can also work for those who are in areas prone to hurricanes, tornadoes and floods as well.

So, although I’ve procrastinated long enough, I think it’s time to take action.  I’m going to make sure my family has the supplies they will need in the event of an emergency and that will be one less thing I have to fret over.

We all have our “off” days. It goes something like this: You wake up late and you just can’t seem to get motivated to do anything. Simple tasks like doing the dishes seem too big to tackle and you don’t even want to think about that mountain of laundry calling your name from the laundry room. The kids wear you down and you wish you could escape to someplace quiet. Instead of having a heart that burns to be a great homemaker, you feel more like your heart has a case of homemaker’s heartburn. If this is where you’re at, it’s time for some refueling and refocusing.

Christ or Man?

Ephesians 6:7 “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men…”

It’s very easy to become discouraged about your homemaking tasks when you focus on your family as the motivation for what you do. When they make messes, destroy things, postpone progress and cause pandemonium, it is easy to become discouraged and even resentful. But when you focus on Christ as the one you are serving, it puts a whole new perspective on things. Then when you look at the day’s tasks you see them as serving Christ, not man. It is the Lord who has given you your role as the manager of your home and it is Christ who you are serving when you serve your family. That’s an assignment you can sink your teeth into!

Rested or Burdened?

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (NIV)

Whenever I feel weary and in need of rest it always helps to give my burdens to Jesus. When I pray for strength He gives an ample supply. When I pray for patience He sustains me. When I need rest He provides it, whether it is through a change of plans or a change of attitude. Life can beat you down but Jesus is there to refuel you when you need it. Take Him up on His offer. You’ll find the rest that you need in Him.

Busy or Buried?

Titus 2:4-5 “Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” (NIV)

Often the cause of my discouragement is the mismanagement of my time. I spend way too much time doing things that I really should do after I have my housework completed. Then wonder why I am so buried.

Take a step back and ask yourself if a lack of proper time management is causing housework buildup for you. If the answer is yes, then you need to get busy with your homekeeping. It may seem awkward at first, but if you get your work done when you should, you will have plenty of time to do the things you like to do.

As I always say, “Do what you’re supposed to do, when you’re supposed to do it and you’ll be victorious every time.”

We all have times when we fall short of the mark. To get back on track make sure that you focus on Christ, find rest in Him and get busy with your homekeeping. Then your homemaker’s heartburn will be transformed into a flame that burns brightly, lighting up your home with the love of Christ.

© 2002 – 2009 Blair Massey

Christian Lifestyle expert Blair Massey is devoted to helping Christian women around the world get their home, family and life organized. To get your home organized and start living the amazing life you were created by God to enjoy, sign up for her FREE newsletter now at www.christian-homemaking.com.

http://www.expectnet.com/games/LimaBeanBaby

1. Quite frankly, I’m extremely tired a lot of the time and have stopped using some of my more drastic frugal methods that I’ve written about in the past.  Simply put, I don’t want to be a hypocrite.
2. I’ve incorporated the frugal mindset into several areas of our life and don’t have to think about it so much anymore – and so now I have started focusing more on making extra money.

So, this baby will likely be born in the next 9 to 30 days (I’m sore and exhausted!), my whole household is sick with a horrible hacking cough and fevers (youngest is asleep and oldest is playing with dad) and so I will take this time to share some of my own frugal fraud confessions.

• When I’m really tired, I eat out and lately that has been a couple of times a week.  Going to the grocery store has become a marathon event and sometimes I forget to prepare the meal in advance.  I’ve yet to come up with a way to make a 8 hour crockpot meal in 30 minutes.
• I drink soda and buy bottled water. – Oh the horrors.  I cut out caffeine early on and then slowly started drinking it again.  I know how horrible it is, but it really is an addiction.  And the bottled water?  Well, I have never been good at remembering to filter water and I need something portable.
• I no longer use the foaming hand soap – it became too much of a hassle.  Now I just buy the economy refill and so I guess I’m still saving money.
• The homemade dishwasher detergent and homemade disinfectant wipes went to the trash.  I couldn’t get the dishwasher soap to dissolve no matter what I did to it and the disinfectant wipes started dissolving.  Scary.
• My  name is Lisa and I don’t shop at CVS much anymore.  It was fun while it lasted and I got some really great deals, but the amount of time and energy I had to put into it wasn’t working out for me.  Plus, most of the time they would be out of stock on the deals I wanted and it really became a waste of time and gas.

Ok, there’s my first five confessions – make sure to stay tuned for my next set of confessions coming soon to a blog post near you.

So who helped me change my life in 2008 and how did they do it?

1. Courtney Tuttle – This was one of the first blogs I started reading when I decided to start blogging.  I got this blog’s theme from his site and when I contacted him regarding my ambitions, he actually responded!  Now I also follow him at The Keyword Academy.
2. John Chow – I think every potential blogger comes across this name when they look into making money online.  I really learned a lot from reading his free ebook and he even helped me out during a very difficult time in my family’s lives this year.
3. Caroline Middlebrook – Her free eBook on Niche Sites was absolutely wonderful and taught me a new way of setting up blogs to make money.  I especially appreciate her candidness when speaking of her own life.
4. Amy Bass – The Niche Blogger has been very life changing for me.  I’ve learned many of the ins and outs of SEO and think this has the potential to get me to the income level I need to stay at home this year.
5. Josh Spaulding – This was a recommendation from a friend and he was described as having good advice and being very down to earth.  His free eBook – The $5 Mini-Site Formula – got some very quick results for me.  I really like the techniques he recommends and appreciate his kind nature and the fact that he personally responded to me when I emailed him.

So, as 2008 draws to a close, I’m very much looking forward to the coming year.  I know 2009 is going to be the year where I see more success online than I ever have and where, in conjuction with saving money, we’re able to pay off even more debt and live comfortably.

For now though, I’d just like to wish you all a Merry Christmas.  May it be a time of joy – not happiness or sadness which swayed by circumstances, but a joy that is permanent – for you.  Spend time with family – which is not necessarily who you are related to, but instead those who makes you feel accepted and loved.

And with that I must run.  My husband and I are going out to spend some time together alone.  One of my gifts to him was movie tickets to see the movie Valkyrie – opening day, first showing.  I always wondered who would be crazy enough to go to the movies on Christmas – now I know! 

Merry Christmas!!!

So, today I found a contest to win a free site redesign.  Please vote for me!!  You can see my current rank below and also find the link to vote.  Thank you!

I parked a good quarter mile away and when I got inside, I almost immediately regretted my decision.  But, I decided to be a trooper and I went and got what I had come for.  Spiderman & Spiderman 2 for my son at $2 a pop.  I actually bought two of each just in case something happens to one of them   I waited in line for 25 minutes, which isn’t bad considering the length of the lines and the way everyone’s shopping carts were overflowing!

So I then proceeded to Joanns to buy a little something for myself.  I got 4 Butterick patterns at .99¢ each and 3 rolls of wrapping papper at .99¢ each and a 3 pack of cellophane bags for $2.99.  I had a 20% off coupon so I spent less than $8 for my entire purchase.

Lastly, I waited until the evening and then I went back to Walmart and bought myself some fabric.  I’m making a pair of maternity pants and two maternity shirts for myself – which I so desperately need!

So, no huge purchases, but I’m happy to have spent less than $30 for the entire day with some great purchases