Resources
BUDGETING
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Here is a way to save money and shop wisely. Ask yourself questions:
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Do I need it?
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Does anything I have fill the role now?
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How long will it last?
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What will it do for me and my family?
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How long must I or my husband work to pay for it?
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If I don’t buy it, what difference will it make?
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Could I get it free, borrow it, or barter for it?
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Could I get it used?
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Could I get it on discount or on sale?
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Could I make myself?
Bonus: train yourself or secure training for someone in your home to maintain certain items. When something breaks or starts running down, try to fix it. Training can be found online at super low-cost or even free!
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Vertex 42: Your Guide to Everything Excel, has some pretty amazing free meal planners. There is a weekly planner, a monthly planner, and another monthly one that generates a grocery list for each meal.
Save a lot on groceries by participating in a co-op. Azure Standard is the one I'm familiar with. If you are outside the U.S., consider what you can buy in bulk and split the cost with others. Misfits Market is a delivery service for discount items.
Composting to cut down on waste and use it to enrich soil. I never thought I would do it, but I found an inexpensive and easy way to to make a bin. Here's a tip from a newsletter subscriber: "My space is small so I compost in an unusual way. I freeze my composting things i.e. egg shells, veggie things, etc - when I get crowded in my freezer I’ll dig a hole in the garden & bury it - stomp it down real good - it adds nutrients to the soil & since it’s frozen the smells don’t attract any unwanted animals."
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GREAT COMMISSION
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Literacy and Evangelism International
Check out online local language and ESL literacy training opportunities.
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​Shanee and her husband Jesse started a podcast for missionaries called The Coworkers Podcast. Originally from the U.S., they have served as missionaries in South Asia since 2005.
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Open Doors, an organization founded by a man whom God used to bring Bibles into countries behind the Iron Curtain, produces the "World Watch List" on an annual basis. It ranks the top 50 countries where Christians face persecution. The list, along with the Voices of the Martyrs ministry are good ways to "remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body." (Hebrews 13:3)
RELATIONSHIPS
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Martha Peace gave an excellent talk on the blessings and challenges of discipling women. Offenses can destroy relationships, but, "faithful are the wounds of a friend", when the motive is love. The talk begins at the 2-minute mark.
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View the guide with some tips on caring for the sick. This is something I hope to update each year. Send me anything you'd like to see added.
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Experiences instead of gifts​: This post on a mom blog inspired me to take my Grandma on a yearly trip. I was able to do it four years before she passed away in 2019 and those are memories I treasure. I highly recommend it!
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Relational Wisdom 360 resources: Ken Sande founded Peacemaker Ministries 30 years ago with the mission to transform relationships with the power of the gospel through biblical conflict resolution.
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MOTIVATION
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It is easy to fall into the trap of looking at what others have and dwelling on what we don't have. You have more resources that you realize. This inspiring 7-minute video from HOPE International takes you to the country of Rwanda, and asks you to consider: What's in your hands?
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MISCELLANOUS
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Homeliving Helper, a blog by a rural preacher's wife of almost 50 years and veteran homeschooler shares her opinions on homemaking. I have visited the blog from time-to-time since 2007. Her recent video on the effect of bad news on the body (specifically the adrenals) inspired me to reduce my consumption of media. If you are feeling run down and want to take a challenge, reduce looking at news sources to one day a week at an appointed time. Keep a daily journal: notice any difference in thinking, focus, what you are able to accomplish, and how you relate to the Lord and the people around you.
Is there a website you found helpful that is now gone? Try finding it on archive.org's Wayback Machine.
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​Hymnary.org is a website that catalogs hymns and hymnals. It has free sheet music for over 1 million hymns with information on authors, composers, lyrics, and scores.
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I came across ways to treat COVID, written by a medical doctor, at least six of the suggestions could be done in the early stages at home. Obligatory disclaimer: None of the information in linked article is intended to be utilized by anyone as direct medical advice. Rather, the article is intended only to make the reader aware of other treatment possibilities and documented information that could be further discussed with a professional.
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