Free Tacos for America!

Because there was a base stolen during the MLB World Series, Taco Bell is offering one free taco to each person in America. Just visit any participating Taco Bell between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 30th to request your free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco.

Frugal Fridays - clothing swap

As the cold begins to creep in about us and the warmth of the summer fades into deep nights,  the time comes to trade sundresses for thick skirts and sweaters and to pull the boots and cozy slippers from the backs of our closets as we say goodbye to barefoot mornings.

Now, as the seasons change and we swap out our summer wardrobes for our winter ones, is the best time to purge. Go through your clothes and set aside the ones that are too big or too small. The shirts that have lain in the bottom of your drawer for the last two years, never worn.  The skirt you loved in the store and but still don’t have a top to match.

Make a list of what you need to find to complete outfits. Place items you never wear into a pile to give away.

But don’t take them to the thrift store just yet!

It’s time for the first festival of the season. Let your girlfriends know that you’ve gone through your closet and are ready to give away all the items you don’t wear, but that you need a few select pieces and you’d love to look through the clothing they no longer wish to keep.  Make up a few batches of goodies and invite over your friends! (It is a wise idea to make sure that there are several people there of the same size.)

Set aside specific locations for dresses, skirts, pants, tops, shoes, and accessories, in order to make it easier for people to sort through what’s available. As you and your friends look for the items y’all need to complete your wardrobes, you’re helping each other clear out unwanted articles of clothing, saving money, and having fellowship at the same time!

Once the party’s over, box up the remaining clothing to give away. Thrift stores are great, as there’s usually at least one in every town. Another option, and one that I personally favor, is to donate your clothing to a girls’ home or battered women’s shelter. What a blessing to the ladies who live there!

Vacuum Cleaner Prayer

I’ve heard all sorts of “tricks” and ideas for turning a less-than-pleasurable household chore into one that’s more enjoyable. And for the last 15+ years since I first learned to vacuum, I’ve loathed the task. I’d rather clean the refrigerator, scour the kitchen floor by hand, AND scrub the toilets.

I’ve tried singing. Playing praise music. Memorizing Scripture while I worked. Asking God to help me enjoy the task. Thinking about how grateful I am for a house to vacuum and a vacuum cleaner that works (well…at least most of the time ). Nothing ever worked. I still hated the job and every single time I pulled out the vacuum cleaner my heart would sink.

This evening I tried something new, without even thinking about what I was doing. It just sort of happened, I was three-quarters of the way through the house before I realized that I was actually vacuuming and almost done and, not only was I not despising the task, but I was almost enjoying it! Wow!

So what exactly did I do?  For starters, I started praying before I opened the pantry door to pull out the vacuum cleaner. But I believe what really helped is that I wasn’t praying for myself, I was praying for a friend. When I plugged in the vacuum cleaner my thoughts weren’t on me…they were on someone else.

What a simple concept! Why did it take me this long to discover that I could put it into practice while vacuuming? That I’ll never know, but I’m so glad I’ve realized it now! The next time I need to pull out the vacuum cleaner you can be certain I’ll be praying for someone else!

“The trouble with you, Anne, is that you’re thinking too much about yourself. You should just think of Mrs. Allan and what would be nicest and most agreeable for her,” said Marilla, hitting for once in her life on a very sound and pithy piece of advice.

Holiday Traditions

There is a special holiday issue of A Lady in Waiting currently in the works. This issue will be in .pdf format for subscribers to download from the website. Because it’s not in print, we’re not limited to the typical 16-page publication we publish, and can include as much content as we have available.

One of the sections we’d like to include in this issue is a feature on holiday traditions. Thanksgiving, Sukkot, Hannukah, and Christmas traditions will all be accepted for consideration. If you’d like to share one or more of your family traditions with the rest of our readers, just send us a note via the website contact form. Be sure to include the tradition, your name as you’d like it to appear in the magazine, and your e-mail address (e-mail addresses will not be published).
We still also need a Titus Two Letter from an “older woman” who would be willing to write a letter to the younger women, fitting with our holiday theme. And we  still need an article specifically about Thanksgiving.

~Rebekah

Upcoming Sale

Hello,  ladies!

November 1-7 there will be an autumn sale over at A Lady in Waiting. We’ll be running a special on two-year subscriptions and selling pre-orders for my upcoming book, Tea Leaves. Every order will come with great package of freebies and an entry into a drawing for more goodies. Keep checking back for more information.

~Rebekah

Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Waving the Flag of Feminism

This post is from one of my older sisters. She regularly blogs here, but I wanted to share this particular post with my readers.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with organizations of every variety acting as advertising conduits for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Donations to the Foundation abound during this month in particular. This is a tragedy. Now, before you berate me for being heartless and cruel toward those suffering with breast cancer, let me assure you that this is not the case! Such suffering is nothing to take lightly and, in fact, I lost an aunt to breast cancer just this summer. The issue is important to me. The tragedy lies, not in the fact that the Foundation is dealing with breast cancer, but in the fact that it isn’t.

Delaying or avoiding childbearing, and refusing to nurse the babies one does have, are some of the most significant risk factors for breast cancer. I am not disparaging single women, or others who are unable to bear children for whatever reason. I also don’t intend to imply that any individual woman has cancer because of the avoidance of childbearing or that having children is a guarantee of good health. Nevertheless, our typically selfish and/or androgynous modern lifestyles are the primary reasons we are at risk. This connection is well-known among researchers and doctors in general, and must certainly be well-known to those at the Susan G. Komen Foundation. They do not, however, encourage women to fulfill their natural, God-ordained roles as women by bearing, birthing, and nurturing children, which is the most obvious means available to us for reducing our risk. Why not? Our health is not really their greatest concern. Their whole intention is to encourage feminism, and to deceive an unsuspecting public into paying for mothers to employ government-sanctioned hit men to brutally murder their unborn children.

What?? Yes, indeed. Although the Susan G. Komen Foundation may fund some token efforts to seek a cure for breast cancer (which I have a hard time believing could be very wholehearted efforts, considering their complete disregard for the clear risk factors outlined above), they put significant funding into Planned Parenthood, which is well known for it’s provision of abortions (which are also a risk factor for breast cancer) and support of “anything-goes” abortion legislation. What a travesty! In the name of “protecting women,” the Foundation is actually encouraging those very things which kill women (not to mention their preborn children).

So how about true breast cancer awareness? The most important things to avoid, to reduce one’s risk, are abortion, estrogen-based birth control, delayed childbearing or intentional barrenness, and bottle-feeding of the children one does have. In fact, I found the following statistics at CNN.com:

“We know from a large sifted study of women with breast cancer, and without, who had children, that every year you breast-feed reduces your risk of breast cancer by 4.3 percent. Every child you have reduces your risk of breast cancer by 7 percent. And every year earlier than age 28 that you have those children reduces your risk by 3 more percent.”

I find it interesting, in light of all this, that God’s Word tells us that, “she [woman] will be saved in childbearing…” (1 Tim. 2:15) While physical health is not the primary intention of this verse in context, the science suggests there may be a literal, physical parallel as well. Bearing children can be literally life-saving, life-preserving!

-Rachel

Frugal Fridays - free gardening samples and downloads

Wildflower reference guide and catalog

Gardening catalog and magazine

Free packet of flower seeds (please browse the site and leave some feedback)

Six seed packets (must send SASE)

Catalog, sample, and booklet

Downloadable gardening guide for kids

Gardening guide specifically for those west of the Rockies

Free online gardening and flower books

Can You Read These Correctly Aloud - The First Time?

I got this in an e-newsletter earlier this week. Intimate/intimate and bass/bass are words I have trouble with even without being in tongue twisters, but I did pretty well on the rest of them. Let me know how y’all do!

Can You Read These Correctly Aloud - The First Time?

• The bandage was wound around the wound.
• The farm was used to produce produce.
• The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
• We must polish the Polish furniture.
• He could lead if he would get the lead out.
• The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
• Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
• A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
• When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
• I did not object to the object.
• The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
• There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
• They were too close to the door to close it.
• The buck does funny things when the does are present.
• A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
• To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
• The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
• Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
• I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
• How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

- Author Unknown

Home school or Homeschool?

Over at the HSA website, there’s a discussion going on over whether it’s more accurate to spell “homeschool” as one word or as two (home schooled). I personally prefer for it to remain one word, and gave my thoughts on the matter. Here’s my two cents on the matter, if you’d like some spare change…

Back in the day, when this was the big discussion amongst the state organizations, I gave it a little thought and decided that I prefer “homeschool” as one word. My reasoning is that homeschooling is a lifestyle choice, not simply school at home. If the purpose of homeschooling were to duplicate school at home, then two words would work well “home schooled” = “schooled at home.” But since school/learning/education is something that most of us incorporate into our daily lives, merging the academic with the art of living, which is done from the center, the heart, of the family - the home - separating the idea into two distinct words seems to argue against the whole meaning of the decision to keep our children at home. Perhaps the creation of a new word would capture this mindset more accurately but, since we have a set line-up of words and phrases to choose from (home school, homeschool, home educate, etc.), “homeschool” seems, to me, the best expression of this home and family-centered lifestyle.

(And, according to the dictionary, it’s accurate. )

So, there you have my thoughts on it. What about you? Do you prefer “home educate,” “home school” or “homeschool”? Or perhaps something different all together?

India 2008

Are you interested in short-term missions work?

Do you feel called to minister to children in a third-world country?

Has the Lord laid it on your heart to share the gospel in a foreign land?

Can you sing or play a musical instrument, teach Bible lessons, share the gospel with non-believers, speak at women’s Bible studies, or simply love on the children of India?

Then maybe God would like you to go with us to India in 2008!

 

Ministry will include:

• medical camps (depending on interest)
• Vacation Bible School
• teaching English
• evangelism
• giving Sunday sermons (for the gentlemen)
• speaking at women’s Bible studies (ladies)
  
• encouraging the saints
• prayer walks
• orphanage ministry

This trip is open to believers over the age of 16. Men, women, couples, families - all are welcome! If you believe God is calling you to India, please pray about this trip. Dates are January 3-April 10 or 14 (you’ll need to arrive in Virginia by January 2 and will leave from Virginia the day after we arrive back in the States). Or, for those interested in a shorter trip, January 3-23 (plus a day on each end for arrival and departure). Depending on the interest level, there may be a third group heading out to India mid-February and staying till April.

 

Cost will vary depending on the trip length and ministry, but will run between $2200 and $3000. Everyone will need a passport and a visa (tourist). I am planning to purchase my ticket at the end of the month and at that time will purchase tickets for everyone else committed to going. This trip is coming up quickly, so if you think that you’ll be joining us, you may want to apply for your passport now!

 

The orphanage that we will be staying at is located in Visakhapatnam, on India’s east cost. We’ll be working with Bless India Ministries. You can read more about that ministry here. In addition to our work with Bless India Ministries, a short trip to Bangalore is possible…I am working with a contact there to set up housing and ministry opportunities.

 

If you’re interested in going on this trip, please pray about it, and let me know as soon as possible. Also, if you would like more details, please send me a note - but ask specific questions or I may not tell you what it is you want to know! You can reach me through the contact page on the ALIW website.