Where to Find Good Deals on School Supplies

Teachers everywhere are gearing up. Packing away their bathing suits and unpacking their school supplies; summer is almost over and inventories are taking place. What do I have? What do I need?

No matter if they teach public or private school, most likely teachers will be investing money out of their own pockets to meet the needs of their students. This especially goes for homeschool teachers.

Where can teachers find good deals on school supplies?

v  Yard Sales (especially those of retired teachers!)

v  Local Charities (Hospice Resale Shop, Yokefellow, etc.) Check frequently for books, games, etc.

v  Thrift Shops (You never know what treasure you’ll find. I found a large wooden, painted pterodactyl that hangs from the ceiling. It has a string you pull to make it “fly.” I’m guessing it cost $25 or more retail. I paid $2).

v  Library Sales (great books for a bargain!)

v  Used Book Sales (Some organizations hold these periodically. If you luck upon a homeschool sale, you may reel in educational games/videos as well.)

v  “Back-to-School” Sales (I love those 1-cent items!) (*By the way, STAPLES recognizes homeschool teachers in their free, Teacher Reward program)

v  Craig’s List, E-bay, Amazon, etc.

v  Homeschool teachers- check around to see if you can borrow/rent/buy books from other homeschool families.

This past week I had a pleasant surprise. A friend called stating she worked with Youth Empowerment, an organization serving at-risk youth in the community. She explained they had some textbooks donated but they could only use a portion of them. She asked if I would I be interested in the rest of the books for homeschooling? Of course, I was!

When I went to preview the books, I was overwhelmed at the quality and quantity of textbooks! Woo Hoo! The floodgates had opened and textbooks on Algebra, Latin, Spanish, World History and Civics had spilled out!

Youth Empowerment needed a certain number of books moved out so I enlisted some help and hauled the books back to my garage. Some excited homeschool moms came to see what they could use and left with armfuls of blessings.

The remaining books were taken to a large homeschool organizational meeting. A donation jar for Youth Empowerment was placed beside the textbooks. We were able to return a wonderful blessing through donations.

Where have you found good deals on school supplies?

Good News, Bad News

Saturday was a "good news-bad news" kind of day. 
Last year our daugher had a furnished apartment while away at college. This year she did not so we had to rent a trailer to haul furniture on a four hour trip. All went well until it was time for the trip home. It was a day of good and bad news. Sometimes it got better. Sometimes it got worse.

Bad News: Flat tire, blazing sun, my hubby, me and the kid…stuck on the side of a four-lane blur of traffic.

Good News: Within a minute after the tire blew, an IMAP Highway worker pulled up and offered my husband a ride to go get a tire.

Better News: “The man said it’ll only take 30 minutes,” my husband said. “He said you all will be fine. Lock the doors. I’ll be right back.”

Bad News: The “thirty minutes” was one way. No one knew it was one way except the IMAP man. It would be over an hour before they returned.

Worse News: The kid and I did not know the thirty minutes was one way because my cell phone battery died and my husband and I could not communicate. My husband said he tried to call and felt sick when he couldn't reach us.

Good News: We were safe. My seven-year old said he would protect me and

showed me all his orange plastic firearms.

Better News: We had “real” protection that wasn’t orange or plastic.

Bad News:   We became hot and hungry.

Good News: Dad left his keys so we turned on the air. We stretched a towelout to cover the front window. Finding a bag of chips and lukewarm bottled water was our treasure. (I always told my husband he could live off the stuff he kept inside his truck!)
Bad News: Boredom set in again.

Good News: I purchased a new box of crayons and paper earlier that day. We tested every color. Thank goodness, I bought a box of 48 crayons!

Bad News: After awhile we got bored again.

Worse News: Numerous rounds of “Rock, Paper, Scissors.”

Good News: Found an “Odyssey” story CD from a Chick-fil-a kids’ meal. Listened to that while we played with tiny army men.

Better News: The men finally returned and put the new tire on quickly.

Bad News: The new tire cost $80.00. Two days rental of the trailer was$46.00. Gas for the trip cost $130. We won’t even mention food,  our hotel, and groceries for the daughter, etc., etc.

Good News: Thankfully, we made it back safe…but you won’t be seeing us out shopping or at the usual restaurants for awhile. Just drop by for a visit and we’ll eat some pork-n-beans together.

Best News: It's not about the money or food, it's all about the people.

Sweet Surprise

My sweet hubby surprised me on our twenty-third wedding anniversary with a trip to a bed-and-breakfast inn located in Hendersonville, N.C.

        Usually, if we go somewhere and need accommodations, I am the one who goes in search of the best buy, via the Internet. I’ll spend hours reading reviews (because while I want to be frugal, I still place high importance on cleanliness and quality).

        My husband did all the planning and made all the arrangements this time. His schedule doesn’t allow much time for frugal internet comparison-shopping. He just picked out something he thought looked nice.

Cindy Baer of Elizabeth Leigh Inn

        This inn was very nice! When we arrived, the innkeeper warmly welcomed us and gave us a tour of the beautifully restored Victorian home. Everything was gorgeously decorated with attention to the smallest detail.

Later, we enjoyed the innkeeper's freshly made, melt-in-your-mouth pound cake and home-made strawberry ice cream. The warm, summer air was perfect for eating on the large, wrap-around porch outside. Chirping birds and a bubbling water fountain added sweet peacefulness to our evening.

        Thanks to my prince charming, I felt like a princess. Spending time with him is always fun. I’m blessed to have a wonderful, Christian husband who has loved me enough to stick with me all this time. His love for Christ, love for people, and love for me blesses my heart immensely.

How God Used a Sixty-Year-Old Camp Blanket

God used a sixty-year old camp blanket in several different ways. Visiting my parents the night prior to a Vermont mission trip, I commented on the unpredictable weather forecast.

My mother asked if I wanted to borrow her “camp blanket.” I had never seen or heard of this camp blanket. She retrieved it and began to tell me its story.

When my mother was a little girl, her mom sewed tiny strips of cloth to the bottom corners of this rectangle-shaped, cotton blanket. Two additional strips of cloth were sown in the bottom of her sleeping bag. When her family went camping, her mother would tie the camp blanket inside the sleeping bag to keep her warm. The strips kept the blanket from getting all twisted up inside. What a great idea.

The thin cotton blanket would be perfect for travel in the car. Knowing how some passengers like it cool; I could cover up with it. Its weight would be perfect, not too light and not too heavy.

Why had I not ever heard about or seen this blanket before? My grandmother passed away when my mother was only twenty years old. I guess this was something she had held onto all these years. It held special memories for her. I was a rough-and-tumble kind of kid so my mama probably didn’t dare trust me with the blanket when I was young. At age forty-six, I guess she thought I was old enough to take care of it now.

Mama did ask me to be very careful with it, which I promised I would.

The blanket served its purpose very well and kept me comfortable while traveling. Each morning, I gently folded it up and placed it in a safe place.

One night, a lady on my team decided her Bible story would work best if she had someone to act out the part of Jesus. She had not planned on this and therefore, had nothing appropriate for "Jesus" to wear. Our volunteers had only packed shorts, jeans and shirts. I immediately thought of the camp blanket. It was a plain cream-colored cotton fabric. It would be perfect.

So, Jesus wore the blanket around his shoulders one night as the story about the woman drying his feet with her hair unfolded before the children’s eyes. They learned about a woman’s love for Jesus.

The last night of VBS, Jesus wore the blanket again. This time the story was told about how Jesus can cleanse us from our sins. The children learned about Jesus’ love for them.

Overjoyed after nineteen souls were saved, I didn’t really look at the blanket as I packed it away that night. It wasn’t until later my heart sunk as I saw the three-inch tear ripped on one side. I wasn’t sure how my mother would react. She had told me repeatedly to please take care of the blanket and now it was torn.

We came home Saturday night, too exhausted to unpack. Sunday morning, we shared our testimonies about the mission trip. My parents came to hear our stories, which included how God used the old camp blanket.

I didn’t mention the tear until after the worship service. I thought humor might break the blow and told Mama, “Jesus tore your blanket.” (It’s probably not ever good to blame Jesus for anything.) I told her how sorry I was it happened and I would sew it up the best I could. How my mother responded surprised me.

“Leave it,” my mother said with tears in her eyes. “I think my mama would’ve been happy to know how God used her camp blanket. Leave the tear. I want to remember how God used it.”

Now, I have another precious memory of my mama.

(If we will let go of all the things we hold dear, and give them to God, He will amaze us with what He can do with them and through them…more than we can imagine!)

How God Used Human Error- Mission Trip Miracle Story #2

       Someone made a big mistake, a costly mistake. She tried to make it right but was unsuccessful. Regrets and frustration have nagged her for a whole year.

        Two weeks before our mission team was set to go to Vermont, the missionary assigned as the VBS coordinator hit a snag. She discovered she would not be able to go on the trip. Asked to step in as VBS coordinator, I agreed.

        I had never been on a mission trip to this area. I didn’t know what the setup would be like or what we needed. I was informed the teachers would have a teacher’s packet and there would be a DVD to use for opening worship BUT the materials needed careful handling because they would be used for VBS in a N.C. church when we returned. Everything was on loan. And while there would be crafts for the kids, there would not be Bible story materials for the kids to take home.

        No problem. We would be careful with what we borrowed. I cataloged everything. Based on last year's numbers, we were expecting between 10 – 15 students total.
       The Bible teachers could hold up a picture and tell the story since there weren’t any take-home sheets, Bible cards, etc. We could make it work with a small group.

        I know I bugged the leading pastor of our mission trip to death as I texted my 101 questions.

        “Do I need to make nametags?”

        “No, I’ll pick up the sticky ones.”

        “I can’t locate the VBS DVD in the packet of supplies I was given. Do you know where it is?”

        “No. Call around.”

And so the texting went back and forth for over a week. It wasn’t until a few days before departure that the loaned DVD was finally located. There was mention of a poster needed to announce the VBS. I decided to wait until we got there to reduce damage in transit.

        Remember the lady I mentioned at the beginning? The one who made a costly mistake? She over-ordered VBS supplies for her church the previous summer. She heard we were going on a mission trip…didn’t know if it was something we could use...but if I wanted to come pick them up I could.

        My first question was if we had to return them (I surely didn’t want to try to keep up with two different churches' VBS curriculum!) She assured me the items were ours to keep.

        Expecting some used items, maybe a poster or two, or a few miscellaneous take-home papers, I was greatly surprised when I picked up the box of supplies.

        First, everything was the same theme and curriculum we planned to use on the mission trip. There were over 50 die-cut, adorable nametags. A huge, colorful, vinyl VBS banner greeted me along with a ton of take-home Bible study cards, storybooks for toddlers, and ABC salvation cards. Everything was brand-new and still in shrink-wrap. God had opened the floodgates! There was even a copy of the worship DVD!

        Joy swelled up inside me. If God was doing all this before we even left for our mission trip, how much more was He planning to do in Vermont? My mustard seed faith sprouted again. I could not contain my excitement! I shared, with anyone who would listen, about what God was doing. We now had gospel materials to put in the hands of children to take home.

        However, I thought God would send more than the expected fifteen kids. Why would He send all those materials if He wasn’t planning to do something BIG?

        He did! For those who missed the announcement last week—sixty-five different children and several adults came to our VBS. Nineteen chose Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior!

        I don’t know the lady who made the big "mistake,” but will someone please tell her God gloriously used it? It wasn't a mistake after all. 

       Isn’t God awesome? When we give our best and still fall short, God steps in with an amazing plan.          

Miracle After Miracle After Miracle!

Miracle after miracle after miracle…that was what I witnessed last week. My daughter and I came in yesterday from a ten day mission trip to Vermont.

     God did so many amazing things. I cannot begin to name them all, but I  joyfully share a few of these with you!

     Months before the trip our team was given a scripture:

  “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”  2 Timothy 1:7

     We were asked to give our fears about the trip over to the Lord. My fear was not in sharing the gospel nor was it venturing into an unknown area. My fear was that I would not travel well with the chronic neck pain I had dealt with for over fifteen years. I knew God wanted me to go so I gathered many prayer warriors to pray for our mission team’s work and specifically for my neck. I asked God to give me endurance and that He would make the pain bearable.

     My faith was the size of a mustard seed. I visited two doctors to prepare for the trip. I packed three ice packs, a heating pad, prescription and over-the-counter pain medicines, etc. Normally, after a three or four hour trip, I am in a great deal of pain. Quite often, migraines result. Our mission team would be on the road for ten hours the first day. I was taking a tiny step of faith that God would use all the items I had packed to help me endure the pain.

      Long story—short: God did more than I imagined! I only needed to take something for the pain the first day of the trip. And even then, the pain was not as bad as it normally is. I took one Tylenol the second morning. The remaining time, I never used the heating pad, never had to use the ice packs, and I never had to take any more of the pain medicine…not even on the whole trip home! 99% of the time, I was totally pain-free. It was nothing short of a miracle. Without a doubt, God heard the prayers and blessed me abundantly so I could better serve Him.

     Greater blessings came throughout the week. The mission team that went last year planted many “seeds.”Between 7 – 23 kids attended VBS last year. This year we had 29 on the first night. Sixty-five different children and teens came throughout the week. They had a deep hunger to hear about Jesus Christ. Satan tried to thwart our plans but he did not succeed.

     Nineteen children sincerely asked Jesus Christ into their hearts.

     Praise God, praise God! I am eternally thankful for the prayers lifted up for our mission team and for the people of Vermont. Thankful that God took my tiny mustard seed of faith and worked wonders so I could witness Him working in the lives of so many precious people. What an amazing week of God's miracles.

    

     

    

    

Make New Friends

  There's an old song about making new friends but keeping the old ones. One is silver and the other gold.

  2012 has been a year for making new friends. God has brought precious gems into my life this year and I'd love to introduce two of them to you.

  This lady is Venita McCart. We met at the Christian Writers Boot Camp held at the Cove in Asheville, N.C.
  Venita is a beautiful lady, inside and out. She is a cancer survivor. She's allowing God to work something good through the tough battles she has faced. Venita founded Faith Force Cancer Support Ministries. She helps others start faith-based cancer support groups. Encouraging cancer patients and their loved ones is her heart's desire. Her spoken and written words are inspiring. You can read some of her devotions at www.christiandevotions.us. She is an awesome lady!
 
  That smiling face to the right belongs to Samantha Bell. Samantha is one of those people who makes you feel like you've been friends for years even though you've just met! She has a servant's heart and her friendliness just bubbles right out onto everyone she meets.
  Samantha is a writer/illustrator I met at the Write2Ignite! Conference at North Greenville University in South Carolina. Under that purple shirt she is wearing is her Super Mama cape. Juggling her writing and illustrating, several blogs, church and family, she also homeschools! God gave Samantha an extra dose of creative energy when He made her.
  You can check out some of her creative ideas at www.art-made-easy.com No matter how old you are, you're sure to find some great ideas!

  My dear readers (and friends), I encourage you to make a new friend this week. Step out of your comfort zone and introduce yourself to someone. God places people in our daily paths all the time. Perhaps someone is the answer to your prayers...or perhaps God plans to use you as an answer to their prayers!
Either way, you'll be blessed. Now, be nice, and go make new friends.

Two Crazy Weeks

     We just finished two crazy weeks! My oldest child moved back home after being away at college,. My youngest had end of grade testing. My middle child had a trip to the ER, with a bout of pneumonia, one week and her high school graduation the next.

     Even though it has been hectic around here, I am thankful. Thankful my firstborn is returning home for the summer (I’m sure there’ll be an adjustment period for us all!) She did well her first year away from home. We're thankful she has grown even closer to her Lord while at college.

     We’re also happy our son did well as a homeschooled first-grader. His reading skills have improved over the year, even if his eagerness to read hasn’t. Hopefully, he did well on his EOG’s but if not, we’re thankful he was not stressed about them. We're glad we are in a position to use standardized tests the way they were intended to be used.

     We’re definitely thankful our middle child’s health is improving and was well enough to enjoy her graduation. While she doesn’t have a clear direction in her life, we're grateful she's earnestly seeking God’s guidance for her future vocation, mate, etc. We know what God has started He will bring to completion.

     I have to keep my “crazy” days in perspective. I have so many friends who are struggling with life-threatening illnesses, a spouse's death, a job loss, or rebellious teens.  Stress is stress no matter how you look at it, but it’s good to remember things could always be worse. Life can change in an instant. Cherish what you have while you have it. Slow down and savor life. Be thankful, even in the midst of the chaos.