Welcome back, my love!

I loved you for so long...
then you had to go away...
but since the last school bill's been paid...
you are back with me to stay!

yes, Praise God for his provision! It was truly of necessity for me to give up coffee when Mark and I started seminary...crazy you may say, but one of the many necessary "crazy" things we did in order to stretch every penny in order to remain debt free through school.

Coffee???
but it is so cheap!

yes, but I am not a true coffee drinker. I guess I prefer a little coffee with my flavored creamer...hence the need to "give it up" for the last 5 years. I did enjoy indulging myself when I went home to mom and dad's...but I have been dying for that bill to be done so that I could "pick back up where I left off"...and pick back up I have! Mark has even mentioned to me that he doesn't think I have skipped a cup since February 17th (the day he paid the final payment)...and I will share that I can now drink it with half and half (another luxury staple back in the Brumbaugh home since February 17th) and no sugar! It makes me jittery....and we all know that is one thing I don't need....

**Pottery barn post coming soon**

Deal Alert

For anyone who is interested in getting a zoo membership or botanical gardens membership for the Norfolk area, I would like to pass along this great deal that was passed on to me. It may seem a little strange, but it works and you can even contact the Norfolk zoo to double check if you want. If you go to this website www.aviary.org and buy your membership to the Pittsburgh Bird place...you will automatically get a year long membership to the Norfolk Zoo as well as the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. There are tons of other Zoos and Gardens that are accepting this pass as well...so those of you who are not from this area may want to check the complete list to see if the zoos/gardens in your area are accepting it!

I was looking forward to getting a membership somewhere this summer...but I couldn't decide between the zoo or the gardens. Both have fun kiddy places...and I LOVE beautiful gardens...so this pass solved the problem! Both places for the price of one (thanks, Dad and Mom)!

Beth Stamper - I checked and there are several Minnesota zoos and gardens that are accepting this pass...but I wasn't sure which ones were close to you! But...it may be worth chekcing into!

Town Hall for Hope

(click on the link above for more info and to watch a short video explaining the event)

okay...I don't want to burn anyone out on Dave Ramsey, but I just had to share this event with all my readers. Mark and I have known about it for a little over a month...but I hesitated to put it on here since some people still have no idea who Dave Ramsey is apart from the fact that he cuts of people's credit cards while he talks.

When Dave dreamed up this event he was hoping for 500 locations to host the webcast and for 200,000 people to attend the event. The event will consist of a 30 minute talk from Dave and then an hour of questions from the live audience as well as twitter, facebook, e-mail and You Tube. Dave will cover facts of the economy because he feels the general public is being fed FEAR instead of FACT and he feels complled to share facts to try and empower people to live without FEAR no matter what the media/government is feeding them.

Now is where I will interject that the Dave Ramsey radio show is now airing in our area every night from 6:00-9:00pm on AM850. The show has been airing for a few months which means that enough people called and requested this show to be aired in our area that they decided to pilot it...and when the numbers and excitement continued growing...the radio station has kept it rolling! In fact, Mark was in a Starbucks a few weeks ago and was pleased to see a couple from the community teaching another couple how to set up a budget and work through the Ramsey plan to debt free living! WAHOO!!!! He didn't interrupt to say anything to them...but it encouraged me to continue to pray for my community and for my boldness to share Christ with them via finances. The potential is unbelievable when people catch how contagious it is to truly live with Financial Peace because you walk with the Prince of Peace!

As I listened to Dave the other night...he was testifying about how God has truly grown this town hall for hope meeting. He said that God had opened up the locations to 6,000!! and the total people signed up to attend one of those locations was already over 1,200,000!! PTL! He also shared that the Fox Business channel is going to air the meeting!! Did you hear me!!! again PTL!!! and also several radio stations that air his radio show are airing the live meeting! again...PTL!

So I ask you all...please pray for your community! If you can attend I would highly encourage you to attend seeing as how you will get a first hand glimpse at how motivational Dave is and how excited people are at his info. I guarantee that if you attend this event and are open to talk with people around you...you will make contacts with needy people in your immediate community who need encouragement and guidance!

Again...please don't just roll your eyes at this post. Pray...even if you think Dave is ridiculous...pray for Mark and I as we are coming into contact with more and more who are open to learning a new way of living...which can open their eyes to their own spiritual debt and the true Freedom they can have through Christ! This meeting will not be a "gospel" event...but I am fervently praying for gospel opportunities to come from it!

Also, please pray for Dave Ramsey. He is a Brother-in-Christ and needs our encouragement and prayers as he continues to share hope to some truly uninformed and scared people. Pray that this webcast will be free of technical difficulties. Pray for clarity as he speaks to many many people...pray for him to continue to grow steadfast in his walk with Christ. He is truly in love with Christ...and we all know that passion for Christ brings indignation from others...

If you are interested in attending, just click on the link above. you can enter your zip code and find a location near you...even if you think no one in your area knows who this guy is...I GUARANTEE you there are people in your area who will be attending with open minds and lots of questions...are you ready? Has the gospel truly changed the way you view your finances! What an opportunity to share your faith and if you are missing it...I encourage you to learn...even if not from Dave...LEARN...
NOTE: just to clarify for those of you local readers this meeting will be on the radio at 8:00pm on AM 850 April 23rd.

The Simple Dollar

I ran across this great article on how to trim down costs in areas that you must spend money (ie. electricity, water, clothes, automotive, etc.). I am asked this question by many people frequently...so this article is on here to help start you quest to trim out the "fat" in your budget. I will give a testimony that I saw a drop in our electric bill after unplugging everything in our house and only plugging things in as I needed them. Just make sure you have a few old school battery powered clocks to hang on your walls! (note: I did not unplug the stove or microwave, but I turned off the circuit breaker to the stove after I finished using it and I turned the display on my microwave off so neither appliance was using Phantom energy.Here is a pic just to keep the family happy with me...this was taken this month