A new CSN Review and More to Come

I'm sure you have heard about CSN Stores by now, and honestly, I am just as excited about them now as I was when I first discovered them!  With over two hundred stores, they offer everything from toys to bathroom shelving.  How is THAT for diversity!  Free shipping is offered on a TON of items, and almost everything is listed a some of the lowest prices around. 

I recently ordered this 6 piece bath towel set in mocha.  The towels are not all that fluffy, but they are plenty absorbent, a very pretty color, and did not fade in the wash or leave fuzz on the rest of the laundry.  I am very happy with them. 

There will be more to come on CSN Stores, so stay tuned! 

Articles on Yahoo Contributors Network

For anyone who may be interested, I've been trying my hand at freelance writing, and have had a few artcles published on what was formerly Associated Contentent.  My plan it to write articles that are helpful in helping working mothers be more efficient and organized, but they should be useful to people from all walks of life.  I have a food article published as well, and I may be doing more of those... check them out if you are interested here, here, and here.  Please feel free to pass along to anyone you think may be interested.  Happy Thanksgiving!

The Origins Continued... moves 4, 5, and 6

Okay, so I think I got us throught he third move, right?  Well, decided it was time to begin a family, and we got pregnant almost the minute I stopped taking the pills.  My husband graduated, got a job in our college town, and I was offered an outstanding opportunity that offered full paid maternity leave!  Here comes move number 4.  It took around 3 months to sell our house, and we were able to commute until then.  I finished my pregnacy in a comfortable rental house, and all was good.  Then, in the spring, when our son was an infant, the house was not so good.  The warm weather brought out numerous critters, including ants and wasps, and the pest control people told us there was nothing they could do!  I could not have my new, precious baby there.  We bought a house across town and there was move number 5.  When our son was 8 months old I was offered a management opportunity in a neighboring town, the town we lived in prior to this one, where we owned our first house.  Go figure!  So, I accepted and began a daily commute.  It was all good at first, but numerous circumstances, some that I could control and some I could not, made this my most stressful job EVER.  In the meantime, my husband also took a new position, and commuted daily back to the state capital.  We made the decision NOT to move our family as we felt we needed to settle and were tired of moving, even though both of our jobs were now more than 50 miles from where we lived. 

The, my husband received a phone call.  A town in Northeast Arkansas was looking for an economic develper, and they wanted to interview him.  His was highly recommended.  He turned them down.  It was too far to commute, and we did not want to move again, despite the growing negative situation at my job.  However, a while later they called again.  We felt lead to at least see what they had to say, so he interviewed.  We had our "list" of what an offer would have to be before we would consider moving again.  How much pay, relocation assistance (our previous moves had done some financial damage), and more.  They came through with everything we had on our list and much, much more.  After careful prayer and consideration, we decided to go.  The only issue was our house.  We immediately put it up for sale and offered it for rent.  It was a town that two colleges after all... it had to at least stay rented, right?  That was how move number 6 came about...

The Origins of the Prayer

This is the beginning of a few posts about how the decision to make this move came about. I need to you feel a fraction of what my husband and I have felt over the past years for you understand what a huge decision this has been.  I also need whoever decides they want to read this to understand how this opportunity was an answer to a huge prayer, and what the origins of this prayer were. This decision is one that has saddened and hurt some of our family members, maybe beyond repair, and we are very sorry for that. It is one that will change the course of our children's lives, but we believe ultimately for the better.

First, let me restate that my family and I are moving to Knoxville, TN.  This is at least 9 hours away from everything we have ever known.  My husband and I grew up in the same, small South Arkansas town.  When I say small, I mean no McDonalds, no Walmart, and no Dollar General until after I moved.  There is a liquor store for every Church, and at least 100 of each, lol!  I was 15 when we had our first "date," in which he picked me up at the ball field where my parents were watching my brother play little league.  He met my parents, they discussed how they knew his parents, and we were off to my house, 8 miles outside of the this small town in the middle of the woods,literally, to watch a movie.  He was 17.  It was not love at first sight.  He told his parents that night he would not be doing that again.  I talked too much.  He was right, I do:) 
He did do that again, however, and we married four years later, in May after my freshman year of college.  He was going to start his senior year after the summer.  Those four years were dramatic to say the least.  With teenagers, especially girls, there is always drama, right?   A year in high school together, two years with him in college and me in high school, and then a semester of us both being at college before we got engaged.  We struggle with the long distance issue, with the "are we too young to really be in love issue," and many more.  However, if there is one thing I know in this life other than God sent His son Jesus to die on the cross to save our sins, and that because of that I am going to heaven, it is that God created my husband and I for each other.  I have known that for a very, very long time.  He created the circumstances of our lives to draw us together, and I am eternally thankful for that. 

The point of these posts it to record what God has done in our lives to this point.  Sometimes it may seem common, but almost all of it is supernatural, and I want the world to know.  I'll start with my 109 followers.  Stay tuned...

Defeated Kings

Joshua 12 details the kings that the Children of Israel had to defeat to occupy the promised land. I think I often heard the promise, heard the story of God showing them the land and telling them it was their's, and imagined that they just moved right in. I knew there were people there, and I heard about the wars that were fought, I do not think it ever REALLY struck me that they had to FIGHT for the land that God had designated for and promised to them. Why not just hand it over? Well, technically He did. As long as they followed and obeyed Him, and gave Him the glory, they never had to worry about being defeated, but they still had to fight the fight. They still had to go through the battles to take full advantage of all that God had promised.

I do not know why this was the case. Maybe the fact that we always cherish more what we have to work for. Maybe to help detour other nations from trying to take over, seeing as they may be less likely to attack a nation that has defeated so many already. But I do know this. We have promises from God today, just as they did then. These promises will not be just handed to us. We may have to fight battles to get to them as well. (Keep in mind I am not talking about salvation. That is ours, a gift to be accepted only and never taken away. We do not and cannot earn that, no matter what we do, so He gives it as a gift, we only have to accept it.) Promises, based on what we see with Israel, may be different. We might have to suffer through illness, poverty, sadness, or any number of things before we can fully enjoy whatever the Lord had promised. However, as long as we keep our eyes on Him, obey Him, and give Him the glory, we can be assured we WILL win, even if winning doesn't look like exactly what we thought it might.

Changes

Sorry I have been MIA lately.  My family and I are getting ready to move.  We have know about it for awhile and have only recently been able to go public with it.  It is a GREAT move for our little family, but not so great for the grandparents who are not accustomed to being so far away from our children.  I am praying for them and us.  I also have a LOT of blog content that has come of all of this, and I cannot wait to share it.  So please, bear with me and stay tuned!

Convicted

"She opens her arms to the poor, and extends her hands to the needy."

Proverbs 31:20

If I have heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times.  Proverbs 31 is not meant to condemn, but to convict.  Well, let me tell you, it does PLENTY of that.  This verse, however, somewhat more than the others.  Here is why I think this is the case. 

Although I strive daily to meet many of the standards set in the this chapter of Proverbs, I am ashamed to say that this is one that I don't even really put a lot of effort into.  Why?  Not because I do not care, that is for sure.  It is simply that I do not know how.  I do not feel I have the time to volunteer or the resources to donate money.  I do donate clothing items when we clean out our closets, but is that really enough?  I want to be more purposeful in doing this.  When I am getting a good deal on non perishable groceries. toiletries, etc, I want to grab extras to donate. 

The first step if finding out where to donate.  The next step is praying for prompting to remember to do this.  I am sure most of you are much better than me at doing this, but if you are in the same boat as me, will  you join me in prayer that we will prompted and given the wisdom to discern opportunities to extend our hands to the needy?  Leave a comment and we will pray for each other.  If you already make this a practice, leave a comment and give us some tips on how you make this a practice, and I know I would appreciate your prayers in this matter as well:)