First off, I’m sorry I forgot to insert the linky tool in last week’s post. However, no one even commented, so I guess it wasn’t missed. I have decided to continue this topic, even if no one participates, because I need to do it for me. That said, though, I would love if some of my readers would participate!

Last week my decision was:

I resolve to make a plan for checking email and being online and to claim victory over wasting time online.

Did I make a plan? Yes. Have I gained consistent victory in this area? No. What can I say? It is not easy to change strong habits. However… as I have continued on with the All Power seminar, I got down to days 25-27, where I have been forced (yes, I chose that word on purpose) to look very closely at myself and my priorities and values, and to make some changes. I have spent a lot of spare thinking time (I say thinking time, because my hands have usually been very busy) trying to figure out where certain areas of my life, especially my blogs, fit into what I want out of life. I think I have figured it out–more abstractly than concretely at the moment–and I’ll probably share about it in a future post once it crystallizes better in my mind. All I know is that if I choose to live by my list of Ultimate End Values that I made yesterday, I will be spending less time in general on the Internet and in particular less time on this blog.

Here is my plan, however, for what it’s worth: I have decided to set certain time frames for being online. These are scheduled into my day, just like other activities like time with God and eating. However, because Internet has lower priority than other things like home and husband and children, the demands of home and husband and children may at times supersede my need to get online, and I may have to forgo time online.

What I do online is going to change somewhat. My list of end values is going to change my focus of activities. For instance, at this point in time financial security is going to have to take precedence over community, especially because my husband is going back to school and my son has expensive health issues. So if I have to choose between writing a post on some helpful cleaning tip for this blog and posting a couple of items on eBay, I’ll choose eBay. I know this could affect my blog in many ways, but I have decided that having lots of readers is not important anymore. I want to share more about who I am and less about what I know here.

I have also decided that I cannot make 5 decisions a week. I just don’t have it in me to focus on that many things right now. So I have made two. Here is one of them:

I determine to make my relationship with God the #1 priority in my life.

I have said that it is, but I have not practiced it. Now I am going to do it. Even if I have to get up early, miss out on sleep, etc. My physical health is not as important as my relationship with God. That said, I believe that getting this in place will make the rest of life fall into place. After all, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

So what decision are you making this week? Please use the linky widget below, or post about it in the comments. Read this for more information on how this link-up is supposed to work.

As I was driving to church last Friday to practice for the Sabbath music service, I was listening to this CD by the the Stewart Family from the album “Satisfied,” and singing along. Then it came to this song:

It Is Finished

Long ago I saw my Saviour
Bearing shame upon a tree
Then my heart was touched with sorrow
For I saw He bled for me.

“It is finished,” loud He cried
Oh what love, for me He died
In my stead He bled on Calvary
Once for all Christ rescued me

Lo the sky was veiled in darkness
Sudden trembling shook the ground
As the angry crowd was cheering
Mocking Jesus all around

Then my Saviour called to Heaven
As I saw His love anew
Oh my Father, please forgive them
For they know not what they do

“It is finished,” loud He cried
Oh what love, for me He died
In my stead He bled on Calvary
Once for all Christ rescued me

Free salvation now He offers
Take His gift, oh hear His plea
On the bloody cross behold Him
Join His shout of victory

“It is finished,” loud He cried
Oh what love for me He died
In my stead He bled on Calvary
Once for all Christ rescued me.

As I reached “Then my Saviour called to Heaven,” suddenly it was as though I had a vision. As the song set the scene, suddenly I felt like I could really see it. In my mind’s eye, I saw Jesus laying on the cross, the crown of thorns on His head, His torn back pressed against the rough wood. The crowd around mocked and jeered. And then the Roman soldier grabbed a hammer and nail and began to nail Him to the cross. In an instant, everything I had ever read about the gut-wrenching pain caused by the nails came flooding into my mind. And at that moment, the song reached the part where Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” My heart was touched, and I had to hold back the tears as I drove along in the dark. My heart just overflowed with love for the One who gave all for me!

How could Jesus say that, while enduring such excruciating agony? What kind of love can prompt such amazing words in the midst of such horrendous circumstances? Only the love of the one who is love at the very essence of His being.

As I continued on to the church, I meditated on Jesus’ love and sacrifice, hoping I could get there with enough time to write them down before everyone showed up to practice and I lost the impression. Amazingly, I was the first car there. As I typed away on my iPod, someone came and opened the door, so I went in. Three guys showed up–to operate the PowerPoint, the lights, and the sound. But no one showed up to practice. One of the guys made some phone calls and found out that the leader for the week was singing at a vespers somewhere else that night, and that practice would be at 8:00 am the next morning.

Now, you need to understand something. We have been going over budget every month for gas. My husband works an hour away, and gas prices are going up. I don’t mind Friday night practice–indeed, I have seen the stress of trying to do it Sabbath morning–but if there isn’t going to be a practice, someone should notify me. At least, that is the theory.

The whole situation was frustrating, especially since it was the second time this had happened to me–showing up for a practice that wasn’t. So I left the church rather upset. I didn’t want to drive all the way home with such sour feelings, however, so I stopped at the pastor’s house, since it was near the church and not really out of my way. I wanted to pray with someone and didn’t have a cell phone anymore. The pastor came out and prayed with me, and that prayer helped to calm my feelings and change my thoughts into better channels. Thank you, Pastor Jim!

As I drove home it dawned on me. If I had stayed home, I wouldn’t have heard the song on the CD in the car. And even in the unlikely event that I turned on my iPod and heard it that evening, the chances of life being quiet enough to meditate on the thoughts in the song would have been nonexistent. So in spite of the fact that I wasted gas on going to a practice that didn’t happen, I had a precious experience with God, and that made the whole trip worth while.

If you are interested in buying the song or the album, you can purchase them here (Disclaimer: these are affiliate links).

Note: My Adventist friends will want to know that the last song, track 12, has a little error on the length of hell, but the rest of the songs are lovely.

I’ve just posted part 3 of my son’s story with eczema on my other blog, My Baby Has Eczema. If you’ve been following the story, you’ll want to go over there to read it.

Gislaine and Manny were playing happily outside in the last hour of daylight while I worked on some overdue blogging. All of a sudden they came running into the office holding dandelions. Gislaine informed me that “Jesus sent us some dandelions!” I thought that was so sweet. As was this picture I took of her (tried to get one of Manny, but he refused to pose).

By sado27 on Flickr

Two weeks ago TJ from Measuring Flower shared with us a basic overview of couponing. For me, her post created more questions than it answered. So I decided to do an interview style post to hopefully answer some more questions and dig a little deeper into how coupons can be helpful for us. So sit back and enjoy!

Lisa: I keep hearing about people who go buy, say, $50 worth of groceries for $10 by using coupons. How often does that realistically happen, and how much effort does it take?

TJ: I would say I have 80% savings like that about once a month (and I used a calculator to figure out the percentage, by the way; there’s no way I did that in my head, lol). My savings are most often around the 40 or 50% range. Since I have been couponing for a while, it is easy for me to plan and prepare for these kind of savings. When I first began, it took a little more effort because I didn’t understand all the rules surrounding couponing. Once I had them down (and they are easy to learn), it became second nature. For me, it takes maybe 30 minutes to plan my shopping trip. The keys to spending less time planning is to use a good deal site (like Coupon Mom or the Grocery Game) that cuts out a big chunk of the work and to keep things very well organized.

Lisa: I have heard about stores that double coupons, but I don’t know that I’ve actually seen one. How common are they? And is it really true that their prices are often higher than other stores?

TJ: They are very common! Kroger, King Soopers, Safeway,  all double coupons (this site will help you find your grocery stores in your area that double coupons). When a store doubles coupons, they usually only double up to a certain point. For example, King Soopers doubles or matches coupons up to $1; for example, a 50 cent coupon is worth $1 and a 99 cent coupon is also worth $1.

These are typical grocery stores with typical grocery store prices. Their full prices are more expensive than, say, Wal-Mart; however, when these stores have sales, they are going above and beyond to beat Wal-Mart prices in order to draw people into their store. These grocery stores will push what are called “loss leaders.” These are the featured items on the front of their newspaper ads. The store intentionally loses money on these items to lure shoppers into their stores with the hopes that they will purchase other, more expensive items as well. The key to this is sticking to the loss leaders (and these prices are often further reduced when combined with coupon) and not getting anything at full price. Grocery stores will also sponsor unannounced sales, marked with special signs or flags. These sales are discovered by accident while wandering the store or through deal-sharing websites (like Coupon Mom, Deal Seeking Mom, WeUseCoupons.com, etc.)

Lisa: I live way out in the country and don’t subscribe to a newspaper. How can I find coupons–other than trying to get my hands on the paper of the city where I shop once a month?

TJ: You can print coupons through sites such as Coupons.com, Shortcuts.com, and grocery store websites. You can also upload electronic coupons onto your grocery store loyalty cards through sites such as Cellfire.com and Shortcuts.com. Plus, you can purchase coupons and coupon inserts from coupon-clipping services like CouponsThingsByDede.com. And you can find coupons inside product packaging, in the mail, with samples, or by emailing companies to ask for coupons. If you belong to a group (church, 4-H, etc.), you can start a coupon club. This is something I’m working on with the ladies group at my church and I will probably post about it when I get it figured out.

Lisa: I shop at a discount grocery store (bag your own groceries, big bulk section, cheaper than any other store around), and they won’t accept coupons printed online. I don’t have time to hop over to another store to see if a coupon I found online makes the other store’s price cheaper. Any comments on this?

TJ: That is perfectly fine. If the cost to go to other stores is not made up and surpassed by the savings, don’t do it (that includes the cost of gas or time). And do keep in mind that you don’t always have to use coupons to save big. Simply aim to buy items when they are on sale as opposed to purchasing them full-price.

Lisa: I use very little of prepackaged items. I make about 95% of our diet from scratch–from bread to baby food. And we drink water and don’t snack. It seems that most of the coupons available are for ready-made items, drinks, and snack food. I buy in bulk a lot (especially 25 lb bags of grains and legumes, which gets me 5% off). We eat corn tortillas instead of corn chips. I make my own bread. We eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies; I even can my own beans to have on hand for emergencies. Are there still ways I can use coupons?

TJ: Yes! A big part of coupons that are available are for non-food items. You can use coupons for toothbrushes, toilet paper, paper towels, razors, shaving cream, medications, vitamins, feminine products, shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, cleaning supplies, lotion, toothpaste, soap, contact solution–just to name a few (I found a coupon for each of these categories just by flipping through my latest edition of SmartSource). You can also often find coupons for Bob Evans sausage rolls, butter, tortillas, oil, milk, breakfast cereal, oatmeal, hot sauce, pet food, kitty litter, tea, and more (again, I found one for each category in the same SmartSource). Many coupons are for pre-prepared foods and snacks, but I don’t use any of those either. And I too bake most of our bread and can, freeze, or dehydrate our garden’s plenty. To be honest, my biggest savings come from non-food items like toilet paper, floss, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, shaving gel, razors, and body wash–all of which I get for free by combining coupon with sale.

Lisa: Anything else you think would be helpful?

TJ: Yes! Just because you have a coupon for something doesn’t mean you have to get it, neither does it mean it is the least expensive option. For example, soup. I am always finding coupons for canned soup. If I find Campbell’s soup on sale for $1 a can at my local King Soopers, I can use a coupon that requires I purchase 4 cans to get 40 cents off. That is 20 cents off per can, since they double coupons. However, I can purchase the equally as good store-brand can of soup for 60 cents. So why buy the name brand even though it’s on sale with a coupon when the store brand at full-price is just as good and cheaper? In fact, the truth behind many store-brand products is this: they are the EXACT same thing as the name-brand. That’s right. The name-brand companies will package their name-brand cans (or boxes or whatever) and package extras of the identically same stuff to sell to stores for their store-brand products.

Lisa: Thank you so much for answering my questions. You’ve certainly given me some food for thought! I’m going to have to check out one of those coupon-managing sites before my monthly shopping trip!

TJ has a lot more information on couponing on her site at Measuringflower.com. So head on over there and browse around a little, and tell her thank you for making this information so readily available.

Do you have any questions or advice for TJ or me? Want to share your coupon story? Please comment!

In the last few days, I have been doing a lot of introspection. I won’t go into all the details (I don’t have time to do that, and you probably don’t have time to read it!), but let me see if I can summarize a little.

I’ve been taking the All Power Seminar. If you haven’t heard of it, you should go check it out. If you let it, it will change your life. It is probably the major reason for all my introspection lately.

On day 25, my assignment was to list my ultimate end values, then put them in order of importance the way they are in my life right now (not how they should be). That is hard! Think about it. When you think of values, you might think about things like God, husband, children, a nice home, money, etc. But most of those are not ultimate values. For instance, I married my husband for love, security, and pleasure, among other things. I don’t find pleasure in cleaning the home, but I do it because it makes my husband happy, and his happiness translates into pleasure and love for me. Listing ultimate end values is a lot harder than listing the things we do every day and then putting them on a priority. This has to do with who we are as a person.

I just did it this morning. And I’m not liking who I am.

Thankfully, I don’t have to stay the way I am! Praise God!

But it has made me stop and take a look at why I do what I do. Why do I blog? Why do I spend as little time in the kitchen as I can? Why do I find myself telling my daughter, “Just a minute” 5 times when all she wants is for me to read a story? Not just looking at the behavior but at the underlying motive is, well, it’s painful, but it helps me understand who I really am, and what I need to change.

So speaking of blogging… I haven’t figured it out totally. What I do know is that until I figure out exactly what my goal is, I may not do a lot of blogging for a while. At least, not as much as I have been doing the last couple of weeks. I want this blog to glorify God, and it can’t if I put it ahead of the more important things in life, such as my relationship with God, my children, and my health.

Recently I posted a survey about my blog, then made it “sticky” so that it would be at the top of the page. I only had one entry, and the answers really made me think, because I wasn’t posting much of what that reader wanted to see most here. I wish I had had more (it’s still open, by the way), but it did give me food for thought.

So what about you? What are your ultimate goals and values in life? What drives you? Think about it, and feel free to share if you wish.

As I mentioned last week, my husband got tired of the plain tofu with chicken seasoning that I grew up with. So he got creative. This recipe is pretty much his creation. And you will have to forgive my estimates… I never measure for things like tofu–I just taste a bit to see if it has enough seasonings or not. This recipe is also gluten free!

My Favorite Tofu

1 lb tofu, diced
1/2 – 1 tsp ground cumin
mild chili powder to taste
2-3 tsp chicken seasoning
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
several squirts of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (soy sauce will give a different flavor, but would probably work)
salt to taste (if needed)
squirt of lime or lemon juice (optional)

Mix together in a bowl and set aside to marinate. I usually test a piece to see if it has enough salt and seasonings, adding whatever I feel it needs. In the mean time, chop or dice the following:

1-2 tsp coconut oil
2 roma tomatoes or more
1/2 yellow onion
bell pepper (as much as you wish of any color you need)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat the oil over medium heat and add the chopped onion and tomato. Saute until tender, then add the bell pepper and tofu. Add water as needed to make it “juicy,” as my husband calls it–I use the rinse water from the bowl the tofu marinated in. Simmer for a couple of minutes to allow the flavors to blend well, then turn off and add the cilantro. Serve hot.

This goes well in place of scrambled eggs… we eat it over sweet potatoes, diced potatoes, baked cornmeal, whatever we feel like. Last time we had it, we added sunflower seed sour cream. Was that ever tasty!

Last week I made this decision:

I am choosing not to be frustrated by my children. Instead, I will model love, understanding, and patience.

That is quite a decision. I can’t say that I always modeled it perfectly. However, I did have many instances where this decision impacted the way I related to my children. I found myself pausing to remember that my children are precious but not perfect, and that many times I was the cause of the behavior  that I found so frustrating.

Choosing to model love, understanding, and patience instead of becoming frustrated was very freeing also. I was freed from the guilt that my frustration would inevitably bring in its train. This freedom brought peace to our home. My children became more cheerful and contented.

Like I said, I wasn’t perfect. I failed a few times. But I remembered my decision in the midst of failure, and chose to repent and ask forgiveness even of my children, then move on to correct the wrong done.

This is definitely something I want to continue to practice until it becomes a habit!

Here is my decision for next week:

I resolve to make a plan for checking email and being online and to claim victory over wasting time online.

This is a big one for me lately, especially since I have an iPod. I will share with you the plan I formulated and how it worked next Monday.

Now it’s your turn. What decision are you making this week? If you made one last week, share how it affected you and those around you? You can link to a post about it, or just share in the comments below. Here is more information on how the link-up works.

Update: This give-away is being extended until Thursday, February 3rd. And there will only be two winners if at least 5 individuals enter.

As a way of saying Thank you to my loyal readers, as well as hopefully increasing my readership base, I have decided to host a give-away. I am selling a number of items on Bonanza, as well as a few things in my online store, and the winners will be able to choose one item from either place.

Please note that not all my items on Bonanza are included in the give-away, but only those I have selected in the widgets below. The reason is that either they are worth too much or I am selling them on a commission basis for someone else, and therefore cannot give them away. You are welcome to buy any item in the store at any time before or after this give-away.

There are 3 categories of items available: Quality used clothes, used books, and a few potholders. Here is a breakdown of the items available:

Quality used clothes:

Used books:

From my online store (sorry, no widget available; you’ll have to click).

Multiple entries are allowed. To enter, complete one or more of the following requirements, and leave a separate comment for each one. I will use a random number picker to select the winners. That’s right, I said winners. I am going to pick 2 winners. So the odds are in your favor!

Complete one or more of the following:

1. Subscribe to my site by email (see sidebar) or rss feed (see top of page). If you are already subscribed, that counts too.This is required to qualify for any more entries. That means that if you skip this step, your other entries won’t qualify and will be deleted.
2. Tell me what your favorite post on this site is. You can give me the post title or URL.
3. Follow me on either Facebook or Twitter. You can follow me on both if you like, but you only get one entry, because nearly everything I feed into Twitter gets fed into Facebook.
4. If you have a blog, do a post about this give-away and include the link.
5. Share about this give-away on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or any other favorite social medium. The icons at the bottom of this post can get you started. You get one entry for each place you share this link (that gives you virtually unlimited entries, by the way).

So that gives you at least 5 possible entries, as long as you do #1.

You do not have to pick your choice now, though you can tell me in the comments if you wish. You also do not need to leave me your email in the comment (spammers love it if you do), because I can see your email through my admin and no one else can. Don’t worry, I don’t spam. I will only use it to tell you if you win. {smile}

This give-away starts when the post goes live and ends the following Friday at 5:00 pm PST. All entries placed after that time will not be included. The winner will be announced the following Sunday or Monday (meaning as soon as I can get to it).

So have fun picking an item and making your entries!

This post is mentioned on Blogelina’s Blogging Buddy Blog Hop.

Yesterday was not a good day. At least, that’s how it started out.

First off, I woke up late. Not terribly late, mind you. Probably only an hour late. But on a Friday, that’s just asking for trouble. Sundown shows up at the scheduled time no matter what time I rose in the morning.

Not to mention that I have been making a commitment to spend time with God each morning. Now, if I get up early, that isn’t so hard. But if I get up late, then I am under pressure.

By More Good Foundation on Flickr

Another problem with getting up late is that it seems whenever I sleep in, I feel more tired than if I had gotten up earlier. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I have more time to really connect to God’s strength when I get up earlier, but all I know is that for the past few months whenever I get up late, I have a worse day. Of course, if I go to bed late, it doesn’t help at all!

So I was tired. Really tired. The I-can’t-focus-on-anything kind of tired. I found myself not knowing what to do next and grabbing my iPod to check email or my to-do list (usually both) more often than I really should have. That made me get more and more behind, until I realized it was 10:00 am and the breakfast dishes weren’t even done. At that point, I began to slip emotionally as well.

Of course, emotions are harder to control when one is tired. And mine were just all over the place. I fought hard to control my attitude and not fall into negative thinking, but it was so hard. I would find myself saying things like, “Why am I so tired today of all days? I mean, I got to sleep in this morinng. Why am I always more tired on days when I sleep in a little?” Or, as I lumbered up the stairs to change a diaper, “Why am I sore? I’ve been exercising at least every other day for the past couple of weeks, and sometimes more. I shouldn’t be sore. It’s not fair.” Or, “What is my husband doing on the computer on his day off? Why doesn’t he come help me?” [I knew the answer--he was working on essays in his attempt to get some scholarships to get his Master's--but you know how the mind tends to focus on the negative anyhow!] Then something would go wrong, and I would whine to myself about it.

But as I sensed my spirit becoming negative, I also sensed God calling to my heart to surrender the feelings and thoughts to Him and to focus on something positive instead. Several times I turned my thoughts away from the negative direction they had been going toward something positive, claiming a promise or counting a blessing.

Finally, a little after noon, I just couldn’t go on. I had put Manny down for his nap, and I decided it was time for me to take one too. My husband was planning on going to town soon, and said he would take Gislaine with him. So I went to try to take a nap. Manny wasn’t asleep yet, so I put in earplugs, just in case.

I had just started to drift off–I know because my thoughts suddenly made no sense when Manny’s crying woke me up. Glancing at the clock, I figured I couldn’t have been asleep more than a couple of minutes. As his cries escalated, I decided that I might as well feed him; it was a little early (he’s on a two-meal-a-day schedule right now, partly since he takes his nap around noon and wakes up late in the afternoon, and partly because it gives his irritated digestive tract a bit of a break). So I got him up, much to his delight, and tried to fix him a lunch.

I say tried, because I was only slightly refreshed from the 2-minute nap. I still couldn’t focus. I had cooked him a sweet potato for breakfast, and planned on giving him the leftovers for lunch. But I needed a little more to make up the meal, so I cut a few slices from an unused sweet potato and started to cook them. Then I started toasting rice in a dry pan to make Spanish Rice for today’s lunch and seasoning beans I had pressure cooked earlier. Those two things took all the focus I could spare, until suddenly it dawned on me that the sweet potatoes were not bubbling in the pan behind the rice anymore. So I lifted the lid.

Sure enough… the pan was black inside.

And since I had sliced them thin–only about 1/4″ thick–I was able to salvage very little.

I forgot to mention that I had burned his sweet potatoes at breakfast too–not as badly, but still, the pan had blackened.This time was much worse. And I still hadn’t cleaned the pan from the morning. So now I had two blackened pans to clean.

It was just too much.

I didn’t think I could take it anymore.

Not to mention that my husband still hadn’t gone to town. Was he going to go or not? I had forgotten to put a book I sold on eBay in the mail box, and now it was too late; if it didn’t get to the post office, it wasn’t going out that day. And it was supposed to go out that day. Of course, I didn’t bother to consider that what my husband was working on was something he wanted to go out in the mail that day too.

Then the pile of dishes was starting to look overwhelming. And they were all dishes that had accumulated after the breakfast dishes had been washed. Sure, a few things hadn’t been washed after breakfast–my daughter had helped and hadn’t been able to handle them. And I had made teff milk and soy milk and still needed to make nut milk with the nuts soaking in the window…

I had a sort of headache, and noise was bothering me. I found myself starting to snap at the kids. Knowing that I needed divine strength, I dropped to my knees behind the kitchen island and pleaded for help. I actually did this several times throughout the morning. When I found myself dwelling on negative thoughts, I made a point to stop and ask for grace to change, and more than once I had knelt to pray. Somehow, those prayers gave me strength to fight back the tears  that would come up and helped me change my focus.

But after the sweet potatoes burned, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I went down to the office where my husband was working and my iPod was charging and sent a text to one prayer partner and a Facebook message to another, briefly describing my exhaustion and out-of-control emotions and asking for prayer

.

After that, I went back to lunch prep. I soon had Manny fed and sat down to eat myself. By the time the meal was over, I was feeling better. I got everything done just in time for Sabbath, and after worship went down to walk on the treadmill, reading a chapter from The Gift while I walked. This refreshed my body and my spirit, and I felt so much better the rest of the evening. Of course, I made it a point to go to bed early!

What did I learn from this day? Several things. First, our thoughts direct our emotions. The things we allow ourselves to think on affect what we feel. If we think negative thoughts, we can work ourselves up into tears very quickly. By the same token, if we resist the negative and focus on the positive, we can change the course of our emotions.

The second thing I learned is that it is important to firmly resist temptation. I had to choose to change my thoughts. Of course I asked God for help, but He couldn’t choose my thoughts for me. He could only point me in the right direction. The choice was up to me. Refusing to break down in tears–even when they were welling up in my eyes–was very hard and totally foreign to my nature, but I did it in Christ’s strength. And when the devil realized that I was determined to choose Christ, he got tired of trying and relaxed the temptations–no doubt planning the next one, but at least giving me a break for a while.

The third thing I learned is that I need the prayers of those I love. The temptations didn’t begin to lessen until my friends started praying. Now, I know they pray for me every day, in a general way, but on days like this if I ask, they can pray specifically for the trial I am in, and that is even more powerful.

So thank you, prayer partners!

Have you had a trial lately that you found victory in? Do you have a prayer partner that you exchange requests with? Please share how this has been a blessing to you.