There has been so much talk all over the Yahoo Groups world over this.  So much that "I" personally am really needing a break from it.  I recieved the bottom article thru my email subscribtions and I just loved what she had to say!

Are Rising Prices Scaring You?
by Jill Cooper
Living on a Dime

We are getting e-mails and it has been all over the news - "What do we do? They are rationing rice!!"

I haven't decided if I should just laugh or start tearing my hair out. First everyone panicked over the price of gas... then it was the price of apples, then milk and now rice. What I find so amusing about the whole thing is a lot of those same people who are in a panic are still using their gas to go to the movies, to go on vacations, to travel for sports activities, to go shopping and to go most any place they want to go.

So many people complain about the price of gas when it costs $4.00 a gallon but don't bat an eye when going to Starbucks to pay $4.00 for one cup (8 oz. or 1/8 of a gallon) of coffee that they could have made at home for pennies. Despite all the fuss, most Americans have not substantially changed their lives because of gas prices.

Then there is another whole group who complain about how they "aren't like other people". They don't spend a penny on anything and they still have nothing and, because their lot in life is so miserable, they have a right to be afraid of what is happening in the world and in their lives. They have a "What about me?" attitude all of the time.

The Bible says that God does not give us the spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind. Even if you aren't a Christian, I want you to really think about those words because they apply to human nature in general.

We are living in a world that is crazed with fear and because of that we have lost power over ourselves, our lives and our circumstances. Because of that fear we have very little love for anyone. When you love someone or something your main thoughts are focused on that person or thing that you love. What do you think about all the time? --Your spouse, your children, joyful things and happy things or do you focus on yourself and on how these terrible prices are going to affect you?

Do you know how powerless you become when you give way to fear? When you're constantly afraid, you can't function properly at work which leads to not getting a pay raise or worse yet, getting fired. You can't get your mind off of that which you fear and it filters into every area of your life.

You become short and angry with your family when they try to talk to you, ask you something or want to spend time with you because they are interrupting your focus on your fear. "How am I going to get some rice (or gas, or milk or apples)", "If there's a shortage of rice now, I'm sure that is going to lead to a shortage on ALL food", "If there is a shortage of food, that will mean I can't go on vacation this summer or buy that new car."

You say but that's silly and doesn't even make sense. No it doesn't and that is where the sound mind comes in. Where there is fear there is total loss of rational reasoning or what I call "common sense".

When someone isn't of sound mind (not using common sense), they think there is going to be a shortage on rice and they panic. They tell everyone they know. The word spreads and then everyone panics and runs out to hoard rice. All that fear has a snowball effect which then creates a shortage of rice where there wasn't one.

If people had not given over to fear and had been of sound mind (using common sense) they would have thought, "No big deal, we'll have pasta instead or just do without rice for now." They would go about their daily business without giving it another thought and focus on more important things like how to be a kinder more loving spouse or parent.

When people aren't consumed with fear they can think more rationally, which helps them make wiser and more practical decisions. When fear is gone they have peace and joy and patience and most of all they are more loving.

Think about it. How much of your life is ruled by fear? If you filter back through most negative emotions, most of them begin with fear of something. Do you buy things you can't afford because you are afraid of what people will think of you? Do you spend more on gifts for your friends and your children's friends because you fear that people won't love you?

Take a serious look at the things you obsess about. Do you obsess about them because of some kind of fear? I don't know how to tactfully and gently say this but lately I have seen quiet (and sometimes loud) fear in a new thing called "becoming green and saving the environment". This is really just another form of fear. When people become obsessed and overcome, it is usually out of fear and not out of rational thinking.

I'm not saying you shouldn't try to save the environment if you think that it needs saving. I'm simply saying don't let things that stem from fear of something control your life in such a way that you lose all of your life's joy and your capacity for reasonable and rational thinking.

Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam are frugal living experts and the editors of Living on a Dime.

As a single mother of two, Jill Cooper started her own home business without any capital and paid off $35,000 debt in 5 years on $1,000 a month income. Tawra and her husband paid off $20,000 debt in 5 years on $22,000 a year income. They have helped thousands of people all over the world to save money and get out of debt.

I wanted to thank all of you whom have posted such warm and kind comments to us!  It has truly touched my heart when I needed to have some kind words.  THANK YOU!

It is so difficult to even the faithful Christian to not let their "flesh" get in the way when one is so down and out.  I love the Lord with all of my heart, but I am mere human and will stumble here and there.  Only Christ Jesus is perfect.  My dh and I have been blessed with some "love offerings" and to those individuals we are most grateful.  We have a very long way to be able to make our farm payment ( at the minimum) and also have our car (which ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT BE LATE) and our electric which also can not be late due to a strict budget and pay arrangement after our house fire.  I will begin listing items on Ebay today and trying to get some parties lined up.  We are not looking for "handouts" but mere "help-ups" as our Pastor says, with out doing our fair share in trying to help up oursleves.    I do not understand  God's plan in all of this, but we are doing the best we can.  After our foreclosure on our old house that would not sell a few months ago, that we were/are on thin ground already and options are slim and next to non here.

Please know my family and I are greatful and thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

God Bless You All,

Carrie

Ok Carrie..............deep breath...........

Ok, this is very hard to post here, more so then my Yahoo Groups I am on as this is soo much more "out there".  I prayed about it, and was led to post here so I am.  I did not sleep to good if at all last night and truly feel as if I  have been ignored by God.  Now of course ...................MY HEAD KNOWS DIFFERENT, but getting my heart to let it sink in is another matter entirely.  My dh and I have had so manyyyyyyyyyy hard times situations over the past 2 years.  The past several weeks have been beyond words and now the past 2 weeks is almost beyond existence for us!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have literally have no more physical strength, patience, prayer, tears (well maybe a little tears) left in me.  I have ALWAYS BEEN A GIVER, not a whiner, complainer, beggar.  I absolutely dislike having to ask for help, more then you know.  I am so ashamed of where we are right now, but a couple dear friends have told me it is only a "season" of likfe we are in.....................WELL I WANT THIS SEASON OVER!  I SO VERY MUCH WANT PEACE, I JUST WANT TO LIVE A PEACEFUL LIFE WITH MY FAMILY HERE ON OUR HOMESTEAD.  I don't mind staying home, not "shopping with the girls" in the city, going for coffee, etc.  I enjoy being H.O.M.E.!  We moved here 2 yrs ago as we felt led by the Lord to "simplify" our lives and get out of the city.  So we booted our "non paying" renters out, and out  moved here with the plans of selling our home in the city, living in this tiny house fo ra year and then building a modest small REAL log home.  We never planned on having a house fire, going through a horrible court situation with an out of control teenager, having my mother killed, having a foreclosure, ETC., ETC., ETC., ETC.!  It has been very hard on my dh and he has pulled away from God in the sense that he turn into a "John Walton" of sorts.  I know he feels like such a failure because he can not seem provide enough for his family no matter how hard he works.  He feels like God has given up on him/us.  (this is not the man I know).  I have had to be the strong one for our family for quite sometime and I do not have that strength anymore!  I just want to run home to mom and I know I can't.  I have prayed, cried, yelled, screamed, pleaded and prayed some more...............it doesn not help....things just keep happeneing everytime we turn around.  Fixing this house after the fire, adding on a bedroom and all the repairs we have to do, more then took our savings and them some.  We have to let some bills go, be paid late etc.  Just when we get a break................we get knocked back down 10 steps.....................

 Well yesterday started out to be a really great day!  We headed to the city to get my dh check, pay our farm payment, get the part for the refrigerator that came in (so we still will have a working fridge), diapers, goat feed, cat food, groceries and gasoline.  Well we got his check, deposited it, I had a some money in their already, went and payed our payment, a latch for the door, and then for groceries..............I had $40 worth of meat and a few staple items.....I gave the gal my debit card and it was declined, so she ran it thru as a credit transaction...still declined, I was like now way as we had just deposited money and plus I had a bit int here already....so I said I would just write a check.  We left and I called the bank as it was after 4:30pm by this time and the lobby close at 5 on Fridays.  I call them and they tell me I am $1300.00 NEGATIVE!!!!!!!!!!!  I was like no way!  To make a horrid story short..................I had a levy put on my accoutn for $1800.00 from our foreclosure and it took the $1100.00 I had in there, so the check I had just wrote out for our $837 farm and HE loan payment, the check groceries and the check for the door latch, and the check for our lunch.................ARE NOW NO GOOD and I will be charged $38.00 per check for an insuffiecent check fee.  Ok, I am hyperventalating at this time................NO JOKE!!!  I immediately called the bank were we just paid the mortgage payments to to see if they could back out the payment and I'd come get the ceck.......yea right Carrie as this is they end of the day on a HOLIDAY WEEKEND!  We drove back to the drive thru where we put the money in at and tried to get my dh check back...NOPE!  THAT WAS ALL THE MONEY WE HAD IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!  I then called the manager tot he grocery store and returned our groceries for is I hadn't the check would have bounced and we would never be able to write a check there again.  My daughter met us at a gas station and wrote us out a check for gas (enough to get us home) as we were almost on empty, remember I said we needed gas.  Now we are stuck home with absolutelty NO MONEY, no gasoline, no diapers, not even cloth, less then half a gallon of milk, no eggs, no butter, no bread,  a few potatoes, no meat, some oatmeal, pancake mix, a few kool aid packets and a few canned veggies.  But come Sunday night will not have barely anything here.  And I am scared to death about the goats!  If we do not make our house payments by the end of the month ................I don't even want to think about that.  And our Van payment is due today.........and if we are late past the grace period....they will start repo proceedings again.  My dh is off until Tuesday but we do not even know how he is going to get to work (gas wise).  I have asked an old friend about borrowing the money we just lost.............I have not heard an answer back as of yet.  I have plenty of things here to sell .............. but know one is buying. 

 We put some of our land up for sale and if only that would sell...............we WOULD BE MORE THEN FINE WITH EVERYTHING!   If there is anyway that any of you can find it in your hearts to help us, we would be most greatful.  I am sorry if this has offended anyone in the fact that I am coming to you all for help.  As I said, I have things to sell and will continue to try and do so.  I am merely trying to help my family.  For my Christian Sisters out there, please PRAY HARD FOR US!  You will never know how hard this was for me to humble myself and to post...........please forgive me.  Thank you for your understanding.  

In Christ,

Carrie

Please pray for us.......... ......... thank you dear ones.

BLESSING OUR HUSBANDS......

Thank God for your husband's strengths, for the growth you see, and for the kindness that he shows you and the needs he meets in your life.

Morning Everyone!  My dear sweet husband is on vacation this week so I guess that means I am on "vacation" as well!  LOL!  Although we are not going anywhere, it is a working vacation.  He took the time off so he could work around the homestead and get some more done on my Cottage House and get our garden in.

We had a busy day here at the homestead yesterday!  We were outside nearly all day and evening.  The day started with my dh going and getting the lawn tractor tires all sealed up so that "I" could mow our huge lawn (approx. 6.75acres around the house).  Oh I can't tell you how much better the place looks as it was our first mowing of the season and it was quite tall!

We also got our chickens moved into the old chicken coop (on Sun.) as we needed the kennel panels they had to expand our goat space.  I have 2 new Nubian goats coming soon, so we had to swap pens around and enlarge the goat pen.  One is the mamma to the doe I got last year.  I was very blessed for the owners to give her to me.  She is freshened so I will have to milk her.  I am very nervous about that as I have not milked for years!  LOL!  :-)  My dh also has to figure out how to build me a milk stand out of "scraps" we have here, as well as a milking shelter.  I also have a kid doe coming from the same people, this Nubian doe kid is black and white.  She will be my first black one.  My dh and I are partial to the brown Nubians.  I am very excited to be getting the milk for our family.  I am definately going to be making soap to sell!  My dh is also wanting me to make cheese........but I now how much work that is.  LOL!  :-)

Love,

Carrie

Good afternoon!  I pray that all of you moms out there are having a wonderful day with your familes!!!  I wish I could say the same......I am very saddened in how my oldest 2 children have acted today, or shoudl I say how they "have not" acted.  My oldest daughter has not even called me, nor has my oldest son.  I called him to ask him a question and he didn't even wish me a Happy Mother's Day before I said something.  Oh well..............

I will just continue to get ready for my new goats coming here in the next couple of days.

Love,

Carrie