Surviving This Arizona Economy: September 2011

     Wow, I have certainly been a horrible blogger as of lately! I apologize and hope you will all continue to join me as I promise to be better. I have to share with you what a crazy couple of months I have had and all that has been happening in my heart. I guess I will start with August, three things were set in motion that have, once again, changed the entire direction of my life. Or, now that I think about it, things that put me in the right direction.
    In the month of August, I really started thinking about homeschooling our three kids...yes, I know, sounds a bit crazy. However, I could not shake the thoughts and I began talking to Mike about them and praying and trying to figure out how I was going to teach a gifted 5th grader, an antsy first grader and two preschoolers (I babysit my cousin's son). After about three weeks of talking and praying, Mike and I decided homeschooling was the right choice for us at this time, life change #1. Within a week, we found out that my amazing brother received a great job offer and he and his family would be moving out of state for a little while. My brother offered to let us rent his house (which we had rented a few years ago). This was a hard decision, we would be adding about $250 a month in expenses but the house was twice the size. So, we decided to go for it, marking life change number 2!
      Lastly, in August, I began reading "Thinking For a Change" by John Maxwell. It is crazy to me that you can read hundreds of pages of a book and one little passage was really all you needed. The book is great. It is all about how we need to do intentional thinking of all different sorts. Sounds silly, but it was very insightful and I learned a great deal. However, one statement John Maxwell said jumped off the page to me...hello life change #3. Mr. Maxwell said, "Unsuccessful people think about survival, average people think about maintenance, successful people think about progress." OH MY HEAVENS!! In one instance, I realized I had spent the two years since Mike was laid off focused on survival! Aaaaahhh.....I even named my blog...SURVIVING This Arizona Economy. It was like being hit with a 2x4. I could see every decision we made over the last two years and how if we had been thinking about progress, things would have been different. It was horrible and wonderful all at once.
     To be honest, I have had a bit of a mental block about writing on this blog...I know, silly, but I felt like writing here was conceding towards survival instead of working on progress. So, I am back to say, life is moving again. Things seem to be turning around...maybe it is just our attitudes, but either way, thinking about progress is working. We have posted John Maxwell's quote around the house and are asking each other if we are thinking about survival, maintenance or progress as we are making decisions and it is working.
     We know without a doubt, that God has taken care of us throughout all our financial troubles. Bills have been paid, we have had all we need at all times and even when I can not see how things will work out, God has come through. We have not had any raises, but we are in a bigger house, we have everything we need and are finding extra as we go. So I say, thank you Lord for John Maxwell's wisdom and Your sovereign provision! I am now considering a name change for the blog...stay tuned!

Wowie, it has been a long time since I posted anything! What a terrible blogger I have been. A lot has gone on since the last time I posted and I will bring you up to speed this week, but today I want to put a great offer out there!
Many of you still have not started the coupon game, but would really like to. I have told you that I love the site called Coupon$ense. It saves me tons of money and time! Well, from now until September 15th, you can get your first month free! If you go to www.couponsense.com and click "Sign Up" and use the promo code SURVIVE, you will get your trial month free. You can cancel at any time with no hassle if you are not satisfied.

You can read my review of Coupon$ense and how it helps me save time and money here: Coupon Sense

Don't wait! Coupons save me thousands on toiletries and household products alone!