Savings at Kroger and Publix

Today I came across some great deals at Publix and Kroger.  Here are the links to the weekly ads.  You can change the location to see the deals for your specific store:

Publix: http://weeklyad.publix.com/publix/default.aspx?action=entryflash&StoreRef=00636&Adref=publixcom
Kroger: http://krogeratlanta.mywebgrocer.com/Circular/KROGER-419/00419619/Weekly/1

Also, I should note that in order to get the Mega-Event prices at Kroger, I had to buy 10 participating items and use my Kroger Plus card.  So make sure you take note of that before you go.  I believe you can just sign up for a Kroger card at the customer service desk or register.



Here's all the groceries I got today all for $16.82!!  Here's how I did it:

Publix
1. This week at Publix, Prego sauce was on sale BOGO so two jars were $2.05.  I had a .50/2 coupon for Prego that doubled at the register to give me $1 off two.  This means that I got two jars for $1.05.  I had two coupons so I bought 4 jars for $2.10, which is  .53 cents a jar!

2. Silk Almond milk was 2 for $5.  I just bought one at the price of $2.50.  And I had a coupon from the Silk website for $1.50 off.  So I got one half gallon for $1

3. The coffee creamers were 3 for $5 but I only had two coupons so I just bought two creamers.  They were $3.34 together.  I had two coupons for .55 cents off so I got two creamers for $2.24

4. The Hillshire Farms smoked sausage was not on sale, but i did have a publix store coupon for $1 off 2 and a manufacturer's coupon for $1 off as well. I got two packages of sausage for $4.78 (normally it's $3.39 for one).

5.  Colgate Total: each tube was priced at $2.73.  I had two .50/1 manufacturer's coupons and two $1 Publix coupons.  After the manufacturer coupons doubled, I saved $2 off each tube, making them .73 cents each!

Kroger:
I did the 10 item mega event, which means I got an additional .50 cents off each item's sale price. 

1. Ronzoni Pasta was on sale for .99 cents a box.  I bought 3 boxes.  With the mega event, each box was only .49 cents

2. Chex Mix: I bought two bags.  They were sale priced at 1.49 after mega event pricing.  I had a .50 cents off manufacturer's coupon for each bag.  My Kroger double coupons (I've heard that most do, but you made need to ask your store's manager before you hit the register), so I got $1 off each bag.  This means I got two bags for .98 cents!

3. Smart Balance Butter Spread: I found a facebook coupon deal for $1.75 off Smart Balance.  I printed one through my Facebook and through my hubby's.  I bought two tubs of the butter at $1.88 mega event price.  The coupons made it .13 cents per tub!

4. Bird's Eye Steamers Rice Blends - Mega Event price was .99 cents a bag.  I had coupons from the manufacturer's website for .35 cents off the whole grain blends.  These coupons each doubled to .70, making each bag only .29 cents a piece!

5. Lastly, Kroger was having a 3 day manager's special on their bread/buns.  I bought a loaf of wheat bread for .88 cents.  It was not a part of the Mega Event but .88 cents for a fairly good sized bread loaf is an awesome deal anyway.

Overall, I spent $12.16 at Publix and saved $17.34.  That's a 69% savings.  I spent $4.66 at Kroger and saved 20.03 which is an 81% savings!  Needless to say, I am getting hooked on this couponing thing.  I cannot wait until October's coupons come out and the holiday sales start so I can stock up on holiday foods and have some left over to donate to the Thanksgiving food drive at our church. 

I hope you all enjoyed reading about my couponing adventures!  Check back this weekend for more blog posts!

God bless,
Mrs. Hobo

Moe's Burritos at home!

I had a fairly uneventful Tuesday.  Found out that the hubby and I haven't paid "rent" (5 dollars a month fee) for our kitty, Peaches.  I was nervous that the leasing office would be mad at us for just now catching it after 8 months but luckily, they thanked me for being honest and said that someone had forgotten to bill us for pet rent after we paid the pet deposit.  This means from now on, until we move somewhere, we pay $5 a month for our lovely kitty. 
There she is hiding in a box....the cuteness!!!

So after a day of working on couponing, organizing the pantry, and getting a few things ready for the start of Fall semester, the hubby came home from work and we decided to make burritos.  We like to get burritos from Moe's.  Two meals for us there is around $16.  We made our own for much less!

Here are pics of our delicious creations:

Recipe?  I think so!

Ingredients (serves 2):
1 breast uncooked chicken
1 half lime
2 tbsp garlic bits
as much butter as needed
1/2 can black beans
2 cups cooked rice
4 tbsp queso (either tostitos con queso dip or make velveeta and rotel dip)
4 tbsp salsa or pico de gallo
2 medium or large flour tortillas

Here's the drill:
Cook the raw chicken on the stove in the butter/garlic bits. Once it's browned a little, squeeze some juice out of the lime (not too much, unless you want overpowering lime flavor)

Cook beans according to directions on can (microwave or stovetop works)

Microwave the queso or mix up the velveeta and rotel in either a pot on the stove or in the microwave

Make sure you have some rice cooked.

Lastly, warm the tortillas as directed on package (I don't like mine too warm cause it's hard to pick up if it's too hot).

Have your pico de gallo or salsa standing by.

Now, you can construct your burrito whichever way you like.  I did chicken, then beans, then rice, then queso, then pico.  But you can do in reverse if you want.  I won't judge.  These burritos are supposed to be an individualized piece of food art!

Yum, these were almost as good as Moe's (if not better). I can guarantee you can make burritos healthier and cheaper at home than you can if you buy them from Moe's.  And, as stated earlier, you can make a burrito any way you like in the comfort of your own kitchen!  The only downside to making do-it-yourself Moe's burritos is the clean-up...

Dirty dishes are of the devel, enough said.

Anyway, that's all for now!  I will be posting Thursday after I hit Publix to share all the great deals I found :)

Peace,
Mrs. Hobo

Chicken, Waffles, Tupperware, and Blueberry Lemon Cake = my weekend!

Hey everyone!
I had quite an adventurous weekend.  I started by going downtown on Friday evening with some of my girlfriends.  We went to dinner at Gladys Knight's Chicken and Waffles. It was delicious!  We waited for over an hour, however, because when they called us for our table, two of the members of our party were not there yet so we had to wait longer...Needless to say, by the time we sat down we were all starving!  Here is a picture of the Midnight Train (the famous Chicken and Waffles plate) that I shared with a friend:
Sorry it's such bad quality.  Blame my phone :-p

I think the only thing that would have made this better is if the chicken came in drumsticks and the waffle was a Waffle House waffle.  But overall, this was a great dining experience in Atlanta.

Things to try at Gladys Knight's Chicken and Waffles:
1. Chicken and Waffles
2. French Fries (so good!!)
3. Mac'n'Cheese
4. Sweet Potato Cheesecake

After our dinner, we went down to a Salsa Dancing restaurant/club (not really sure what it is.  More like a restaurant with a dance floor) called Loca Luna  The best thing I had there was the Xango cheesecake.  It was like a chimichanga filled with cream cheese, fried, covered in cinnamon sugar and drizzled with a berry sauce.  It's a little pricy (around $7 I believe) but it was delicious.  This is a recipe for a similar dessert you can make at home! The drinks at Loca Luna are definitely pricy but the food is really good and decently priced.  We were able to enjoy some Latin music while we ate dessert and watched the women's racing on the Olympics. We watched poor Morgan Uceny fall down in the 1500-M final.  But the rest of races were cool.

The dancing at Loca Luna was far from impressive.  The Salsa music was nice, but it was not a hip-happening place for younger audiences.  Most of the people dancing were middle aged women trying to sing along to the bad dubstep remixes of Katy Perry and Kesha.  Great food, horrible dancing.  lol

After driving home in some horrible storms from my friend's house, I went home and slept for a few hours before getting up Saturday morning to prep for a Tupperware party I threw for a friend of mine.  The party was at my mom's house and all my guests were family members, but it was fun and I won some free things!
Anyway, I made a blueberry lemon cake with cream cheese frosting to serve at the party.  Here's how I did it:
I bought a box of white cake mix (very cheap at Aldi's) and baked it in a 9x13 pan according to box directions.  After baking in the oven, I poked holes on the top of the cake while still warm with the end of a spatula handle and filled with lemon pudding.  This had to sit in the fridge for four hours!  Here is what it looked like after four hours:
Looks a little funny without frosting, huh?

Next, I started the cream cheese frosting . This is a great recipe from Martha Stewart's site.  Here is what I needed:
The cream cheese isn't pictured in it's original form because I had already mixed it up in the bowl before I remembered to take a picture...oops!  Oh well, so I followed Martha Stewart's recipe but added Lemon Zest.  It gave the frosting a very slight lemon flavor without being overwhelmingly lemon-y, since the cake has lemon filling already.

Next step is frosting the cake.  One batch of frosting covered the whole cake:

Mmm!  Looking good already :)

Lastly, I added blueberries.  They came from my dad's blueberry plants.  They were very sweet and tasted great with the lemon flavor of the cake:


Perfect!

So at the Tupperware party, we used the quick chef to make homemade salsa and guacamole.  It turned out very well!  For hosting a party, I got these cute Salt and Pepper shakers, and on-the-go salt and pepper shaker, and an Avocado Keeper!  It was fun.  I got some hostess credit and a free thank you gift as well!  It was a great time for me to buy some Tupperware since I was able to get four things for only around $15!!

Sunday morning I taught preschool at church.  We learned about Moses and the burning bush.  The kids loved the lesson and got to create their own burning bushes with the cardstock coloring sheets and paint.  Church was awesome.  It is Shark Week at church so the sermons are about "sharks" that try to tear us apart during our journey with Christ.  If any of you are interested in hearing this week's sermon, here is the podcast.

Our lunch yesterday was wonderfully nutritious Taco Bell.  We then headed home to chill and relax, watch the episode of Burn Notice we missed Thursday, and then took a drive out to Galt's Ferry at Lake Allatoona.  Then we headed home and made breakfast for dinner.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the first ever crepes I made :/  maybe next time I cook crepes I will take awesomely low quality photos of them with my phone!  Regardless, the crepes were tasty with eggs, bacon, and syrup on the inside.  (yes, we like syrup with our scrambled eggs and bacon!)

Today marks the beginning of my last week of summer.  Classes for my last fall semester ever begin Friday!  I'm beginning to get a little sentimental about my last year at Kennesaw State, but I am glad to be almost done :)  More on that later...I am choosing not to focus on school today :)

I will be posting another Publix  coupon adventure on Thursday.  If I come across anything interesting before then, I will post it as well!  Thanks for reading!
Blessings,
Mrs. Hobo

Adventures at Publix

Okay so today I had my first mini extreme couponing trip!  God bless the kind young man at the publix check out.  I gave him all my coupons first, paperclipped together, and organized to try and make it easier on him.  You always want to be polite when you walk up with 20 + coupons!! (yes, I know, it's a lot but it was worth it!)

Before you start thinking I am like those extreme couponing ladies on TLC, let me explain.  My husband and I are trying to start saving more.  We both work, but because I am in my senior year of undergrad school and interning for free two full days of the work week, I can't bring much money in with my part time job at the office.  Mr. Hobo also has a part time job on the side doing server maintenance from home, but we are unsure how much longer he will have that job.  Therefore, we are trying to save as much as we can so that way we can live on just one job :)   Using coupons is a good way for us to save and stock up on much needed items to hold us over until next year when I start whatever awesome full time job God has lined up for me out there.  Also, we do shop at Costco for many non-perishable or freezer friendly items that last a while so we only have to buy them once every couple of months.  Another quick note, if I get stuff for a great deal at the store I and I don't have the need/want/room for it but I know someone else will, I give it away.  Therefore, I am not the woman who freaks out because her stockpile of lasagna noodles has fallen below six boxes!  Anyway, enough disclaimers...lol

Onto the shopping trip.  First off, there are some super great BOGO deals at Publix.  As some of you may know, Publix does double coupons 50 cents or less.  Also, at my Publix, they take competitor coupons for Target, Walmart, and Kroger (check your store's coupon policy for which competitors they take).  HOWEVER: they do NOT double competitor coupons.  You cannot use a competitor and Publix store coupon on the same item.  Choose the one that gets you the best deal.  Also, you can stack a Publix coupon with a manufacturer's coupon or a competitor coupon with a manufacturer's but you cannot do all three. I have heard some stores will, but my store's coupon policy says they don't so I don't push it.

Here is this week's Publix ad:  http://weeklyad.publix.com/publix/default.aspx?action=entryflash&
This is what I bought today.  After taxes, the value of all this would be $59.57.  I got it for $8.90!

Here's the breakdown (starting with items left to right):
1. Suave Naturals Body Wash - on sale 2 for $3
I used four printable coupons.  I signed up online using my email address and was able to print some coupons that way.  Each coupon was 50 cents off one Suave body wash.  Publix doubled all four of my coupons, meaning I got 4 dollars off 6 bottles, making my total cost for 4 $2!!!

2. Temptations Cat Treats: On sale 4 for $5
I had two 50 cents coupons from a Facebook  deal, 2 50 cents off coupons from signing up for an e newsletter and one $1.50 off two from the Publix Paws pet savings online coupons.  It was a total of $5.50 in coupons. This means I got four bags of cat treats for free and had 50 cents left over, with Publix puts toward paying down your total. 

3. Next we'll talk about the Papermate pens.  Target has an online coupon website.  I was able to print two coupons for $1 off Papermate products (most web coupons have a limit of two prints).  They were on sale 2 for $1.  These are actually really nice pens and this a great deal even without coupons!  Luckily, my Publix lets me use the coupons, even though the price of the item of is less than the coupon value, as long as there is one coupon for each item and I do not try to buy a travel size/sample size item with a coupon meant for the regular size item.  Therefore, I made $1 with the coupons for the pens and it was put toward my final total

4. Now, who doesn't love some Honey Nut Cheerios??  Mr. Hobo and I love Cheerios, especially when they are BOGO free!!.  I had two printable coupons for 60 cents off 1 box.  Even though this is a BOGO deal, Publix will allow you to use 1 coupon for each item because the way the items ring up is half price for each item instead of one showing full price and other showing free on the receipt.  This way, one box of cheerios rung up as $2 and other $1.99 (since the full price of one is $3.99).  This means I got 60 cents off each box and saved a total of $1.20 off $3.99, meaning I got two boxes for $2.79 when normally, it would cost almost $8 for two when not on sale!

5. Bic Mechanical Pencils - On sale 5 for $5, meaning each pack of 10 is $1 by itself.  I had a $1 off coupon from the newspaper a couple weeks ago, making my pencils free.

6. Suave Deoderants - this was a great deal.  Right now, they are BOGO free at Publix.  The price for two, therefore, is $1.99.  I had six coupons, four printables and two from the newspaper.  I bought six sticks.  Since it was $2 off each set of two sticks for $1.99, I got all the sticks for free and made 3 cents

7. Morton Iodized Sea Salt - On sale at Publix for $1.69 a box.  I had two printable 50 cent coupons from Facebook.  The coupons said Do Not Double, so unfortunately, I could not save a whole dollar off each container.  So each salt was $1.19 a container.  However, I made a dollar off the pens I bought, so that made up for the dollar I did not save using the salt coupons. 

8. Second to last on my list, we have the Quaker Chewy Bars!  Yum.  I love taking these in my purse to school so I can munch between classes without stopping at the vending machine.  Anyway, the Chewy Bars were BOGO free making it $2.99 for two boxes.  I had a Target coupon for $1 any two Quaker products and a Facebook coupon for $1 any two Quaker items.  Therefore, I paid .99 cents for two boxes

9. Last but not least, Cover Girl Eyeshadows - Regular price Publix is 2.99 for one color.  Now, Publix has some of the worst make-up/health and beauty prices if you don't use coupons.  However, this month there is a Publix coupon for $1 off any Cover Girl item and I also had a coupon for $3 off two Cover girl products from the newspaper.  I used two of the Publix coupons (they will let you use one coupon per item) and my coupon from the news paper and was able to treat myself to two eye colors for .98 cents!!

So the final total?  With $2.38 for two salts, .98 cents for make up, $2 for body wash, $2.79 for Cheerios, and .99 cents for Chewy Bars, and the $1.53 I made off the pens, cat treats, and deoderants, I spent $7.61 before taxes and $8.90 with taxes.  This was definitely a super successful trip.

My advice to other couponing people: don't expect every shopping trip to be like this.  I have been practicing my couponing for months and this is my first really big savings.  I have had a few other days where I saved more than I spent that is good enough for me.  I will not cry if I have to pay more than a few bucks for all my groceries.  The point for me is to aim to save between 40 and 60% each time I go to the grocery store.  A good rule of thumb is plan your meals around what is on sale and save on items that there are frequent coupons for so you can reserve more money for more expensive, yet necessary items that almost never go on sale or have coupons (like milk, eggs, meat, etc.).

Thanks for reading everyone!! I am glad to be able to share savings tips with you all.
God Bless,
Mrs. Hobo

P.S. Most of the deoderant and body wash is going to my mom and also I am giving some of the cat treats to my parents for their two cats.  I am so glad I was able to get some stuff for them because they put so much money into raising me, it's the least I can do to give back a little bit :) 

Revamped blog!! and Cheesy Penne with Chicken :)

Hello Readers!!

This is Julia Townsend... aka Mrs. Hobo!  (If you all don't know, my hubby's nickname is Hobo and he has a vanity license plate on his car that reads: "Mr. Hobo").  Therefore, I am the Mrs. Hobo.  Anyway, I decided to get back into blogging to share some of my passions with others.  I love cooking, baking, shopping, couponing, crafting, etc.  I can't wait to share some of my adventures!!  I will post links to helpful blogs/sites as I go.  I already have a link for Southern Savers (a really great blog on couponing) and a link for my husband's gaming website, if any of you or your friends/family members play online games. 

For tonight, I am posting my recipe of the evening: Cheesy Chicken with Penne.  I am using this recipe for cheese sauce, but with five cheeses rather than just cheddar:

http://southernfood.about.com/od/cheeserecipes/r/bl30103x.htm

Here is a picture of my starting ingredients:






I also used some flour, garlic powder, onion powder, Mrs. Dash seasoning, salt and pepper in the sauce.

Next, I cooked the penne pasta in a large pot.  I always add a little salt to the water.  I noticed it helps keep the pasta from sticking together when they boil. 

Last, I cooked the chicken in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil, onion powder, Mrs. Dash, and pepper.  I cooked for about 7 minutes, then checked the inside of one of the chicken pieces.  It was still pink so I cooked a little longer.  Once finished, I added to the cheese sauce.  Lastly, I added one can of diced tomatoes (drained) to the sauce for flavor and veggies!  With all that cheese, you gotta get something healthy in there!

Here is a picture of the finished dish :)
mmm...looks and smells delicious!!!

Words of wisdom from my first time doing this recipe:
1. Pay attention when making the cheese sauce.  It can burn easily!
2. You may need more milk than listed in the recipe if you don't want really thick sauce
3. The noodles will get cold while sitting there so maybe do the noodle part last. 

I am just about to dig in!! I am very excited.  Hopefully the hubby will like it too!

Tomorrow I will post about my couponing adventures at Publix and also post the recipes/pictures of the meal I am preparing for someone in my church tomorrow! 

Thanks for reading :)

Update on my Crazy Life

So I got married since I last posted!!!!  *Oohs and Aahs play in background*

That's me and my hubby!! As those of you who know me already know, we've been together since high school.  In fact, I was reading my journal from my junior year when Chris and I met and there was one entry where I talked about AIMing with him and asking him where he though he would be in five years.  At that time, he was 15.  He said: "Well, hopefully I will be starting my career and dating/engaged to someone".  Well, that 5 years is up and he has already started an excellent IT career and he is married!!!  Lol, I had told him then that I would be in college and studying Communications.  Well that part is true (except for the Communications thing).  It was nice to reminisce. 

To all my fellow brides or any do - it - yourselfer's out there, here is my homemade Unity Candle :)

Yeah, so I got the idea from an ad on Hobby Lobby's website.  But I just loved it.  The little calla lilies were my favorite, even though I didn't use calla lilies for my bouquet or the bridesmaid bouquets.  I used silk flowers for the bouquets.  The guys didn't want boutonnieres for their tuxes so I didn't have to worry about that.  Most of the flowers and greenery we used were artificial (I just let you all in on a secret, since most people couldn't tell they weren't real from what I was told).  We used real poinsettias on the stage.  For the reception hall, we didn't really use flowers.  We used floating candles shaped like flowers.  It was so pretty :) And we had a really great dance floor:

 This is me and Chris dancing to "Ghosts n Stuff" by deadmau5 (pronounced deadmouse).  I didn't know until the day of the wedding that we would be dancing with these "deadmau5 heads" on during our first dance. Sure we had a serious dance (our song was "Inevitable" by Anberlin, which Chris sung to me when he proposed), but we had to make things a little more "us"!  After the serious dance, the bridal party and a lot of the, er, younger guests got together to dance like fools.  Since most of us were white, we had very little "groove".  LOL!

Moving on from the wedding stuff, we went to disney on our honeymoon.  I still haven't loaded those pictures.  We had such a great time!  The lines for the rides were really long.  However, it was worth it for some things.  On the last day, we went to clearwater beach and then went to PF Changs in the Millennium Mall in Orlando.  We got a free dessert for being newlyweds :)

Now, two months after this whole wedding thing, Chris and I are enjoying life and just taking things one day at a time.  We have a great apartment and we both have great jobs.  I no longer work for Arby's (that's another long story that perhaps you will have to ask me in person). Now I work as a student assistant in the budget office for the Coles College of Business.  It's basically bookkeeping...it's hard sometimes but I love it so far.

Lately, I've been slacking off on homework to read the Hunger Games trilogy.  I know it's a "young adult's" book, which translates to high school audience, but I love it!!! The movie comes out next month and I can't wait.  :)  Here is the website for the movie:  http://www.thehungergamesmovie.com/index2.html

Anyway, I am off to try and work a little bit more on my paper that's due wednesday and maybe do a little writing for fun!

God bless all my readers,
Mrs. Townsend

When Good isn't Good enough

I have not written in awhile...and since then, many things have changed in my life.  All I keep telling myself is that I want things to get better.  Why?  Because no matter how hard I try, I feel that I am not good enough.

Good enough for work? Sure.  I just got a promotion and a raise and I get along with everyone at work really well.
Good enough for school?  Yep.  School has never been a problem for me.
Good enough for my family? of course.  They love me no matter what

So who is it that I am not good enough for and by whose standards?  Well, for years I have realized that I am not a "good" Christian.  Following the faith has been hard for me.  I believe in God, but I don't believe in some of the aspects of the Christian religion.  Why?  Because I have never been popular because of them.  I have not been able to relate to many people because of them.  I have been "dissed" in a polite, "Christian" way by people I thought were my "spiritual family" because of religion.

Why all this hurt in the name of Christianity?  And I am not the only one this happens to.

WARNING: the next things may seem harsh, but I know it needs to be said.

God says the greatest commandment is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself.  Does this mean Christianity is a popularity contest?  No.  Does this mean that you only love the people who believe the exact same thing as you and ignore the "bad" people?  No.  What good does that do for the Kingdom of God?  How would you feel if you were rejected because you aren't Godly enough?  I've been told that many times.  What about this: you dress too suggestively.  Believe it or not, I've gotten that.  Oh and there's the: "You go to a public college?  Bless your heart, it must be so hard to keep your heart pure with so many non-Christians out there!"
People, please listen to me: DO NOT avoid Non-Christians like the plague!!  Did Jesus not tell us in the Great Commission to go unto all the earth and spread the gospel?
Here is the account of the Great Commission from Matthew (ESV):
    ¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them,  "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Can I tell you all that it says "go unto all nations"?  Insert different words here.  Go unto all colleges and spread the good news, even if they aren't Christian ones.  Go to the homeless shelter and spread the love of Christ even if one of the homeless people says a cuss word.  They need to hear the word of the Lord and they will learn that they need to change.  It is not our jobs to change them.  We just need to share the love of Jesus with everyone, no matter who they are.  What about all the downtown ministries?  There are prostitutes and drug dealers who have never heard the good news and we are afraid to tell them because they are sinful.  Well guess what?  Read Romans 3:23
^"23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
I am a sinner, you are a sinner, the KSU students at the hookah bar are sinners.  The prostitutes and drug dealers are sinners.  We are all sinners in desperate need of the cleansing power of Jesus Christ.

Let me tell you all that I spent way to long trying to judge the hearts of others.  However, I have learned that it only causes resentment and bitterness.  Because while there is always going to be someone "worse" than you, there will always be someone "better".  Pretty soon, being a Christian becomes a contest of who can be the most holy rather than serving God and loving our neighbors.  I went to a school where I was told that I needed to avoid certain children because they were not following after God and they did not have pure hearts.  How could the teachers and staff look into the hearts of these children?  They can't.  Only God can.  But I thought I could learn to judge people's motives and learn to be better than the unholy children who were never going to amount to anything...until I found out that I was one of those.

My mother was informed at a prayer meeting with the leaders of my school that they were concerned about whether or not I would go to heaven.  She said also many of the beautiful, friendly girls who went to the school were being called "Jezebels".  I am not saying these things to whine, I am saying them because I want you all to know what I was a part of.  Until I knew what these people really thought of me, I was okay with thinking of myself as better than the "Jezebels" because I dressed in clothes 2 sizes too big and never talked to boys.  However, even doing that was not good enough for my school.

Recently, I discovered some other people I thought I knew were falling into this trap of thinking they know people's motives.  I am guilty of it, too.  I realized we were together falling for this mentality that Christians should stay away from the people who will "pull us away from God".  However, there is a difference between CONDONING the wrong behaviors of others and CARING and LOVING those people.  Love the sinner, hate the sin.  Apply this to yourself.  Love who God made you to be, but hate the sin in your life.  Realize that you are just as much of a sinner as your neighbor who smokes pot and gets into trouble all the time. (I don't know what your neighbors are really like, I was just exaggerating for emphasis).

The reality is: We are all made in God's image.  He loves all of us enough to send His son to die for us.  Would he do this if only a few good people could get to heaven?  No.  If there were a few good people who were going to heaven and no one else, there would be no need for Jesus to die on the cross.  No, God SO LOVED THE WORLD.  He loves all of us equally!!  He forgives all sins.

The question is: Can we forgive each other?

Just some thoughts to chew on.  I am still trying to interpret my feelings and make sure I am not becoming bitter.  My heart just aches to think of the judgmental, overly-religious person I was trying to be in high school and how I totally misjudged some great people because of what my friends told me about them.  I never took the time to love on some people who didn't fit the mold and I wonder if I missed the chance at sharing Christ with some people because I was too concerned about how I would look if I hung out with someone "less holy" than me.  Religion (make sure you understand I am talking about purely religious self righteousness, not Christianity here) is dangerous.  Let God be your righteousness.  Let His glory shine through you.  Don't try to do it all yourself.  After all, if being "the perfect Christian" could get you to heaven, what is the use of God's Grace?

Well, that's all folks!  Good night :)