The Christmas Season

I absolutely love this time of year!! This is one of my favorite seasons, and no I don't mean winter. LOL!! I mean The Christmas Season. I love how we can celebrate the birth of our Lord and how we can share the love He had for us with others. I also love how there are so many opportunities to give back to those around us, not that there aren't those the rest of the year, There are so many more available now. Plus I'll admit it, I love being able to sneak in a few surprises here and there for people I know and love. One of those little surprise recently was a free scrapbook I was able to make for my Mom through Shutterfly. They had a special offer for a free 20 page scrapbook and free shipping. The small book ended up so sweet and my Mom just loved it!! It was a blessing to both of us. I was able to give her something she will cherish and the Lord provided it for me free!! Thanks Shutterfly!!!

Another surprise I was able to give was to one of my dearest friends. I found out her husband loves beef jerky and especially Jack's Links. Well they are having an instant win game right now and one of the prizes was some beef jerky. I have been playing the game for a while in hopes I would be able to win him some, and today I was able to!! I can't wait for it to arrive in the mail. Here is a picture of the winning message I got. I know he will be surprised and again the Lord provided a way for me to be able to bless someone else without hurting my pocketbook! Thank you Lord!!

He has also provided ways for me to entertain friends and our church family uniquely. There are several companies out there that have, well, product testing/introduction parties. One of them is House Party. You apply to them for specific events on specific dates and if you are chosen they send you all the product you need, extra gifts and goodies to hand out to your guests, coupons for the products and extra special gifts for you as the hostess (and sometimes cash like from one company I just worked with called Child's Play Communications. They just sent me a check for $40 for hosting a Fuzzoodle Fiesta Party!!)

Some of the parties I have hosted have featured Febreeze, Splenda, Fuzzoodles, Kool Aid, Maxwell House International Coffee and Nilla Wafers. I can't tell you how much fun these parties are. The ladies of the church have had so much fun at them and have really enjoyed the goodies and the coupons. And for little to no money I was able to have a great time of fellowship with them!!

Here are a couple of photos form some of the parties I have had.
Believe it or not, but those yummy looking chocolate things are 2 Nilla Wafers sandwiched together with peanut butter and then dipped in chocolate and then drizzled with white chocolate. Oh my goodness they were good!!



Here are a few ladies getting some of the yummy food we had at one of the parties. We often have full meals and make a really fun night out of the parties.










The picture to the left is from the Fuzzoodle Fiesta Party. The kids had a blast playing with those fun toys and creating all kinds of creatures.

You might be wondering why I am telling you about this. Well it's simple, I'm broke. Yep, the economy is really rough right now (understatement I know!!) and we are really struggling to make ends meet some days. I'm not complaining by any means. I'm just stating a fact, and I know I am not alone. There are many who are going through this right now, but it doesn't mean we have to stop giving and sharing with others. If you spend a little energy and time you can find ways to share and give and really enjoy even with little to no money!! You just have to put the effort into it, and believe me it is well worth it.

God said He would provide our every need. He even said He would provide the desires of our hearts. If the desires of our hearts are what they are supposed to be we will go out of our way to show the love of God to others AND He will provide a way for us to do so no matter what our financial circumstances are. I am so glad I serve such an awesome God!!

I hope you are able to give above and beyond this Christmas Season!