The 21-Day Financial Fast Your Path to Financial Peace and Freedom

 

What they say: 

Financial Peace and Freedom in 21 Days
In The 21-Day Financial Fast, award-winning writer and The Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary proposes a field-tested financial challenge. For twenty-one days, participants will put away their credit cards and buy only the barest essentials. With Michelle’s guidance during this three-week financial fast, you will discover how to:
Break bad spending habits
Plot a course to become debt-free with the Debt Dash Plan
Avoid the temptation of overspending for college
Learn how to prepare elderly relatives and yourself for future long-term care expenses
Be prepared for any contingency with a Life Happens Fund
Stop worrying about money and find the priceless power of financial peace
As you discover practical ways to achieve financial freedom, you’ll experience what it truly means to live a life of financial peace and prosperity.
Thousands of individuals have participated in the fast and as a result have gotten out of debt and become better managers of their money and finances. The 21-Day Financial Fast is great for earners at any income-level or stage of life, whether you are living paycheck-to-paycheck or just trying to make smarter financial choices.

My Take: 

I am a Dave Ramsey fan all the way, so most of what was in this book was a repeat of his ideas and plans. What really stuck with me was about the author's friend who passed away. When they went in to deal with the paperwork after her death, everything was organized and in order. She had her will, bills, life insurance policies well organized and filed, so anyone could find it and follow her system. While my husband and I live on a budget and are working to pay off all our debt, being organized is one area that I fall short in. It is funny, I was the church administrator for  7 years and kept records. I now manage my best friend's accounting since she has ALS and keep her records in shape, but doing it here at home is something that I need to get organized. If you are looking to organize your finances and get your life back, stop living paycheck to paycheck, check out this book. Now off to start organizing my disaster of a desk! 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

5 things I wish people wouldn't ask about foster kids....

1.  Are all those your kids? Yes, they are all mine. Just like the students in my classroom were my kids for the time that they were in my class, these kids are mine. I may not have given birth to them, but I love them like my daughter to which I did give birth.
2. What did their parents do to have these kids come to live with you? My nice answer is that the parents have some issues to work on. But I can't tell you the details. The details of their case is protected under the law. Often I am not given a full account of why they were taken away. Social workers paint the case with broad strokes. Drugs, violence, abuse, neglect, mental illness and sexual abuse are all reasons for kids to be taken out from their biological parents. Often it is not just one of these reasons, but a laundry list of issues. 
3. How long are they going to be with you? We don't know that. Some kids stay a month or two. Other kids will be with us for a year. It all depends of their family, the social workers, CASA workers, attorneys, and judge.
4. Don't they have relatives who could take them? Why aren't they with a family member? The process for a family member to take them into care is similar to what my husband and I did to become foster parents. It is not automatic that if the biological parents are unfit, that the children will go to the biological grandparents or aunts and uncles. Often there is no one in the biological family willing or able to take care of the children. In any case, the family members must attend classes, fill out a ton of paperwork, be fingerprinted, and have their home inspected before they can have the children come to live with them. 
5. Are you going to adopt them? Please don't ask this in front of the children. Yes, we want to provide a forever home for a child, but we are foster parents first. The parents have a year or longer to get the kids back, so my husband and I are not even contemplating adoption until we know for sure that the children will be open for adoption. We don't want to break their hearts by making promises that we don't know that we can keep. There are lots of factors to consider when adopting. When it is right and we know that we are going to adopt, we will announce it. Until then, we aren't going to discuss it.

Unglued Devotional Review

The Unglued Devotional is companion devotional to the bestselling book Unglued provides encouragement to help readers handle emotional struggles. Including a daily opening Scripture, Thought for the Day, devotion, and closing prayer, this book helps readers begin a 60-day journey in learning to positively process raw emotions, such as fear, anger, and regret.My take....I am a huge Lysa Terkeurst fan, so my view of this book is based on past experiences reading Made to Crave and her website. I love Lysa's comfortable style of writing. She makes you feel like you are her best friend sitting at the coffee table in her home by sharing stories of her family life and her love of Christ. If you are looking for a small devotional that you can put into your bag, this one is for you! 60 Days of Imperfect Progress! Sounds like my life right now! 3 steps forward, 2 steps back!  If you have read the Unglued book or studied it with a group, this book may not be for you since it basically sticks to the same information. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back-Adoption Adventures part one

Tom is just one of my first adoptees.

Do you ever feel like that? It seems like my life is always going three steps forward, two steps back! My husband and I decided to adopt another little girl and attended classes in April of last year. After 6+ months of classes, home visits and paper work, we were told that we were approved, but would need to wait until we got our letter. There were months of silence. I didn't know what was happening and assumed that God had closed that door. So in February, I accepted a position as director of my local Classical Conversations community. I got busy planning for the new school year, became a tutor trainer. I was focused! I had a vision for where I was going!

May comes, Classical Conversations is finished for the year, and summer is upon us. We get a letter...You are now official foster parents! Wait! What???? But God, I thought you closed that door? I moved on! I am happy where I am now! Yes, I still want a child, but I'm awful busy. After talking to Alan, he wants to go forward. We get a few phone calls, but learn quickly that when they need a place for children, they don't wait for a call back! We also had an issue with my cell phone number being wrong on their files.

In June, we get our first placement, a two year old little girl with blond hair and brown eyes. She was precious and a handful. I serious questions about whether I was young enough to have a two year old! She was a handful, mainly because she had no inhibitions and no fear! I know what you are thinking...What two year old does? While it is true that most two year old kids don't, children who come from homes of neglect and abuse have much deeper issues. My first job with any new child is to create a bond. When my little girl was born, she and I bonded by nursing, singing, holding, cuddles, and generally making myself the center of her world. While I can't nurse a foster child, I can feed them, sing to them, hold them, cuddle them, and make myself the center of their world. I did this! We bonded! She didn't even want me to leave her on visits with her family. She made herself part of the family within a month. She knew the routines. I kept thinking, "God, is this our child? Please let her be ours!" Sadly, she wasn't. She went to live with her daddy after 6 weeks. It broke my heart, but I was ready to start over with another child.

More adventures soon!

I need a huge favor!

We visited the Infinity Science Center yesterday and they are having a contest.
They want people to post a picture on their Facebook page of people in their
hurricane simulator. The contest ends tomorrow and the picture with the most
likes will win a birthday party at the ISC! Would you go like my picture???

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=587526394592808&set=o.139998272698735&ty\
pe=1&theater

If the link doesn't work, search for the Infinity Science Center page. Look for
Posts by others section and find the picture by Lori Ann Ola. Thanks!!!!

My Walmart Ad Match Experience...or why Walmart lost my business!

I have a long history with Walmart. I was a an associate back in the late 80's and early 90's. My father is currently an associate in another state. While all the world complains about Walmart's corporate practices, I remember Walmart when Sam Walton was alive. I remember a store that cared about its customers, one built on the principal of putting the customer first and being a light in the community. Sadly, that Walmart is no longer in existence. The new Walmart is focused on profit and expansion. 

I was in the Slidell at Northshore Blvd. store yesterday purchasing groceries. I wanted to use Walmart's  ad match guarantee to purchase a couple of items. The first item was boneless, skinless chicken breasts from Albertsons.Walmart's price was $1.99/lb. while Albertson's was $1.48. When I told the cashier, she had to go check the price. She was gone for about 3 minutes and came back and charged me $1.78/lb. When I told her that she put it in wrong, she sighed and said "That is what they told me it was." I showed her the ad and she begrudgingly changed it. Then I wanted to purchase Purex from Winn-Dixie's ad. The ad said, "Buy one Get one Free up to $6.49." She told me that they didn't do Winn-Dixie ads, because it says "up to" and doesn't have the price printed "really big". I asked to speak to a manager and Mary came over. She told me that not only was the BOGO not valid, but since Winn-Dixie requires a shopping card, Walmart doesn't honor any of their ads. If this is true, then they don't honor Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, or several other competitors either. What is the point of having an ad match guarantee if they won't honor any of the competitor's ads? I have shopped at all 4 Walmarts in the surrounding area and have never been treated this way. Other Walmarts honor competitor's ads with no question especially when I have the ad in hand. I am not one of those crazy couponers and don't feel that I was asking for anything above or beyond what is in their ad match policy. I feel I was treated like I was trying to cheat the company by this cashier and manager. This is the second time that this has happened to me. Last time when I called 1-800-WALMART, the manager was supposed to call me to explain the policy. He did not. Honestly, I don't trust this store not to embarrass me at the check-out and treat me like a criminal. I won't shop there any longer. I will go to Winn-Dixie, Rouses, Albertsons, Lishman's and Target. As a former Walmart employee, I expect better from the company that I once loved to work for.

Unexpected Love

Book Description

How would you characterize Jesus in his interactions with women? Gracious? Preachy? Aloof? Kind? Dismissive?
Unexpected Love is an essential read for anyone eager to understand Jesus Christ’s true heart for women. We ache for a satisfying relationship with him and crave his healing touch. So did the women of the first century. Each approached him with something they wanted. They left with more than they could have imagined.
Writer and teacher Julie Coleman carefully walks readers through the gospel narratives, offering evidence of a perceptive Savior deeply concerned about the women he met. Through vivid descriptions, thoughtful questions, and empowering applications, she brings a fresh perspective to these sometimes puzzling stories.
Unexpected Love offers a compelling vision of a Savior who meets us where we are and will take us where we need to go. Discover his passion for women. What you read will impact your own relationship with him. You will fall in love with the dynamic, beautiful, and unexpectedly personal Jesus.

My Take.....

This is a beautiful book. The author brings the stories that we have heard so many times to a lovingly personal account. It made me desire a more intimate relationship with my Heavenly Father. I highly recommend reading this book and sharing it with women who are hurting!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”