VACATION SPOTS

   If you haven't visited the new VACATION SPOT page, you're missing out!  Each month features a terrific destination that's packed with fun for all ages and plenty of FREE and low-cost attractions and points of interest.

WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THAT SQUASH

  Simply mix the pint of finely chopped squash with salt and pepper to taste; 1 egg; 1/4 c. finely chopped onion; and enough flour or crushed crackers (unless using unsalted crackers, you might want to leave off the added salt) to give the mixture enough consistency to be able to hold a shape.  In a separate container, mix salt and pepper (to your personal taste) with corn meal mix.  Roll 1-inch balls of squash mixture in the meal, pat flat, and skillet fry, or leave rounded and deep fry until golden brown.

  FREE RECIPE BOOKLET
   Jiffy makes a lot of inexpensive, easy-to-use mixes, including a baking mix like Bisquick.  Their baking mix is the basis for countless great recipes; and many of their other products, like their muffin mix, can be used to make other dishes.  You can see their recipes online at: www.JiffyMix.com, or receive their FREE print recipe booklet just by completing and submit this request form: http://www.jiffymix.com/recipeform.php

 HELP WITH PRESCRIPTION EXPENSE
    You may qualify for assistance to help cover the cost of your prescription medications.  The Partnership for Prescription Assistance has a website with links for patients, caregivers, and physicians to follow. 

   Check it out and pass this info to others: https://www.pparx.org/Intro.php

 TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BARGAIN              
  If you know of a way to help others save money, e-mail me your suggestion, and if chosen, I'll post it in this section.  Ideas need to be practical and current.  In other words, if you caught a great sale, it will be too late to help anyone when your information is posted the next month.  Tell me ways people will be able save money at the time they read your information.  Let me know about money-saving websites, too! But please collect your ideas and send me ONE e-mail.  I love to hear from all of you, but it's getting tough to get through the volume of mail I'm receiving.  Thanks and God bless!

   First, let me urge to read this entire section, particularly the last paragraph.

  Cell phones are expensive!  But they don't have to be.  If you need a new phone, shop www.eBay.com and pick up someone else's old phone or even find a brand new one for far less than you can buy one without agreeing to a new phone contract.  And let's face it: a lot of phone-buying is done strictly to keep up with the trends.  If you don't need all that gadgetry, why waste money on it when your current phone is getting the job done?

  If you do need a new phone, the trick is to look for phones that are: (1) already set up to use with your carrier - AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, etc.; or (2) "unlocked" phones, which will work with most typical cell phone companies.  If in doubt, e-mail the seller and ask specific questions before bidding.  Make sure you select a seller who: (1) has no or minimal negative feedback; and (2) does not have zero or very little feedback.  You'll see the number of feedbacks listed in parentheses to the right of the seller ID; below that, you'll see the percentage of positive feedback.

   First and foremost, if you don't need a cell phone for business purposes, switch to a prepaid plan and discipline yourself to limit calls to necessities and not just frivolous chatting.  You can choose from a number of company's prepaid plans, such as T-Mobile (www.T-Mobile.com) and get 1,000 minutes for $100.  If you limit yourself to using only 100 minutes a month, that's 10 months for $100 - and there are no contracts and no monthly fees to pay!  Plus, after your first card, you get a 15% bonus on your purchases, which makes the 1,000 minutes become 1,150 minutes.  Cards are also available in much smaller increments.

   If you already have a T-Mobile phone, for example, you can simply change out to a prepaid SIM card for $6.99 (order online) - that is, if your contract is already up.  If you want to start from scratch, you can get a phone and starter kit with charger, 10 minutes of airtime, and more for $29.99 (also online or at T-Mobile stores and kiosks).  You can buy the cards online, refill online, or at most any store such as WalMart, Target, etc.  Similar deals are offered by many carriers.

AN FYI ABOUT CLASP ENVELOPES

   This may not be a money-saving tip for YOU, but knowing this could save a postal worker some money in medical expense or time off for a work injury.  Many postal workers are injured, sometimes receiving serious cuts, when they handle envelopes with exposed metal clasps.

   The metal tabs on clasp envelopes are not intended to be used for mailing.  When using a clasp envelope to mail anything, either (1) leave the clasp as is and enclose it INSIDE the flap when you use the adhesive to seal the envelope shut; or (2) close the clasp and tape over it with a couple of layers of Scotch or some shipping tape.

  A few years ago, I met a truly unpleasant lady at a Christian writers' gathering.  (Hey, that may not sound “spiritual,” but that’s the way it was.)  As we sat around the lunch table the conversation turned to our churches and we each began to tell a little bit about our congregations’ Sunday morning worship services.  Most of us said that praise choruses and contemporary music were at least a part of our norms.  The lady whom I've graciously labeled as "unpleasant" seemed about to pop a vein, her face reddening and her voice literally trembling with anger.

    “I am so sick and tired of praise chorus after praise chorus.  What’s wrong with ‘Rock of Ages?’  What’s wrong with ‘Nearer My God to Thee?’  If you want my opinion,” (If only she’d let us answer that one!) “contemporary is only TEMPORARY.”  And on and on she went in a truly vicious attack.

    Granted, contemporary music isn’t everybody’s “cup of tea,” but one thing’s for sure, whatever the music: It IS temporary.  Our worship here is temporary.  Our lives here are temporary.  We are headed to a new home in a new heaven and we are to be about the Father’s business, lovingly urging others to make the same journey.

    This lady could have disagreed and still maintained a peaceful spirit – she simply chose not to.  We hear of churches coming apart because the little factions within can’t agree on the color of the new carpet, where to put the organ, how much to pay the pastor.  On and on they go just like the grim-faced lady at the luncheon.  And all the while Satan smiles with pleasure as these antics disgrace the Savior and take precedence over winning the lost or discipling the “found.”

    As the school year gets into swing, don’t let the pressures of day to day life get you off-track.  Remember, ALL these things are temporary.  Only what we do for Christ will last.

"THESE PEOPLE ALL DIED CONTROLLED AND SUSTAINED BY THEIR FAITH,... ACKNOWLEDGING AND CONFESSING THAT THEY WERE STRANGERS AND TEMPORARY RESIDENTS AND EXILES UPON THE EARTH.”
(Hebrews 11:13, ANT)

Please help me make this website the very best it can be.  Tell me what you like best and least about its content.  Tell others about the free daily Bible Study and sporadic Bargain Alert you can sign up for on the home page of: www.bargainomics.com.