2010 was the year of frugality, in which I learned to clip coupons and use sources such as couponmom.com and CVX Extracare Bucks (thanks to Brandy). I vowed to use the things I had on hand and not buy extra, whether it was clothing or scrapbook supplies (I did fairly well with that vow). Although we did vacation, it was with a timeshare company for one trip and a budget off-season family package with the other. We managed to pay cash for Christmas (other than using our Kohls card for the 30% off). All in all, I feel like I did a pretty good job living up to my word.
And now I must admit that being frugal pretty much sucked. And I'm super glad that I can move on to another word for 2011.
Being a part of a new church has inspired my word this year. The church of Antioch focuses largely on charity and missions, both local and worldwide. While my dream is to serve on a mission, I'm not sure if I'm ready for the reality of leaving my family quite yet. Instead, I am determined to find ways for my whole family to live out the word of charity, according to this definition:
char·i·ty
noun \ˈcher-ə-tē, ˈcha-rə-\1
: benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity
2
a : generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering; also : aid given to those in need
b : an institution engaged in relief of the poor
c : public provision for the relief of the needy
I'm excited about teaching my kids about the joy of giving, especially when we have been given so much. My goal is to find one charity-focused event every month for us to participate in as a family, along with activities that will instill in their hearts a need to give to others who have less than us.
If you have any good ideas about this, please feel free to comment! And if you have a word for 2011, please share!
6 comments:
Congratulations on your accomplishments with "frugal"! I really struggle with that and am hoping to make marked improvement on it this year.
My girls school is very committed to instilling the value of helping others (in each grade), so I love that they're getting exposure in that way to help in our community. Some of their projects have included collecting food for the food bank and visiting an orphanage that we have here to just play with the kids.
Last year, the whole family made blankets for Project Linus, which was a great experience. Since my girls are little, hubby & I did the hard part, but my girls loved picking out the fabrics and writing notes to the eventual receipients! Good luck with your plan this year!
Congrats to you on living frugal, even if it sucked. LOL
I'm working on my word...
A friend of mine started a non-profit organization a few years ago to help build a children's hospital in Rwanda. Katie and I have been involved with some of their fundraising efforts - but one of their projects is getting kids to help. If you go to their site: www.onehundreddays.org you can check them out and then look at the million kid movement.
So my 2010 word (simplicity) was a challenge for me...I struggled so much in so many areas of my (our family's) life. 2011 is the year of feeling peace. No matter what is going on inside me or around me. Blog post to come! And you've chosen a wonderful word for 2011! Happy new year!
One of my biggest pet peeves about many churches I've been to is their mission focus is SOOO global, and not at ALL local. NOT that it isn't good to go out in the world and help, but gash darn it, there's plenty of work to be done right in our back yards - me thinks that people are much happier to "just send money" than to get their own hands dirty. One of my big criteria for finding a church here is to find one that realizes there is PLENTY to do right here at home.
One thing I was trying to get going before I left my old church was a monthly "child care" night - where parents (single parents had priority status) could drop their kids off for about 4 hours, and go do what they needed to do - shop, clean, relax, date - whatever. I know it's not as glamorous as some other things, but gosh darn, as a single mom - something like that would be SUCH a help.....
Wow - there's a book I wrote.... I'll hush now!!!
Congratulations on a year of frugality. Your word for 2011 is inspiring and I look forward to seeing the good that your family does throughout the year. There is joy in giving. I need to remember that.
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