Thursday, June 19, 2014

Favorite Deal of the Week: Laundry Detergent!

Well, with all the preparation for my new family life, I am working extra hard to work within a strict budget and search for the best deals!  This week, I found such a great deal on laundry detergent that I really wanted to share it with my Mom, so I'm posting it on my blog.  ;)

Here's the deal: liquid laundry detergent for $.04/ounce!!

Where: Walgreens
When: Through June 21, 2014
What: Purex Liquid Laundry Detergent
How to Score: Buy 1 get 2 FREE with Register Rewards Card

The cost at my local Walgreens was $5.99 for a 50 ounce container.  With this deal, you pay $5.99 for THREE 50 ounce containers, getting 150 ounces for $5.99, and thus spending $.04 per ounce ($6 / 150 ounces = $.04).  Additionally, you still receive register rewards points by using your card.  Double score!

The most recent "best deal" I found on laundry detergent was at $.05 an ounce for the same soap on sale at Publix, so I'm very excited about this!  It may even be worth another trip to Walgreens before the sale ends to get another 6 containers...

Happy shopping and happy saving!

The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty. - Proverbs 21:5

Friday, February 28, 2014

New Year - New Adventure

Welcome to the new year! It's a little late coming, so forgive me, but if you know me personally, you know my year has been a delightful new adventure!

A couple days before my birthday, I got engaged to an amazing friend and partner in the Kingdom of God.  We are working out details for a wedding, but getting to know each other better is our top goal right now as we pray about those details.

New adventures always bring more dynamic and thrilling views, along with the harder paths and rockier terrain.  I choose the hard stuff for the good stuff, and that's where I've been most blessed.  What about you?

If you've chosen a road less traveled, let me encourage you today... don't give up on the things you love because of the effort it takes to get them.  This is as true in any relationship as it is in a life-goal: hard times come, but the reward is worth it.

Hang in there and keep pressing forward!

Encouragement from Scripture...

Galations 6:9
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

Philippians 3:14
I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Night of Hope Benefit Concert 11.16.13

This weekend, I'm thrilled to be doing my first concert with artist Christaholik as an outpostChurch special event.  This concert is a FREE event (but please bring at least three canned goods per person!!), to help raise food for the St. Matthew's House of Naples.

We are calling this event the "Night of Hope", because of a startling realization: too many people are desperately trying to find a ray of hope right now - Christians included.  While we're solid on suffering, we struggle often for a strength of hope.  But hope is free to us!  The catch is - hoping in the right thing.

The Bible tells us that hope in possessions or status will be shaken, but that we can hope in this: the faithful love of the Lord never ends and His mercies never cease. (Lamentations 3:17-24).

There are two options to this - we can do a concert that plays on your emotions alone, makes you feel good, but leaves you helpless to invest that hope anywhere.  Or, we can do a concert that has an emotional impact because of the incredible truth it reveals, but gives you at least one solid option on how you can invest your hope and see it grow in your life and in the lives of others.

The St. Matthew's House is a place that fosters hope by showing love and mercy as God did when he allowed His son, Jesus, to take our place.  We want to encourage you to not only come out and support this organization, but to invest your time and prayers into their work when you're able to do so anytime during the year. 

Here's a flyer for you to print out and share.  Or, if you want to simply share this post on your social media site, feel free to share the link from your browser.  

Download and print to share with friends!
And if you've not yet checked it out, visit my new website at www.crystallaine.com with a demo of the song "Emmanuel (With Us)" that we wrote for the church a couple months ago!  Saturday night's concert will feature several other new songs by myself and Christaholik, as well as a collaboration we're elated to share with you!

Don't miss it!

Peace has been stripped away, 
and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
I cry out, "My splendor is gone! 
Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!"
The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.  
I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.
Yet still 
dare to hope 
when I remember this: 
The 
faithful love 
of the 
Lord 
never ends! 
His mercies never cease.
Great 
is his faithfulness; 
His mercies begin afresh 
each morning.
I say to myself, 
"The Lord is my inheritance; 
therefore, 
I will hope in Him!"

(Lamentations 3:17-24, NLT)


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

50 Days of Goodness

Philippians 4:8-9 tells us what kind of thoughts to keep. Thinking in this way will bring incredible peace into our hearts and minds. This kind of peace will invariably overflow into our actions. Why do we want peace? Well aside from the health benefits of reducing anxiety, we protect ourselves with it! Earlier, in verses 6-7, we are reminded that the antidote for anxiety is thankfulness. 

For the next 50 days leading up to Thanksgiving, I'm going to choose at least one thing that will fit into this list described in Philippians 4:8 and I would love it if you'd join me!! I will post them on my Facebook page (Facebook.com/crystallainesings) and my Twitter feed (twitter.com/crystallaine28) so you can keep up. Better yet, when you see them, will you please reply with your daily goodness item so we can celebrate with each other?? Make sure to post a hashtag of #good50 when you do so others can celebrate with you too!!!

Here is the criterion: 

The daily goodness item must be something that is...

True
Honorable
Right
Pure
Lovely
Admirable
Excellent
Praiseworthy

Let's get going!! 50 days (7 weeks) of goodness starts today!!