Free Sample Oregon Chai Latte

Free Sample Oregon Chai Latte

Thanks to Common Sense With Money for this find. I've never tried this particular brand, but chai is very, very good. The sample should arrive in 2-4 weeks.

Meijer ad

This week's Meijer ad may not be the BEST week for coupon matchups, but they're having a pretty awesome 10/$10 get the 11th free sale on some of the Meijer brands. Included in this sale, among other items, are the Meijer-brand fruit snacks (great for lunchboxes) and my all-time favorite, the 1-lb rolls of frozen ground turkey. With the sale, these come out to $0.90/lb. I use them in place of ground meat for almost everything. In this case, there's no guilt in being cheap because the ground turkey isn't just cheaper than ground beef, it's also lower in fat than ground beef. Ground turkey makes a pretty amazing spaghetti sauce, chili, sloppy joe's and tacos. I very rarely buy ground beef anymore---I stock up when this is on sale and use this instead. Since it takes at least 2 lbs (more like 3 if we're having tacos) of ground meat to feed a family the size of mine, this comes out quite a bit cheaper than using ground beef (and it's healthier, but we just won't tell them that).

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Eph. 2:4-9)

I am so glad it is by grace I am saved! If it were dependent upon my own efforts and "good" works, I could never attain salvation. Praise God, though, Jesus has already paid the price on the Cross and now I am freed from the power of sin and death, free to love and serve Him.

SheSpeaks program

If you haven't yet registered for She Speaks, I would give it a try. I registered a couple of months ago and kind of forgot about it, but recently they have made me two offers---a shopper's survey (the reward is a $10 Starbucks gift card---can't pass that one up) and an Alouette cheese program (they send you a coupon for a free cheese and some other $1-off coupons) to try the cheese and give them your opinions. Go to shespeaks.com and sign up, then wait for some offers! It's a great way to try new things.

CVS: Free Neosporin Lip Balm

CVS: Free Neosporin Lip Balm

Thanks to Common Sense with Money for this link to $3/1 coupon for Neosporin lip balm. When you combine this with the $2.50 clip-free CVS coupon, you get the lip balm free!

If you are a coffee lover, don't forget the Starbucks taste challenge---Via coffee (which is an instant coffee) vs. my all-time favorite, Pike Place Roast. You'll get a coupon for a free tall brewed coffee if you participate. I probably won't be going because cold and flu season has begun at our house already---I have one ill, another looking as if he's getting it also, and four more who undoubtedly will get it too! So I guess I'll sit this one out, but have fun at the taste test!!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2)

My study Bible has an interesting note on this verse: the word "looking" in verse 2 comes from the Greek aphorao. Apo means away from, and horao means to see. It means setting one's undivided attention on an object---in this context, it means having eyes for no-one but Jesus. I love the last part of the passage---Jesus not only is the author of our faith, but also its completion. There is nothing more that needs to be done---He paid the price IN FULL for our salvation through His death on the Cross, and the sacrifice which brings us salvation is completed. Nothing we do can ever bring us closer to salvation, because it has already been bought and paid in full by Jesus Himself. We need only accept His gift of salvation. I would say He is more than worthy of our undivided attention!!