It's Tax Time....Are You Ready?

As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, we had the wonderful opportunity of being audited by the state of Wisconsin two years ago. Last year, a good friend of our had also received a notice of an audit. Since we are now technically into the "tax time" of year, I thought today would be a good day to start reviewing what types of documentation that our state, at least, required for our audit. Especially so that you can set up your files (or binders) now, rather then at the end of the year. Now, we do own our own business, so some of the documents listed obviously pertain to being a small business owner. My friend, on the other hand, does not own a small business, and so her required documentation was not quite as extensive. When you review this list and compare it to the documentation that you keep, some things may not necessarily be applicable to your particular circumstances. In other words, if you don't have a particular document, have never needed or seen a particular document, then, even though it is included in my list, it may not be relevant to you at this time. Make sense?

Today, I am just going to list all the documents that we needed. In a future post, I'll explain how we prepare these documents every year, more in-depth. I just want to give you an idea of what is or is not important.

• Proof of wage earned, including W-2s and pay stubs.
• Proof of gross receipts and expenses for your small business, and include the following:
  • A detailed description of your business including the type of work performed, products sold, services provided, hours of operation, and address;
  • Copies of all 1099-MISCs received;
  • Copies of all bank statements;
  • Copies of all credit card statements;
  • A detailed statement on how you calculate your gross receipts;
  • A sample of the advertising materials used to promote your business;
  • Copies of any professional licenses and/or certifications;
  • A description of any degrees, specialized training, or knowledge obtained to conduct your business;
  • An itemized list of expenses you paid to operate your business;
  • Records to substantiate vehicle expenses, including the following:
    • Amount for each separate expense (lease payments, repairs, maintenance, gas and oil, insurance, and other expenses) using receipts, copies of bills, and canceled checks.
    • The date of the expense or use.
    • The departure point, destination point, and distance for each business use of the vehicle and the vehicle's total mileage for the year.
    • The business reason for the expense or use of the vehicle.
    • Documentary evidence in support of all income and expenses (a receipt or canceled check, along with the invoice); documentary evidence must include the amount, date, place, and essential character of the income or expense.
• For each dependent child, you must provide:
  • Original birth certificate;
  • Copy of social security card;
  • Proof of physical placement of children, if subject to a divorce;
  • Proof of education or daycare, including child's name, dates child attended, dates child stopped attending (if applicable), primary address on file for child, primary emergency contact, and the number of credits child completed (if applicable).
• If your rented, your must provide:
  • A copy of the rental agreement;
  • Proof of rent paid with canceled checks, money order receipts, or cash receipts;
  • If the above is not available, you can submit a signed, notarized statement that includes the name and address of the landlord, address of property rented, names of persons responsible for the rent, names of all residents approved for the rental unit, date agreement executed, date each person moved in and/or out, total amount of rent received.
• If you got married, you must provide proof of the marriage, and all of your spouse's identifying information like name, social security number, and the dates that you lived together.

As you can see, there is a lot of information required. The real challenge is that all of this has to be gathered, organized, and sent so that the auditors can receive it within 30 days. Unless you have a system in place, and have kept everything required, an audit can turn into a real nightmare - especially if you are required to provide this information for more than one year. In our particular case, we had to provide two years worth of information; some people have had to provide three. The years audited also happened to be the two craziest ones for us: we had moved across state, had a new baby, and purchased a home. Talk about a lot of paperwork! And I did not have any of it organized like I do today. The good news is that if we ever receive one of these notices again, I can most likely mail out my response within 48 hours. All I need to do is visit our local copy shop and have a copy of my binder made.

It is not my intention to "scare" anyone, but I do want to help you get your financial paperwork in order. The first step, is always knowledge - knowing exactly what you would need, at least for an audit by the state of Wisconsin. Stay tuned for future posts and I'll share exactly what I prepare each year.

Blessings be upon you.

Greater than Rubies

Did you ever consider that a woman that develops the traits of the Proverbs 31 woman is very valuable? With a price far greater than rubies?

A ruby that is clear, transparent, and without fault, consisting of a uniform deep red color, is currently the most valuable precious stone known to man. Every woman is precious to God; but a true helpmeet is a real treasure for a husband to behold – especially one that shows she can manage everything life throws at her with grace, peace, love, and a joy of the Lord!

Using a scale of 1 to 10, where would you score yourself?

A tough question, I know. Even for me. In some areas, I would give myself an 8. But when it comes to grace, peace, and patience - I am more in the 2 to 3 range. And my score changes from day to day. And from challenge to challenge. Someone once told me that I "was a river that ran deep". They felt that while I faced many challenges and had waves and currents constantly in motion on the surface, my strength and faith was the calm, cool, still water at the riverbed. I admit my riverbed has faced an earthquake or two that really shook my faith, but I have endured. I find peace in the imagery.

The ebb and flow of life has its advantages too. It can help you to learn yourself - your strengths and weaknesses. You can more easily identify the natural gifts and talents that God has blessed you with. And, adversity also helps you to discern your spiritual gifts and ways that you can minister to others. All of this combined, is what give your "ruby" its unique qualities.

Today, I want you to work on identifying your strengths and weaknesses, your gifts and talents, and your spiritual gifts and ministries. You might need the help of a trusted friend – better yet, your husband – to help you. I know that it can be very hard to know what our God-given talents are. It is something that I struggle with too. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses are important because it well help you to stay motivated. Think of it in terms of the Serenity Prayer – know what you can change; know what you cannot change; and know the difference between the two.

As we continue to work on emulating the Proverbs 31 woman, knowing your strengths and weaknesses will help you to know what you can change (your weaknesses); know what you cannot change (or at least, should not – your gifts and talents); and know the difference. I think most women spend a lot of time focusing on doing only what is easy, comes naturally, and requires the minimum amount of effort. They become really good at doing those few things and let everything else slide. In other words, the ruby is not consistent in color – some areas shine brighter than others, while the rest is a bit discolored and dusty.

I am no exception, believe you me. I love to be organized, neat, and clean. I don’t care for chaos and disorder. But I hated cleaning bathrooms - especially the nasty old toilet. And doing dishes is not a favorite task either, (so it really is no surprise that my husband's hot spot is the kitchen!) In the past, my house could be neat, clean, and comfortable with a dirty bathroom and dirty dishes in the sink and I just didn't care. Before I met my husband and I worked full time, I actually hired a cleaning service to come in twice a month just to clean the kitchen and baths, along with general maintenance cleaning! I would personally put off cleaning the bathrooms until company was coming. And then, I would put on the hazmat suit and take care of business.

Try and determine what your strengths, weaknesses, talents, spiritual gifts, and ministries are. Review these lists periodically. You may have discovered or developed some new strengths and been able to eliminate some of those weaknesses. Acknowledge your successes – no matter how big or small they may be!

Blessings be upon you.

Being A Good Wife

What do you think of when you read the word “trust” in Proverbs 31:11? If you are like most women, you probably define it as a belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc. And you wouldn’t be too far off with that definition. But in the Bible, trust means more than that. Trust means being confident, secure, and sure about someone or something.

Most men want a wife that they can trust – in all senses of the word. If we become reliable and effective in managing our homes and families, our husbands become confident in us, and more secure in the marital relationship that they have with us. Men generally have an outward attitude of strength and control, but inside, they can really be insecure in their relationships with their wives. Here is an example from my own life.

My wonderful husband texts me...a lot...every day. I get a text when he is leaving one job site and heading for another. I get a text letting me know he is on his way home. I get a text reminding me to transfer funds. I get a text asking me about dinner. And of course, I get a text telling me that he loves me and that the coffee pot is all set for me. But if I don’t respond back to any of these texts, even with a simple “ok”, he starts to worry. And sometimes he starts to feel a little bit insecure. If I text to him that all important “I love you”, then everything is right in his world. Honestly, ladies, it really can be just the simple things that make all the difference in the world to our men.

The second issue that we need to consider in addition to trust is the one pertaining to submission. Yes, I did just say submission. Really, ladies, it is not a bad word. When you think of submission in the context of the Biblical reason we were created – to be a helpmeet – it can make all the difference in your relationship with your husband.

Submission simply means the act of accepting or yielding to the will or authority of another person. We submit all the time without thinking about it; yet when it comes to submitting to our husbands, we object. In our day-to-day lives, we submit to our government by paying taxes on our purchases; we submit to law and order when we stop at stop signs; we submit to our physicians when we obey their instructions, we submit to our employers’ requests (if working outside of the home), and so on. Why should we view submission differently when relating to our husbands? They are the authority that God gave us to protect us. And don’t forget, our husbands have to submit too...to their head...Jesus.

Trust and submission go hand-in-hand when creating your Home Management Binder. Your days should be in alignment with your husband’s expectations. You can be the best housekeeper in the world, but if dinner is always late or poorly cooked, your husband may not be happy. The same is true with the reverse. You might always have wonderful, healthy gourmet meals prepared for your husband, but the house is dusty, dirty, and chaotic; and so he is not happy. It’s all about finding the balance between what needs to be done and the expectations of your husband.

The second part of Proverbs 31:11 states, “so that he shall have no need of spoil.” I admit that initially, this second part puzzled me. I mean, if we align our days with our husband’s desires for the home, are we not then “spoiling” him? However, if you research the original meaning of the word “spoil”, it actually refers to the rewards of battle. You might have even heard the cliché “to the victor go the spoils”. After a particular tribe or city was destroyed by the Israelites, God sometimes permitted the victors to keep things for themselves. Spoils could include anything from animals to metal utensils and pottery to even slaves.

This particular verse is telling us that his wife is keeping him so happy at home, and feeling as though he has everything he needs, that he is not interested – or has no need of – any of the spoils. Everything his heart desires is already within his home.

To put this into a modern perspective, the husband is so happy to come home and be with his wife and family that he doesn’t even notice the other women surrounding him. They have nothing with which to tempt him. As long as his physical, mental, emotional, and intimate needs are being met by his wife, what could any other woman possibly offer to him? Satan only has an opportunity when there is discord between the husband and wife and when the home is no longer his sanctuary. Completing a Home Management Binder will go a long way to creating that wonderful sanctuary for your family!

Your relationship with your husband should only be second to that of your relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Blessings be upon you.

Discovering "Hot Spots"

Now that you are starting to study your husband and evaluate how you can schedule your week, it's time to talk about "hot spots". No, I am not talking about that secret button your husband knows how push to give you "that" signal. I am talking about the area, zone, jurisdiction, whatever-you-want-to-call-it area of your home that makes you feel as though your house is clean or a mess. And the same goes for your husband, too.

You may already know what it is for you. Or you may not. To help you try and determine your hot spot, I have three visualizations that I want you to think about.

Example one: you have just gotten a call that your very lovely grandmother, whom you have not seen in a couple of years, is going to be at your house in 10 minutes. Which part of your house are you going to run to first? Bedrooms? Kitchen? Bathroom? Or are you calm and collected and ready to open your home, because everything is in its proper place?

Example two: you have just been suddenly hospitalized for an extended period of time. Friends and family are going to your house to pick up a few necessities for you. Which part of your home are you cringing about having them see?

Example three: you have had a trying afternoon with the kids, trying to get homework done and dinner started before your husband gets home. He has had a really bad day at the office, so to speak. What parts of the house is he most likely to complain about?

For each of the examples above, take a few moments to note what your hot spots are. Remember, hot spots are those things that just drive you absolutely crazy when surprise company, or unexpected visitors are coming to your home. For me, it’s the bedrooms. I feel like my house is just a mess if the beds are not made; bedroom floors are not cleared of dirty clothes, toys, and books; and if there is a pile of dirty laundry in the hallway!

My solution for managing my hot spot was to develop the morning chores routine that I referenced in an earlier post: get dressed, make your bed, clean your room, brush your teeth, and take down the dirty laundry. By doing this every day, I am almost assured that my hot spot is taken care of. Now, if I get a surprise announcement about company, I just make sure the first floor is picked up and the dishes are either done or neatly stacked in the sink.

The hot spot is usually different for a husband then it is for the wife! Reviewing the different "complaints", no matter how small or insignificant they might appear initially, is going to be your best source of clues. Secondly, most husbands tend to "nitpick" those areas of the house that bug them when they have had a bad day. At least, my father did, and my grandfather did, and on occasion, my husband has. It took some time, but I eventually learned that my husband’s hot spot is the kitchen. He always seems to complain that the house is a mess if the dishes aren’t done or if the kitchen seems chaotic, like during canning season!

To help manage the perception that the house is clean, and thus help to keep my husband happy, I now try to make sure that the dishes are done and put away; that dinner is somewhat planned; and that I plan the more chaotic days of canning and freezer meal planning when he is busy out of the house! I am blessed with a husband that communicates on a consistent basis exactly when he is on his way home and about what time he should arrive. His schedule fluctuates and so he could be home anytime from 9:00 in the morning to 6:00 in the evening. As soon as I get the text telling me he is on his way, I review the kitchen and make sure it looks nice and clean.

You need to make sure that both of your “hot spots” are taken care of every day. Yes...every day. Believe it or not, this will alleviate the bulk of the discord between the two of you. I know it sounds crazy, but trust me, it’s true! He will feel as though he is coming home to a warm and welcoming, clean haven; and you will feel as though you are in control of your own home.

Pull out the "To-Do List" that you started earlier (or if you didn't, grab a piece of paper right now). Identify yours and your husband's hot spots and develop a plan for taking care of them. It might be a morning routine thing, like mine; it might be something you take care of an hour before your husband is due home; figure out what will work best for your family. And remember, you may not have to do everything yourself - start teaching your kids right from the beginning. My current youngest is only three and she knows that after breakfast, it is time to "clean up" and has been "helping" ever since she could climb our stairs.

Blessings be upon you.

A Woman's Role

Women today juggle a much wider range of responsibilities. We are everything to everyone, and still have to take care of ourselves. We've spent the first few months on a wide variety of topics. We've talked about meal planning, organizing things, and loving our husbands. We have also spent a good amount of time talking about eliminating the grocery store. Now we will pause a moment and review some of our other responsibilities.

Many of these roles are intertwined with others. All are important. And seeing it all together can be overwhelming. To help put everything together in a schedule or routine that will work for your family takes time. Some projects require that you have time to really think about how you are currently doing things today (or I could say not doing, I suppose) and how you want to change and do them in the future. In some instances, it takes a bit of planning, saving, scheduling, and then actually doing it. I think many of you would get really frustrated, and bored, if I focused on only one aspect of our responsibilities before moving on to another one. At the same time, certain things need to be done in a logical manner.

I am sharing all of this so that you can understand that we are going to be bouncing around a bit between the different roles and responsibilities that we have. Just as we have to "switch hats" during the day, we will be working on various roles over the course of the next few months. Ultimately, all this information should be contained and managed in a household binder of some sort.

Today I wanted to give you an overview of the plan for the next month of posts and give you your first assignment for tomorrow - if you are married, I want you to think about your husband. Take a blank sheet of paper and write down all the little comments and remarks that you remember him making. Things like what meals he has really enjoyed that you made; to him inquiring about how you spent your day; to maybe an observation that he is out of clean [you fill in the blank]. Most men will not come right out and say, "Honey, I love you but I really wish you would work on getting 'X' done today." We have to be a combination of detective, reporter, and student of our husband to learn what he wants, likes, or needs. In this way, we can learn how to truly be his "helpmeet".

If you are not married, this assignment can be a little challenging - but practice can be done! Chances are, someone is the head of your current household - your father, mother, or older brother. Choose the head of your household and study them. Learn what their likes and dislikes are. Not only will this give you excellent practice for preparing for a husband, I am sure that whomever you choose will be happy as you help them.

If you are the head of your household, you will need to have Jesus become the head of your home. Imagine if Jesus was to walk in your home at any time. Would He be pleased? While it is much easier to study someone of flesh and blood right in front of you, Jesus can still be the head of your home. Pray to Him for guidance on what He would like to see you work on. I am confident that He will let you know!

Blessings be upon you.

On a "Good" Week

I have always been an avid reader, even as a child. In the book, Little House in the Big Woods, written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, there was a routine that her family followed that went something like this:

Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Market on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday

While I do not follow the schedule above, I have found that having assigned tasks to each day makes it much easier to get more accomplished in the week, including maintaining my house. Our house currently averages just over 1,700 square feet and has four (4) bedrooms and two (2) bathrooms. I think that this makes it about average. What may not be so "average" is that it is currently in a state of renovation. This means that the dust and dirt from the second floor can slip through the cracks and settle onto the first floor. When our renovation is done, someday (sigh), I am sure my cleaning routine will change. In the meantime, here is how I have my days assigned.

Sunday

Every Sunday, I try to clean the whole house. What this basically entails is vacuuming every room (Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, Downstairs Bath, Upstairs Bath, Hallway, Boy's Bedroom, Girls' Bedroom, and the Master Bedroom) followed by mopping with Pine Sol and cleaning the two bathrooms, plus doing all the laundry. In order to vacuum, each room is quickly straightened up and the floors cleared. I move strategically from one room to the next. Once all the rooms on the first floor are picked up, I then vacuum. After putting the vacuum away, I pour toilet bowl cleaner in the toilet and let that sit while I mop. The first few times I did this, I had to change the water after every room, but now that I do this routine twice a week, I can use the same bucket of water for the entire floor.

While I am working on the first floor, the three youngest children are upstairs doing their morning chores: getting dressed, making their beds, cleaning up their rooms, brushing their teeth, and taking all the dirty laundry downstairs to the basement. The children are also responsible for stripping all the bathrooms of their fuzzy rugs and toilet seat covers. All of the dirty laundry must be downstairs before I start to mop. If it is the first Sunday of the month, they are also required to strip all the bedding to be washed.

Once I have finished mopping the first floor, I quickly wipe down the bathroom mirror, sink, cabinet, and clean the toilet. Then I move upstairs.

My morning routine is basically the same as the kids. Once I am done with my chores, I then vacuum the master bedroom and the hallway to the kids' rooms. They are responsible for vacuuming their own floors. I then finish the hallway and the bathroom. Just like when cleaning downstairs, I throw the toilet bowl cleaner in the toilet and then begin mopping all the floors with Pine Sol. While I am mopping upstairs, the kids head back downstairs for family time and helping with the laundry. After I am done mopping all the rooms but the bathroom, I stop mopping long enough to clean the bathroom just like I did downstairs. Then I mop the bathroom and put everything away.

As for the laundry, I just keep switching loads (or having the kids help) until all the laundry is done. Each person has their own laundry basket that I put the clean, folded clothes in and they are responsible for putting them away and bringing me back the empty basket.

Monday

Monday is usually spent in the Kitchen. I divided my kitchen up into four areas and I focus on cleaning one area each week of the month. Week one is focused on the refrigerator and the surrounding counter and cupboards; week two I tackle the island including the cabinets; week three I focus on the sink, under the sink and the cabinets between the sink and the stove; and finally, in week four I focus on the stove and any remaining counters and cabinets. Most weeks, this just means wiping down splatters on the doors and cleaning the appliances and canisters. My cupboards do not get too messed up with the exception of one lazy susan and one cupboard - both of which are used to hold food. The rest of the time is spent reviewing recipes, updating my meal plan, working on freeze ahead meals, baking, etc.

Tuesday

My husband owns his own business and I also have my own part in the business. Plus we have the usual paperwork and bills that every family gets. Tuesday is now my office day. All week long we throw the mail, work orders, invoices, and all papers into a basket labelled "PROCESS". On Tuesday, I clean out this basket and do whatever needs to be done with each piece of paper. If I have to enter information into the computer, once "processed", I put the paperwork in the "ENTER" basket. Once everything is done in the "process" basket, I then move onto the "enter" basket. Once that is done, my "office work" is done for the day.

Wednesday

For lack of a better description, Wednesday is my maintenance or deep cleaning day. Similar to the kitchen, I have assigned rooms to be cleaned to certain weeks of the month: week one I focus on the Living Room and Dining Room; week two is the Master Bedroom; week three is the kids' bedrooms; and week for is my sewing room (which is the fourth bedroom of the house). When it is a particular room's week, I dust, wash windows, clean glass, clean furniture, or do other type of deep cleaning, depending on the room's unique characteristics. This process ensures that each room of the house is cleaned at least once a month. Which is good enough for me.

Thursday

Thursday is my day to work on whatever projects I want to work on. This can range from a project on the house to working on a larger project for a client to making clothes or sewing a quilt. It's my day to do what I want to do - around homeschooling, of course. And making meals and all the other wonderful responsibilities a wife and mother has.

Friday

My Fridays are an exact replica of my Sundays. This is because I do not do any cleaning during the Sabbath and so I want the house cleaned up. I do the cleaning on Sundays too since by Sunday, the house is a mess by my standards. It just happens to work that way for me.

I do have a few tips and tricks that make this routine a little easier. First off, I have a separate vacuum for each level of the house. This saves a lot of time and energy since I do not have to lug the vacuum up and down stairs. Secondly, I hate cleaning the toilet. Let's face it...it is just the most disgusting thing in the house in my opinion. By cleaning it twice a week, my toilet never seems to look dirty and so I don't get grossed out cleaning it. Missing just one cleaning of the toilet and it gets gross. And then I don't want to clean it. So I do it twice a week, even if it looks clean. Thirdly, I try to shop only once a month - that means I don't need a market day on the schedule. But if I do have to go shopping or schedule any appointments, we usually schedule them for early in the morning if my husband is going with me or mid afternoon if he is not. Fourth, if you have wood floors with cracks in them like mine do, area rugs can become a real time saver. I used to have to spend hours with the little pointed attachment to clean all the food and junk out of the cracks. It seemed to take forever. Throwing down a bunch of area rugs to the highest traffic areas meant that I could just quickly vacuum over the whole area with the regular vacuum head. Awesome! Saved me over an hour each vacuuming day! Fifth, the adage of "less is more" is true. The less stuff that you have to clean and dust, the more free time you will have. I try to keep my decorations simple, purposeful, and easy to clean. While collections can be nice, they can also be high maintenance - literally. Finally, when I first implemented this schedule, I set a time limit and got as much done as I could within my set time limit. Now, my cleaning on Sundays and Fridays, except for laundry, takes about three hours total at the most. Some days, we are done in two. It just depends on how motivated, cooperative, and "helpful" the kids are.

Take a look at your house and carefully consider what schedule will work for you. Pay attention to how long it takes you to do your daily routine and then determine if there are ways that you can become more efficient. You just might be amazed at how much you can get done! We are usually done with the daily chores between 9:00 and 11:00, depending on the day - leaving plenty of time for school, projects, and appointments.

Blessings be upon you.

Organizing Prayers

I am sure that at the first glance of this title, you are wondering how is it possible to organize prayers. Let me explain a little more.

I used to keep a prayer list. While I have replaced this with something else, I still think it is a good idea and wanted to share it with you. My Prayer List included all the people I wanted to cover in prayer on a regular basis. I kept this list in a sheet protector and then, using a dry erase marker, wrote additional personal prayer items as I was led to pray for them.

The reason this method no longer works for me is because I don't have a way to keep track of how God has answered those prayers and I have to rely on my memory. Remembering God's answered prayers is so important because it can become a part of our testimony to show God's mercy and provision with others. Nothing is more influential than your personal story of your personal relationship with God! It can literally lead people to faith - including unbelieving spouses.

Let me share a personal example with you. I became a believer before my husband and spent a lot of time studying the Proverbs 31 woman and I tried really hard to remember the admonishment of 1 Peter 3:1, which states, "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;"

I spent a lot of time praying for anything and everything - including trundle beds. At that time, we were living in a 3 bedroom, 1 bath apartment with about 1,200 square feet and had already had our fifth child about a year earlier. We already had two boys in one room and two girls in the other with my husband and I sharing the third with the youngest one still in a crib. Bunk beds were not an option because the ceilings were too low and we had safety concerns with a one-year old toddler and a very active three-year old son. I began to pray for trundle beds. I would pray and look at the options in various furniture stores. We simply could not afford it. I would pray some more and check out resale sites like Ebay and Craigslist. Nothing available or too expensive. Looking back I almost think it is silly how long I prayed for those beds. A very long time. So long, it was actually a permanent item on my prayer list. I hope you are laughing as you are reading this because I am laughing now as I remember it!

Anyway, at some point, my husband called me at work and asked me if I knew what trundle beds were. Of course I did, I had been praying for them for a very long time, but he never knew about it! I simply told him that, yes, I did know what trundle beds were and that I had been praying that we could find some we could afford. I was curious about why he was asking. I didn't have to wait long. Apparently his uncle had given him a call asking if we wanted two sets of trundle beds as his boss was getting rid of them! Two sets - for free - complete with support boards, mattresses, and the frames. One set was a light colored sleigh bed style and the other was a dark, captain's bed style. God answered my prayers with a set of beds for the girls and for the boys! How awesome is that!

But what makes this testimony even better is that while we were setting up the new beds, I told my husband about how I had been praying for this type of bed. In time, he began to ask me to pray for specific things - and when God answered those prayers too, he began to want to know more until he became a believer himself.

Because I wanted to come up with a way to create a prayer list and be able to write down God's answers, I began searching and praying for another way. I bounced some ideas with some good friends. You know, what do you think of this or that? Women that I know are prayer warriors. Then while shopping one day, I came across a beautifully bound journal. God blessed me with inspiration. I now write down my prayers about a specific persona, place, or need - each one on its own page. As time passes, I add on to the prayers. I actually write out my prayers, almost as a personal letter to Jesus. It becomes a continuous process. I purposefully write on only one side of the page so that I have room to add more prayers or the answers, as they happen. I plan on getting a new book each year and keeping these as part of my testimony to my friends and family, including future generations, about how God has blessed my life of prayer.

I pray that you find these posts about prayer beneficial and that you may inspired to find a way to make prayer work for you.

Blessings be upon you.

Creating a Home Management Binder

As we start out the new year, we are going to start working on our Home Management Binder, or in some cases, binders. I find these binders to be an invaluable tool for keeping me more organized and in control of my schedule, instead of my schedule controlling me. No two binders should ever be exactly the same since each home has its unique characteristics, family mix, responsibilities, and needs. In most situations, one or two binders will be enough for the average family; unfortunately, because of the various responsibilities I juggle, I found that having several binders worked better for me.

I use two different sizes of binders - 1" or 3". First, I would like to review the one inch binders with you.

• Keeping It Together - this binder is my primary binder for keeping myself and the family organized. We will be going through some of the contents of this binder in more detail in the days following. This is the main Home Management Binder that I am referring to when I talk about putting something in your binder.
• Documentation - this binder is the only binder that I would ever grab in a true life or death emergency. This binder holds all the required legal documents that we would need. Again, this is a binder that could be consolidated into a primary Home Management Binder, or maintained separately. I have chosen to maintain mine separately since I rarely need any of the information in it except for during tax season.
• Learning to Live God's Way - most people will not need this binder unless, like me, they are involved in managing a website or blog ministry. This is the binder that I use to keep track of post ideas, statistics, and research notes for that particular website. In the event that you want to check it out sometime, you can view it at www.learningtolivegodsway.com.
• Client Binders - I also create one of these binders for my major website clients that have a lot of pages and coding that I have to manage. I create a separate binder for each client, so that when I am working on designing or programming a client's website, all of the necessary details are immediately available and can rest nicely, opened, on my desk, without interfering with my work space.

As previously mentioned, I also use three inch binders. These binders are great because they are capable of holding a lot of pages.

• Cooking Fuller Style - this is my recipe binder and it contains all the recipes that I use on a regular basis and have outlined in my meal plans. It is my intention to share as many recipes with you as I can at some point. I find cooking to be fun most days, so long as I have a plan and easy access to the recipes I want to use. And that I know most of my family like to eat. All of these pages are encased in plastic sheet protectors. Trust me, it is well worth the investment!
• 2012 Audit Files - the backbone for our business. We were audited by the state of Wisconsin in 2013 and had to reproduce all the paperwork and receipts to substantiate our taxes for two years - 2011 and 2012. This was a huge, stressful, and overwhelming challenge for us. Not only did we have a baby, move across the state, and purchase our first home in 2011, but I had a hard time finding all the paperwork that they required. Fortunately, at one time I had worked for an auditing company and an appraisal company, so I had a pretty good idea of how to organize everything to submit to the state auditors. The auditor was so happy with my system of presentation that she actually got permission to use the binders I submitted opposed to relying on the copies scanned into their computer system. Ever since, I have created the same binders at the beginning of each year and then updated the information or filed key documents in it throughout the year. Should we ever face another audit, all the paperwork is already assembled - saving me weeks of stress and sleepless nights! While I know most people do not have their own business, I will take the time to share what we learned during our audit in an effort to help other small business owners.

As for the actual binders themselves, I only use one specific type of binder, which fortunately comes in a variety of colors. All of my binders are the Staples Better Binder. The rings open easily and never seem to get unaligned like other binders. I like the consistent appearance to the spine and that it is rubber coated - no slipping and sliding around the desk or counter tops. The one inch binders hold about 275 pages; the three inch holds about 600. Of course, the use of sheet protectors does reduce the number of pages you can fit in the binder.

And for the tabbed dividers, I always purchase the extra-wide rainbow dividers. These dividers are bright, colorful, and extend past the edge of the sheet protectors. Before discovering the extra-wide dividers, my tabs were always buried between sheets of plastic.

I would recommend that you wait a few weeks to purchase your binders so that you get the right size the first time. Initially, use file folders and colored sheets of paper as temporary dividers to keep your papers organized. Once you feel you have a handle on how you want to organize your binder, you will have a general idea of how many pages it needs to hold. Also, always allow room for expansion. It's seems like once I got this system of organizing to work for me, I found more and more things that I wanted to include!

Blessings be upon you.

Introducing Mrs. Isabella Beeton

I would like to introduce you to Mrs. Isabella Beeton, a woman to whom much gratitude is owed.

She is most famously known for writing the book Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, which was published on December 25, 1861. Mrs. Beeton was the eldest of 22 children, and gained much of her experience in household management growing up in a middle class English family.

Mrs. Beeton's publishing career started with the writing of articles on cooking and household management for her husband's publications. She also wrote a monthly supplement to a domestic magazine published for women. It is these articles and monthly supplements that were consolidated into her popular book. It is after her pattern of writing and publishing that this website took shape. The original book covered all the various responsibilities of the mistress of a home, including the management of various household staff members, such as the: Housekeeper, Cook, Kitchen-Maid, Butler, Footman, Coachman, Valet, Upper and Under House-Maids, Lady's-Maid, Maid-of-all-Work, Laundry-Maid, Nurse, and Nurse-Maid.

In addition to the articles pertaining to household staff, the book also encourages women to develop the traits of the Proverbs 31 woman. As meal preparation is a large part of any household, her original book contained a lot of recipes, some of which will be featured in future posts.

We know that the Proverbs 31 woman had handmaidens, and Mrs. Beeton's book features an extensive domestic staff. However, today's woman must accomplish everything these women did using her skills and those that she develops in other family members. In my own life, I have taken the best advice from each staff members' responsibilities and attempted to incorporate them to the best of my ability in the management of my own home. It is the best and the most successful that I intend to share with you in future posts.

I pray that you are as inspired by this woman as I was and can recognize that although her book was written over 150 years ago, much of its advice can still be applied to our lives and homes today.

Blessings be upon you.

90 Minutes Now Can Mean20 Minutes Tomorrow

Yesterday was one of those crazy days where the time just got away from me. You know how it goes. You are working on this project and that chore and managing the kids and before you know it, your husband is asking "what's for dinner" because it's six o'clock. In all honesty, I had nothing planned, but I just smiled and said give me just a minute and I'll get dinner started.

Oops! We usually eat at six so I was already a little bit behind. What's a wife and mother to do when this happens?

I think that we usually have three options: (1) order out/in; (2) make our standard "back up" meal; or (3) leverage our home canned goods.

The first option of ordering something from a restaurant was not a feasible option for us. It was the end of the week and we had some extra expenditures during the month. Sure, we had the money available, but we just didn't want to let our balance slide below a certain threshold. So that meant time to consider option two.

There are a lot of times that I get busy and lose track of time. Or I plan something for dinner and it just doesn't defrost fast enough (because I took it out that morning instead of the night before). In fact, this happened so often early in my homemaking endeavors that I actually began to plan for it. It just so happens that my husband loves tuna fish casserole with egg noodles, peas, and a creamy cheese sauce, topped with french fried onions. Now, this is my "back up" dinner whenever I find myself in a jam. Except, it was already dinner time and I did not have the hour I needed to make my good old standby. This meant, it was time for option three.

Earlier in the year, I had bought a bunch of boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale, in four and six pound bags. These were quickly cooked and then packed and canned into one and one-half pint jars. I also have a supply of instant potatoes in the pantry (it makes a great thickener for soups). A package of chicken gravy mix and a bag of frozen broccoli and we were set for dinner - in about 20 minutes! In fact, we had to wait for the frozen broccoli to finish cooking before we could eat - everything else was already done!

Okay, so dinner wasn't anything fancy - just chicken in gravy, poured over hot, mashed potatoes with a side of broccoli. But it only took me 20 minutes!

This was only possible because I was willing to spend the 90 minutes required to pressure can some chicken meat. Sometimes, we need to make the investment in time at the beginning so that we achieve the savings in time down the road. And from my perspective, this was awesome! We ate dinner at a reasonable hour. It was hot, filling and very satisfying. My husband was happy. I was relieved. I was also thankful for my pantry stocked with food that I preserved.

So what investments can you make now to help your family tomorrow?

10 Minutes 3 Times Each Day vs.60 Minutes Each Day

I confess that I am not one to set any type of resolutions. In fact, I am not that great at setting goals either. I recognized that 2015 is going to be extremely busy - in a good way - and so I decided to invest a little in myself and take some courses on improving productivity and organization. I believe that I am still capable of learning, growing, and improving. While I find organizing things and developing systems easy to do, I am not always as consistent as I would like to be in practice.

In part due to this training, I decided to try and tackle the dirty dishes three times a day. And I noticed that I could do the breakfast dishes in about five minutes, the lunch in about two, and dinner in about ten. So, less than twenty minutes a day. Yet, if I left the dishes from the day until evening, or as usually happened, until the next morning, it would take an hour or more to do them. I started to question this.

In theory, one could say that I am doing the same amount of dishes, but after reflecting on it a bit, I realized that this theory is actually quite wrong. It's wrong because we lose the affect of accumulation. Think about. Instead of washing the same spoon three times a day, I would actually be washing three different spoons. The same is true for glasses, bowls, and plates. Throw in whatever tools were needed to prepare each meal and the numbers continue to increase. For me, this was a "duh" kind of moment. I mean, I hate doing dishes. It has been something that I have struggled with my entire life - until now.

I'm serious! Think about all the tasks that we allow to accumulate and do only when it has to be done versus managing it periodically throughout the day, week, or month, whatever the case may be.

What things do you let pile up and then take "forever" to complete?

Be blessed.