Mrs. Roy's Favorite Charity - October - Operation Christmas Child

Mrs. Roy will focus on a particular charity each month for the entire month. Mrs. Roy hopes you will join me in supporting these worthy causes. I promise not to lead you astray but to only recommend charities that (1) Mrs. Roy knows do good work, (2) Mrs. Roy knows they are good stewards and (3) Mr. and Mrs. Roy put their money where their mouth is - in other words, we give to them.

Mrs. Roy’s favorite charity for October is Operation Christmas Child, a division of Samaritan’s Purse. These are the shoebox people – they get folks like you and me to pack a shoebox with small gifts and they deliver them all over the world to children who need to know that Jesus loves them. Mrs. Roy and some of her friends get together each fall and throw a party where everyone comes together to pack the shoeboxes. It’s a wonderful charity and Mrs. Roy hopes you will join us in packing a shoebox and sending it to child to make them smile.

There is a link at the top of this page that will send you to the website for Operation Christmas Child. If you don’t want to pack a shoebox yourself, you can still support this charity by making a donation and praying that God will lead them in this work. Mrs. Roy hopes you will follow this link at least once this month and make a donation to this worthy organization.

MRS. ROY'S PICKLE KEEPER

Mrs. Roy read about some folks out on the west coast who have sold, given away and donated all their stuff until they only own 100 items.  Mrs. Roy's been thinking about that and Mrs. Roy's not going there - for lots of reasons.  One reason is that Mrs. Roy loves her pickle keeper. 

There are some things in this world that just do what they are supposed to do so perfectly, it can't be improved.  This Tupperware pickle keeper is one of those things.  Mrs. Roy bought hers many, many years ago and it has been in constant use ever since.  How does it work, you ask?  Well, when you take off the lid, there is a handle underneath that is connected to a perforated bottom so that when you pull up on the handle, the pickles come up out of the brine without you having to dig for them.  When you let go, everything settles back to the bottom so the pickles stay nice and moist.  Mrs. Roy thinks it's more sanitary than a plain old pickle jar and it's certainly more interesting. 

Mrs. Roy has bought a couple of these beauties in second-hand shops over the years, always giving them away to interested friends or family.  Mrs. Roy checked the Tupperware website and you can buy a new one for $17.00.  Mrs. Roy is not trying to sell Tupperware but was glad to know they still make them.

Mrs. Roy knows there are probably a lot of things we could do without around here and be perfectly happy, but my pickle keeper makes me smile and that's worth more than some extreme political / ecology / frugality statement in Mrs. Roy's book.  So, rest assured there are probably always going to be lots more than 100 items in Mrs. Roy's house and, if you are interested, the pickles are in the frig.

Mrs. Roy's Way of Spending Time

Mrs. Roy's way of relaxing sometimes means sitting down at the sewing machine and making something from nothing.  Mrs. Roy has a relatively large stash of fabric pieces given to me by a friend and I'm having a great time working my way through the stash.  It has become a challenge to see what Mrs. Roy can make without having to go to the store and supplement my stash.  When the baby quilt pictured above is finished, it will have come completely from the stash.  It's a perfect blending of Mrs. Roy's favorite ways of doing things - frugal, charitable (the quilt is a gift), eco-friendly by using what I have instead of buying new, and fun for me to work on.

Life is good.

ALL OR NOTHING

Mrs. Roy had a Sunday School student who came up to me years ago and said he had been arguing with his grandmother about creationism vs other ideas and his grandmother told him to just go ask Mrs. Roy, as his Sunday School teacher, and Mrs. Roy would tell him the truth. So, he asked me, did God create the world in six days like it says in the Bible or over millions of years like some scientists say? Mrs. Roy knew right then and there, with that young boy looking me straight in the eye and expecting me to know the absolute right answer, that God was telling me to put up or shut up - Mrs. Roy had to decide on the spot whether I was going to believe that every word of the Bible was the inspired Word of God or not. And that young boy's soul might be the cost of my lack of faith.

So, yes, God did create the world in six days just like the Bible says. Mrs. Roy is not going to start picking and choosing which part of the Bible to believe. For Mrs. Roy, it's all or nothing.  I know God is real and that Jesus is real and that He died on the cross for my sins so the rest is real, too. Mrs. Roy can't explain all of it but I believe it. And I'm thanking the Lord once again for sending that boy and his grandmother into Mrs. Roy's life with that lesson.

CONTENTMENT

Gary over at The Dollar Stretcher recently asked:  Has anyone found a way to program themselves to be happy with what they have?  Mrs. Roy definitely believes contentment is a learned behavior and Mrs. Roy has found some tricks to help me along the way.  Maybe one of these will help you, too.

An attitude of gratitude. One of the best ways to be happy with what you have is to be intentionally grateful. Make a list every morning of ten things you are grateful for, even if you don’t feel very grateful. You may have a flat tire, but at least you have a car. You may not have a steak for dinner, but be thankful you have a can of soup. This exercise becomes easier as you go along so stick with it.

Take an inventory. When Mrs. Roy was going through a rough patch, I would take a mental inventory every time the panic started to swell up - kids are okay, husband is okay, house payment is made, electricity is still on, gas in the car, food to eat today.  Mrs. Roy was boiling our life down to the least common denominator but knowing the basics were taken care of made the “uncontrollables” in Mrs. Roy's life less daunting.

Look outside yourself. Most of us are so blessed. How can Mrs. Roy fuss about not having the latest greatest cell phone when other folks don’t have food?

Stop watching television and reading magazines. Advertisers spend millions making their products tempting. Manufacturers are constantly creating newer, better versions of their products specifically so we will become discontented with the perfectly fine product we already bought. Just don’t subject yourself to the ads and you will be much more content.

Set a goal. If Mrs. Roy is saving toward a specific goal, I am less likely to spend money on things Mrs. Roy doesn't really need.  In other words, Mrs. Roy is more content with what I have and less likely to feel deprived if Mrs. Roy is focusing on the goal.

Take Your Adventures Where You Find Them

Mrs. Roy recently had an adventure in the Japan Air Club Room restroom.  Mrs. Roy is really, really sorry she didn't take her camera into the restroom so there would be photographic proof of this story but who knew???

Here's the story.  Mr. and Mrs. Roy were on a journey and had the privilege of stopping off in the Japan Air Club Room in a foreign airport.  When Mrs. Roy went to the potty, I was greeted by a large, square contraption instead of the usual oval model.  Plus it had a lid.  Now, if you've ever been out of the USA, you know that restroom facilities differ from place to place so Mrs. Roy was immediately wary of this square thing, thinking it might be something other than what Mrs. Roy thought it was, perhaps a bidet or something.  This is one of those situations where it could be really embarrassing if you made a mistake so caution is a good thing.

That's when Mrs. Roy noticed the control panel on the wall.  There were two (two!!) rows of buttons on this control panel and, fortunately, some English along with the symbols.  Mrs. Roy saw that there were options for flush, tornado flush, wash front, wash back, even powder!  Obviously, this was no ordinary toilet!

Mrs. Roy proceeded gingerly but relaxed when skin met warm porcelain.  That's right - the seat was heated.  Now Mrs. Roy was wishing I had brought my book in with me.  Soon enough, the time came for Mrs. Roy to decide which buttons to push.  Mrs. Roy's exact choices might be a little too much information but Mrs. Roy will tell you that I stayed clear of the tornado flush.  And Mrs. Roy decided to forgo the powder; you just never know.

Mrs. Roy came out of the restroom grinning from ear to ear and Mr. Roy enjoyed hearing all about the Japanese toilet so much, he asked me to share with the rest of you.  All I can say is take your adventures where you find them because life is good!

Charity of the Month - September - Modest Needs.org - part two

Here is one of the testimonials from someone who was helped by Modest Needs.  What Mrs. Roy liked about this one was that the money was sent straight to the tire store so you know it got used for tires!  That's one of the things Mrs. Roy likes about Modest Needs!



From the bottom of my heart I thank all of you for helping at this time. I don't know how much longer my tires were going to last, but now I can soon get them replaced and it's due to your wonderful generosity. I don't know what I would have done without your help. My car is my only transportation to work. Again, thank you so very much for your kindness in my time of need. I will certainly try to help someone myself when my financial situation improves. May God bless all of you!
benben1112 Lincoln (AR) | 2010-09-09 17:22 | Read original request

If you would like to be part of the good work at Modest Needs, just click on the icon on the right of this page and you can start helping make this world a better place today!  They even have their requests broken down by categories so you can find just the right person to help - animal lovers, military folks, domestic violence situations, elder care, and more.  You can find folks in a particular state or who need a particular amount of money.  Modest Needs makes it easy to be a good neighbor.