Longaberger Baskets=Blessings Upon Blessings

A couple of months ago, I posted a blog with an offer, no actually an opportunity to be blessed with great, high quality merchandise and be a "blessing" to our family when purchasing a Longaberger basket, pottery or flameware.  The commission I earn from  these purchase is being used solely to purchase household furnishings for our home as we lost 2/3 of our belongs in the fire we experienced in November.

If you considered making a purchase and did not, there is still time to "Buy a Basket...help the Bowies"  If you know ones who might be interested in these items please forward this link to them, thank you!  http://ic.longaberger.com/esuite/home/michelebowie?showID=15842528&hostName=Michele+Bowie&closeDate=04%2F30%2F2013 
every purchase counts.  Thank you in advance for your support of the rebuilding of our "home".

Save Money For Summer Fun

Now is the time to consider what you would like to do with your family this summer.  Some of us plan for our children to attend camps or summer classes while others choose to plan a family vacation.  Whatever your desire for fun and relaxation this summer it is sure to cost money.  If you're like me, you live on a budget and must plan how to include these extra expenses into the big picture.  I have found that my grocery budget is the most flexible category in my budget.  Since the grocery budget is not a fixed price or a bill to be paid, I can choose to shop and save, thus giving me a nest egg for the extras...i.e. summer fun!  

When grocery shopping, my greatest savings come from using coupons.  I have made coupon clipping a regular part of my weekly tasks so it will not feel like one more thing on my To Do List. I have also decided that shopping at more that one store is a wise choice, as you know some stores have greater everyday prices on certain items so if these stores are having a sale..."cha-ching".

To learn more about how to shop and save come, join me at my Coupon Gathering and Coupon 101 Class, Monday, April 15, 2013 at 6:30 p.m., and learn how to shop and SAVE BIG on groceries, toiletries, cleaning supplies etc., how to organize your coupons and where to find coupons on the internet. You will also learn how to set up our computers for convenient daily updates from coupon bloggers, facebook pages etc. and much more! Cost just $10. Not interested in taking the class , come for the Coupon Gathering...here is a great opportunity to join like-minded women to cut, print and organize coupons as well as make your grocery list while enjoying a light snack and a beverage. I will share current shopping deals and scenarios. For your convenience I offer wifi and a printer. Cost just $5. Contact me today to reserve your spot.

Buy a Longaberger basket...bless the Bowies!

As a result of our recent house fire we lost a lot of our belongings.  Over the years I accumulated several Longaberger baskets and wanted to replace them because I found them to be very useful and durable, able to withstand the activities of our busy household.  The cost to replace them was huge and even though we were being reimbursed by our insurance company I wanted to be sure to make a wise purchase.  When contacting a Longaberger consultant she encouraged me to make the most of my money and become a consultant at a cost of $49 which gave me the opportunity to receive $200 in merchandise FREE as well as gave me the ability to make the commission from my own sale which allowed me to purchase additional merchandise at NO additional cost.  I was grateful for such insight and the opportunity to make good use of our money.

There are still things we have need of for our home and I am asking for your help. If you or any of your family or friends purchase Longaberger, please consider using my website  http://ic.longaberger.com/esuite/home/michelebowie to make your purchases.  When you buy a basket, pottery etc. from me as a consultant you bless the Bowies!  The commission from these sales will bless our family with income to be able to refurnish our home.  Below please find the current and upcoming sales for this month to help make wise purchases. Thank you in advance for your consideration!

 

CURRENT AND UPCOMING SALES...

 

It's the final week before Tax Day on April 15, and Longaberger has some BIG savings planned NOW through Monday!

On Wednesday, April 10 beginning at noon through midnight on Monday, April 15 three of our most popular baskets are on sale at great prices!  The Cake, Social Gathering, and Everyday Essentials Baskets are offered at savings up to 50% off in 15 different colors!  They are hardworking baskets with and without our pottery, and with this color selection will work in every room of your home. You can order these directly through my website 

http://ic.longaberger.com/esuite/home/michelebowie  or call  614-431-2307 or e-mail me at boworks@aol.com to place the order.  Visit the website to view photos and see color details and more. 

Also, all of our Longaberger at home showroom locations including Longaberger at home online are having a 30% off sale on EVERYTHING through Monday, April 15.  In addition, our retired So Rachel jewelry collection is available for an additional 30% off on Tuesday, April 9 from noon until midnight.  You can shop this sale directly through my website at http://ic.longaberger.com/esuite/home/michelebowie  and choose the Longaberger at Home link on the left side of the page. 

Don't forget -- we are offering our terrific pottery sale in our April flyer the entire month of April, and this is the month to order our Mother's Day Baskets too -- orders are guaranteed for Mother's Day delivery if placed by Monday, April 15. If you have any questions on any of these offers please let me know!  I am currently hosting an online show (SHOW ID 15837864) through April 20, 2013.  Just use this show ID with my name as host to place your order. Thank you for your support.

Thank the Lord for Thursdays!

I am sitting here on Friday afternoon thanking God for the date I had with my husband last night...dinner by candle light!

I can not say that our marriage has been without frustrations and disappointments nor can I say that there haven't been times when I have wanted to give up.  What I can say is that I sought the Lord for my husband and He opened my eyes and my heart to Walter Bowie and confirmed in me His will for us to marry.  Since that day, I have been dedicated to loving him with all of my heart, second only to the Lord.

Along our journey we have been blessed with 10 beautiful children who I love dearly, but nothing like the love I have for Walter.  My love for him is deep; I made a covenant to be his bride unto death not only unto him, but unto our Lord and that is what bind us.  Through good, bad and indifferent my heart yearns to be right with him, I love him so.

It has been so good to have a love like this, especially as I go through the seasons of life as a mother of many, grandma, friend, servant of the Lord etc. The tragedy of the fire has brought unto me the reality that life as we know it this moment is not promised and that having a marriage with Christ as the foundation is must.  Life situations and circumstances are that which test your faith and that which can destroy marriages.  I refuse to allow that to happen to us and thus I choose to cling to God and cling to Walter.

One of the blessings of our marriage has been our commitment to have a date every Thursday.  We have not allowed finances, pregnancies :), indifference nor tragedy keep us from this special time. We have kept it simple yet intimate...dinner and a movie together in the "Love Nest" (our bedroom).  It is not a time for the discussions of life, but a time to be "together".  Now, I must say that there have been times that we have come together with indifference and one or both of us have had little or nothing to say, but we met just the same and were blessed in the midst.

When we made the commitment to have a date on Thursday over 14 years ago little did we know it would be such a blessing to us, but God did!  At times it has been the anchor that has kept our ship from drifting away from God.  For me some weeks it is my motivation to make it through one more day for I know Thursday is coming and at other times I have looked forward to it that it would rekindle the fire that was seemingly burning out.  Walter and I  both agree that God has blessed us tremendously through this commitment and for that we are grateful.

We Walk by Faith

 

The need to reconstruct our home has presented us with an opportunity to expand our home to accommodate our growing (in stature) family.  As a homeschooling family of ten, consisting of seven growing boys who are at home most of everyday, we have need of more space in our house.  When considering this opportunity, reality presented itself...it takes money to expand.

With that reality in mind, we sought the Lord and He gave Walter and I peace about our desire to expand and then a floor plan which includes a bigger bedroom for our seven boys, a bigger kitchen and a bigger schoolroom allowing us to have more space in some very important areas of our home.   When presenting our expansion plan to the builder, he came back with what was a good quote, but it was well beyond our pockets, be it we had not planned to incur such an expense.  Walter and I were both disappointed, unto tears.  So, we went back to the Lord for wisdom and we decided to make a sacrifice and put the compensation we will receive from the insurance company for the contents of our home towards the reconstruction of our home and trust God to provide the furniture, appliances and household items we will need to return to our home. We both have faith that God will supply our every need.

In taking this step of faith, I made a list of our needs including the cost of these items and presented it to God.  He revealed to me that additional debt was not an option, but instead humbling ourselves before Him and others and willing accepting  things from  friends, family etc. as well as choosing to shop for clearance items and gently used items from resale shops to replace the contents of our home is the plan.  I trust God; for truly He is our provider and our sustainer.   We shared our decision with our children since they too will be making a sacrifice of not having things replaced that they once had; we are all at peace and excited to watch God do what He does...provide, for He has not forsaken us.

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart . . . I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."
Psalms 37:4, 25, KJV