The Best New Years Resolution

  First of all, I'd like to say that I sincerely hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their friends and families! We had a wonderful Christmas and a very busy one!
  I'm also happy and beyond blessed that my family and I are going into a new year with health. I'm thankful that God has allowed us yet another year to live for Him!
  I'm not one for any new year's resolutions or anything else, because let's be truthful- we never fully reach our goal (for the most part). I resolved at the beginning of this year to loose all this pesky post-baby fat that had accumulated from two pregnancies, but I can tell you that the bulge didn't budge! What happens with all these promises we make ourselves? We simply get discouraged and give up any hope that we will see our goals to fruition.
  But do you know what is the most important resolution you can make in the year 2015? It's not paying off debts and credit cards (although that is important), it's not loosing weight, it's not saving more money, it's not making more money; the most important resolution is to make sure that you are born again (see Acts 2:38) and that you and your family are in a church that preaches 100% truth! The single-most important decision you will ever make is the decision to be saved and serve God! There are three ultra important steps to be born again, and if you haven't done these things, you will be lost! In John 3:5, Jesus tells Nicodemus that a person MUST be born of water (baptism) and of the Spirit (Holy Ghost).
John 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 
  The church began on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts. In Acts 2:38, when 120 people were gathered in the Upper Room (as they had been instructed by Jesus), Peter, one of Jesus' twelve disciples, stood up and told the people what they must do to be saved. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Peter was fulfilling the command Jesus had given before He left; "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.." (Matthew 28:19)  The NAME of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost was the wonderful name JESUS! "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12). All throughout the book of Acts, every convert was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and God filled them with the Holy Ghost!
  You must 1.) Repent- Genuinely ask for forgiveness for the sins that you have committed and turn COMPLETELY away from your present sinful lifestyle. All of us, no matter how "good" we are born with a sinful nature!!!
  You must 2.) Be baptized in the wonderful name of Jesus. This is required to apply the shed blood of Jesus for the remission of the sins that you have committed, and to lay to rest the "old man" or your old, sinful nature.
  Finally, 3.) you MUST receive the Holy Ghost to complete the new birth! Once you have followed God's word, it is God's promise that He will fill you with the gift of the Holy Ghost with the confirmation of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. These are heavenly tongues that only God can understand.  Acts 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 
  Have any more questions? Do a subject study in the Bible on baptism, the Holy Ghost, the name of Jesus, etc. The Bible never contradicts itself and as Isaiah 28:10 says, put every scripture line upon line, precept upon precept. The Bible is like a beautiful puzzle, but unless we put every piece, and every verse together, we will not see the whole picture, and that will be to our own detriment!
 

Hannah Caudle
Acts 2:38, Obey it!

Ibotta: Better than Coupons

   I want to introduce you to yet another money-saving app I have been using and have found to be very useful in addition to my coupons, etc.
   A lot of people don't know what's available or they think that money saving apps, coupons, and other methods is a waste of time. But I'm glad a friend told me about the app a few moths ago! The name of the app for Android and Apple smartphone devices is called Ibotta. Their motto is "Better than coupons"; in most cases that is true.
   Ibotta is an easy-to-use rebate app that allows you to shop for your favorite brands, unlock rebates for those items you purchase and redeem the rebates. The rebates cycle through. Example: you can have a 25 cent rebate on any brand of milk one week and then the next week it might be replaced with $1.50 off of two 32-bottle packs of  Nestle bottled water. For this reason, it helps to redeem the rebate as soon as you can because they have an expiration date just like a coupon. Ibotta saves every rebate you unlock to your "Shopping list" so you can view all the items that you have rebates for, so it is more convenient than combing through your stack of  coupons. The app also allows you to save your loyalty card id numbers to the app for different stores such as Rite Aid, CVS, Foodlion, Lowes Foods, and any other stores relative to your area. There are rebates for Health and Wellness, Beauty, Grocery, Home Improvement, Baby, Pet, Online, etc.
   To redeem a rebate, first the rebate must be unlocked, and then after the rebate is unlocked, you must scan the bar code of the item that you purchased. The app will let you know if the rebate matches the item you purchased. (For best measure, I scan the bar code of the item I would like to purchase before I leave the store so I can make sure they match!) After you scan all the bar codes of the items you purchased, the app will prompt you to take a picture of your store receipt, and then it will add the money to your Ibotta account once the receipt has been verified (usually takes 2-24 hours to fully process and verify your receipt). You can choose to transfer the money you have earned to your PayPal account once it reaches a minimum of $5, or you can choose to allow the money to build up and load egift cards such as Starbucks, iTunes, Amazon, etc.
   Personally, I love the app! Ibotta pays you to shop! I have earned  $36.25 so far in rebates, and it was easy! It's a no-brainer; why would you not want to use the app?

   So, I hope I covered all the bases for you so you can start saving more on each shopping trip!  Do you have more questions about the app? Feel free to comment and ask me!

The Reason for the Season

   Why is everyone so bah-humbug whenever Christmas is mentioned? I run into a lot of people (and they are not older people either) that have such negative thoughts on Christmas, Christmas music, Christmas dinners, spending time with family, and all those special Christmas traditions we hold so dear to our hearts. Could it be that we are guilty of commercializing Christmas so much ourselves that we loose the real meaning of it?
   Christmas is about Jesus first and foremost. If we didn't have Jesus, our only way of redemption, and only way to have eternal life, then I could very well see why we would dread the season. But the fact is, we do have a hope and a reason to rejoice! Christmas is also about giving of ourselves to others, being willing to serve others, and helping people to learn the real joy of Christmas. But you must first yourself have an understanding of what Christmas is about for yourself.
   Christmas is NOT about trying to find the best, most expensive gift for someone you care about every time Christmas rolls around. There's lots of things in this world that children/adults need more than a new iPad, iPod, iPhone, etc. Sure all those things are nice, but when the newness wears off, they will be looking for the next newest gadget. My point is that things are temporal and they will fade with the change of fads and time. Making memories and teaching your children to love and serve others will be a better present than any expensive gift that you could offer. Children and adults alike need to know the true meaning of Christmas. The best present you could give your children is teaching them about Jesus and instilling the truth of God's word in them.
   Don't get me wrong! I am not saying that you should not give your children or those you love anything for Christmas. But, what I am saying is this: the emphasis should not be on the gifts. My mom used to teach my sisters and I to make care/ goody baskets for people who were elderly and for people who didn't have much in our community. Then we would bring them the baskets and sing Christmas carols to them on Christmas Eve.
   Make memories with your children this Christmas! Make a gingerbread house with them. Set aside a day to pick out a tree with your family. Go walk or drive through the lights this year. Trim a tree with handmade ornaments. Try ice skating with you family! Drink hot chocolate, and make cookies with them. Read the Bible to them so they will remember what Christmas is all about (Matthew 1:18 though Matthew 2:23)! Get your family involved in filling out Christmas cards for loved ones and friends! Make care baskets for the needy and widowed! Go Christmas caroling around your neighborhood with your church family. If your children have never heard the classic story of the Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", then read them the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. Enjoy Christmas parades.  If you have snow, have a snowball fight and make a Frosty the Snowman with your children! Teach your children to help others by doing simple gestures like clearing snow from a neighbor's driveway or sidewalk. Enjoy the Christmas music! Don't wear yourself out buying gifts that will likely end up in a long return line; buy gifts that people need and can use! Don't go beyond your means; the Bible calls us to be wise stewards of the financial blessings he has given us.  Price does not matter, it's the thought that counts!
   Life is too short to be stressed. You can't afford not to enjoy the Christmas season! Enjoy this year because you will never have another opportunity to enjoy Christmas 2014 once it's gone!
 
Hannah Caudle
Acts 2:38, Obey it!