{"id":131,"date":"2012-02-15T15:50:08","date_gmt":"2012-02-15T15:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kandynolesstevens.com\/?p=131"},"modified":"2012-02-15T15:50:08","modified_gmt":"2012-02-15T15:50:08","slug":"a-really-good-read-and-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/?p=131","title":{"rendered":"A really good read and contest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, I wrote about my best friend and our phone call concerning crockpot liner bags.\u00a0 Today, I am lingering over a memory of another one of those moments that we shared.\u00a0 Long ago, we shared nursery duty at our church on Wednesday nights.\u00a0 One of those nights, she came bearing gifts.\u00a0 She had the opportunity to purchase some books through her workplace, and she bought this great cookbook.\u00a0 After reading through it, she realized that it was one of the best cookbook\/hints book she had ever come across.\u00a0 So through love she decided that I couldn\u2019t live without this book either.\u00a0 And she was right, second only to the Bible, that book Dining on a Dime<\/em> is most used book in my house.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the Christmas holidays, I was bored one day.\u00a0 (That was painful to even write, but it was an exceptionally quiet day at our house.)\u00a0 I knew that there was an order form sheet in the front of the book; so, I wondered if the Dining on a Dime<\/em> folks have a website.\u00a0 I was not disappointed.\u00a0 By looking at the website, I found that I had more in connection with the authors (Jill and Tawra) than I had differences.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the moment, I received the cookbook, I poured over its pages, and I found I was doing the same thing with the website.\u00a0 (What a way to fill a \u201cboring\u201d afternoon!) I also found that strong connection I felt had to do with where our mutual hope was rooted rather than where our stomachs and grocery budgets lie.\u00a0 That strong connection is what I feel with most of my closest friends.\u00a0 It is the acknowledgment of the blessing of friendships.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I have never met Jill or Tawra (but hope to do so someday), but today, I have the opportunity to review one of their books, Penny Pinching Mama: 500 Ways I lived on $500 a month<\/em>.\u00a0 The good news for my readers is that you have the opportunity (through my blog) to win the book.\u00a0 After receiving the book, I wasn\u2019t prepared for how much it would touch me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I will be honest.\u00a0 I had a hard time putting it down.\u00a0 Despite being a hints and ideas book, the advice is\u00a0given with heartfelt honesty and hard-hitting integrity.\u00a0 While telling of a painful life story, Jill goes on to share not what she did, but more what she had to do<\/strong> to survive and to keep her family afloat.\u00a0 Yet while going through these tough years, she clung to her faith which is evidenced throughout the book in her anecdotes and story-telling.\u00a0 Throughout the pages, she tells of the personal circumstance and the tips that helped her in those moments.\u00a0 Trust me I took good notes on many of the tips.<\/p>\n

Now I will be brutally honest.\u00a0 After finishing the book, the first thing I did was pray and thank God.\u00a0 It was a good book, but the gratitude came from the fact that I have never been forced in life to live on nothing financially.\u00a0 I realize that I had to dig deep from the well of faith in the\u00a0tragedy that befell our family, but I have never walked in Jill or Tawra\u2019s shoes, and for that, I am truly thankful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I am guessing that Jill would deflect compliments of amazing and inspirational.\u00a0 I am equally certain that she would agree with my newest favorite quote, \u201cI am convinced that \u201cstrong Christians\u201d just know where to run in times of trouble.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you would like to learn more about Jill and Tawra\u2019s books, check out their webpage www.livingonadime.com<\/a> .\u00a0 To win a copy of Penny Pinching Mama<\/em>, you must post a reply to this blog and<\/span><\/em><\/strong> share a money saving tip (of any kind) in your response.\u00a0 Replies without tips will not be considered for the prize. \u00a0I will give one week for entry replies and from those participating; I will draw one name to be the winner.\u00a0 I will use a random name generator (aka a clean sock and slips of paper at our house) to \u201cscientifically\u201d choose the winner.<\/p>\n

Looking forward to the responses and great ideas!\u00a0 Today, be thankful for the blessings BIG or small, because I know I will be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, I wrote about my best friend and our phone call concerning crockpot liner bags.\u00a0 Today, I am lingering over a memory of another one of those moments that we shared.\u00a0 Long ago, we shared nursery duty at our church on Wednesday nights.\u00a0 One of those nights, she came bearing gifts.\u00a0 She had the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}