Book Review: The Answers Book

The New Answers Book by Ken Ham

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a good book and I found it very informative. Most of the information is easy to understand and made me think about the origins of the world in a way that I had not thought about much before.



As a product of the public schools, I was raised to think that evolution was fact instead of just the THEORY that it is. I think students need to be taught that evolution is a theory and be shown that there are other valid theories out there, too. We need to remember that there is a difference between scientific fact and theory. Facts are verifiable evidence. Theories are ideas that scientists come up with based on those facts. Theories are not proven. If they could be, they would be considered facts.



This book uses scientific facts and shows that they validate the bible - specifically Genesis which includes the creation and the flood. It also shows why evolution theories and the bible are NOT compatible, while at the same time showing that scientific facts do not contradict what the bible says.


View all my reviews.

Time Vs. Money

This is another article in my series about frugality. We have already discussed some general ideas to improve our cash flow in our home. If our budget isn’t balancing and there always seems to be more month left than there is money, then income needs to increase and/or expenses need to decrease. I know from experience that this easier said than done.

I want to look more closely at areas we can cut spending in our homes. As I was thinking about some of these areas such as minimizing eating out, not buying convenience items, watching for bargains, it brought to mind something that I have discovered throughout my years as a wife, mother and keeper of my home.

TIME = MONEY

Yes, I know this is nothing really profound. Most of us have worked at one time for an hourly wage and understand this. But this is really important to remember in terms of caring for our homes and trying to save money. Most things that we can do to save money require an outlay of time on our part. Let me give you an easy example. It is much faster and easier to drive through somewhere and pick up dinner to take home than to go home, plan a meal, prepare it and clean it up. The difference in cost, however, can be staggering. The differences do not stop there. In most cases the home cooked meal is a much healthier alternative for our family, as well.

I can think of many areas where the cheaper alternative requires more time:

*Convenience foods vs. From scratch foods

*Shopping department stores for new clothes vs. Bargain hunting at garage sales, thrift stores, and rummage sales for decent used clothing

*Drying clothes in a dryer vs. Hanging clothes outside on a line

*Shopping for what you want at the grocery store vs. Studying sales flyers, clipping coupons, and planning meals based on weekly bargains

*Store-bought bread vs. Homemade bread

*Store bought gifts vs. Handmade gifts

*Using disposable plates vs. Doing dishes

*Disposable diapers vs. Cloth diapers

Think about it. Anything that is a convenience item or cuts the time it takes you do something, requires that time from someone or something else. Restaurant or take-out food takes no time for you to cook, but someone else had to spend their time and energy doing it. Using a dryer requires the time and energy from the dryer. You had to spend money for the dryer and spend money for the energy to run it.

Everyone’s lifestyle is different and there may be conveniences in your life that are well worth the cost. You need to weigh the costs. If you have a job that pays you $30 an hour, it would be silly to spend your time doing something that saves you $5 an hour instead. However, if you are a stay-at-home mom and you can find some convenience you can give up that saves you $5, but costs you an extra hour of your day it may be well worth it. Because I am one, I know that stay-at-home moms are not just sitting around on their fannies eating bon-bons and watching soaps all day, but there may be areas in our day that we can be more efficient with our time and therefore do more things ourselves to save a few dollars.

I know from my own experience, I can be much more efficient with my time and my money when I am not over-burdened with commitments, especially ones that take me away from the home. Look at your commitments. Are there things you could easily give up even temporarily? We are a homeschooling family and have found that there are an abundance of worthwhile educational opportunities available for homeschooled children. Many of them are for low or no cost. One has to remember that each requires an additional cost of TIME. I consider how much time the activity is going to take away from home and at what time of day it falls. I weigh this against the educational value of the activity. If an activity takes me away from home, has benefit to only a small percentage of my children, and lands just before or during the dinner hour, I probably won’t even consider it unless it is something really special. This is because I know it will disrupt the whole household and make preparing a healthy, inexpensive dinner from scratch very difficult. The time-cost would be high.

In striving to be women of God, we need to remember that God created us to be help mates for our husbands. I know that this is not a popular idea in society. This does not mean that we are to be submissive doormats under our husbands’ thumbs. It does, however, mean that we are not a drain on our spouses, but instead, an asset.

“A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.” Proverbs 31:10-11

This may be by having a job outside the home and bringing in a second income, or it may be by spending our time working at home to conserve the one income that our husband brings in.

I plan to discuss in later posts some ideas for saving money. Some may sound great and others may sound totally unreasonable. Remember that time is money and count the cost. You need to trade one for the other. It is up to you to decide what you value most in each situation: your time or your money.

Frugality

fru gal 


 /ˈfrugəl/ [froo-guhl]
–adjective
1.
economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful: a frugal manager.
2.
entailing little expense; requiring few resources; meager; scanty: a frugal meal.

frugality. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved October 25, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/frugality

I have been thinking quite a bit lately about frugality. I know that I am not alone. The news media has been doing a great job sensationalizing the state of our economy and striking fear into the hearts of many. I, personally, do not listen too close to the news. It's not that I am burying my head in the sand, hoping that by ignoring everything around me that I won't be affected by the state of the economy. But, you have to realized that it is the media's job to get us upset about the news. That's what keeps you paying attention to them and, in turn, making them money. The media will take the facts and play them out to the worst possible scenarios because we are putty in their hands if we are fearful of what will happen next.

But what is fear? It has been said that fear is the opposite of faith. I tend to agree with this because if I am trusting in the Lord, who is the all-powerful creator of the universe, what do I have to fear? He promises to never leave or forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:6, Deuteronomy 31:8, Joshua 1:5, 1 Kings 8:57, Hebrews 13:5) Because I believe this with all my heart, I tend to listen to the news with only half an ear. I need to base my decisions on what God directs me to do not on what the media says.

With that being said, though, I have been looking at our personal finances with concern. Due to having a growing family, our expenses have a tendency to grow faster than our income. I think that there are many families out there who can relate to this completely. When your budget becomes unbalanced and your outgoing expenses are more than your incoming income, there are only two things you can do: Increase your income and/or decrease your expenses. Let's take a look at these options.

Increasing Income

Are there any ways to easily increase your income?

Here are some ideas:

Ask for a raise. Depending on your job situation you may need to discuss the possibility of a raise with your boss. Some jobs have an automatic yearly review and usually that includes a raise if your performance warrants this. Many jobs, however, don't do this. My husband realized that he had not been giving much of a raise since he started his position at his job although his responsibilities had increased substantially. He did a bit of research to find out what the average income was for someone in his field with similar responsibilities and discovered he was underpaid in comparison. It took a bit of nerve and a lot of prayer, but he approached his boss and addressed this. It paid off and he got a nice increase which we were very thankful for.

Prayerfully consider if this is a step you should take. It is something that needs to be done carefully because you really don't want to alienate yourself from your superiors at work. I also want to caution you against an attitude of bitterness in your job. If you really believe that you are being underpaid and your boss does not agree, you have two choices. You can seek employment elsewhere, or you can decide that your current position is still your best option. Then you need to be thankful for the job opportunity that the Lord has given you. Do not allow bitterness to enter your heart. It does no good, but instead eats away at you and makes your life miserable. I even have had coworkers that have allowed this attitude to cause them to make very foolish decisions that ultimately cost them their job.

Work harder. Some jobs allow you some flexibility in your hours and the option of working overtime. If this is the case for you or your spouse, consider putting in a few extra hours each week. Another consideration if you work on commission is to work a bit harder or longer hours to increase sales and therefore income. It is important to keep in mind how being away longer hours affects the rest of your family and how your household functions. This may not be a wise option if it puts too much of a strain on family life. The family needs to come first.

Increase prices. If you own your own business and finances are tight, it may mean that it is time to review expenses and decide to raise your prices. Our family just recently addressed this. We own rental properties and had not increased rent for three years. After looking at expenses and the market rate for similar apartments, we decided that a rent increase was warranted. No one has scoffed at it and moved out because we are still very competitive in our area.

Declutter and sell your stuff. Look around your house. I bet you can find a few things that you no longer use or need that someone else would value enough to pay for. Sell them. If you live in the right area, have a garage sale. Market it well and you can make a nice sum of money for just a few days work. Another option is online auctions like eBay. Before listing, do a search to see if others have sold similar items and if people are bidding on them. Then you will have an idea of where to set your starting bid and what you can expect to sell it for.

Start you own business. Nearly everyone has a skill that could be used by someone else. Are you crafty and can make items to sell? Do you have a service you could offer to others? Brainstorm ideas. What are you good at? Look at your personal strengths and your passions and see how these could be used as a marketable product. Keep in mind that starting any type of new business takes work and it takes time before they become very profitable. Once again, you need to consider how this will affect your family. There is much info available on the internet and at your local library concerning starting a business.

Consider the second parent taking on a job outside the home. I saved this one for last because from my own experience, it was not a good thing for our family. Trust me, I know how hard it is these days to survive on one income. That being said, I think that much consideration should be giving before deciding that a second parent should take on a job outside the home. If you have children, they have to be your priority. You have to consider how working will affect them. Unless all of your children are in school full time and you can find a part-time job that fits into those hours, having mom take on a job means that the children will have to be in the care of others for at least part of the day. It is important to consider how your expenses will increase. Taking on a job probably means having the additional expenses of:

• daycare


• needing to dress better and spend more money on your appearance


• transportation expenses such as more money for gas and additional wear and tear on your car


• conveniences such as dinners out or carried in because there was no time or energy to cook

When you calculate these additional expenses, how much money are you actually making? I did the working mom thing for the first 6 months of my oldest daughter's life. Besides nearly costing me my sanity, we had a lot of additional expenses that we could eliminate when I quit my job. About this time I discovered the Tightwad Gazette. In it, the author, Amy Dacyczyn, discussed her decision to quit her lucrative job as a graphic designer and take on a frugal lifestyle instead. She very carefully calculated how much she made versus her additional expenses due to the fact that she was working. She figured that she was barely earning over $1.00 per hour after expenses.

I am not here to be judgemental of working moms. Oh my, no! I know how hard it is to be one and know that I do not have what it takes to do it successfully. I just want those of you out there considering this as an option to count the costs involved - ALL the costs. This includes the cost to family life. In my case, I was doing the working mom thing while my hubby was a traveling salesman and was gone most of the week. I was truly in the role of the single mom during he week. I nearly had a nervous breakdown. My heart goes out to those of you who are forced into this situation. This is not an easy thing to do.

After saying all that and being somewhat negative about a second parent (most likely mom) taking on a job, I know there are family situations and job situations that make this a very viable solution to helping out the family budget. A very good friend of mine fell into a job working as a teacher's aid at her daughter's preschool during the very same hours that her daughter attends. It is an ideal situation for her to help out the family budget without putting a big strain on family life. Prayerfully consider your options in this area. You never know, God may surprise you.

Decreasing Expenses
Now let's brainstorm a few ideas as to how to decrease expenses. This is probably easier to do than increasing income.

First, list expenses. Make a list of everything you spend money on and don't leave anything out. Depending on how you normally keep track of your money, this can be pretty simply or really difficult. Use a basic budget sheet such as this one, to help you remember to include everything you money goes to.

Define "wants" vs. "needs." This is an area that may be difficult and an area that may cause some disagreements in your household. Look at all the items you listed. Are there any of these that you could do without. One area that we have discussed quite a bit in our home has been cable television. I believe it is a want. Many in my family have trouble with that. Oh, they realize it is a want, it is just that they really want it. We decided to keep it (at least for now), but go a cheaper route. This saved us $65 each month. Another area that can get quite expensive is cell phones. Analyze your plan and see if you can cut back to a cheaper one or even give up the cell phones. Another alternative that many are choosing is to give up their land line phone and just use cell phones. This eliminates an entire bill each month.

Note discretionary spending. The next thing to do is to note which things in your budget that could be considered discretionary spending. What does this mean? Well, some things in your budget are fixed expenses like monthly rent or your mortgage payment. They do not vary month to month and you can't change them. Other things in your budget have some play. These would be things like how much you spend on groceries, eating out, clothing, or even Starbucks. These are not areas of spending that you can necessarily eliminate, but you may be able to cut back in considerably. This is also where looking at "wants" versus "needs" is really important. Do you really need to stop at Starbucks or could a regular coffee from home suffice? Do you need all the clothes that you purchase or could you cut back or even buy them used from garage sales and resale shops? Do you need to eat out? Cooking at home is much cheaper. Can you cut back on groceries by buying fewer convenience foods or cheaper cuts of meat? Each of these questions is a whole discussion in itself.

Perhaps this has given you some food for thought. I hope to continue the discussions on frugality by having future posts about how to cut expenses is several of these discretionary areas. These are things that I have been looking very hard at lately in our household. Pinching pennies has become a new hobby of mine and I have been learning a lot which I would love to share.

Have a great day and spend it wisely!

Head is Pounding

I shared earlier that I have been fighting off a sinus infection. The worst symptom of these are the huge headaches. I find that they steal my ability to think straight or focus on much of anything and my patience levels plummet. I went to the doctor and got some antibiotics and the past couple of days the headaches were pretty much gone and I felt like I could take on the world. I was so much more productive and it was great.

This morning I woke to a headache again and it makes me so sad. I truly think there is something triggering my allergies which in turn affect the sinuses. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to effectively combat it so I am at the mercy of these frustrating allergies. I fear my to-do list is gonna suffer miserably today. After having some good days I find this such a downer. I am off to take some tylenol and a hot steamy shower and say a prayer for help in functioning through my day.

And I've been telling my kids NOT to write on the walls...

This guy in Kentucky made the news because he decorated the the walls of his entire basement using only sharpie markers. It is pretty clever. But don't show this to my kids because I don't want them to get any ideas. I don't think their art skills are quite up to this level yet and I don't feel a real need for full scale crayon drawings throughout my home.

Down to double digits

washing #2
Originally uploaded by greenjellysnakes

Did you notice that according to my little baby in a bubble on the right that there only 99 days to my sweet little blessing's due date? We are into the double digits now!

I really do enjoy being pregnant, even with all of the maladies associated with it. There is nothing quite like carrying your child and watching your belly grow and feeling those sweet kicks. It is a special closeness and bond. However, I really can't wait to hold that sweet little newborn baby. There is also nothing like that precious little gift, fresh from God.

I have my first ultrasound scheduled in 3 weeks. The dilemma we have now is to decide if we are going to peek and see if it is a boy or a girl. 4 out of 5 of our little ones were surprises. Only with our last little girl did we peek. It was fun because we brought all of the children to the ultrasound appointment and we all found out together. This time I think I am leaning towards being surprised. As a good friend told me, it is one of life's last great surprises. I suppose we will have to take a family vote.

Trying to get my Ooomph back

Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine
Originally uploaded by napalm nabuco

I know that I have been too quiet this week. I have been fighting a sinus infection and it has wiped me out. My head aches and feels about 3 sizes too big for the rest of my body. Since I am struggling to just get through my required daily duties, blogging has taken a backseat. Besides, it is difficult to write something coherent when your head is in a fog.

I had an "aha!" moment when I took my son to the allergist on Tuesday. He is talking about taking special care to up his medication this time of year because he is most sensitive to molds which are bad now. As he is talking, the lightbulb went off in my aching head. "Duh, Trish, this is YOUR problem!" Every year about this time, my sinuses start acting up and it hangs on until about mid January. This about the same timeframe that the doc was talking about for my son. Obviously, my problems are allergy induced. I left there and called my family doc and got some meds and found out what I could safely take while pregnant to combat the allergies. Next year I will start fighting them in August and hopefully I can have a clear sinus/pain free Fall and Winter next year.

So, I am taking my meds and doing everything I can to clear my sinuses which includes lots of fluids and using one of these. I know. Everyone's first reaction is "Ewww!" But don't knock it until you try it. Over the years I have tried various meds to decongest and clear my sinuses and this is the ONLY thing that I have found that helps at all. Sometimes you just gotta do what works!

More Sleepless Scrappin'

Another scrapbook layout completed during my restless night. The text reads, "There is no better comfort than in the arms of a sister." That seems fitting for this photo of my one and only son with 4 sisters, huh.

The page can be found here with credits if you are interested.

Sleepless in Indiana

I think God prepares you during pregnancy for the sleep deprivation you face with a new baby. It must be a hormonal thing, but if I wake up in the middle of the night, I have a terrible time falling back asleep no matter how tired I am. My body is exhausted, but my mind kicks into overdrive an won't let me rest. Unfortunately, my bladder has been waking me most nights (another pregnancy thing), so I have been up a lot.

Last night I decided to get up and do some scrapbooking and make good use of my awake time. This is one of the pages that I completed. The photo was actually taken by my daughter. I have become quite lazy with the camera lately because she has spoiled me by taking tons of photos - and the are really good. It is so nice to have a bunch of great scrappin material right at my fingertips. I love the expressions of my girls here. It just makes me think of sweet companionship. The page can be found here with credits.

Is Global Warming on the Wane?

As I wake up on this crisp Autumn morning, I ask the question, "Is global warming on the wane?" Ok, actually it is not me that asks it, but this is the title of a great article I just read in the 2009 Old Farmer's Almanac. A condensed version can be found online at the almanac's website here, but it is worth finding a copy of the real thing and reading it.

The article speaks of how our planet's climate has been cycling for as long as we have been recording these things. Solar physicists believe that our sun has much to do with these cycles that cause the earth to either warm or cool. To quote the article, "Our Sun is a variable star. Its most notable variables are brightness, or irradiance; eruptive activity, including solar flares and geomagnetic storms; and cosmic rays. These variables manifest in cycles of 11, 22, 88, 106, 213, 429, and more years." It appears that these cycles have a much greater effect on global warming and cooling than do the carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere because although carbon dioxide levels have slowly risen over the last half century, the earth's climate has cycled from warmer to cooler to warmer to cooler several times.

Many scientist are now saying that we are most likely heading into the next ice age, relatively speaking. They are monitoring the ocean temperatures and can clearly see that they are holding less heat. It seems that we are heading into a cooling cycle.

There has been much hype in the media about global warming. We must remember that the news media makes it's money when they can stir the pot and get people upset. I do believe that carbon dioxide levels are higher today than they were a century ago. However, I think we, as humans, think much to much of ourselves to think that we play a major role in the earth's climate changes. There are things MUCH bigger than us that come into play (i.e. the Sun). And even beyond the huge cosmic factors affecting us, I also believe that there is something even bigger than anything we can see controlling everything - that is God, the Creator of it all. Yes, we have been charged with the task of caring for this planet, and we should do our best to do so, BUT I think we need to keep ourselves in perspective. We are so small compared to God and the forces in the universe. Let us remember this when the media attempts to strike fear into our hearts. Let us also remember that the Creator of everything is who is in control. He truly does "have the whole world in his hands."

How much would YOU pay for a caramel apple?

Even though I have been trying to eliminate e-mail by un-subscribing to many newsletters, I just can't seem to bring myself to get off the DeBrand's Chocolate e-mail list. Come on - it's chocolate. And chocolate makes me happy - especially DeBrand's chocolate.

Anyway, I just got an e-mail saying that it is officially Fall because the caramel apples are now available at DeBrand's. Don't these look luscious? They are double dipped in caramel and then milk or dark chocolate. If someone wants to get on my good side, a gift of one of these would serve them well.

But wait...can you guess how much one of these babies costs? $5...or maybe $10? No, if you want to sample one of these delights, it will set you back $23.00! Yikes! Yes, that's for ONE apple. I will say that although I have never had one of these, I have seen them in the DeBrand's store and they are huge. One apple can be sliced and used for dessert for the whole family. But at $23, our family won't be sampling one of these anytime soon. It is fun to dream...and drool, though.

12 Weeks Until Christmas

Did you realize that it was time to start counting down to Christmas? The holiday season is upon us! Simple Mom reminded me yesterday that it is time to pull out my Holiday Planner and start getting to work.

Last year, I made the investment in this e-book holiday planner and it was incredibly helpful. The planner is designed to break up all the tasks needed to be done for the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years) into weekly segments so that by the time Christmas rolls around everything is done and we can celebrate without stress. I didn't keep up with all of the tasks every week, but I found this such a benefit for us. I got much more done than I usually do, too. Most year I have really good intentions to do lots of baking and make a lot of my gifts, but I always run out of time. Last year I got a lot of this stuff actually done!

Although I highly recommend this e-book, if you don't have money in your budget to spend, Simple Mom is doing something similar on her blog. It is worth checking out. If nothing else, this is a good time to start thinking about your Christmas budget, who you need to buy for, and what holiday projects you are going to tackle this year. Lets make sure that this Christmas is a merry and stress-free one so we can focus on the REAL reason for the season, the true gift of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

I Love Fall!

There is nothing better that waking up to a beautiful crisp fall day. The sun is shining upon the golden corn fields. Those corn fields make the most delightful rustling sound as the breeze blows. It is gorgeous and just makes you thankful to be alive! Can you tell that this is my favorite season?

I really need to get outside and shoot some photos. These are from a few years ago before we had our SLR camera. It was when we were building our house and I was in the habit of taking photos everyday to document the progress. I also managed to get some beautiful shots of the golden corn and beautiful blue sky. The fields around us are planted in rotation so they alternate between corn, beans and wheat. I have to say that seeing corn in the fields is my favorite, though. I am loving the fact that this year we have corn both in the field behind us and in front of us.

What is your favorite season? I love the golden colors of Fall along with the crisp air. You get similar temperatures in Spring but they are accompanied by humidity and rain and mud. Alternatively, the Fall gives you dew on the grass and mist in the air. It is perfect for sitting outside in the evening around a fire. We have done that several times already this year. The kids love roasting marshmallows and making s'mores, watching the harvest moon rise over the corn, and witnessing the stars appear and trying to figure out the constellations. Such wonderful simple pleasures!