Plentiful Provision

As I've shared before I love stories of provision. They just make me giddy inside.

So I've decided to regularly share the provision in our lives here on my blog. Lately it's been a lot of little things...

I went to the children's consignment store to take a bin of things that I'd set aside out of the girls closet. I try to do this often to declutter. There was a time in my life that we had WAY.TOO.MUCH.STUFF and I've vowed not to ever let myself get there again. (Don't go reporting me to Hoarders.. it wasn't THAT bad!)

Anywho.. When I go in, I generally look around and see if I can find any super deals. Usually the money I earn from selling, let's me buy the next size up or an item we've been looking for. I should also add here that I often pray to be able to really stretch my money before I go into a store.

I noticed a sign that said they had a season clearance. So after looking through the girls dresses and finding a few things for Lainey, I walked over to the season clearance. Nothing for Solomon or Julianne, but when I got to Xander's size for next winter, WOWZA! I was in disbelief. Everything was marked to $1 and there was a huge variety! I pulled some out and hung them on the stroller handle while I looked. As I kept looking the pile grew bigger and bigger. Suddenly I looked down at the stroller handle and there was quite a bit hanging there. Surely my "turn ins" wouldn't cover what I had picked and I'd need to weed some out. They called our last name and we walked over to see what the credit total was and to check out. I had my cash envelope for clothing but wasn't sure if it was going to be enough for the dresses, the diaper bag I picked up and Xander's clothing. Brandon remembered we had a filled punch card for 20% off and handed it to the lady. Our credit was enough to cover our purchases and I got $10 cash back! I put the cash into my clothing envelope and walked out with a bulging bag of items. When we got in the car, Brandon and I looked at each other in disbelief and thanked God for the provision!

Here is a picture of the clothing for Xander for next season. Lots of good stuff.. name brands, great condition, and incredibly priced at $1 an item! The velour sweat suit was $1 TOTAL and the shirt and pair of jeans were sold as another set for $1. We paid $15 for Xander's items and when I added up the consignment prices on the tags, the total was $77.50!

Another time, I bought leggings to go under the girl's dresses. Some colors were marked down to $3 and some were $5. I bought up the colors and sizes we needed. Leggings tend to be hard for me to find and the girls prefer them to tights. Again I used my clothing envelope when I checked out.

The girls wore the pink pairs and the brown pairs with no problem. A few days later, I set the black ones out for them to wear under a dress. I was shocked when they only went to Lainey's knee! I checked the label and had accidentally gotten capris! I put them back in the bag and found my receipt so I could return them.

When I returned them I got $10 and some change back. When I went back to the section, the black leggings were $3 each. I walked through the boys section to get to the front of the store and saw a clearance rack. I passed it and felt the need to go back and look. I found 2 outfits to put up for Xander. $1 per each pair of pants and $1 for a shirt. $2 outfits! So I once again spent the $10 and change. But this time it stretched further.

Here is a picture of the outfits.

Yesterday, we walked into the grocery store after church to pick up milk and bananas. Julianne insisted she had to go to the bathroom right then. As I walked by the meat case I noticed stickers but didn't have time to stop. When we got to the bathroom she said "Oh I guess I didn't have to go." In my head I said "Errrrr." We washed our hands and headed back out. I walked by the meat case again but this time I stopped to see what the stickers said. It was hamburger meat for a little over $1 a lb. I bought 15 lbs worth. Sure it's 73/27 but we often rinse our meat and it was WAYYYYYYYYYYYY cheaper than even the 80/20. 80/20 is on an "unbelievable" sale here for a little under $2 a pound. For burgers we actually prefer the 73/27 combination because the burgers don't dry out as they cook. We are set meat-wise for a while!

Have you stopped to think about God's provision in your life? I try to keep up with those moments, big and small, that make me giddy. They sure seem to help me weather the storm when things get tough.