Amy J. Bennett

Extraordinary Faith for Everyday Life

A Christmas Gift

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*UPDATE*

THE LAPTOP IS SOLD!!

Post like these I don’t really know where to start.  Because really they started days, weeks, months ago.

But let me start with tonight.

I listed my MacBook on Craigslist.

For those that know me well, that’s a big deal.  That MacBook was a gift from Scott two years ago for Christmas, technically a gift from myself from my blogging income.  A tool that I would and did use for more blogging.  But I don’t use it much for blogging anymore.  In fact, I don’t use it much at all.  And knowing how many hundreds of dollars is just sitting there staring at me knowing that there is so much need out there just doesn’t sit well with me.  And that’s just me.  And it’s just that laptop.  Not all laptops are bad.  People that own laptops are not bad.

But mine needs to go.

And I’m ECSTATIC for the money to be used to buy a computer, a pig, two chicks and a goat from our family.  The family all picked out their gift from either Compassion or World Vision.  I am thrilled to exchange my laptop for a computer for someone. Lexi wanted a pig, Emma wanted to give chicks and Scott a goat.  Just typing that made me smile.  Depending on what we get, the gifts might have to change, but that’s where our hearts are.  With Christmas tight, I couldn’t find a way to make it happen but letting this go is the perfect marriage of freeing me of a weight and freeing who knows how many people of who knows how many things.

So here’s the thing. I need someone to buy it.  I’ve listed a very basic listing on Craigslist and I’m selling the computer, my incase bag, my HDMI wire and my TV Tuner (which is AWESOME) all for $800.  I’d really like to skip over eBay and all their fees so I have enough to buy all this.  Plus, I think it’s worth it.

So check it out, forward it to anyone looking to have a rock star laptop set up and let me know if you or someone you know is interested. (Email: amyjbennett@gmail.com Text/Call: 803-322-6052)

UPDATE: Just want to clarify that the Craigslist post says local pickup only but that is only to ward off Craigslist weirdos.  If you are a blog/Twitter/Facebook reader I’ll be happy to ship at the buyer’s cost and will ship after I have a cleared check or money order.

And of course, please check out the gift guides on Compassion and World Vision.

Christmas Weekend

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…and we’re back.  Again.  We spent a long weekend back in Maryland/Pennsylvania visiting family for Christmas.  It was a whirlwind of Christmas parties.  Friday night we had dinner/presents with my mom’s dad.  Saturday we had lunch/presents with my dad’s family.  Sunday was spent with the rest of my mom’s family.  My favorite moments:

  1. The kids playing Twister Friday night.  My cousin was twisted up and looked like a pretzel on the board.
  2. The kids playing Hedbanz and everyone getting a good laugh when I got the “I am a pig” card.
  3. Having a wonderful breakfast made from our hosts so I didn’t have to worry about it.
  4. Our hosts having special Christmas presents for the girls.
  5. Getting to meet my cousin’s new little baby and remembering what it feels like to hold a sleeping baby while you eat and telling your birth story ad nauseum.
  6. Realizing we have two new husbands and one new baby since last Christmas.  No boyfriends this year at Christmas!
  7. Having my grandmother healthy and happy after getting cleared from breast cancer this year.
  8. Eating a steak sub from D’Atri’s. 
  9. Having Lexi pick up a napkin and try to wipe my hands clean from the messiness of the steak sub.
  10. Seeing my cousin’s little toddler toddle around and remember what it’s like to have to follow them around every single second. 
  11. And then remember what it’s like for your kids to still have nap time.
  12. Seeing the kids presents all in stacks, just like we used to.
  13. Getting a set of my great-grandmother’s dishes from my aunt with homemade cookies on them.
  14. Playing with my uncle’s iPad.  And loving it but still being ok that I don’t have one.
  15. SNOW TUBING with my family, parents, sister and uncle’s family.  The best fun in a really long time.  Please see videos below!
  16. A really, really quiet ride home.

It was a really fantastic weekend.

So this snow tubing…you’ve gotta do it!  It takes absolutely no skill whatsoever, it’s fast and fun!

This is me and Emma going down the hill:

 

It looks slow until you’re on it! Here is Scott and Emma going down:

It’s a must, must do!

Hope your Christmas weeks are going well!

Prayer

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This isn’t original content but I watched this and was so moved that I just couldn’t not share.  I don’t know why prayer has been a struggle for me this year but it has and these encouraged me so much.  So proud that these are both local Charlotte leaders!  Lysa Ter Keurst from Proverbs31 and Pastor Steven Furtick from Elevation.  Lysa originally shared these in blog posts back in October when Steven’s book came out so you might have seen these before.  If not, enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 

We Will Now Return You to Your Regularly Scheduled Program

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(One of few bright spots of my weekend. Gasped when I saw this walking out of Walgreens)

I’m still out here.  How’s that for a blogging tip to blog regularly and then I take off  for a week?  Murphy’s Law I guess.

  • So I think the seasonal blues I get have somewhat descended.  I just, ugh. I hate winter.  I long for the days in the sun.  I nearly stopped my car on the way home from work today and just sat in the sun on the side of the road.
  • Somewhat related, I was nothing but cranky pants all weekend.  I could feel myself lashing out and hating it AS I WAS DOING IT but couldn’t stop myself.
  • Not to mention, we’ve had some family stuff come up and it can be emotionally exhausting at times.
  • Also, this weekend I was physically EXHAUSTED.  Our entire household was in bed at 8pm Saturday night.  Even before bedtime, I couldn’t even keep my eyes open and was laid out on the couch in Scott’s lap while he played Call of Duty.  Not. normal.  I have a bit of a cold today so maybe I was trying (and failing) to fight that off.
  • Other than that, I’ve been busy sneaking in Christmas shopping, reading the Bible (Day 8  today for me!) and meeting friends for the holidays in any time I would normally blog.

I know that was a lot of downer but I promise I’m ok.  Just didn’t want to blog when I was in such a horrid mood.  I will try to get back to our regularly scheduled program here!

123InkJets.com Ink Cartridge Deal

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OK I just got an amazing deal for ink cartridges and have to share.

I have an Epson Stylus Photo RX600 (That I wouldn’t recommend) that has the individual color cartridges.  It is a pain and a half because when one goes out, the whole thing won’t print.  I started buying the bulk containers that have 4 Black and then 2 of each of the color cartridges.  It makes my life SO MUCH EASIER to have them available.  Anyway, just got an amazing deal online.

  1. Go to ShopatHome.com and sign up/log in.
  2. Do a search on ShopatHome for 123inkjets.com.
  3. Click Shop Now once you find 123inkjets.com.  You’ll get a whopping 22% cash back from them.
  4. It will launch a browser window of 123inkjets.com.  Shop for what you need.  I got the set of 14 remanufactured cartridges.
  5. Right now they have a code EOY123 to get 20% off remanufactured cartridges. AND  they’re doing free shipping right now.  Both of these loaded automatically into my cart.
  6. Checkout

Here’s the math

$79.99
-$16.00 (20% coupon code)
FREE SHIPPING

Total OOP: $63.99

-$14.08 (22% from ShopatHome)

Total: $49.91

That’s only $3.57 per cartridge!  Holla!

Raising Generations

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Sarah Mae talks a lot about raising generations.

We are not just raising our children, but we are raising generations. This is powerful to us, and we want to take up the responsibility of doing our very best to pass on a godly legacy to those will never even know.  We believe shepherding our children as opposed to outside schooling is the best way to do this (in the spirit of Deuteronomy 11:18-21).

While obviously we don’t homeschool, I believe there is merit to the idea that what we do with our children is not just for our children. It’s for their children and their children.

This concept hit me while reading Genesis on Tuesday when reading about Enoch.

22-24 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years.  Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

We don’t know a lot about Enoch except that he was faithful and must have been pretty faithful because God saw it fit for him not to die.  He was just taken away.  What great faith Enoch must have had.  The thing that gets me is this.  Guess who Enoch’s great-grandson was?

Noah.

One of the most faithful men in Scriptures.  Crazy man built an ark and survived the greatest flood ever.  Insane! levels! of faith!

If I did all my calculations right, Enoch never met Noah. In fact, he was born 69 years after Enoch was taken away.  And I can’t help but think that it was through Enoch, and his son, and his son, and then to Noah that this great faith was demonstrated and passed on.  I’m just guessing it would make quite an impression if you knew your great-grandfather was taken away by God because of his great faith.   I love that the same phrase is used to describe Noah just a chapter over, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time and he walked with God.”

Sometimes we get caught up on the big! things! we should be doing but sometimes our big thing might just to be faithful and walk with God as an example to our children.  Because who knows.  Your great grandchild just might need enough faith to build an ark.

Bible in 90 Days – Take 2

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If you remember, part of the Radical Experiment is to read the Bible in the next year.  As I mentioned in that post and have on occasion, two years ago I read the Bible in 90 Days.  To date, that is still one of my favorite things I’ve ever done.  Yes, it was challenging but SO WORTH IT.  There was a sense of accomplishment, yes, but I loved more that it opened my eyes to the Bible as a whole.  My whole life I’d heard stories but was never able to place them in proper perspective with the whole story.  I always felt like I was missing some pieces.  Turns out, I actually had heard most of it but it’s like all the pieces came together so I could see the whole picture. I came out understanding God a little more, understanding history a little more and probably, understanding me a little more.

All that to say, as I mentioned in the Radical Experiment post, I wanted to do it again once the INSPYs were over.  We are judging the books this week and I have more time to read.  While I have about fifty eleven books on my book shelf waiting for me to devour, I really want to carve out time to do this.  And the best part?  Becky said she’d do it with me!  I did it in a group last time and I can’t tell you how much it helped knowing someone else was looking to see if you were keeping up.

So, I’m posting this to see if anyone else wants to join? I’d love to start an email list to encourage and remind one another to keep going.  If you’re in, I should probably make you aware Becky and I started yesterday BUT the plan has 2 grace days and the important thing is just to make sure you are not falling behind wherever you are in the plan.  So, if you’d like to do it and would like a couple accountability partners, download the schedule and email me or leave a comment below!