Courtneychow

If you have not printed it yet- and are still in need of Halloween Candy – that nice high-value printable coupon for $2/3 SNICKERS, TWIX, M&M’S, MILKY WAY, DOVE, BITES or 3 MUSKETEERS Bags (7 oz. – 11.5 oz. is still available. We also have a new mobile so there are actually three different Target coupons you can choose from to stack with now plus a cartwheel…

$1/2 Milky Way, Twix, Snickers, or M&Ms Fun-Size Candy Bags 4oz+ Target Mobile Coupon x11/1
$1/2 Snickers candy 11.18-oz. fun-size Target Coupon x11/9
$1/2 M&M’s candies 9.34-oz. or larger Target Coupon x11/9
10% Off Mars Halloween Candy (Fun Size & Sharing) Target Cartwheel x10/31

Halloween Fun Size Candy bags are back on sale again this week at Target for 3/$8 or $2.66 each. There are a few different ways you can do this depending on how much you need or want to buy…

DEAL IDEA #1: Buy 3 Mars M&M’s or Snickers Candy Bags ($2.66 thru 10/26) = $8
-$1/2 M&M’s  9.34-oz. + Target Coupon or $1/2 Snickers 11.18-oz. fun-size Target Coupon x11/9
-.70 (use 10% Off Mars Chocolate Halloween Candy (Fun Size & Sharing) Target Cartwheel x10/31
-$2/3 Snickers, Twix, M&M’S, MilkyWay, Dove, Bites or 3 Musketeers Bags (7 oz. – 11.5 oz.)
=$1.43 each wyb 3 after triple stack and sale

DEAL IDEA #2: Buy 2 M&M’s & 2 Snickers Candy Bags ($2.66 thru 10/26) = $10.64
-$1/2 Snickers candy 11.18-oz. fun-size Target Coupon x11/9
-$1/2 M&M’s candies 9.34-oz. or larger Target Coupon x11/9
-.86 (use 10% Off Mars Chocolate Halloween Candy (Fun Size & Sharing) Target Cartwheel x10/31
-$2/3 Snickers, Twix, M&M’S, MilkyWay, Dove, Bites or 3 Musketeers Bags (7 oz. – 11.5 oz.)
=$1.45 each wyb 4 after triple stack and sale

DEAL IDEA #3: Buy 2 M&M’s & 2 Snickers & 2 Twix Candy Bags ($2.66 thru 10/26) = $15.96
-$1/2 Milky Way, Twix, Snickers, or M&Ms Fun-Size Candy Bags 4oz+ Target Mobile Coupon x11/1
-$1/2 Snickers candy 11.18-oz. fun-size Target Coupon x11/9
-$1/2 M&M’s candies 9.34-oz. or larger Target Coupon x11/9
-.86 (use 10% Off Mars Chocolate Halloween Candy (Fun Size & Sharing) Target Cartwheel x10/31
-$4.00 (use two $2/3 Snickers, Twix, M&M’S, MilkyWay, Dove, Bites or 3 Musketeers Bags
=$1.35 each wyb 6 after triple stacked coupons and sale

Note- if you have the It’s Savings Season coupon booklets that were being handed out in Target stores over the last couple of weekends – there is an even better $1.50/2 M&Ms Chocolate Candies 9.34oz+ Target Coupon you can use instead.

NOT FAMILIAR WITH TARGET CARTWHEEL?
This savings program introduced by Target allows you to save even more when shopping in-store. Even better- these offers can be used with Target Coupons AND Manufacturer coupons for up to a triple stack! You can see my post HERE to help get you started.

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* This site is in no way affiliated with or sponsored by Target

mwwong27:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

One thing that came out in the discussion on the last post on respect was the number of women who married what they thought were godly Christian men with strong leadership skills who turned into husbands from hell with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The label Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a designation for what is basically excessive self-absorption. Here is a description from the Mayo Clinic.

Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Those with narcissistic personality disorder believe that they're superior to others and have little regard for other people's feelings. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism. 

Narcissistic personality disorder is one of several types of personality disorders. Personality disorders are conditions in which people have traits that cause them to feel and behave in socially distressing ways, limiting their ability to function in relationships and in other areas of their life, such as work or school.

The National Library of Medicine has a more detailed description here. I found this description of how Scripture talks of such self-absorption helpful.

I have a theory about why many Christian women who married a “godly man” they met at Super Big Megachurch or Joe Christian College wake up one day actually married to a man with classic, unhealthy, socially destructive self-absorption. Exciting churches and colleges are a draw to men with the seeds of such issues already growing in their hearts (we all have those seeds based on our fallen nature, but based on their upbringing or other factors, some people are primed for full blown issues in the future). At my Christian college, we called them the Big Men on Campus. They were the clear leaders on campus—groomed by older faculty, involved in most everything, people surrounding them and following them, with many young Christian women longing to be their wives. Throughout my years in ministry, I have noted regularly that some Christians have a poor ability to distinguish between spiritual gifts and talents. Someone may be a motivating public speaker or incredible musician, and we think they are therefore especially gifted by the Holy Spirit for a great public ministry. No, those are TALENTS. And they do not correspond one-to-one with true gifts of the Spirit for long term fruitful ministry.

Furthermore, the gifts of the Spirit work in conjunction with the fruits of the Spirit. Perhaps someone has the gift of prophecy or teaching, which is generally a publicly used gift. Uncoupled with the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control), they easily become egomaniacs set up for public destruction of others who get in their way. Some men are gifted by the Spirit and then mistake the results of their giftedness (such as big numbers in their ministry) as fruit of the Spirit. But that's not how the Bible talks about Spiritual fruit at all. The fruit of a gifted man who leans into the Holy Spirit is growth, not in numbers in his ministry, but in his love for others, his peace when things go wrong, his patience with those who disagree with him, his kindness to all, and his gentleness (or strength under control) when he is tempted to be harsh. 

It would be very bad on my part if I didn't say that I know a number of those former Big Men on Campus who went on to humbly minister in churches in the middle of nowhere, and some that went on to minister in very public ministries without feeding their self-absorption in unhealthy ways. Often, I note that God brought a serious trial into their lives to change their direction. Cancer. Personal failure in their family. Death of a loved one. Humiliating conflict in ministry. Loss of a child. Suffering has an amazing way of destroying our naive notions of ministry and, more importantly, our naive notions of how WE are going to do ministry right. They failed. They suffered. And then they emerged as humble, servant leaders dependent on the Holy Spirit, ready to truly love and shepherd those God has called them to love and shepherd.

My advice to any woman who wants to marry a godly man is this –

You may be naturally attracted to the showman in your church or college. And he may be a great guy. But the things that will indicate his best character traits are his humility and ability to serve. Is he kind when no one is looking? Is he patient with those smaller or weaker than him? Would he rather die than work behind the scenes in the nursery? Have you ever known him to clean the bathroom at church when no one is looking? Is he gentle with you?! Furthermore, I strongly encourage you to consider and value the men with the gifts of serving, giving, or mercy. Few notice these men. Some with an improper understanding of spiritual gifts, talents, and fruits may dismiss such men as being poor Christians for only serving in the background. But those behind the scene places in a church or school can hold the deepest treasures in terms of men who will love and serve their wife and family faithfully. I thank God regularly for all the men at Christian college He kept me from for whom I had misguided desires. Then, one day a quiet kid fixed my computer, and I fell in love. As Garth Brooks says, thank God for unanswered prayers.

smoshrox87:

If you don’t think Corgis are one of the most adorable things on the planet you’re wrong

She just seems so much easier to live with than my wife.” It was a conversation over dinner between sessions at a conference, a conversation in a state far from home. The man felt his heart drawn away from his wife or, perhaps more accurately, toward another woman, a woman who was not his wife, a woman in his church, a woman who was another man’s wife. He believed these thoughts were involuntary, that the ideas were extrinsic to him, that Satan was tempting him with a sin perfectly suited to his weaknesses, to his heart idolatries. He was battling hard to keep the temptation from turning into fantasy, and from there to action.

“My wife is difficult to live with at times. She is needy. She is complicated. And this other woman seems so easy to figure out, so simple to live with.” He saw it not as a judgment of his wife as much as a simple statement of fact: it is difficult to make a life with another person. On the one side he had a woman who needed so much from him and on the other side he had a woman who looked like she would only give without taking. He knew it was a lie, he hated every thought that drew his heart toward her, and yet day after day it crept up and presented him with what promised to be an easier path.

We shifted the conversation away from his wife, away from the other woman, and toward Christ. Sometimes it is difficult to see how the gospel applies to life; sometimes it is not difficult at all.

The Bible tells us that a man is to love his wife in such a way that he imitates the love Christ has for his church, for his people. And if there is anything at all we know about Christ’s love for his people it is this: it is a love that will never end. Though we may stray for a time, he will draw us back. Though we may give up on Christ, he will never give up on us. His love will endure. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Christ’s love for the church provides the model of a husband’s love for his wife. This is the deepest kind of challenge for the Christian husband. Christ will never grow so worn out that he will shift his attention toward someone else instead. His heart will never stray. His affections will never waver. He will never grow so weary of us that he moves on.

I could hardly blame him if he did. There must be people out there who would prove a lot easier to deal with than me. There must be people out there whose hearts are less sinful than mine, who would progress in holiness faster than I would, who would worship more wholeheartedly and who would live with greater gratitude. And yet he has chosen me, he has set his love on me, and nothing will cause him to abandon me. He will never give up.

This husband is called to love with that same endurance. He is called to love with the same hope, the same dedication. The security he has in Christ is the security his wife must have in him.

This is the gospel. This is the display of the gospel in marriage.

Advertise here via BEACON

“Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” (1 Peter 3:3-4, ESV)

If we adorn ourselves with a gentle and quiet spirit by responding to trials, temptations, loss, and fear with an unshakeable trust in God, we will achieve a rare and real beauty.

This beauty is “precious” in the sight of God. The word means “costly” and it is set in sharp contrast to the costliness of extravagant outer adornment.

Our trust in God truly costs something, and is truly worth something. It shows forth the worth and loveliness of the gospel. It demonstrates the power, trustworthiness, and beauty of God in Jesus Christ.

And this is beautiful in God’s sight: 

“Here we have a picture of God’s ideal woman…Faith in God that sees beyond present bitter setbacks. Freedom from the securities and comforts of the world. Courage to venture into the unknown and the strange. Radical commitment in the relationships appointed by God… It is a beautiful thing to watch a woman like this serve Christ with courage.” ~John Piper

IN THE BEGINNING:

BY THE END OF IT:

We’ve seen scenes from Luke Skywalker’s childhood if Darth Vader had been a good dad from Jeffrey Brown’s Book Darth Vader and Son. Now Brown has a sequel called Vader’s Little Princess, featuring Vader parenting a young princess Leia. Here is a selection…

(via Voices)