I love coupons. One of my favorite things to do is sit on the couch on Sunday afternoons and go through the Sunday paper with my grocery list and try to come up with the best strategy for saving money and getting great deals that week. A great joy for me is handing that stack of coupons to the clerk at the end of the order and just watching the numbers slowly go down. I am signed up for e-coupons through certain websites and also subscribe to some free magazines just for their coupon inserts. In addition to my own personal joy from finding good deals, I love to talk with other women about their coupons and deal-findings. The other day I was in line at the grocery store sorting my coupons out to double check and make sure I purchased the correct brand etc. I noticed the lady looking at my coupon book and immediately I started chatting with her about all the deals out there right now and giving her practical websites and ideas for how to save more money on groceries and household items. I left after checking out in such a great mood because first of all I had just received some great deals and also because I had helped lead someone else to discover great deals. A few days later I was reading an article written by Rachel Olsen as she reflected on her Thanksgiving shopping. After sharing her Black Friday shopping experience, she wrote "I found a few good deals at the mall that early Friday, but nothing like the deal I found at a little church almost two decades ago when I met this risen Lord and exchanged my sins for his grace". I found myself thinking back to that lady in the grocery store. Entering into the Christmas season, I took the time to specifically reach out to someone and joyfully share about the deals I knew about that might save her a little bit of money for the holidays. Not once did I open my mouth to joyfully share about the Savior who IS the reason for the season, bringing us the GREATEST gift of all when he paid for our sins with his life. What a deal! I trade in all my sins and I receive all his righteous, blameless life counted as my own. This year, commit to sharing about the greatest JOY that we could possibly ever know...that God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in Christ might not perish but have eternal life. May we be women who share often of the amazing treasure of Christ Jesus!
