Live 4 Today

April 2012 Issue #007

Welcome to this month's issue.

1. Peace
2. A weighty issue
3. Frugal Beauty
4. Frugal Tip of the month
5. Homemade Hummus

PEACE

"He is the happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Peace at home.

That's easy to achieve when the going is good....

but when difficulty sets in....

aah... that's when relationships can unravel.

Don't allow your financial worries to bring a wedge between you and your husband.

I've been there: worrying about finances to the point where I think of little else. I would agonize over every cent spent and this inevitably would end in an argument.

Unhappiness breeds discontent and that equals no peace.

How can I be content if I only focus on what I lack - what I don’t have?

The key here is contentment - being content with what you have NOW - how do you do that?....

... by counting your blessings.

Remind yourself daily of all you do have.

The moment I went on my knees and thanked God for my husband, my children, our health, the roof over our heads, friends, family... and the list goes on, my discontent disappeared and my unhappiness was replaced with .....

......... Peace.

But this is an ongoing process [I am a work in progress ;-)] - this is a daily exercise of letting go and of "counting my blessings".

Don't let your worries overwhelm you - let go and let God.

A WEIGHTY ISSUE

I still look after myself of course.

I started eating more healthily and making better food choices, not just for me but my whole family - you will see more on this in the next issue.

I also exercise 2/3 times a week and drink plenty of water/herbal tea but I don't do all this to lose weight - I want to be healthy.

This is another aspect of "being content" - be content with who you are! Stop comparing yourself to others - you are unique, you are special.

The other day my husband actually told me that it looks as if I have lost some weight - ha ha!

This is not to say that if you are overweight that you should not do something about it but rather do it for the right reasons - choose to be healthy.

FRUGAL BEAUTY

But I don't have to look the part. I still look after myself.

You don't have to spend a lot of money on lotions and potions in order to look good. Just invest a bit of time in yourself. Make your own homemade face mask , face scrub or hand cream.

TIP OF THE MONTH

This is how:

Make a paste out of 30ml finely ground lemon peel, Bicarbonate of Soda and fine sea salt. Use it as you would use normal toothpaste.

HUMMUS

Ingredients

• 1 Can of drained chickpeas (keep the liquid)
• 2 heaped Tbsp Tahini (I make my own with sesame seed paste and olive oil)
• 2 Tbsp oil and 2 Tbsp water
• 1 crushed garlic clove (optional - my husband doesn't like the garlic)
• Juice of 2 lemons (you can use bottled lemon juice)
• 1 heaped tsp of Cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Purée the Chickpeas and tahini and a little bit of the liquid in a liquefier.
2. Add the other ingredients and more of the liquid if necessary and liquefy further to form a smooth paste.
3. Season to taste

Serve as a dip for carrot sticks, cucumber sticks and celery. It is also delicious on bread and crackers.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6 verse 6

Peace 4 Today

Happy Frugal Living everyone!

Ray xx