The United States is in an economic crisis, the likes of which most people alive have never seen, according to many economic experts. Most of us are not surprised because we hear the silent cries of our stretched dollars every time we go to the grocery store. Chuck is probably tired of hearing me say it but I know every woman struggling to feed her family knows the truth of these words, "I don't know how the girls are feeding their families when I see the rising cost of food. $9.99 for a pound of sliced deli meat (which I absolutely will not pay!) , $4.00 for a gallon of milk, $2 - $3 for a loaf of bread....how are they doing it?"

Déjà-Vu. I well remember the same feeling during a conversation with an older woman over thirty-five years ago. We lived on a poverty-level income and I was using every trick possible to stay within our food budget. She prophesied that eggs (29 cents a dozen) would one day cost over $1.00 a dozen; a loaf of bread (19 cents) would cost over a $1.00; bacon would cost over a $1.00 a pound. Her words struck fear in my heart. How would we survive? And then the oil crisis. Filling up the car because an adventure as Chuck looked for a gas station that had gas and then waited in line for hours to buy the gas. The older generation at that time reminded us that this economic crisis was nothing compared to the Great Depression.

Chuck and I were committed to me being a stay at home mom so the option of me taking on a job was not on the table. That was when a friend introduced me to the Virtuous Woman of Proverbs 31. Rather than being depressed by her excellence, I knew I had found a role model, a woman from ancient times who was calling out to me to trust God in the middle of this economic panic. I studied each verse and found priceless truths that shaped my heart and our home.

This period in our country's history reminds me of that long ago season of our lives. And though it was difficult, some of our best memories are rooted in that era. We saw God provide miraculously again and again. I'll be sharing some of those stories in the weeks to come. We made financial mistakes. Like buying a very big luxury used car that we didn't need in the middle of the gas crisis. We didn't look under the hood until we got it home. And there was an engine that promised to waste gasoline every time we turned on the ignition. What can I say? We were from the sixties era where the most popular songs described a guy's love affair with his automobile! We used a credit card to buy furniture. Yes, it was the Sears special that included a sofa, love seat, chair, coffee table, end tables and lamps. What a deal! But we went into debt to do it.

In the midst of these silly mistakes, I started learning ways I could contribute to our family income without taking on a job outside our home. Yes, girls, I clipped coupons as I watched television with my husband. I studied the Sunday grocery store ads, and mapped out a weekly food shopping trip that included stops at several grocery stores, picking up their specials. I learned that grocery store specials usually coincided with manufacturer's coupons so my savings increased. I planned a month's worth of meals around the grocery store special offers. If ground beef was on sale, I stocked up and we ate every form of ground beef I could whip up. Ask our kids about the sweet and sour meatballs or the ham casseroles (made with Spam). Trust me, these foods don't conjure up warm, happy times around the dinner table for our kids! But if they were hungry, that's what they ate.

What are you doing to make your dollars stretch in these uncertain times? And more importantly, where are you going to soothe the panic you are feeling over the economic crisis? During the most difficult times in those early years, I would enter the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes and pray that God would make us winners, promising we would use the left over money after all bills were paid, to build His kingdom! That gave me hope for about two minutes! Where are you placing y our hope and how are you teaching your children life principles through these circumstances?

I pray you experience God's special presence and peace as He directs your steps through this minefield of opportunities to trust Him.

In His grip,
Sharon