CABLE: Update – more savings

Interesting turn of events yesterday.

I’ve called Time Warner and asked for customer retention several times over the past few years. I have always heard they would work hard to keep me as a customer. However, this time I tried a different approach. Since we were already riding a reduced rate – $125 package for expanded basic cable with digital tier and a moderate Internet package reduced to $103, I figured there wasn’t much more they would do to keep us. WRONG.

When I delivered my digital box to the store, I simply asked to drop everything except Internet. I figured I would call later to work on getting that price down.

Much to my surprise, yesterday am a super eager gentleman was at my door. Eager not just to please, but to retain a customer! We now have the exact same $125 service yet with an even faster Internet connection for $56.45. Even that locked in for two years with no contract!

I asked how friends who are considering dropping Time Warner might receive the same? He recommended calling in to order a 48 hour disconnect. His advice, “don’t speak with customer retention on the phone, they can only take $10-15 off. I can cut your rate in half! Say 48 hour Disconnect!” He assured me, that they are desperate right now to retain their customer base. Someone from his office WILL pay a personal visit before your disconnect appointment.

Take it for what you will. I did and i have the same cable package with internet for less than my internet would have cost by it self! And I’m keeping my AppleTv with Netflix and Hulu. Tons of movies for $7.99 a month. No more Redbox for me.

iPHONES & CABLE – I SAVED$2000!

We’ve just finished our Thrive Series at River, so Kim and I have been looking around for ways to save money. There are of course the obvious things we can’t seem to shake: house payment, auto loan (only one of those left though), power bill, water bill, insurance… But as we were looking through our monthly expenses, there were two areas we found which would make a long range impact! To the tune of $2000 a year! That’s substantial.

Where did we find it? Cell phones and cable. We LOVE Apple products. Kim is a HUGE fan of her iPad. I think I could sell a Bedouin from the desert of the middle east on an iPhone. Not to mention the MacBook pro. I’d have a hard time functioning without either. So how could I possibly drop the iPhone? Television? How could we possibly cut our lifeline to the world?

A good friend gave me a challenge back in September – bet you can run Straight Talk on your iPhone! After a bit of Internet exploration and soul searching as to the legalities, I made the jump. After all, AT&T will unlock a phone in good standing…mine had been out of contract for 6 months. I did my homework, spent about a month with the first switch, then brought Kim over.

Obviously there would be ways to abuse Straight Talk on an unhindered iPhone. But for four months now, we have had unlimited texts, calls and nearly unlimited data – even tethering when needed! All for $45 a month on a contract free iPhone! That’s a drop from $120 a month for mine and $80 a month for Kim’s! A substantial savings.

How about cable? I’ve added a flat digital antenna to the tv – that only yields a handful of local channels. But for some reason I’ve been living under a rock and have totally missed the HuluPlus, Netflix ticket! Last week we made the jump. No more Time Warner Cable for us. Of course we need Internet, but Cable TV? I started researching streaming options: Computer, BluRay, Sony and then I remembered the AppleTv! Not only can we stream content from the MacBook wirelessly over the ATv, but nearly unlimited radio stations, rss feeds, and NetFlix as well without making any changes to the ATv. Netflix is $7.99 a month with the first month absolutely free! Unlimited movies and tv shows!

Of course after a bit of tinkering, my jailbroken ATv now has XBox Media Center running on it as well which allowed me to install Boxee and several other really cool aps for streaming from Hulu or HuluPlus. Yesterday I felt rather empowered as I delivered my cable box and remote to the TimeWarner desk in the mall. That move alone saved us over $600 a year!

While not for the faint of heart or non-techno minded types, both switches have not only saved us $2000 a year, but have actually been pretty fun! I’m still looking for other areas we can cut. What have you done to save money in 2012? I want to create Margin in our finances. How about you?

CLARITY

When we kicked off our fast three weeks ago with the Thrive series, I knew we were seeking clarity. Clarity of vision. Clarity of purpose. I wanted my family to Thrive. Thrive in our relationship with Christ, thrive in our marriage. As a church we were seeking clear direction, unity in direction and objective. We committed to pray for families to thrive!

We’re seeing positive movement on all fronts. I’ve never felt more committed to my calling as a pastor, church planter or husband. I’ve never been more convinced that River of Leland has a specific purpose. A unique niche in Brunswick County!

This weekend we launch RiverStreamLive, our first step in fulfilling the calling to plant churches. I can’t express how cool it is to know that anyone the world over will be able to worship with us in real time week after week. More importantly, people in the very areas God will use River of Leland to plant new churches in years to come. Not just anywhere, but specific places where people need to learn that Jesus has an unconditional, everlasting love for them. Specific places where River will Live, Serve and Broadcast Jesus!

Oh, the coolest part? Turns out God answered questions we didn’t even know we’re on the table! We have more clarity right now than I even thought possible! Can’t wait to see all that 2012 has in store. I’m thrilled to have a part in God’s plan – for my life and River. Why don’t you take the journey with us? See you Sunday at Thunder Alley or online at www.RiverStreamLive.com – 11 am.

TOO COOL!

Two weeks ago we built a wheel chair ramp for a senior adult couple near Carolina Beach. Such a sweet lady. Her husband was really wanting to make it home from rehabilitation, but couldn’t until he had a ramp. We knocked that out for them one Thursday evening.

Today, as I was walking through Wallyworld, I heard this voice behind me. I turned around and there was this frail little lady with a beam in her eyes. Wow she was happy to see me. She couldn’t wait to bring me up to speed on everything which had changed since Mr. Wisman made it home. “He’s eating more than he has in months! Got him a new seat. . . you know one of those with wheels. Oh this one is a small one so he can use it in the house! He’s every where in that thing!”

Her only complaint, “When I left home today I was scared to death! There were about a dozen lizards sunning all over it! I could barely make it down to the car!”

Can’t express how cool it is to help people. Even better when you know your efforts have made a change in someone’s life. That’s one main leg River of Leland stands on. We are here to be the hands and feet of Christ! That’s just what we do. Have you lent a hand to someone in need lately? You know, James was pretty clear about the relationship of faith to works.

James 2:17 NLT
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

AN AMZING WEEKEND

I’ve just topped off a great day with the most amazing smoothie! Strawberries, Peaches, Banana, Acai juice, Almond Milk and, wait for it…Peanut butter! Wow! You have got to try it!

My smoothie was almost as good as my weekend which overflowed into this evening. Not only did we try out a new setup at church, and have a packed house, but we had a great couple declare their love for each other and for God in Baptism. Such a cool time in the life of River.

Tonight, the lead team met with a consulting firm on the future site where River will leave a HUGE footprint in Leland. We dreamed over worship space, River Kids’ world, and even parking.

Couldn’t have picked a better time to dream God sizes dreams either. Almost all of our leadership are fasting and praying as a team for God to move in our church, homes and in Brunswick County like never before! I can’t express just how Stoked I am to see God moving in the lives of my River family. I love hearing stories from the dozens of men, women and teens who are joining us as we seek God’s will in 2012! Just amazing!

Hey, have you ridden by 445 Lanvale Road to pray over our future home yet?
There are still a few hurdles to cross, but we’re set to close on the property in mid March. We would be honored to have you join us on the journey.

This weekend was crazy cool! If the rest of this week is anything like today has been, it’s going to be amazing!

JUST ADD JELLY

Saturday morning, Day 6. We saw War Horse yesterday. Kind of funny. I loved it. Kim left mad at it. We had a little kiddo in our lives for a few years who would always say she was, “maayad”. For some reason i could just hear Kim balling her fists up and telling the world how “maayad” she was. Maybe it was the movie or perhaps the fact that she couldn’t have her “chocolate pills”. Whatever the cause, she wasn’t thrilled as we left the theater.

We walked into FoodLion on the way home and marveled over the succulent goodies neither could have. We dreamed of day 22. A day we’ll order pizza, cook a steak, and eat seafood. Basically a Feast of our favorite foods. In actuality, we’ll probably just hit PT’s after church, but that’ll do just fine!

What is it you’re craving? What do you miss most when you can’t have it? I’ll bet God feels the same way about his relationship with us. We spend so much time chasing and pursuing everything but Him, then we toss him our left-overs. He’s asking for everything. You and I settle for what amounts to adding jelly to that peanut butter sandwich. :/

BIG, JUICY BURGER!

Let’s be honest, there’s not much like a juicy steak or a thick hamburger topped with lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup and mayonnaise!

As we finished taking down a wheelchair ramp last night, someone in the neighborhood had a grill fired up. Wow! That smell…yup. Nothing like it! So I spent today pondering what might take the place.

Travis and I had the honor of attending a luncheon for local pastors hosted by Crosswinds Church. If I’m honest, I have to share that I was really hoping they didn’t know we were fasting. I’d already told Kim on my way out the door this morning that to be polite, I would eat anything they had for us. – God would understand. . FORTUNATELY, (sigh, deep breath in and out) Chris Vernon – pastor – shot me a message just before to assure me they had us covered. So, we tore into some awesome salad and fruit while everyone else dug into some huge, tasty subs with meat piled high!

Needless to say, my mind wandered back to the smell of that grill last night and I spent 30 minutes after school wandering through Wallyworld in search of veggie burger ingredients.

When I made it home, Kim had already started the process. She had a recipe for what we were convinced would be a succulent, HNL experience! Turns out we basically had the biggest, fattest Black Bean Burritos of all time. Mush burgers we’ve now affectionately tagged them. (and we’re living in the aftermath) In fact, we were so convinced of their certain fame that we made several extras…all of which now rest on the counter. We WON’T waist them. But which one of us has the greatest sense of duty and commitment is yet to be determined.

Is a veggie burger a substitute for the real deal? Not a chance. Will a slice of Tofu take the place of a tender slice of chicken. Nope! But isn’t that just the point? We substitute so many things for Christ in our lives. The sense of loss, void, hunger Kim and I chuckle through right now reminds us of the ONE who truly meets our needs.

Keep looking to Him! (And hey, Pray for me. My wife hasn’t had coffee or chocolate pills since Sunday. This is scary!)

Check this out! Great Recipes

Kim has had fun trying out some recipes today! Pretty cool stuff. Rocked my world with mashed potatoes and a Basmati Rice/Black Bean medley. You wanna know the coolest part? Wait for it, wait for it. . . cheese! Nope not real cheese of course, but crushed cashews! She just ran them through the food processor to crumble ‘em up. Sprinkle that on top of your potatoes or anything else for that matter! Like crumbled cheese!

Check out this site Kim found. It’s full of Daniel Fast approved recipes.

http://www.ultimatedanielfast.com/

Rockin’ Smoothies and Stirfry

I pulled out some frozen zucchini and squash from the freezer for lunch. (Thank goodness we filled the freezer last summer from the garden!) Tossed those in the frying pan with some onions and olive oil and sautéed them. A little sea salt and some fresh ground pepper set it off. Kim made it home with tofu just as I was wrapping things up. Tossed that in the pan, seared it then served my veggie wonder on top of a helping of wheat spaghetti noodles and hey, not too bad! Never been a huge fan of tofu, but I think I’ll be able to make this work! Did you know it comes in three different consistencies? Harris Teeter caries it in 1 lb packages for about $2.00. Really took the place of chicken in my dish with the consistency of thick cheese. Even Reggie liked it!

I came home from school this afternoon and we were both jonesing for something tasty. I was dreaming of fried pork chops and gravy on top of some buttery mashed potatoes, Kim – a HUGE coffee Unfortunately, the mashed potatoes are the only part of that dish I could ‘legally’ make happen and Kim sure couldn’t have the coffee. So I whipped out the old smoothie machine to make some fruit smoothies. Turns out Kim doesn’t like my flavor of choice, so we made two batches. Dare you to try one – a basic blender will work just fine.

Mine – a cup of water, 1/4 cup of soy milk, 4 frozen strawberries, 1 banana, a frozen peach and a spoon full of organic peanut butter. WOW! Totally digging that thing right now!

Kim’s – 1/2 cup of water, 1/4 cup of soy milk, 5 frozen strawberries, 5 frozen cherries and a spoon full of natural honey. Quite the happy little girl.

And We’re Off!

After quite a day, Kim and I finally made it to Harris Teeter about 5:30 yesterday to do our first shopping for the Daniel Fast. Two hours later and after quite a bit of debating and budgeting, we made it out with a cart full of approved food!

Fruits – mostly frozen because they were cheaper, some Veggies – we put away a lot from our garden last summer , Ezekiel Bread, Unsalted Nuts – hard to find, Beans, Lentils, Whole Wheat Noodles of all varieties, Basmati Brown Rice, and Honey – had to have honey.

For breakfast Kim just toasted me some Ezekiel Bread. With a gleam in her eye, she handed me a slice and said, “try it! IT’S GOOD!”.