Tag: WFMW

Use Foursquare to Get Awesome Deals

Several times this week I have had conversations with people about social media including Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. Some of my friends are starting to buy into the concept of Twitter, but I keep hearing over and over again “Why would anyone use Foursquare?”

1. Well for starters, any and all competition is fun. While it’s not a big deal to me, it’s kind of fun trying to oust someone as the Mayor of your favorite coffee shop. For awhile my friend Kami and I had a friendly battle over the Mayorship of our local Panera Bread. Getting awarded fun badges is kind of cool too, Foursquare can be very creative with these. I happen to find the “Player Please” badge amusing, which you get when you check in to a location with three members of the opposite sex.

2. Seeing where my friends hang out can be cool. I have routinely discovered new restaurants right here in Katy because someone I know checked in there. If I had never heard of it or knew very little about it, I might ask them if it’s good and then try it out for myself. I like learning about which gyms my friends belong to and even what churches people I know go to. Not something I might think to ask of someone I don’t talk to every day.

3. The best reason for me to use Foursquare is the Specials! When you check into an area it will show you how many specials are available at that location or even at other places in the vicinity. Here are a few examples that I like:

  • Free chips and salsa at Chili’s just for checking in. 
  • Check in with three other friends and you get any appetizer free at Chili’s! 
  • Free fountain drink at the refreshment counter of my local Honda dealer for checking in. 
  • $10 off any lab test of $49 or more at a local medical lab. That’s a great savings!
  • $25 off your tax prep at Jackson Hewitt. 
  • 25% off your lunch every third check-in at a local wine bar and grill. 
  • One free large beverage once a week at Java Joe’s. 
  • Five free 4×6 prints at our local Ritz Camera for checking in. 
  • 20% off a purchase with your first check-in at Radio Shack. 10% each time after that. 20% for the Mayor.
I’ve also seen flash specials, valid only for one day, at Starbucks, Barnes and Nobles and H&M. With such a ridiculously easy way of scoring deals and freebies, why NOT use it? You can keep your location totally private if you’re worried about security. 
So that’s why Foursquare works for me. 

How To Find Your Inner Self-Control

Are you self-controlled or like a wild horse?

Last night I went to a group meeting for moms at a church I don’t normally attend. I had considered joining the group a couple years ago when we moved here, but decided against it, but when I found out my blogging friend Kristen would be there promoting her Kenyan maternity home, Mercy House, I thought I’d drop by and say hello. I’ll write more about Mercy House, a cause I have been supporting for awhile, later this week. But today I want to reflect on the subject that the evening’s main speaker covered, self-control.

The woman speaking was Lori Joiner, who works for Campus Crusade and apparently also teaches aerobics. She looks like and has the energy of an aerobics instructor for sure. She talked about how important self-control is in the lives of women like us, and pulled out a ton of scripture about it. Lori said that the enemy often encourages us to believe one of two lies:

1. “This is just the way that I am. I’ve always been this way.” She used several specific examples, such as having an anger problem or an over-eating issue. She even brought up that crazy TLC show about the bizarre addictions like the woman that eats detergent or toilet paper. These people often say that’s just the way that they are, but they are consumed in a destructive way by their lack of self-control.

2.”Every other area in my life is great and glorifying to God, so it’s ok if I just let this one little lack of self-control go.” Like when we tell ourselves and God, “I pray, I read the Bible, I volunteer here and there, look how great my life is! It’s not really harming anything if I gossip, or shop too much.”

Self-control is all about the choices we make. The more we make the choice to indulge our temptation, the stronger it gets until we feel helpless to it. Addicted. She used the image of having two dogs inside our heads, the spirit and the flesh, always battling it out. Which dog wins? Well that depends on which dog we feed and which dog we starve. So there are many ways that we can starve that dog that wants us to give into the flesh and have no self-control.

  • Praying offensively, especially at the start of the day. Don’t wait till things happen and you have to react, pray first thing that the Lord would use your eyes, mind, feet to serve Him that day. Pray for victory in whatever area you are struggling with.
  • Fasting. She suggested looking online for resources on the various kinds of fasting that can help you claim victory over temptation. Lori was very encouraging that we should try fasting when we are struggling with self-control. 
  • Memorizing scripture. Particular scriptures that relate specifically to the thing you are wrestling with. 
We had a great time of discussion at my table about our weaknesses and how we might tackle them. Some that came up among the women I sat with were laziness, pride, negative body image and nagging. We agreed that some of these areas where we lack self-control can be really easy for us to hide as SAHM’s. We tell ourselves that we have worked hard and we deserve to sit in front of the TV or internet at night instead of folding the laundry. We agreed that as girlfriends we have a tendency to enable each other in some of these weaknesses, like shopping or skipping the gym. Finding the right person to hold you accountable is also a great way to starve that dog of the flesh as well. 
One verse that really hit me was Psalm 32:9-10.

Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in Him.

So do any of these sound like good ideas to you? If you’re willing maybe you could share an area you’ve either been wrestling with, or one that used to be a problem but you’ve claimed victory over?