Family, Finances, For the Love of Family

How Living with Boundaries Makes Life Better

I can’t remember the exact day or even time period of my life when it happened. But it was a conviction; a conviction that grew and expanded to infiltrate all of my life.  The conviction? God’s blessings come with boundaries; boundaries for our benefit and his glory. As Gary and I were climbing out of debt, and dealing with the temptation of using credit, I was slowly convicted. Although we lived fairly simply, our spending was beyond the boundaries of our income. It was probably an answer to some sporadically spoken prayer for contentment and ridding ourselves of materialistic and […]

Finances, Food, For the Love of Family

5 DIFFERENT Ways to Save on Food

I fall for it every time. Titles, images, call-outs that promise to save money at the grocery store lure me in. Call it an obsession, a trait, or simply being frugally conscientious, I’m clicking through to read the article. But the information tends to be the same, just recycled with new images and phrases. Yet, I read on. …because, when coaching an individual or teaching a class, fresh information is always welcome. The budget item that can be flexible and seems to get the most attention is food.  Most people tend to get their budget in balance by decreasing the […]

Finances, For the Love of Family

Defining Stewardship

My family and I own a small farm in Kansas. We love the farm. It has become a place for solace, rest and re-booting. While there, I enjoy walking the dirt roads, looking at the vast amount of space around me, and pondering. Last week, I was walking the dirt road thanking God for this incredible blessing of land and the people who take care of it for us. God used the opportunity to teach me what he means by being a steward of his blessings. Steward – a person who manages another’s property or financial affairs; one who administers anything […]

Family, For the Love of Family

Parenting by Faith

  And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.   It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command. It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting […]

Family, For the Love of Family

Valentine’s Day is Next Week!

Valentine’s Day is possibly my favorite holiday. Not in the romantic way, but only in the childhood precious memories way: decorating shoe boxes, making and exchanging valentines or more (relatively) recently our family’s annual tea party with homemade sugar and chocolate cookies. For whatever reason, I have always loved Valentine’s Day. The holiday gives reason to celebrate love between friends and family. Wanting to make Valentine’s Day special for our boys and Gary, it was necessary to plan. Time, money and energy resources were sometimes limited. To instill a fond Valentine’s memory in our children, management of all resources was imperative. In […]

Finances, For the Love of Family

It’s Not About the Envelopes

Our grandmothers and great aunts used them and many budget experts promote them. Envelopes.  It seems antiquated. Especially in today’s world of automation and convenience, why use an envelope for your money? There are many reasons for not using envelopes. “It’s dangerous to have that much cash available” or “It’s embarrassing to pay with cash” or “I’m not going to look like an old man/woman using an envelope”. If you have said this to excuse yourself from using ‘the envelope system’, you’ve missed the point. It’s not about the envelopes, it’s about the cash. Most people spend an average of […]