Are the people in your house about to embark on another set of New Year's resolutions? Encourage your loved ones towards the goal. If you're feeling stuck, here are a few simple, deliberate steps that can help propel you from vision into action. 1. Commit. You might take a step or two in the right direction, but until you are committed, chances...

One of my fondest childhood memories of the Christmas season is the Advent calendars my brother and I would receive every year. If you’re unfamiliar with this tradition, the particular version my family enjoyed consisted of a nearly flat decorated cardboard box, with tiny doors on it, numbered from 1 to 24 representing the days leading up to Christmas...

This fall my 18 year-old son, my first-born, my newly minted young adult, will be leaving home to start university.  I have never been an overly protective mother.  Over the years, he has often left home, even for extended times.  At 8 years old, he spent a week with members of our extended family whom he barely knew. After that there were...

When my children were first born, I did something radical. I didn't really decorate their room. Part of it was a money issue; we had so little cash, and we were trying to save for a down payment for a house. I thought putting our money into an apartment sized washing machine would be a far better use of our funds than buying cute little Noah's Ark...

I can still remember where I was standing and the way my daughter Aubri looked at me that fateful December day.  She came to me and said, “Dad, Dan really wants to talk to you to ask if he can be allowed to date me.”  I knew this day would come. I answered honestly, “Do you know how difficult this is for your father?” To which Aubri...

The story is told of a couple that grew to find little to appreciate in one another. The daily tally of things one did that annoyed and aggravated the other was a growing list. More and more they did less and less together. In desperation the woman visited a counselor and took along her journal of all the attitudes and actions she was resentful of...

Here are some tips for helping your family live generously. Breaking down financial barriers to be free to live generously   1. Live within your means Save up for purchases and pay cash rather than buying on credit. If you do use credit, pay the whole monthly balance so that your resources aren’t drained away in interest. As...