finances « Power to Change

Finances

Finding Some Peace on Earth

"Silent night, Holy night. All is calm, all is bright..." The carols try to tell us that this is a calm and silent time of year. But for most of us, the weeks leading up to Christmas can be anything but calm. You know the drill: office parties, shopping, baking, wrapping, relatives, Christmas plays and everyone's favorite - family pictures. It's... >Full Story

Featured Articles

Christmas Gift Challenge "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..." You can tell because everywhere... >more
Surviving the stress-filled holidays: A must-have list of tips to reduce chaos No matter how many resolutions we make, the holidays always seem to... >more

It's Not Crazy-mas, It's Christ-mas

Many families have told me about their "Christmas Simplification Plan" - limiting their gifts to three per person. We told the Kay family babes years ago that if three gifts was good enough for baby Jesus, then three gifts is good enough for them. This tradition has kept the focus of the season where it belongs and it's kept... >Read More

Tags: better parenting, budgeting, Christmas, Culture, Ellie Kay, Family, family values, finances, parenting essentials, priorities, Women

1 Comment »

The Gift of Forgiveness

The Christmas of 1949 we didn’t have a tree. My dad had as much pride as anybody, I suppose, so he wouldn’t just say that we couldn’t afford one. When I mentioned it, my mother said that we weren’t going to have one this year, that we couldn’t afford one, and even if we could – it was stupid... >Read More

Tags: Christmas, decorating, Family, finances, John William Smith, Men, spirituality, Women

1 Comment »

Happy Holidays with Teens

I love seeing the smiles on children’s faces as they see all the Christmas lights around town. Or the look of awe on their faces on Christmas morning when they wake up to presents under the tree. But as our children move into their teen years, the Christmas season loses some of its awe and wonder . . . if we... >Read More

Tags: Christmas, Culture, decorating, Family, finances, home and garden, parenting, patricia chadwick, teens

1 Comment »

History of the Poinsettia

Legend tells of a young girl who walked to a Christmas church service in a small Mexican village. It was traditional to bring gifts to lay before the nativity scene for Jesus, but the child lamented she was too poor and had nothing to offer. Suddenly, an angel appeared, explaining that even the simplest gift, offered in a spirit of... >Read More

Tags: Christmas, faith, finances, home and garden, Men, Women

No Comments »

Gift-Giving Strategies for Growing Families

Every year, with weddings and new babies, our family seems to grow by at least one. Now, with in-laws, nieces and nephews, my Christmas list has swelled to 18 "immediate" family members. Since we live hundreds of miles away from one another, not only does exchanging gifts mean shopping and wrapping, but also mailing all the parcels. Kind of... >Read More

Tags: Christmas, Family, family issues, finances, gift-giving, parenting, stacy wiebe, Women

No Comments »