Keeping a budget is a wise way to save and stretch a dollar. First, track your expenditures so you know where you spend your money. Take a ledger and write your line items such as mortgage, medical, garden and yard, insurances, food, gasoline, charity contributions, gifts, utilities, etc. I separate each utility so I know…
I enjoy listening to Focus on the Family broadcasts once in a while. Several years ago when they were on the radio station I listen to, it was easier to hear them daily. Now, I must seek them out online, and that means planning to listen on purpose. I tend to listen while I cook…
Thirteen easy ways to save money includes saying no to some things. In 1999, a fierce storm came and blew our satellite dish away, along with over 30 huge trees in our once-wooded lot. Months before the storm, my husband quipped that if God wanted him to give up satellite television, He’d let him know.…
Life is full of shifting roles and a wide range of emotions that accompany the changes. Who would expect grief to become my companion after I sent my youngest off to public high school after spending over 20 years educating my children? During my first year of homeschooling, I found myself weeping on the doorstep…
Groceries are getting expensive! Here are some money saving food tips to help stretch your dollars. Common ways for saving money on food Don’t eat out except as a rare treat. Eating out is a fast way to spend money. It’s nice once in a while, but don’t make it a frequent habit. Somehow these…
The holidays approach at lightning speed as they do every December. This season of celebrating Thanksgiving, the birth of Jesus, and the possibilities of a fresh, new year is supposed to be the most wonderful time, yet it can be difficult for some. Some holiday stressors are grief, finances, seasonal changes, loneliness, and overloaded schedules.…
Today’s the day I relaunch my blog. Here is what you can expect each week in my blogs. I’ll still include blogs to encourage you to embrace who you are and to be a God pleaser rather than a people pleaser. (I need reminders that God loves me, so I figure others do too.) But…
Dead Air, a Waco Mystery by Mary L. Hamilton, addresses lies people believe because of clouded pain from past experiences. These erected walls cement bricks of pride and unforgiveness that lead to tragedies. Frustrated that her unemployed husband won’t accept less than his dream job, Kit Squires gives him an ultimatum. While listening to the…
Candice Yamnitz, a talented storyteller, includes romance and sword-fighting danger in her debut young adult fantasy novel, Unbetrothed. Beatriz, a 17-year-old princess, embarks on a dangerous quest with her lady’s maid, Laude, whom she doesn’t respect much at the beginning, but whom she loves like a sister by the end. Beatriz’s faults include being self-absorbed…
A YA Novel Review In Hesitant Heroes by Sharon Rene, a group of teens discover their school is involved in an evil plot to assassinate a key political figure, and the administration intends to blame the Christian students, who have disappeared. As the teens discover more, the danger escalates, especially since traitors exist around them.…