Have you ever felt like God was speaking to you? Maybe it wasn’t in an audible voice, but in a still small whisper to your heart, an insistent urgency that won’t go away and is confirmed in things people say, verses you read and other “coincidences” that happen.  When my husband Curt and I determined [...]

1. Make a budget (and stick to it). A budget overwhelms many people but it is really nothing more than devising a plan for every dollar you bring in. Having a budget helps you spend smarter and think more. It also helps to improve your buying power. The best way to make a budget is [...]

When we got married, we didn’t just make a few mistakes with money—we made ‘em all! Throughout our sixteen years of marriage, there have been some trouble spots that seemed to pop up repeatedly. Failing to communicate about money Money is hard to talk about. Issues of pride, inadequacy, resentment and shame get wrapped up [...]

When my son Brad was about three years old, he went through a little phase.  He learned to play on my emotions when asking for things.  Upon hearing “no,” he would reply, “But mommy, that will make me happy.”  Then he would give me his most drop-dead gorgeous smile and bat his eyes at me [...]

  “Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; Be merciful to me and hear my prayer.” Lord, you saw that list of layoffs my company is talking about. I don’t know what the future holds and I am worried about what that could mean for [...]

When my husband and I first got married, discussing finances was something best avoided at all costs. Money was a necessary evil, something to be endured when bill paying time rolled around, but not thought of much beyond that. I would have never guessed that 17 years later, discussing finances would become a major part [...]

Too many times, I think we treat our financial decisions like we treat our new year’s resolutions.  We might make a half-hearted attempt at “doing things right” financially, only to fall off the wagon weeks or months into the process. The problem is, our resolutions are too lofty and too ambiguous to be lived out.  [...]