(This post was posted last week, then accidentally deleted. So happy I recovered it!) In my Sunday School class, a 9-year-old boy saw my iPhone and excitedly told me that he was going to get one next week. *Jaw drops* A 9-year-old gets an expensive iPhone? “I got $200 from my grandma,” he said. I [...]
Giving does not come naturally to me. My husband is much more generous. Maybe it’s because I have the motherly nesting instinct that goes along with the tendency to hoard. On the other hand, being a mother is the biggest factor that has taught me to be more generous. I knew that if I want [...]
Did you sign up for “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day”? I have to admit, when my daughter and I signed up to volunteer, we were not motivated by altruism, but by the free ticket to Disneyland! According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 63.4 million people, or 26.8% of the population, [...]
Everyone is talking about Haiti. Is it enough to just talk about Haiti? My son reminded me yesterday that it’s possible to feel strong emotions about a devastating situation and that in itself somehow gives us the impression that we’ve done our part. Our mere sympathy for Haiti shows that we are compassionate people, and [...]
My 20-year-old daughter earned a little money working as an intern for an engineering firm this summer. As she had to decide where to spend her hard-earned money, it was an exercise in clarifying her values while learning more about herself. She had no qualms about spending a sizable amount of money taking her little [...]
Imagine a child living in the toughest neighborhoods of New York City. How can he have a chance to experience the beauty of nature, to go hiking, to get some Fresh Air? Now he can, with THE FRESH AIR FUND! The Fresh Air fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more [...]
A year ago I wrote a post on 3 ways we can set an example to our children to make the world a better place. Now more than ever, in our current state of the economy where people are distressed about one thing or another, it is important for everyone of us to do our [...]
How do you help your children budget for Christmas gifts for their friends? What do you do when your children want to buy an expensive gift for a friend they don’t know that well? Is it ok to say, “You can’t spend that much on someone you don’t know that well.”? Does it sound like [...]
My recent participating in Blog Action Day made me realize that if we all do a little, we can accomplish a lot. Poverty can be an overwhelming issue, but if we each do a little, we can indeed make a difference. One way to do so is to participate with The League. And it’s a [...]
Dr. James Dobson tells the story of going to the market, and standing in the checkout line behind an elderly woman. She was obviously not all there, and was fumbling around her purse for money to pay for the groceries. It was obvious to the checker and to Dr. Dobson that she had much more [...]
The holiday season is coming up fast – that gift-giving season of Christmas. Are the images of throngs of shoppers at the mall stressing you out already? What if I told you there is a meaningful gift you can give, without fighting crowds at the mall? What if I told you that this gift teaches [...]
Are your children involved in some sort of sports league? Many of my friends have children in soccer leagues and basketball leagues. Some are in tennis clubs, and swimming competitions. But how about a community service LEAGUE where schools work on community projects and get recognized and connect with other schools? Yes, there is such [...]
A 20-something year old girl at church said something to me on Sunday that was incredibly mature. “I decided to stay at this church because when I was growing up at this church, a lot of people here contributed to my growth. Now I want to give back and help other people grow at this [...]
How many Gen Xers do you know would choose to deny himself of a big house, nice car, vacations, choose to live on $38,000 and give away the rest of his $200k+ a year salary, choose to live in a lower economic neighborhood to share God’s love? In our culture of excesses and accumulation of [...]
