Tag: family

Navigating God’s Way Out of Debt

Posted: by Allison Gingras

money mondays

Reflection on Week 3 of Navigating Your Finances God’s Way:

Last week, it was time to pull my shopping happy head out of the sand, and make the list I have been dreading – pulling together a list of our current debts (specifically credit card)!

As long as I could make all the monthly minimums (sometimes even a little extra), I never felt the need to add them all up.  Hence, the November disaster of 2015!    We learned in this week’s scripture readings that debt has some stinky consequences (enslaves us*, for one) and that it is NOT what God wants for us (OWE Nothing – Romans 13:8).  As I sheepishly listed credit card balance after credit card balance, I was amazed at how far into the sand I had placed my head.

*Let me just quickly add here – that the Lord made sure I understood this concept first hand this week as I was faced for a few decisions that required me to consider the motives behind why I was or wasn’t accepting an invitation.  It amazed me how many times I have decided not on what I felt I was being called to  but what would bring in some type of payment  –  I have been totally enslaved and I LONG to be free to follow where the SPIRIT guides and not where my creditors require!

I have said it before, spending money is one of my drugs of choice. I know it has addictive qualities by my reaction to when I am in the midst of the behavior (shopping elation is totally a thing) and how I feel as we discuss things such as … read more

All Rights Reserved, Allison Gingras 2016

God, Money & LOTS of Debt

Posted: by Allison Gingras

money mondays

Our money problems did not start overnight.  They built overtime.  Every decision held a consequence, yet we were blissfully unaware as we spent and then after the debt had built, we continued to be blissfully unwilling to change – and consciously choose to ignore it (Problem #1).

To figure out where we are going, first we need to look at how we got here.

Kevin and I met when we were in high school and began dating his freshmen year in college (my junior year of high school).  We were married 5 years later, while I was still in college.  We were 21 and 23, and absolutely clueless on how to manage finances (Problem #2). I had embraced the 1980’s with great zeal — amassing over 15 credit cards (mostly of the store variety) by time I was 20 years old (Problem #3).    Kevin was unaware of most of them (Problem #4).  We were both hard workers but underemployed (Problem #5).

So what now? Where do we start to reclaim our lives? First, we need to rediscover God’s role in our finances … read more 

All Rights Reserved, Allison Gingras 2016

Family Love: The Glue of Life

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Family Love – the love between siblings and cousins, the love for grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews. You can choose your friends, but not your family – how true! Many of us have relatives that if given a choice, might not be our “friend.” Nonetheless, they are a part of our family. It is that family bond that keeps us together in the good times and in the bad – we are there for each other, especially in those bad times, when “friends” run in the opposite direction.

What we show to our friends is our good side for the most part, with the not-so-good stuff kept buried in our past. However, it is the family members who have seen it all and in spite of that are by our side when needed most. Why? Read more…

Book Update: Meet Faith, Hope and Charity!

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Book Update on Adventures of Faith, Hope and Charity – Finding Patience
Progress on my first children’s book titled, Adventures of Faith, Hope and Charity – Finding Patience, is coming along nicely. Meet Faith, age 8, Hope, age 5, and Charity age 3. In this book, these three sisters learn the value of the virtue of patience – a book for children ages 4-6. Read more about these lovely girls…

My Lenten Journey for Kids

Posted: by Monica @ Catholic Bloggers Network

I posted EGG-straordinary Lenten Rosary Project for your Family – a tutorial for a Lenten activity for families – over at Catholic Sistas. As I was revamping this post from one I did last year, I came across many great additions. While I won’t go into the specifics of the Easter Egg Rosary Project here, I will show you the booklet that evolved from it’s transformation from a post that was original to Designs by Birgit last year. I simply used links to various ideas for coloring pages, Stations of the Cross carousels, and other ideas and created a Lenten Journey Book for Kids.

My links are here: My Lenten Journey for Kids

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

Posted: by Monica @ Catholic Bloggers Network

Artisan bread – only 4 ingredients


The Lord’s Prayer, as taught to us by our Savior, seems simplistic on the surface – yet is profound and multi-faceted in its message. One of the petitioning lines of this prayer has always intrigued me: ‘Give us this day, our daily bread’. Although this sentence of supplication speaks to our daily, physical needs, it has a connotation of so much more. 

Read the complete post and the recipe for Artisan Bread by going to Designs by Birgit