6 Features of a Father Figure

by Tracy Crump My husband, Stan, was just 7 months old when his dad died, and his mother never remarried. I have often wondered, How did Stan learn to be such a good father to our two sons? While a mother’s love is invaluable, boys need men to teach them to be…

Single Parents learning to trust again

It’s not easy, as a single parent, to learn to trust again. If you feel you have been rejected by your partner, you can feel pain almost beyond description. The pain of that broken relationship might leave you thinking, ‘never again.’ It simply hurts too much. It rocks your self-worth,…

The Pain of Infertility

As we entered the one-room country church, my dad reached to steady my mum. The explosion of colour, the thick scent of lilies and the face of my grandfather in a bronze casket had knocked her off balance. At 9 years of age, I was too young to fully understand…

Celebrating Advent

by Letitia Suk Three weeks and two days before Christmas and the heated discussion among my four children is not about which video games they want for Christmas but whose turn it is to light the candle at family Advent. It’s the first week of Advent season, the observance of…

Making Meaningful Christmas Memories

Christmas is magical. Regardless of age, it transports us back to our childhood: tinsel on the tree, stockings hung by the fireplace, colorful packages needing to be shaken, and traditional celebrations with faithful friends and relatives. For our children, this holiday is still being written upon their future memories. This…

6 steps to Debt Free Living

Following these six steps can start you down the path of becoming debt free: 1.     Have a Written Plan A written plan is an absolute necessity to escape debt’s death grip. This plan’s success depends on your family doing two things: creating an itemized list of all your expenses, in…

Budget Busters Part 2

Keep monthly expenses like housing, food and transportation from breaking the bank each month!  In Part 1 of “Budget Busters,” we identified sections in our budget that keep us living in the red. Now that we know why we run a deficit each month, one question remains. How can we keep our…