Budget and Financial Resources for Young Families

Financial stewardship is an important component of the lived-faith of young Christian families. Anabaptist-Mennonites hold tight to the understanding that the "earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it" (Psalm 24:1). Jesus taught that, along with loving God with all we have, we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). Mennonites believe that frugal, simple living and responsibile management of material resources frees up more of those resources for aiding persons in need.

Money Under 30 is a personal finance education blog aimed at 20-somethings, but don't let that stop you if you're not part of their target audience. 30 and 40-somethings alike who are serious about saving, reducing debt, home ownership, investing and more can benefit from the insightful resources written by David Weliver, this site’s founder and editor. David writes from both personal and professional experience. David encourages charitable giving, even in small amounts, as part of a healthy financial life.

Lutheran Social Services Financial Counseling Service offers free, confidential budget and debt counseling over the phone (888-577-2227) or on the web at their Online Counseling site. LSS counselors will "help you create a realistic spending plan and an action plan to improve your financial situation". This free service is sponsored in part by Mennonite Mutual Aid, an insurance and financial services organization rooted in Anabaptist-Mennonite Christian values.

Virtue Reviews: "Wink, the Ninja" and "Spoon"

Wink! The Ninja Who Wanted to be Noticed

Author: J.C. Phillips

Virtues: assertiveness, creativity, diligence, enthusiasm, friendship, perseverance, self-confidence, self-discipline, self-worth, uniqueness

One Halloween, author Phillips, her husband and son encountered a neighborhood boy dressed in a bright red ninja costume trying to stealthily evade detection. When the family did their best to "not notice him" the boy-ninja got bored and started waving his arms around. Phillips' husband exclaimed, "Look, it's the ninja who wants to be noticed," and Phillip's first picture book was born. Wink, the boy-ninja-in-training, just can't fit in at the Summer Moon School for Young Ninjas. Wink's flair for theatrics, costuming and acrobatics clash with Master Zutsu's teachings of stealth, but Wink presses on determined to be the best ninja he can be. A chance encounter with a circus family holds the key to Wink finding his fit.

Spoon
Author: Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Virtues: admiration, family unity, friendship, self-confidence, self-worth, uniqueness, nurture

Spoon comes from an illustrious family with various spoon relatives; serving and silver, plain and fancy, functional and frivolous. But little Spoon has a hard time seeing his own worth and wonderful traits. Spoon is envious of the traits of his friends Fork, Knife and the Chopsticks--they're so lucky! But could it be that Spoon's friends think the same thing about Spoon?

Fun with the Kids: Homemade Slime

Try this recipe for play slime on an "indoor-day"!

In a jar, shake: 2 tsp Original Metamucil (coarse milled) and 1 cup water for 1 minute.

Pour mixture in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Cook for 3 minutes; stirring constantly.

Transfer to bowl and stir occasionally as it cools. Cook longer for firmer slime. Cook less for runny slime. ENJOY!

November is National Adoption Awareness Month

Did you know that Jesus was adopted? It's true! Take a look at this passage from the first chapter of the the New Testament Gospel of Matthew:

"This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.

"Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet: "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us.' " When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus." Matthew 1:18-25 (NLT)

This young couple was in a hard spot. Who would believe Mary's story? Even Joseph had his doubts. Being a man of virtue, the situation weighed heavily on him. The tenderness in Joseph's heart allowed God to work for the good and Joseph took Mary as his wife and assumed the role of father for the soon-to-be-born Jesus. It is no wonder then, with Jesus as Lord, that Christians have a broad understanding of what comprises a family. Jesus proclaimed that family is based on more than just biology (Matt. 12:45-50 & Mark 3:31-35) and Paul, who led and taught among the early churches, made clear that God's family stretches across boundaries of race, class and gender (Galatians 3:26-29).

Adoption was, in fact, a practice of the early Christians. Roman culture emphasized the worth of male sons as heirs and the populace took to this norm so vigorously that infant daughters, when born, would be taken to the refuse dump and left to die. Christian families of the time would rescue the baby girls and raise them as their own children.

November, in the United States, is National Adoption Awareness Month and is a reminder to us to examine our hearts to see if there might be room in our homes for a child in need of a family. There are many forms of adoption: through adoption agencies, international adoptions, private adoptions and through the foster care system. The Awareness Month places special emphasis on foster adoption.

Over 150,000 foster children in the United States are currently available to be adopted. These are children from infancy through adolescence who entered foster care through no fault of their own and for whom parental rights have been terminated. Adopting through the foster system is permanent. Adoption through the foster system is affordable. Would you prayerfully consider whether God is leading you to adopt a child or whether you might advocate or volunteer on behalf of foster children? See the following websites for more information:

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

Illinois Licensed Adoption Agencies