Like most residents in our area, we get our mail through a locked box at the post office instead of an unprotected one at the end of our street. A couple years ago I ran into an elderly friend there who was grumbling about the stack of envelopes she had just pulled out of hers. “Nothing here but gimmes,” she said. “Gimmes,” not “Give-Mes” was her name for the dozens of solicitation letters she   [Read More …]

Thanksgiving is a holiday that gives us the opportunity to be our best selves. For some that means stuffing a turkey, baking pies and fixing traditional family dishes to be shared with friends old and new. For others it means volunteering our time and energy to prepare a festive dinner for the hungry in our midst, then sitting at a table with them and sharing stories. While the official holiday   [Read More …]

Frank Butler was on the board of the Ministry of Money (now called the Faith and Money Network) for many years.   On a trip to India he met with Mother Teresa and then shared the following story from that encounter. “My wife Ruth and I were in Calcutta with a Ministry of Money ‘pilgrimage of reverse mission.’ That journey was called a reverse mission as the hope was that the participants’ lives   [Read More …]

Part Three of Three - In our last two columns we shared personal stories about making the connection between the way we live out our faith and the way we use our money. Mike Little, our Executive Director talked about the insights he gained assisting a famous workshop leader while several Faith and Money Network board members talked about the introspective journeys that help them find their   [Read More …]

Part Two of Three - For most of us making the connection between the way we live out our faith and the way we use our money is a life-long journey that invites us to live our lives more intentionally and purposefully than we have before, and in many cases, ever could have imagined. In our last column we introduced the topic, and in this one and the next we’re going to share the experiences   [Read More …]

Part One of Three - Sometimes our lives are touched and changed by an idea that grabs us and won’t let go, an idea that invites us to live our lives more intentionally and purposefully than we have before, and in many cases, ever could have imagined. For most of us who have been on, or are currently serving on, the Faith and Money Network Board of Directors, there is a connection between the   [Read More …]

If you went to Sunday school when you were a kid, you probably heard about the importance of tithing (that means giving 10%) your time and talent to the Lord, as well as your treasures. The time and talent message was beyond me at age 5, but treasures I understood. Back then it was the pennies I saved to put in the collection plate; today it is my financial resources. A couple of years ago my   [Read More …]

The saddest words I ever heard my mother say were, “I got something, girls. I got something. I’m happy. I’m happy.” The “something” was a pair of slacks which joined countless others in her closet. And how long did her happiness with them last? Not much more than long enough to wear them once. How about you? Are your decisions determined by your addiction to “stuff”? Last year TIME magazine   [Read More …]