FOCUS Ministries (in a wonderful collaboration with illustrator Maya Dzik) is very excited to announce the recent completion of our latest publication, Time To Talk. Just in time for February — Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month — this booklet is specifically designed for families and church youth groups to start those very important conversations about…
In February, we “focus” on ways that teens and young adults can avoid abuse in their relationships. Here’s a story about Little Wife and the things that happened to her when she was young…that actually groomed her to become a “little abused wife” later on in life… Little Wife was looking in the old…
The month of February is near and dear to our hearts….of course, there’s Valentine’s Day on the 14th, but also it is a time to focus on ways to help teens develop healthy relationship skills. In these difficult days, teens are struggling more than ever with this problem. It’s very good to remember that safe,…
Creating a spending plan is essential to being a good steward of your resources and to reach your financial goals. Now that you have reviewed 4 months of expenses you have a good idea of what you are spending each month. Let’s begin with the categories and recommended percentages to use as guidelines in setting…
To achieve your financial goals, you have to put a plan in place. Having a spending plan is the best way to achieve the goals you have set and you may discover new goals you want to put in place. I like the spending plan that is referred to as Zero Balance Budgeting. You put…
Little Wife set her empty wine glass on the kitchen table and gazed sadly out the window at the falling snow. The weak mid-January sunlight filtered through the cold clouds barely reaching the ground before dissolving into another gray afternoon. “Well,” she thought to herself, “If I’ve had one glass of wine and broken my…
When you woke up on January 1, 2024, how did you feel? Hopeful or hopeless? Joyful or depressed? Blessed or afflicted? Full of faith or full of fear? Maybe you had a nice stew of all of those emotions as you opened your eyes in this new year. We understand that. We are here for…
I was recently asked, “What New Year’s Resolutions are you going to make?” I quickly answered “none.” I find it more fruitful to reflect on my “stones of remembrances” of God’s faithfulness to me and the ministry throughout the year. This year has been one of those challenging years personally and in ministry. In my…
Once we have established our own household it is necessary to prioritize and organize our thoughts around our finances, especially if we did not have the responsibility for them in the past. If we have children, our thoughts and actions usually revolve around them and their activities and everything else is put behind them. We…
While leading divorce recovery groups in the mid 1990’s, I became acutely aware of the issues newly single people were having with their finances. Many hadn’t been included in the financial decisions of the married household and they had never overseen a budget. At that time I was referring people in my groups to the…