"Entertainment has little to do with real hospitality." (Karen Mains) I've been doing some research and studying on the blessings of hospitality lately, and when I read this quote the other day, it struck me for the first time that there is definitely a difference between entertainment and hospitality. The Bible speaks about hospitality on a few occasions. You know how nice it feels when a friend or acquaintance invites your family over to their home for a meal? Sharing a meal together with friends and family can be a very bonding experience. So, what's the difference between entertainment...and hospitality? Entertainment can have some worldly purposes: 1. I want to impress you with my beautiful home, and my clever decorating. 2. I want to show off my gourmet cooking, or an expensive meal that I have brought into my home for us to enjoy together. 3. I want to show you my children and all of their accomplishments. 4. I want you to know about the nice neighborhood in which my family lives. Hospitality is the attitude of wanting to bless others as they enter your home. For followers of Jesus Christ, hospitality has godly purposes: 1. This home is not mine. It is a gift from the Lord. All we have is from the Lord and belongs to Him. 2. Our family is here to serve you and help to meet your needs. 3. Our goal is not to impress, but to serve and be a blessing to our guests. How can we tell if we have a problem with wanting to entertain, instead of wanting to bless others with hospitality? ~ When guests drop by unexpectedly, what are you thinking about? Only your messy house? Or how you can help your guests feel comfortable and encouraged? ~ Are you working so hard to prepare just the right food and home environment when you invite guests over that it's stressing you out to the point of exhaustion or irritability? Or high blood pressure? ~ Are you regularly apologizing to your guests for the condition of your home, or the simpleness of your meal? True hospitality I have caught myself thinking those thoughts at times. I remember an out-of-town friend who dropped by my home around 10:30 a.m. on a weekday, and I had not yet showered. Yes, it happens sometimes. I get involved with projects during the summer, and sometimes forget to go shower until mid-morning - YIKES! As my girls rushed to open the front door (as I had instructed them), I hid myself in the bathroom for 8.75 seconds and changed into some clothes. I think my embarrassment of not being prepared for guests discouraged my guest from feeling warmly welcomed, and when she left, I chided myself for not being prepared for her visit, even if it was unexpected. Whether you are serving canned soup or roast leg of lamb, your guests will be blessed and encouraged if you have served them willingly and without embarrassment or showing off. Begin to pray that you will view hospitality from a godly perspective, and that you will be able to develop the art of being hospitable. Ask God to begin showing you some of the people in your life who need encouragement and blessing. Have you noticed that you occasionally have the wrong attitudes about hospitality? How have you worked through those issues?
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Ever since we began homeschooling in 2003, I've used Sonia's free Homeschool Attendance forms to keep track of our family's homeschool attendance. While this isn't required in our state, I guess I just like having evidence that we were "in session" on those school days. If this interests you, feel free to download and print out your own free homeschool attendance form. I love sharing these free printables with you, and I want to shout out a big "thank you!" to Sonia of Homeschool Treasure Trove for giving me permission to share this with you. This form works well to print out on cardstock or printer paper and keep in your family record-keeping binder. Keeping track of attendance isn't required in all states, but here is a neat attendance calendar for you if you would like it. Thank you to Sonia of Hoemschool Treasure Trove who has given me permission to post this calendar here for you all to use. You can view more of her homeschool "treasures" at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HSTreasureTrove/ http://www.hslaunch.com/mypage/profile/642
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Mary Hunt was not always a personal finance expert, but lived through financial crisis; her family emerged with a healthier view on the value of money and the danger of debt. It took them 13 years to pay off over $100,000 in unsecured debt, and Hunt is on a mission to help other families learn from her mistakes. Hunt is an award-winning and bestselling author, syndicated columnist and sought-after motivational speaker. She is founder and publisher of the interactive website Debt-Proof Living, featuring financial tools, resources, and information. Her books have sold more than a million copies and her daily newspaper column is nationally syndicated. Hunt speaks widely on personal finance and has appeared on shows such as Good Morning America, Oprah, Dr. Phil, and Focus on the Family. She and her husband live in California. |
Many parents today have no idea how to instruct their children in principles of money management. Raising Financially Confident Kids, by Mary Hunt, will give you a road-map to debt-proofing your kids and giving them tools for a lifetime of good money habits.
Sadly, children in this day and age are often groomed to become part of the "It's all about me!" generation.
Not that this is anything new.
After all, there's nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 states, "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This, too, is meaningless."
In many U.S. households, children are being manipulated by advertising, peer pressure, and consumer-credit industries who tell them that they are entitled to
whatever they want
whenever they want it
even if they don't really know how to pay for it.
Some children will learn this lesson from their parents, too. Parents who constantly strive for a better house...newer car...classier furniture and decor...the latest trends in clothing and accessories...the most popular home remodeling projects...tech gear (smart phones, computers, you-name-it) as soon as it becomes available in the stores...expensive vacations.
Is it wrong to have these items?
No - although for those of us who are sometimes years behind the trends, it can get tempting to say, "Yes." :)
Is it wrong to buy these items on credit? Or pay cash for them but be forced to pay for the basics of life on credit because the cash went to luxuries instead of necessities?
Yes. Not only is this not biblical, but it is sending our children the wrong message that can impact them negatively for life.
It’s easy for parents to get busy with cooking, cleaning, and carpooling – and forget to teach money management skills. Parents only have about 14-18 years to teach their children how to manage money skillfully. If a teen does not have a teachable spirit by the age of 14, then most of our ability as a parent to train and to guide our teens is finished. Failing to provide financial training sets young adults up for a lifetime of miserable debt. But there is hope and help for parents.
Personal finance expert Mary Hunt prepares readers to debt-proof their kids in Raising Financially Confident Kids. Readers learn how to develop a unique debt-proofing plan designed specifically for their children that will tear down attitudes of entitlement, build financial intelligence, and neutralize the glamour of easy spending. Debt-proofed kids are guided by a set of values having to do with money, credit and debt.
Hunt shares her own experiences raising two sons, who are now financially responsible adults, and gives hope to parents in every financial situation. Her family was $100,000 in debt before they saw their sons’ entitlement issues and realized the importance of teaching their 8- and 7-year-old the basics of money management.
There is good news for parents in financial crisis; they will learn alongside their kids and grow together as a family as they begin to educate themselves and change their outlook on money.
In Raising Financially Confident Kids, Hunt takes on the nuts and bolts of debt-proofing your kids and gives practical advice for parents. Hunt systematically lays out her proven method, which is tailored for preschoolers through high school and designed to help parents:
- Transform their children into effective money managers.
- Educate their children and steer them away from consumer debt to protect their future.
- Gradually turn over the money required for their care and support to their children.
- Trust their children to be good stewards of a portion of the family’s resources.
- Engrain money management skills in their children so the lessons will last a lifetime.
According to Hunt, “It takes relatively little effort to teach kids about money, and the payoff is enormous. If you are diligent to work this teaching into the normal course of family life, it will come as naturally as teaching kids good manners or how to do laundry. It will be as ordinary as teaching them how to mow the lawn or wash the car.”
Julieanne's thoughts:
Hunt's list of how to help your children determine the difference between needs and wants is excellent. (pgs. 140-141).
She also provides clear and short steps on how to teach your children about saving, banking, ATMs, keeping a spending plan, making a spending record, credit cards, credit scores, and much more!
My only negative comment about this book is that although it was updated and reprinted in 2012, it still contains some information that has been outdated for quite some time. There are a couple of sections that teach about compound interest. In the examples that are given, Hunt uses comparisons of 10% interest on a savings account, and also 6% interest rates. I think she should have mentioned that at some time in the future, being able to receive 6% interest on a savings account may be possible, but at the time of this writing, it is not. I personally find it very discouraging to save money in the bank, knowing it is actually losing money when I add in the inflation index each year. Receiving 0.03% interest, or whatever I currently receive on my savings account, provides no incentive whatsoever for me to set aside money to accrue interest. Yes, our family does save money in the bank each month, but it gains virtually no interest year after year, and so our girls, while also saving money, are not encouraged by all this "wonderful compounding interest" that all of the financial books discuss. I don't blame them. It doesn't excite me at all, either. I do feel like this book should have been updated to explain the problem with the lack of compound interest these days, especially since this has gone on for years and years now.
However, with that said, I think this is a very valuable book - more like a financial teaching guide - to use with your children. You might even find that this book will help you straighten out some of your own financial problems when you read the benefits of living a debt-free lifestyle.
We've taken our children through a popular 12-week money management seminar that was held at our church, and after our house is paid off, our goal is to remain debt free. Raising Financially Confident Kids just adds tools to our financial toolbox so we can continue to guide our children to living debt-free lives for themselves.
Hi! I'm Julieanne!
You'll find me in the kitchen
trying new Trim Healthy Mama recipes, loving God, and carrying out that love as I bless my husband and teen daughters.
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