Nora and Grey shared the same spring break this year, so they made a trip to Maine to visit Fiona, Nora’s college roommate. That left Pippa and me at home. She had school and I had work, but we were determined to have fun in the off hours, so we wouldn’t get jealous of the […]
Christmas Socks And a Father-Son Trade That Was Reversed
This past Christmas, I distributed a gift wish list to family. As a 40-something, I have everything I need, but we adults in the family still maintain the tradition of giving and receiving gifts. It’s a small expense and it’s an easy way to show love and we’ve always done it. And it’s kinda fun […]
The Case for Not Paying Taxes Designated for the Military, Part 2
Read Part 1 here. War resistance via nonpayment of war taxes has a long history. It’s been led by Christian groups, like Mennonites and Quakers, and by secular pacifists. There are a number of different tactics: Earn less than the taxable income Refuse to file any federal tax return, despite needing to File 1040 form […]
The Case for Not Paying Taxes Designated for the Military
With tax season here, it’s natural to think about where your money goes and whether it is well spent. Spoiler alert: Much of it isn’t. Last year, Nora joined the women of our church on a spiritual retreat to a Mennonite center in Lancaster County, PA. It’s a time of fellowship, rest, and diving deeper […]
How Should We Respond to Needy People on the Street?
About a year ago, a friend was sitting at a light in Baltimore where some ‘squeegee kids’ were washing car windows and collecting tips. It’s not as common as intersection cardboard sign panhandling, but it’s pretty prevalent. And, naturally, there is some angst about it. After her windshield was cleaned, she wanted to encourage the […]
Maryland Woman Buys Prayers With Stolen Money
The Baltimore Sun recently ran a piece that detailed how a Chevy Chase woman paid $720,000 between 2015 and 2017 for Hindu priests in India to pray to shield her from federal investigation of her $20M Ponzi scheme. A scheme that drained the elderly of their life savings, including $816,805 from one family. In a […]
Christian Couple Gives Up $15,000 to Recognize Old Jewish Practice
Out of Seattle comes a story of a Pentecostal Christian couple who gave everyone in their 11-unit building free rent last month – a $15,000 hit. The reason? They have owned the building for 50 years and are recognizing the ‘Year of Jubilee.’ Jubilee – literally ‘ram’s horn’ in Hebrew – is defined in Leviticus […]
How My Son’s High School Marching Band Thrives on a Small Budget
Last August, Grey burst in the door of our house: “Mom, Dad, Pip, you need to go to the Poly football game on Friday.” “Whoaaaa there,” I said, pretending to restrain a rambunctious stallion with my air reins. The school year hadn’t even started yet. I loved that he was excited about his new school […]
What a Bible-Based Audit of Our Investments Reveals
When Inspire Investing saw the post I did on socially-responsible investing from a biblical perspective, they asked if I’d consider having them evaluate our retirement investments to see how ‘dirty’ they are. Sure, why not. This time, ‘knowledge is power’ wins out over ‘ignorance is bliss.’ So I submit our retirement holdings and allocations, then, […]
Coincidence or Not? The Uncanny Timing of a Tow Truck to the Rescue
We have Baltimore friends who graciously invite us to their West Virginia mountain retreat every year, and we usually take them up on it. Their house in the woods is in the Canaan Valley, where they typically get bushels of snow. A couple winters back, we were cruising along a snowy road, rushing to relax. […]