Posts Tagged ‘family’
Beyond the Thanksgiving Table
This time of year was always special to me when I was a kid. Thanksgiving meant a big turkey dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, complete with stuffing and all the fixings. Grandma would cook the food, and Grandpa’s job was to carve the turkey with the electric knife. And oh, the desserts! There was…
Read MoreA Summer of Opportunity
It’s a Long Summer Right about now, both parents and kids are realizing there’s a lot of time left before school is back in session. While the first few weeks of summer vacation were a blessed relief from the grind of school wake-ups and homework, many families are now facing the all-too-familiar refrain of ‘I’m…
Read MoreChristmas in July
It Wasn’t Always About Advertising For the past 70 years, North American advertisers have used the concept of “Christmas in July” to sell everything from overstocked holiday supplies to furniture and automobiles. But, did you know that this advertising trope has origins in a late 1930s and early 1940s charity campaign? It gained national attention…
Read MoreA Grandparent’s Gift
While parenting comes with the pressures to raise a child into a productive, happy, well-rounded adult, being a grandparent can be less goal-oriented. There is often more breathing room in the relationship. That generational distance positions grandparents perfectly to help instill the value of charitable giving in the next generation. A New Tradition Charity and…
Read MoreA Will Worth Making
Like more than half of all Canadian adults, Roger[1] did not have a will[2]. As a child, he had been adopted into a wealthy family. Although he loved them deeply, he struggled to form a strong relationship with his siblings. They never became close. In adulthood, their connection faded even more, and they lost touch…
Read MoreGenerosity is Caught, Not Taught
Concern for the welfare of others has long been a core virtue in most of the world’s societies. Parents today, regardless of faith, wealth, or background, want our children to grow into “good people” who are kind, generous, and think of others before themselves. But how do we pass on these lessons? I believe generosity…
Read MoreA Key Conversation
[May is Legacy Month at Abundance Canada, and throughout the month we are sharing a variety of information about will and estate planning on our website and through social media. We invite you to share, like, and comment.] Reticent to face our own mortality and influenced by countless TV and movie plots where inheritances lead…
Read MoreA Legacy of Giving
A few weeks ago, we welcomed our first grandchild into the world. Amidst my great joy, I have recently found myself reflecting on the incredible responsibility of raising children. Scripture advises that if we “train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it”…
Read MoreContagious Generosity!
For many years my wife and I raised our family in an older community with many beautiful boulevard trees but very few young families. Despite our best efforts, our neighbours were aloof and at times confrontational. Yet we loved our little home and the family we were building there. Last summer, we made the big…
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