Gather Little by Little

On Wednesday May 21st, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 year old daughter of Christian singer and song-writer Stephen Curtis Chapman and Mary Beth was killed in a tragic accident at their home in Franklin, TN. Maria Sue was one of 3 daughters the Chapmans adopted from China. Making the event even more tragic, police reports say that she was accidentally struck by one of her teenage brothers in the Chapman’s driveway. Several children were playing, and he didn’t see Maria in the driveway. Maria was laid to rest yesterday at 11:00am.

Click to continue reading...

Photo by: Mr.Thomas

Today is my wife and I’s 16 year anniversary. It simply doesn’t seem like 16 years. In my mind it seems like only yesterday we were married in a small baptist church with only 30 or guests. I will never forgot the feeling I had when “Here comes the bride” began playing, and l looked up and saw my beautiful wife. It was the happiest moment of my life. I never for a second questioned my decision to marry her, and knew from the moment I first met her that we were supposed to be together. 16 years, 6 kids and a few “bumps in the road of life” later I love her even more. It’s truly amazing that no matter how much you love someone, you can love them even more each day you spend together.

Click to continue reading...

Photo by: redjar

We paid off our Chase card last week. It was an amazing feeling and one that has kicked in the afterburners on knocking out our Bank of America card next. My two remaining cards, Bank of America and Wachovia are our last two. While I don’t like the debt, I do like both of these companies. There customer service has been great, they have both been very fair and have not causing any unexpected rate hikes nor refusing the reduce the rates when I’ve called and asked. They are both the opposite end of the spectrum from Chase, whom I grew to abhor. So good bye and good riddance Chase, you will never be in my wallet again.

Click to continue reading...

Photo by: lovecatz

When you hear the first few lyrics of the song, you think the song is about a mother singing about her child. But as you near the end, you realize the song is really about us as children in the arms of God and how we’ll always be safe in His arms.

When “life happens” it’s so easy for us to panic, worry, and fret. Least we forgot that if we know him, we are always in the safe and loving arms of God. Deuteronomy 31:6 tells us ” Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Click to continue reading...

Photo by: pingnews.com

This is a guest post by Jonathan who created Friends and Money in March 2007. His site is dedicated to providing reviews of paid survey, social networking, and cash back shopping communities. His aim is encourage visitors to combine the twin goals of making friends and earning money online.

Click to continue reading...

Photo by: javYliz

Many people are wondering why they haven’t received their 2008 economic stimulus tax rebate checks. This is especially true for those that expected to receive their payments based on the schedule the IRS published and haven’t yet received them. To further confuse matters, the IRS also said they were starting 4 days early.

It just so happens that I was one of those that were a bit perplexed. I was perfectly fine waiting until the last day for my SSN range (May 9th). That is until I talked to my mother on Monday and found out she had received hers on Monday morning (5/5). She has the same last 2-digits for her social that I do…so I joined the ranks of millions wondering why I hadn’t received my rebate check yet.

Click to continue reading...

Photo by: dsearls

MyPoints is a great program, but let’s face it going through their emails can get a bit tedious and time consuming. I tend to work through my MyPoints emails every couple of days. I used to do them daily, but it just wasn’t worth the hassle for a few emails. I then went to the opposite extreme and tried doing them each week and even tried every two weeks but found that some of bonus emails and surveys expire if not processed quickly. Expired emails = lost points = not good.

Click to continue reading...

Photo by: joiseyshowaa

This week I learned about the power of Google and how much traffic they can send to a blog. Over the past few weeks, people around the internet have been using Google to search for terms related to the in economic stimulus rebate. Fortunately, I’ve written a few articles on the subject: one discussing when the rebate checks will be send out, another clarifying that the stimulus rebate isn’t a loan as some people stated, and one talking about what I plan to do with ours.

Click to continue reading...

Photo by: swanksalot

I’ve been out of town for the past few days on a business trip. That coupled with working on the Carnival of Personal Finance, I haven’t had a chance to complete/write more “normal” types of Gather Little by Little articles. The good news is I’m learning a great deal and I got the pleasure of having dinner with Green Panda and her husband (Blue Panda) which was awesome.

In lieu of having any major articles to share with you, I’ll share a couple of noteworthy news items that have arrived in my inbox over the past few days. I’ll return to my regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!

Click to continue reading...

Christ the Redeemer by: eks

Happy Easter everyone! Easter is often seen as a day of candy for children, decorating and hunting Easter eggs, and of spending time and eating Easter dinner with family and friends. More importantly though, Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s only son, the Savior of mankind. This day, Easter, so many years ago, to the amazement of those that loved him, Jesus arose from the dead before his accension into Heaven to prepare a place for us, those that believe.

Click to continue reading...