I perused the endless array of photos available on search engines this morning in hopes of finding an appropriate picture to compliment the title of today’s article, but I failed. You see, hardships come in many forms. I could put a picture of a homeless mother with her young son on the side of the street, but many of you could never truly relate to her single parenting experience. I could put a picture of a father weeping at his dead spouse’s graveside, but others wouldn’t understand. I could put a picture of a well-dressed single mother in a business suit on her way to her next business meeting, as she phones her two teens at home to check in on their homework progress. And still yet, some couldn’t relate. No matter what your situation, you have most assuredly dealt with some hardships in your single parenting journey.
2011 was a phenomenal year for me in so many ways and I shared some of those in a previous post. (See http://www.singleparentstown.com/blog/2011/12/28/jennifer/2011-year-end-review-by-jennifer-maggio/). But in other ways, it was one of the most difficult years our family has endured. The hardships, MANY TIMES, seemed insurmountable.
To give you just a glimpse…..my son broke his foot playing basketball and was unable to enjoy the spot he had earned to the national high school basketball tournaments. It may not seem like much, but he underwent physical therapy for months. Shortly thereafter, my teen daughter sustained a volleyball injury and had to undergo major hip surgery, also ending her athletic participation for months — not to mention the medical and hospital bills that mounted. And honestly, this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of medical bills totaling more than we have ever paid in years’ past, the woes of parenting teens, relationship difficulties, ministry hardships, and more. Continue reading »
Since my life’s passion is the single parent and specifically connecting single parents to their local church, it stands to reason that I would get tons of emails, comments, and questions about the local church. So I wanted to highlight for you, the single parent, what it is you should be asking your local church:
In a day and time when many are taught from a very young age to be selfish, stingy, and demand that we “get ours”(or throw a fit trying), I thought it relevant to go back to the simple principle of generosity. 
Oh, the sweet innocence of a newborn! There is nothing quite so special as holding a cuddly, soft newborn as they gaze up at you with wonder and amazement - their eyes so wide, their futures so bright. When is it, along the way, that we forget that innocence of the children that God has entrusted us with? 
Last week, I shared 5 tips on how to save money in your home. Based on the positive response, I wanted to give you 5 more that I have found to be helpful. I did financial counseling for 10 years in Corporate America and learned a great deal of proper money management. What’s more, I walked away from a six-figure salary to walk into full-time volunteering a few years ago and had to become quite creative on how to make ends meet, until my business launched. Here’s what I learned:
In light of recent difficult economic times and in remembering those times when I scraped pennies to put gas in my car to get to work, I want to share some simple, but valuable ideas on how to save money in your household. 
