Your values inspire the way you live. Shouldn’t they inspire the way you invest? Many people unknowingly invest in companies whose products or practices conflict with their personal values.
Simply scan this QR Code to register for OneAscent Wealth’s free educational workshop at 23 Inverness Center Pkwy, Birmingham 35242. Workshop Dates: October 19 and November 2, Noon -1 p.m.
Today, investing has been divorced from its true purpose: supplying capital to great businesses.Rather than trying to invest in great companies, investing has become commoditized and distant. Most investors try to profit from “the market” itself rather than from any productive and intrinsic value of the underlying business.
When you invest, you become a shareholder or owner. As an owner, it’s important to know how the companies you’re invested in make money. There are some companies that you’d be proud to own because they fill a need and truly bless mankind. On the other hand, there are some you would never want to invest in because they make money from products or services that do not align with your deepest core values. Values-based investing allows you to identify what you value most and align your investments to match.
You’re invited to an educational workshop and free meal focused on values-based investing. A one-hour investment of your time could change the way you think about finances. OneAscent Wealth’s exclusive workshop from beginning to end is sixty minutes, and at the conclusion, you will have a better understanding of whether your investments align with your values. We will also have a brief time of Q&A.Space is limited. RSVP today while there’s still availability! You can also useour online tool available at www.oneascentwealth.com to identify the values that matter most to you and analyze your investments to see if they align. Start living aligned today!
In the peak of the housing boom of 2006 leading up to the recession of 2008, the days on market before a home went under contract averaged 125 days in Birmingham and surrounding areas. In the past12 months, the days on market prior to receiving a contract averaged just 18. That’s more than ¼ of a year faster! Additionally, the median sales price of a home has increased by more than $102k (2006 = $213,925; 2021 = $316,220) with properties selling much closer to their list price. In 2006, the inventory levels were at nine months. That means, if no additional houses were placed for sale, it would take nine months to sell every house on the market to a buyer. In the past 12 months, the inventory levels have averaged two months & five days.
Much of this real estate boom we are in is due to the rising population of younger generations coming to age and a significant decrease in available new construction homes. Since the recession, younger generations have had the opportunity to save money and gain optimism in the idea of home ownership all while Baby Boomers are still in need of homes. The massive impact of the recession caused a gap in the development of new construction neighborhoods; thus, the supply of new homes has struggled to keep up with the demand ever since.
It’s also not uncommon to hear of buyers willing to pay 40% more than another buyer for the same property. With so few properties hitting the market, it simply comes down to who wants it more and what they’re willing to pay. Everyone is wondering when a sense of normalcy will return and if buyers will again have the chance to see the same home twice before making an offer.
So, what’s to be expected in upcoming years? There are more regulations in place now regarding how mortgages are written, which have largely stopped nefarious lending practices. This helps to accept the idea of high demand due to the increasing population and a shortage of new construction housing with hindered supply chains. We should expect to see demand for homes to continue, but no one has a magic 8 ball. Markets are ever changing and although it’s not ideal to continue competing for so few homes, there were generations of home buyers before us who experienced interest rates between 13% and 16% in the 1980s. For those of us who will need to move, we cannot stress enough the importance of having proper consultations before buying and/or selling. With this ever-changing market, each month brings new discussions of strategies, which are so important in accomplishing your goals. The primary upcoming factors to watch in our real estate market will be interest rates, new construction permits, and increased optimism in current homeowners finding their next home.
Liz Lewis, Birmingham Christian Family’s (BCF) 2021 $1,000 College Scholarship recipient, planned to attend Judson College this fall where she also had a softball scholarship. However, while healing from a wrist/elbow injury this summer, she received the news that Judson College was closing. “I was devastated when I learned that my plans had been turned upside down. However, I had forgotten that my plans may not be His plans and Jeremiah 29:11 was continually put on my heart.” Lewis shares that after looking into several colleges, she did not feel at peace with any of them until a friend mentioned that Jacksonville State University (JSU) was offering scholarship opportunities for Judson students. “I decided to fill out the application and go for a visit. I loved the campus’ atmosphere and a few weeks later after much prayer, I made the exciting decision to become a Gamecock. I would have never considered attending JSU unless God had closed the door to Judson, but His plan is always better.” Lewis is excited about pursuing a degree in accounting! BCF wishes all the best to Liz Lewis in her future endeavors.
BCF will begin accepting applications for 2022 scholarships in early January 2022. Click here for more details!
19-year-old Arielle McFarland enjoys painting, attends Lawson State Community College and is a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. She lives a very active life despite having a severe blood disorder called sickle cell anemia hemoglobin SS. Sickle cell anemia is an inherited gene from both parents. Sickle cells are abnormally-shaped red blood cells that can stick to blood vessel walls causing blockage and preventing the cells from carrying oxygen through the body. When this happens, it causes a pain crisis.
Vestavia’s Arielle McFarland is able to attend college despite having a high risk and complex blood disorder. With the help of Children’s of Alabama, she manages her disease well with medication and a monthly red blood cell exchange.
Arielle was diagnosed with the disease by a screening at birth. “Her father and I knew we had the sickle cell gene, and there was a one-in-four chance for each pregnancy that our child could be born with it,” said Arielle’s mother Sophia McFarland. Arielle was six months old when she had her first pain crisis. “She developed dactylitis, which causes swelling of the hands, and is very painful,” said Sophia. Arielle was treated at Children’s of Alabama, which would be the first of many hospital visits to come. “It has been difficult, but everyone at Children’s has always been so sweet to us through all of this,” said Sophia. “We have always had a very good relationship with everyone on the staff.”
Arielle’s condition continues to be high risk and complex, but she manages her disease well with medication and a monthly red blood cell exchange. As for Arielle’s care at Children’s, her mom said, “The support, the attention and information they have provided us has been invaluable. They are like family to us.”
As a child I loved the start of a new school year. Fresh notebooks, clean paper, the skill of sharpening your pencil to a perfect point!However,what may be exciting for some children may be upsetting to others facing new teachers, classmates, bus drivers, and schedules. One thing of which we can be sure. The 2021-22 school year will launch a New Normal in education which remains to be defined. More than ever, we need to be aware of what our grandchildren are ‘learning’ in their school settings and support our adult children as they manage decisions concerning their children’s education.
How can a grandparent help? Whether near or far, there is much we can do to encourage and support our grandchildren this school year. The objective is to give our intentional interest and care!
1st and foremost-Pray! Consider joining or starting a Moms/Grandmoms in Prayer Group. Go to www.momsinprayer.org for information.
Volunteer to read in your grandchild’s classroom or school library. Offer to help with a craft or party around a holiday or special event.
Create a field trip matching what your grandchild is learning. History and science are great subjects to work with like visiting a nearby historical location.
Learn with them. Find out what they are learning in a history, science, biology, etc. Research further to generate discussion.
Long distance? Write a book together. Teach them the lost art of letter writing.
Support your grandchild’s teacher. Send encouraging notes and prayerful thoughts. Offer your help.
Generate conversation through questions about their friends, teachers, and activities. Be interested!
Offer help with carpool and afterschool care where you can have one-on-one time with your grandchild. Great resource for car time: backseatbiblenuggets.com.
Our families need us now more than ever as we traverse the educational systems of our culture. The enemy’s attacks against our children will persist to waylay our families and God’s moral foundations Be it homeschool, private or public education, the intentional Christian grandparent has a great deal to contribute to the balance and health of our grandchildren. Remember, our grandchildren NEED us! Step up and Step In – to your grandchildren’s education this school year! Want encouragement and other ideas on how to do that? Attend the only National Conference on Christian Grandparenting live at Shades Mountain Baptist Church October 21-22. Visit www.legacycoalition.com/summit for registration, speaker, and schedule information.
Several years ago, the prayer ministry of Christian Grandparenting Network saw the urgency to establish a day for grandparents to unite in prayer and established a Grandparents’ Day of Prayer to coincide with National Grandparents’ Day. The purpose of Grandparents’ Day of Prayer is to raise an awareness of prayer among today’s Christian grandparents. Visit www.christiangrandparenting.com for a list of ways to participate, including a 30-Day Prayer Challenge giving thanks to God for your grandchildren and praying for their new school year.
TO SAY THANK YOU for reading and supporting the businesses and organizations that advertise with us and make spreading Good News possible, we have THREE GREAT GIVEAWAYS this month for you and your family!
Tickets to Vintage Market Days. Enter to win two tickets($22 value) to Vintage Market Days at the Hoover Finley Center September 30-October 1, www.vintagemarketdays.com. Simply LIKE and SHARE the Giveaway Post on our Facebook Page. For an EXTRA ENTRY– TAG 3 friends in the comments. EXTRA ENTRY-SUBSCRIBE to receive your free digital issue of BCF at www.birminghamchristian.com. EXTRA ENTRY- FOLLOW US on Instagram @cfpbirmingham.Offer ends 9/20/21. Winners announced 9/21/21 on Facebook so be sure to LIKE our page!
Jurassic Quest Family 4 Pack! 4 Tickets ($88 value) to Jurassic Quest at the BJCC September 24-26, www.jurassicquest.com. Simply LIKE and SHARE the Giveaway Post on our Facebook Page and follow Jurassic Quest and BCF! For an EXTRA ENTRY– TAG 3 friends in the comments. EXTRA ENTRY-SUBSCRIBE to receive your free digital issue of BCF at www.birminghamchristian.com. EXTRA ENTRY– FOLLOW US on Instagram @cfpbirmingham. Offer ends 9/19/21. Winners announced 9/29/21 on Facebook!
Don’t miss Vintage Market Days of Birmingham’s Annual Fall Event at the Hoover Finley Center September 30-October 2. Be sure to stop by the Birmingham Christian Family booth where we will have some great giveaways for you and copies of the latest issue of BCF!
Grab your best friends on September 30- October 2 and join Vintage Market Days® of Birmingham(VMD) for a special shopping experience, featuring the best small business vendors from Alabama, as well as artisans and makers from nearly 20 other states! Each vendor at the Hoover Finley Center will feature their choice of true vintage goods, antiques, original art, clothing, jewelry, handmade treasures, home décor, outdoor furnishings, consumable yummies, seasonal plantings and so much more! This is a great opportunity to get a jumpstart on your holiday shopping while supporting small business that have been so heavily affected by the pandemic.
VDM is a juried event accepting vendors based on variety, originality and quality of goods sold. Over 70 vendors will bring a shopper’s paradise to the three- day event featuring vintage, one-of-a-kind antiques, children’s items, clothing, handmade jewelry, original art, consumable yummies, seasonal plantings, handmade goods and much more. Plus live music provided by Rachel Wilson.
Pre-sale ticket holders get early entry at 9:30 a.m. each morning. Additionally, the first 25 guests with pre-sale tickets on Thursday will receive an exclusive VMD tote with market cash to spend at any vendor! Admission tickets are $11 and tickets are good for re-entry by ticket holder all weekend! Hours are 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. daily. Children 12 and under are free. The City of Hoover charges $5 parking. Tickets are also available on event days. Cash, debit and credit cards will all be accepted. For more information visit www.vintagemarketdays.com. Click here to enter our Vintage Market Days Ticket Giveaway!
Meet Brenda Sunday, October 24 at 1:30 p.m. at The Grand Hall at Old Mill Square in Columbiana, Ala. (adjacent to the Shelby County Arts Center). “There is limited seating for the event, and we expect a sell-out crowd” said CASA Director, Beth Chapman. “I encourage people to order their tickets as soon as possible.”
Known for her down-home cooking served up with a side of Jesus, don’t miss your chance to meet Brenda Gantt on Sunday October 24 in Columbiana. Read her faith story here.
Famous for her homemade biscuits, downhome southern cooking and love for her faith and family, Gantt became an internet sensation during the COVID-19 pandemic. She began posting cooking videos from her home kitchen at the request of young husbands in her church for their wives to learn to cook biscuits. Since that time, Gantt has posted hundreds of videos and garnered more than 2 million followers and even more views on Facebook. She has appeared on national television shows; the cover of multiple magazines- including Birmingham Christian Family– and her first cookbook is coming out in November.
Gantt is specifically coming to Shelby County to help CASA continue to provide critical services to children in our community. The non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization works to prevent child abuse and neglect, recruits and trains volunteers to go through the court process with abused and neglected children and provides parenting classes and supervised visitation for children in need. CASA is the only organization of its kind in Shelby County. CASA is funded in part by the Children’s Trust Fund of Alabama, a Shelby County Community Grant and other generous donors throughout the county and state, www.casaofshelbycounty.org.
Tickets for the event are $50 per person for lunch, $100 for lunch and your photo with Brenda. Corporate or Individual tables with reserved seating for 8 are available for $500 without photos and $1,000 tables are reserved seating for 8 and everyone gets a photo with Brenda. All other seating will be on a first-come, first serve basis. Doors for the event will open at 1:30. A portion of ticket purchases will be tax deductible. Purchase your tickets at www.casaofshelbycounty.org/bbq/. Read her faith story here.
We are giving away TWO TICKETS($200 value) for the event. Click here to enter our Facebook Giveaway! For an extra entry in our BBQ with Brenda Gantt giveaway on Facebook, sign up for our E-Newsletter here! †
My parents divorced when I was very young. My mother got custody of my older sister Tracey and me. She married a hard man who was physically abusive to me, leading to court which resulted in my father obtaining custody. Tracey was 13, and I was 5 at the time. For the next couple of years, we moved from one motel to another. My sister got married when she was 16 years old. That left me with my dad as he kept a night shift job but continually made bad choices that led to alcoholism. Often left to fend for myself, I had no structure or guidance. If not for other guests at the motels where we stayed, I might not have had many meals either. I began smoking at a very young age and spent days walking the streets, getting into lots of mischief. Due to the freedom I had, I was on the brink of quitting school.
Teen Terry Tilton (fourth from right) enjoys time in the water with friends at Big Oak Ranch. Rooted in Isaiah 61:3, “They shall be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified,” more than 2000 children have called the Big Oak Ranch home since being founded by John Croyle in 1974. The Boys’ Ranch is located just outside Gadsden and the Girls’ Ranch is in Springville, Ala. Learn more at www.bigoak.org.
My sister’s husband worked for a company that did projects at Big Oak Boys’ Ranch so as he became more familiar with the Ranch, he shared information with my sister. She got in touch with me and said, “I want to take you somewhere this weekend, to a Boys’ Ranch in Gadsden.” The first perception that came to my mind was a detention center. But my sister just continued to encourage me. They drove me to the Boys’ Ranch on a Sunday morning in early spring 1988. I was 16 years old. There was a man outside one of the homes so we pulled up to talk with him. It happened to be Steve Franklin, the housedad at the Spradling-Mason Home. Pop Franklin talked with us about the Ranch and took us over to the office. As we waited in the sitting area, Pop Franklin was in one of the offices gathering an application for me. The memory that sticks with me the most is a photo that was hanging in the office. Looking at it, I said, “Who is that?” Pop Franklin responded, “You don’t know who that is?” I said, “No.” Pop said, “That is Jesus.” He did not force a conversation but simply talked about Jesus a bit. I felt so relaxed and comfortable and, as we left the Ranch that morning, I knew I wanted to go back.
Welding has led 49 year old Terry Tilton to a successful career as a Safety Manager and now an Operations Manager. He mentors young welders, much like he was mentored at Big Oak Ranch.
It was the Saturday before Easter, and I will never forget the feeling as we pulled back up to the Spradling-Mason Home; boys playing everywhere, and food being cooked for Easter Sunday celebrations. They showed my dad around, and we unpacked the small sack holding all that I had. Somehow, everything I needed was already there. My first summer at the Ranch, I began tutoring three days a week as the staff helped me catch up. Because of the tutoring, I was ready for 9th grade when school started that fall.
Everyone in my home participated in chores around the Ranch. One of our house chores was planting and watering all the flower beds and trees. I remember when the oak trees were planted at the front entrance of the Boys’ Ranch. Every day my job was to make sure those trees were watered for 10 minutes. Each time I visit, I see how big those trees have grown.
August 24, 2021 Brodie Croyle, Exec. Dir. of Big Oak Ranch will be speaking at the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast in Vestavia Hills. Click here for details. When Croyle assumed the role of Exec. Dir., he shared with BCF about carrying on the legacy of his father and founder of the Ranch, John Croyle.
I came home from school one afternoon with all of the paperwork for Mom and Pop Franklin to read regarding the trade school and welding program I wanted to enter. Mom Franklin, knowing nothing about welding took my list and went to buy welding supplies. That was a pivotal and meaningful moment. I didn’t even know how to weld but it was exciting having my own gear. I still have my first welding hood that Mom Franklin bought for me. It’s in my office and pretty worn but I am so proud of it.
The longer I lived at the Ranch the more I began to understand what it was like to trust adults. My Resource Parents, Jim and Patsy Burks, along with the influence of Larry Fuhrman through Westbrook Christian School – they were so consistent with their presence, wisdom and love for me and my house brothers. They were the perfect support team Big Oak Ranch needed in raising me.
At Big Oak’s 45th Anniversary in 2019, I walked into the remodeled Boys’ Ranch office as Brodie (Croyle, Executive Director of Big Oak Ranch) stood at the door welcoming everyone. I asked him about the picture of Jesus from all those years ago and to my surprise the Ranch gifted it to me. Today that picture of Christ hangs in the foyer of my home as the first thing I see when I walk in and the last thing I see when I leave. Life is full of surprises and troubles, and I have had my share. I tried to live life without the values and work ethic that Big Oak instilled in me. But life never worked out until I went back to those roots.
-Terry Tilton
We need you to share your Miracle Moment! Email [email protected]Subject Line: Miracle Moments or call 205-408-7150.
Need a little boost as you head into fall? T. Fox SalonSpa can help!
Up late grading papers? Skip the shampoo and try the Aveda Shampowder Dry Shampoo!
BENEFITS:
Absorbs excess oil, impurities and sweat
Adds effortless volume and texture
Back to school means back to breakouts. Fight back with AVEDA outer Peace Foaming Cleanser.
BENEFITS:
Gently cleanses skin
Dissolves oil without over drying the skin
Helps diminish breakouts
Get Bright Eyes for Back to School with Aveda Eye Treatment!
BENEFITS:
Firms skin
Reduces puffiness
Brightens dark circles
Takes only five minutes and results last up to four weeks!
For more ideas on how to best care for your hair and face visit the T. Fox Salon Facebook page where every Tuesday the team posts a Tuesday Hair Care Tip www.facebook.com/TFoxSalonspa. The team also invites you to stop by the SalonSpa on Valleydale Road in Hoover to learn more.
– Brought to you by Fox SALONSPA, Top 200 Salon in North America by Salon Today
Join our Free E-newsletter packed with the latest family fun events, great recipes, inspiring stories, and all kinds of resources for you and your family.
Alabama’s cooking phenomenon and internet sensation, 
