This is the first in an series of occasional stories on how the economy is affecting us.

Before David and Maura Reza hand out the $5 weekly allowance to their children, David reads a Scripture from the Bible about money.

This is a shift for the family, which has retreated from what Maura Reza calls years of "selfish spending." Now they have turned to a higher power for managing their budget, the world of biblical financial planning.

The five children – Brandon, Parker, Chandler, Lauryn and Aaron – squeeze around the dining room table in their spacious Mather-area home to listen to their dad. They light up when Mom walks in with the cash.

"The important thing to remember is that all of this," said David Reza, opening his arms wide gesturing to everything in their house, "belongs to God."

It may not belong to the Rezas much longer. The family is in danger of losing their five-bedroom, 2,900-square-foot home. Even if they do, they believe their faith will help them with their finances.

The Rezas have turned to their church to help them climb out of debt. Courses on biblical financial planning – which emphasize paying off debt, saving and tithing – are now offered at more than a dozen churches in the region. More classes start in the fall.

"How we manage our money says a lot about how we feel about God," said Mark Eshoff, executive minister at Fremont Presbyterian Church, which has offered financial courses for several years. "When you are worried about money, you can't be free."

A half-dozen church leaders a week are asking about classes, more than twice as many as last year, said Pamela Christensen of Crown Financial Ministries, which is taught at several churches in the region.

"Their people are in a crisis situation, they don't know what to do," said Christensen. "They hear about what the Bible said about debt and it makes a lot of sense."

Christensen said money is mentioned more than 2,300 times in the Bible, more than any other topic, including the oft-cited Proverbs 22:7. "The rich rules over the poor and the borrower becomes the lender's slave."

In their 13 years together, money has posed the biggest threat to the Rezas' marriage. Maura would leave the room when she saw her husband with their checkbook. "I knew that would mean a fight," she said. The couple, both registered nurses, have a combined income of nearly $125,000.

They each spent freely for years. Their situation worsened in 2006 when they bought a second home and kept their current home as a rental. "Houses were going up $10,000 a month," David Reza said. "We foolishly thought it would continue."

The Rezas fell into a financial hole. Their renter moved out, Maura Reza developed health problems and cut her work hours. They tried to sell their home.

Last November, the bank foreclosed on their second home and the couple declared bankruptcy.

That wasn't the bottom. That came soon afterward when Maura Reza was shopping for groceries with the kids. Her ATM card was rejected. Near tears, they left the store without their food.

That night the Rezas prayed. They later heard about biblical financial management and in June, the couple finished a 10-week course at Bayside Church in Granite Bay. For the first time, they say they are united about money.

It has not been easy.

They keep track of what they spend in a notebook. They sold some of their possessions, including an exercise machine. They cut back cable TV, quit their gym membership, unplugged a freezer in their garage and juggled work schedules to save on child care.

When their dryer started breaking down, they put a clothesline in their backyard.

"I know what we're doing is the right thing, and it's important that we are better examples for our children," Maura said as she showed her daughter how to hang a blouse on the clothesline. "But we have a long, long way to go."

Gina and Joe Macfarlane of Folsom say they have found financial peace.

"We got tired of living paycheck to paycheck," said Gina Macfarlane, who works as a bookkeeper at Lakeside Church in Folsom where the family attends. Her husband is in sales.

Call the Bee's Jennifer Garza, (916) 321-1133.