Participants: Alane Waters, Tom Waters
Series Code: MGH
Program Code: MGH000019
|
00:34 Welcome to Marriage Heart to Heart!
00:36 We're Tom & Alane Waters with Restoration International 00:40 And we're excited to be together 00:42 to share another program on the principles 00:45 that can make your marriage heart to heart! 00:49 Today we're gonna be talking about managing money. 00:51 Now this can be a very sticky subject, 00:54 a very uncomfortable subject for many couples. 00:56 But we found in our marriage 00:58 that as we learned to manage our money, that means budget 01:01 we have found the joy that it's brought in 01:03 our own marriage. 01:04 So we hope you have your paper and pencil 01:05 because we're gonna be doing some budgeting today 01:08 on this program. 01:10 Well, whether we have a lot of money 01:12 or a little money 01:14 managing money is crucial 01:17 to reducing the financial stresses 01:20 that can happen in marriage. 01:22 So that's what we wanna talk about today 01:24 and Luke 16:2 says that we need to: 01:26 "give an account of thy stewardship;" 01:30 So how do we give an account of our stewardship? 01:32 What does that mean in simple terms today? 01:34 We have to know where we spend the money. 01:36 How much we have and where it goes? 01:38 That's right! And so, sometimes 01:41 we have to look at what our lifestyle is, 01:44 what we are trying to accomplish in life financially 01:48 and some of those dreams that we may have 01:51 have to bee looked at in accordance with the means 01:54 that we have! 01:56 Because many times is easy to 01:58 let the ideas, the dreams 02:00 the credit cards take us outside 02:03 of the means and we can't afford to do that 02:05 if we're going to be faithful to take account of our stewardship. 02:10 Every principle that God has given us in His Word 02:12 only is there to make us happier! 02:14 - That's right! - And if we're willing to take 02:16 these principles into our lives we find that our lives 02:19 are happier, especially as married couples! 02:22 We don't have those unnecessary stresses. 02:25 And I remember when we had set that goal 02:27 of buying our first home 02:29 newly married, saving money, saving money, 02:33 we were both working full-time in our professional 02:36 careers 02:37 and we had looked forward to getting our first home. 02:41 And I remember the day we drove over and we signed 02:43 on that contract. 02:45 We just got ourselves into debt for the first time 02:48 in our marriage! - Yes! And 02:51 unfortunately they had figured our incomes 02:55 in however they do that in qualifying us and 02:58 we needed both of our incomes to 03:02 make ends meet. 03:03 That's what they told us! They took our total income 03:06 from both of us work and said: "This is how much 03:08 you can afford, in the kind of home that you purchase, 03:10 you know, this is your level to go to. " 03:13 And that's where we went! 03:14 And then what have we found out just a few weeks later? 03:18 That our first child was well on her way! 03:21 That was a little bit intimidating. 03:23 And I think realtor was the first one 03:24 to know the news that we were gonna have a baby! 03:26 What are we gonna do now? We've already signed 03:27 down the dotted line. 03:29 No escape! 03:31 We'd already made another commitment that 03:33 was ahead of this commitment and that was that you're 03:35 going to pull back from your employment 03:38 when we had our first little one. 03:41 So, where does that put us financially? 03:43 That puts us down to 03:45 a home that was bought on two incomes 03:47 with one income to pay the bills. 03:50 Ok! So kind of 03:52 forced us to relook at making account of our stewardship. 03:57 It did! Because we 03:58 we thought we were pretty careful. 04:01 And we were good savers to get our down payment 04:04 for that first home but it was quite a struggle 04:07 at the beginning to have that mortgage payment. 04:10 And we only had one full-time income. 04:12 That's right! It also brought us into a temptation 04:16 to 04:18 kind of look at whether we wanted to continue to 04:20 put God first in everything. 04:23 Now it was no question 04:25 that we would continue to pay our tithe, 04:27 but you the little bit of struggle we went through. 04:30 Whether we were going to continue to give 04:33 our offerings on the same commitment that 04:35 we'd given to the Lord. 04:37 And I'm thankful to say that 04:39 we really put God to the test! 04:41 He says: "Prove me!", we talked about that in 04:43 one of our other programs: "Prove me 04:46 herewith, saith the Lord" 04:47 and we did prove Him because we believe that 04:50 He had shown us over and over that 04:52 if we trust Him, He will make things work together for good. 04:55 So, we did not go back on our commitment to the Lord 05:00 and that's been over 25 years and 05:03 we're thankful for that! 05:04 And He's never let us down! - That's right! 05:07 And that's been an encouragement to me! 05:10 But, you know, we had our second child 05:12 and that only adds more expenses here. 05:14 Your life doesn't get less expensive to live, 05:16 every day, that you know, 05:18 the economy increases, you know, the 05:20 it's just, inflation is there! And so, 05:23 when you add children, your life becomes 05:26 more financially complicated. 05:29 That's right! 05:30 Well, about that time 05:32 you probably remember that this big financial 05:36 investment councilor came to the hospital 05:38 and we had a big leadership meeting. 05:42 All the leadership personnel in the hospital 05:44 came together and we had this seminar and 05:47 on investing and annuities. 05:51 And each of the leadership people 05:53 had the opportunity to meet with this 05:55 councilor personally. 05:57 Well, we had our meeting together and 05:59 you remember me coming home that day. 06:02 This man said to me: 06:06 "You need to be able to save at least 06:09 25 dollars every pay period. " 06:13 And I said: "Listen, you don't understand our circumstances! 06:15 I mean, we" 06:17 And I share a little bit with him of our circumstances. 06:20 I said: "You know, we're good money managers, 06:22 but we can't afford to save even 25 dollars! 06:25 We're just, that's how tight we are, 06:28 you know, running our budget!" 06:29 - Pay period to pay period! - That's right! 06:31 And 06:33 I didn't really like what he said to me but 06:35 he turned to me and he said: 06:38 "If you can't save 25 dollars a pay period 06:43 then you have a serious problem!" 06:46 Now, 06:48 I mean, I felt this 06:50 self coming up inside of me, 06:51 I didn't, 06:53 I didn't, you know, respond to him then, 06:54 I didn't understand some of the things we 06:56 certainly understand today! 06:58 But you remember when I came home and shared that with you? 07:01 Yes! I had some of that same self reaction in me! 07:04 Because for the most part I was managing 07:06 the money in the home! 07:07 - That's right! - I mean, you know, you 07:08 bring your paycheck home, and I worked, you know, 07:09 on a very part-time basis 07:12 but my income was very insignificant according to our 07:15 our living demands on us. 07:18 And 07:19 so when you said that to me that night I 07:21 thought: 07:23 "This is, he doesn't know, I mean, we bought this home 07:26 when we had two full-time incomes 07:29 and I'm hardly even working a day a week!" 07:32 So you didn't like it either did you? 07:33 I didn't like it! 07:34 Neither one of us liked it! 07:35 But, it kind of challenged us in a way! 07:38 And so, 07:40 we went back 07:42 we relooked at our financial situation 07:44 and we really couldn't see how we could do it! 07:46 But here's the reason we use this illustration 07:49 we started looking closer 07:52 and we started taking account of the money, 07:56 taking account of our stewardship. 07:58 And you know, we challenged ourselves 08:01 that we were going to save 25 dollars 08:04 every pay period. 08:05 And you know, that proved to be a huge blessing to us 08:08 when we moved to our country home in Montana. 08:12 Yes! It provided us the means to live 08:14 when we made that transition 08:16 because you went from full-time employment 08:19 and a leadership position in a hospital 08:21 to getting a commission only 08:23 in your real estate practice which the first year 08:25 was extremely meager! 08:27 - That's right! - Way below poverty rates 08:29 in the country! 08:31 And so we lived on that savings 08:33 because we ere willing to be challenged that way. 08:36 And, you know, what you hear today may 08:38 step on your toes, you may feel challenged 08:40 it may make you uncomfortable, it may even 08:42 want to make the "me" in you raise up! 08:45 But, 08:47 we only share with you what we have challenged 08:49 and been challenged with ourselves and 08:52 you will see that somewhere down the road 08:54 it will be a blessing to you 08:56 if you will, in your managing of your money 08:59 have a little savings, because no one knows 09:02 what is ahead and what your circumstances may mean. 09:06 And I think that the part that's the so meaningful 09:09 for us, especially as we looked back at it, 09:12 is that 09:13 when we take that 25 dollars 09:17 it seems insignificant, even back then 09:19 over 20 years ago it seemed insignificant, 09:22 we take that 25 dollars 09:24 and if we hadn't just had the 09:27 money taken out of our paycheck 09:29 we never saw it. 09:31 And we never missed it! 09:34 And what that said to us, 09:35 and I think that what it says to you 09:37 is that if we will have a simple savings program 09:42 that we won't really miss that money! 09:44 And a lot of times people spend more than that 09:47 in two weeks and they can't even account for where it went 09:50 just nickel and dimming here and there! 09:52 So, make the commitment 09:55 to tighten the belt on things. 09:57 Look at your lifestyle, evaluate your spending 10:01 look at your dreams and really ask the question: 10:04 "Am I living within my means?" 10:07 "Or am I forcing myself into a position where 10:10 I have to make more money and feel the pressure?" 10:13 And so for us, we began to actually make a budget. 10:17 Because we knew we had this much coming in 10:20 and we had to look at how those dollars were gonna be spent, 10:23 where are they gonna go; 10:25 to make sure we had enough to cover our bills! 10:27 And we sat down with a paper and pencil 10:29 very early on and we started penciling it out: 10:33 "Ok, we have our tithe, our first for the Lord, 10:36 we have our offering and we have our mortgage payment!" 10:39 And we put that down on paper. 10:41 A sort of absolutes! 10:42 Absolutes! 10:43 You know, and this sounds 10:45 maybe a little bit simplistic 10:47 to you but we have found over and over again 10:50 as we have talked to so many couples 10:54 that many times 10:56 if the money is there, the money just goes away! 10:59 I know I talked to one man and he was 11:03 he was just bemoaning 11:05 the fact that if he could make fifty thousand dollars a year, 11:09 this was back when I was in my real estate practice and 11:12 he said: "If I could just make fifty thousand dollars a year 11:15 then I could really get buying life!" 11:18 And 11:20 I knew the way that he was spending money 11:23 and the philosophy that he had, 11:24 tat even though making fifty thousand dollars 11:27 at that time for him 11:29 would be increasing his income considerably 11:33 that the reality of it was that 11:35 it wouldn't change the fact that he'd still 11:37 be running out of money. 11:38 And within a couple of years he was making that 11:42 more than fifty thousand dollars 11:44 and none of his circumstances had changed! 11:46 None of his spending habits had changed and his family was 11:50 still in the same financial difficulties! 11:52 So, the issue here is not how much money we have 11:56 it's how we manage and how take account of that money! 11:59 So, as simplistic as it may sound 12:01 to sit down with a peace of paper 12:03 and start writing down you will be surprised 12:07 when you write down all the known monthly expenses! 12:10 You take that net that you have after taxes 12:14 you put that to the top of your paper 12:16 and then you begin to write down all the known expenses 12:18 and really dig into it, 12:20 dig them all out, go to all your resources 12:23 and they're gonna be surprised 12:25 at what they come up with at the bottom line. 12:27 The blessing of this and how it worked in our marriage 12:31 is that once we did that 12:33 we said: "Oh? 12:35 This is how much money we really have to work with!" 12:39 This has to include our savings and this has to include 12:43 our unexpected necessary expenses, 12:48 some of those unknown things! 12:50 And so, now you have a different picture! 12:52 We got a totally different picture in our minds 12:55 about what we had to really work with! 12:57 And that's one of the blessings 12:58 that sitting down with a peace of paper 13:00 or you can do it on your computer with a spreadsheet, 13:03 but to com up with a bottom line. 13:05 That's right! So maybe we should talk about those 13:07 known expenses, because in talking with many couples 13:10 who have had financial stress in their marriage 13:13 they don't even know what those real known expenses are! 13:16 - That's right! - They don't 13:17 take account of them 13:18 because they don't necessarily show up every month. 13:21 So maybe we should identify 13:23 these known expenses! - That's right! That's good! 13:26 Well, we talked about the tithe, the offerings, 13:28 the mortgage, 13:30 the car payment, the insurance these are things 13:33 that are known expenses! But 13:34 let's take the car insurance for example. 13:37 For us and I don't know how it is for you, 13:39 but our car insurance comes due every six month. 13:43 So, what are we gonna do? 13:46 One of the problems that people run into 13:48 and we used to run into this problem, is we 13:50 think about our paycheck and we think about the net 13:52 that we have to work with 13:54 and so, here we are in Wal-Mart or some store 13:58 and we see something that: 14:00 "Wow, this is really great! I need this!" 14:03 And what can happen is we can look at our check book 14:06 or we can look at how much money we have 14:09 presently with us, 14:11 we can end up buying that, maybe it's a camping tent or 14:15 you know, it's a new exercise treadmill or something like that 14:19 we got the money for it, 14:20 but because we haven't taken account 14:24 we haven't looked at 14:25 the fact that that six month 14:29 insurance bill needs be reconciled 14:32 and accounted for every month. 14:33 So a peace of that it's coming out every month. 14:36 What many people end up doing 14:38 is they come to the insurance bill, the bill comes in the mail 14:41 and they go: "Oh no! " 14:43 "When am I gonna get that six hundred dollars? " 14:45 or whatever it is 14:47 because they just went out 14:48 and bought the tent two month ago, not thinking 14:53 that part of that money should have already been set aside 14:57 for that insurance payment. 15:00 And the other thing that the problem we have today 15:03 is the credit card, that peace of plastic 15:05 that has made everything so convenient! 15:08 And what it's made the most convenient is go on to debt! 15:11 That's right! 15:12 And cause stress and marriage fallen apart because 15:15 people can't, they just, 15:17 they're in fights and arguments and blame and guilt 15:20 and so it just - They can't even keep up 15:22 hardly with the interest on the 15:25 the card. - That's right! 15:26 So, what we chose to do 15:28 is to write down these real expenses 15:33 that we know, and in six month we're gonna have 15:35 our insurance payment on the car, 15:38 on our home. 15:39 Some people have medical policies or life insurance 15:42 all of these are expenses - That's right! 15:44 that need to be budgeted in every month 15:46 and those funds need to be set aside 15:47 so when those big bills show up in the mail 15:51 there's the money to pay them off. 15:53 And then there's the utilities! 15:55 Which you can get a pretty good idea 15:56 what that's gonna be on a monthly basis. 15:58 And many of the utility companies today 16:01 let you do a year plan. 16:03 So if you have higher heating cost in the winter 16:06 and it's lower in the summer, you can pay the 16:08 same amount every year and they can estimate your 16:11 your monthly bills on that. - That's right! 16:13 So it can be a fairly well known expense. 16:16 And so you've got your phone bills, 16:19 your heating bills, your electricity, gas, 16:23 you know, sewer, whether, all those things 16:25 that have to be incorporated into that budget. 16:28 There's a few other things that we wanna talk about, 16:30 but we need to take a break right now! 16:32 We hope you'll stay with us 16:34 as we talk about how we can truly manage our money. 16:43 There are many "How to?" books available, 16:45 but there's one that's free and perfect for every couple: 16:48 how you can "Build a Better Marriage". 16:51 Bible-based, matrimonial advice 16:53 is given in a lighthearted, easy-to-read manner, 16:56 for those contemplating marriage, 16:57 newlyweds, couples in their golden years, 17:00 and everyone in-between. 17:02 Simply call or write for your free copy 17:04 of this amazing little booklet, a handy little tool 17:07 to help build a better marriage. 17:15 Welcome back! We're talking about how we can really manage 17:19 our financial responsibilities. 17:22 We've been talking about budgeting 17:24 and the importance of that and we've talked of it in 17:26 very simplistic terms. You can take it 17:29 and put it on your spreadsheet on your computer or 17:32 the way we simply did it as take a peace of paper 17:34 and write the net amount after taxes and start working with 17:38 the expenses that are known expenses 17:41 or just a couple of other ones that 17:44 kind of catch people from time to time. 17:46 And those are the taxes, the property taxes, 17:49 the things that, you know, don't come, you don't see them 17:52 every month. 17:53 And so, sometimes those can be set out of sight, 17:57 out of mind and then they pop-up and 17:59 they can be a pretty huge expense at one time. 18:01 That's right! 18:02 The other areas 18:03 are professional licenses - Yes! 18:05 for people who have to have continual education 18:07 or renew their licenses every year 18:10 or even their auto-licenses, 18:11 that you know the tags on the car. 18:14 They come once a year and "Bang!" all of a sudden we 18:16 owe 400 dollars to the state. 18:17 Where are we gonna get that 400 dollars? 18:20 - That's right! - So, by identifying those 18:22 known expenses and putting them out 18:25 and then budgeting every month, 18:26 maybe it's only 30 dollars for this or 40 dollars for that, 18:29 when that bill comes in we have the money. 18:32 - That's right! - And it's not 18:34 a pressure, it doesn't cause a reaction. 18:36 That's right! And one of the things that happens is: 18:40 if we're not really prepared for that when it comes in 18:42 we live in such a "debt orientated 18:45 leverage your money " kind of society 18:48 that the temptation then is to just, 18:51 you know, I'll put something on the credit card 18:54 so I can free up some money or I'll just, you know, 18:56 I'll take out a little loan, you know, just a signature loan. 19:00 It's easier or I could get a little bit of money here 19:02 with a little equity loan. 19:05 Those things had become so accessible! 19:07 But what they do if no habits change 19:10 if no account is made of our finances 19:14 then that cumulates, it keeps building up. 19:17 And there's maybe somebody out there listening 19:19 and says, you know: 19:20 "Well, it's not an issue for me! 19:21 I don't even have to think about 19:24 my bottom line! I've got all kinds of money!" 19:27 Ok? There are people like that that may be listening 19:30 and that's a blessing! Praise the Lord 19:32 that you have been blessed with those kinds of finances! 19:36 But you're still going to have to give an account 19:39 as a steward! So 19:41 whether you have plenty of money 19:43 and you forget about your tax bills until they come due 19:46 and the money is readily available 19:48 there's still an accountability to God 19:50 for the blessing that He's given to each one of us 19:52 in the funds that we manage! 19:55 So, maybe you can have the inducement 19:58 to then be able to give more to the Lord's cause 20:01 if you're a good steward of those finances! 20:05 So we should look at some of those unknown expenses 20:08 like food. I mean we all know we need to eat! 20:11 We all like to eat! 20:12 But most people don't have a budget 20:15 "This is what I'm gonna spend 20:16 on food every month!" - That's right! 20:17 And going out to eat, and the pets that we have in our home 20:21 and the home maintenance needs to be done, and all the 20:23 miscellaneous things we need to buy to 20:25 keep our home up. You know, the toilet paper, 20:28 the paper towels, the Cleanixes, 20:29 all those little things! - Even gifts then 20:31 you know, what we're gonna spend on holidays and 20:34 birthdays and that adds up! - Stamps to mail things! 20:37 I mean it seems so insignificant! 20:39 But in reality it all adds up and it makes a huge difference! 20:44 That's right! 20:45 It makes a difference on that bottom line! 20:48 And it especially makes a difference because 20:51 we don't have the expectation! 20:53 We haven't sat down and had a budget. 20:55 So, it really makes an impact if we think we've got 20:59 "x" number of dollars 21:00 because we have a paycheck in our hand 21:03 and then all of a sudden we realized that not only 21:05 do we not have all that money we thought we did 21:08 after we go out and eat or we go out and buy these things. 21:11 When we find out that it's way less than we thought we had 21:15 and we need a large sum of money, that's where again 21:18 that the debt comes in. 21:20 So, we need to take these 21:23 undefined areas, the undefined amounts 21:26 and after having put our net amount 21:28 at the top of our budget 21:30 what we need to do next after we've identified 21:32 and put in the known expenses 21:35 we need to see how much money has left 21:36 and then divide it in these areas that are very real, 21:39 that we need from day to day to keep living. 21:41 And determine how much we're gonna spend in those areas. 21:45 - That's right! - And this has been 21:47 a tremendous help to us! I mean 21:48 there was a time we lived on 300 dollars a month! 21:51 And that was in the 80's. 21:53 So that's not a lot of money and it can't be done. 21:56 You know, - That was our transition time 21:58 from our suburban lifestyle 22:00 'cause we wanted to stay out of debt! 22:01 That's right! 22:02 That was something we agreed on, you know, 22:04 when we talked in the previous program about 22:07 agreeing together. - That's right! 22:09 That was one thing we wanted out of debt! 22:11 We didn't want that financial pressure on us! 22:14 So we were able to make that transition 22:16 without the debt. We never would've been able to do that 22:19 though if we had not agreed 22:21 to be accountable with our finances 22:24 and have a budget! 22:25 So we looked at everywhere those dollars would go. 22:28 And we didn't just drive around for something to do. 22:32 We only used the car if we had to go somewhere. 22:34 - Yes! - And, you know, 22:35 we were out in the country and I walked to the mailbox 22:38 a mile away instead of driving to the mailbox. 22:40 - Great exercise! - Yes it was good! 22:42 And, you know, we wouldn't 22:44 necessarily pick up our mail every day. I mean 22:46 these were areas that we address because we knew 22:50 that we didn't have those resources 22:51 and we didn't wanted to go into debt! 22:53 Well, it was a blessing too, because 22:54 we began buying bulk foods 22:57 you, know, we started buying things and 22:59 you know, a 50 pound bag or a 25 pound bag 23:02 and it was a huge savings! 23:05 And those kind of things, and we knew 23:08 when we went, you know, with you to go to the grocer store 23:10 or when we go to shop for something we had an idea 23:13 of exactly how much money we had to work with. 23:15 And so, our children never knew it 23:17 but during that period of our lives in that transition 23:20 we lived and ate pretty simply. 23:23 We bought, you bought 23:25 the vegetables and the fruits that were on sale, 23:27 not just what our taste liked. 23:30 And so, it was a good discipline for us 23:32 and it's really proved to be a blessing. 23:34 That's right! And cooking from scratch 23:36 that made a huge difference because of that bulk buy 23:38 of that I mean you can eat pretty cheap 23:40 if you, you know, heat a pot of beans! 23:41 - That's right! - Don't buy the beans 23:43 already done in the can! Buy them dry 23:45 and cook them and then eat them. 23:48 You know, and you can eat very inexpensively that way. 23:51 And those are some of the things we did, besides 23:53 looking at second hand things, 23:56 which also helped us to redeem 23:58 you know, and live within our means! 23:59 Because our means was - That's right! 24:00 very meager! 24:02 Rather than to get a plastic and go into debt 24:04 and have that constant pressure 24:05 because, you just don't ever get unburied. 24:08 It just gets bigger and bigger and bigger! 24:10 And it's very hard to get out of it! 24:13 That's right! 24:14 You remember that couple that actually called us 24:17 after we had done meetings, they called us and 24:19 wanted to see if we could come over 24:21 and help them 24:22 work through their budget. 24:25 It was really an interesting situation, 24:26 we've done this with people. 24:28 Well, they just didn't have any idea how to 24:31 how to go about this and really make it work. 24:33 And so, we actually sat down, we got out 24:36 a peace of paper and we just pulled together everything 24:39 all their financial information that they 24:42 could get their hands on. 24:44 These people had tried and tried different ways to 24:47 you know, to beat their debt! 24:48 And their paycheck always run out before 24:52 their bills were all paid. 24:53 And that night we sat down with them and 24:55 we went through this, we haven't gone 24:57 through all the details here, 24:59 we don't have time. But we went through 25:01 every detail with them! 25:03 And when we got to the bottom line 25:05 with their paycheck and their bills, we actually had 25:09 what was it? 300 dollars? - Yes! 25:11 Between 200 and 300 dollars 25:12 extra! - 200 or 300 dollars extra 25:14 that was unaccounted for! 25:16 And they found out, to their shock, 25:18 that they had just been letting this money 25:20 sleep through their fingers! - Yes! Every month 25:21 200 to 300 dollars was unaccountable! 25:24 - That's right! - You know it was just spent 25:25 a little here a little there, you know 25:26 quick fast foods, 25:27 I'll stop by Mc Donald's - That's right! 25:29 and I'll do this and I'll get this, you know. 25:31 And it was gone. 25:33 And so, we worked with them and we did all this 25:36 in just one evening together. 25:38 We worked with them and they called us 25:41 a few weeks later and they said: 25:43 "This is so amazing! 25:44 For the first time in our married life we 25:48 are living on a budget, 25:51 living within our means. 25:53 Not only are we paying all of the bills that we have to pay 25:57 but we have prioritized ", 'cause we kind of helped them 25:59 prioritize which debts they should be hitting 26:02 first to get rid of the higher interest rates. 26:04 They said: "We have prioritized all these things 26:06 and we actually have money to save 26:08 for the first time in our marriage! " 26:10 And not only that! 26:11 They talked about how much happier they were too! 26:13 - That's right! - Because so much 26:15 of their time was spent on the stress that the financial 26:18 burden was causing. - That's right! 26:19 I mean they were at each other, at each other 26:21 - Yes! blaming. And they had 26:24 that freedom. 26:25 So we wanna encourage you, 26:28 challenge you just as we've been challenged 26:31 to meet the responsibilities of taking account! 26:37 Be accountable as a steward 26:39 not only of the paycheck that you have 26:41 but realizing that God is the Giver of all these gifts 26:43 and we're His stewards! 26:45 So we wanna encourage you 26:47 to take account of your finances, 26:49 have a realistic budget that includes everything, 26:51 know what your means is 26:54 and know what your spending is 26:55 and encourage you to live within your means 26:58 and then begin to work diligently to reduce the debt! 27:02 And we can't do any of this apart from the Lord! 27:04 So I'd like to just close in prayer. Honey 27:06 do you wanna pray? - Sure. 27:10 Father in Heaven 27:11 thank You that You are the Giver of all things 27:14 and thank You that You will help us to learn 27:16 how to manage our money - Amen! 27:18 by Your principles! 27:19 And thank You for the joy that that can bring us! 27:23 So help us to be faithful stewards as we're praying 27:26 in Your Sun's name Amen! - Amen! 27:30 Well we look forward to having you join us again 27:33 as we talk about 27:34 From Discord to Harmony! 27:38 We want you 27:39 to experience a marriage that's heart to heart 27:43 with the Lord Jesus Christ! 28:26 Captions and translations by Christian Media Services www. |
Revised 2014-12-17