Whoop whoop! Mann, what a blessing! Thank you SO much to Lydia Brady who led the Finance Workshop, and to all those who attended. No doubt we all were blessed, enriched and encouraged!
We came away with some fresh fun ideas to do with Laney and Blane, and loved everyone's input and questions. Can't say enough about Miss Lydia. Personal testimony - incredible! Competance in Biblical Financial Principles - awesome! Speaker and teacher and counselor - fantastic!
Just a few of many nuggets that hit home related to marriage are as follows :)
- Conflict over finances is one of the leading causes of divorce.
- How you manage your money, your heart and attitude towards money, speaks volumes (your heart follows your money; you can't segregate your finances from the rest of your life (including relationship with spouse and relationship with The Lord)
- Of ALL the couples that have come to Dave Ramsey declaring Bankrupcy (coming saying 'we have no other option except bankrupcy - we've exhausted all options and this is it'), only 2% left his office/practice/counseling actually HAVING to declare bankrupcy. You hear that?! That means 98% of these couples thinking it was hopeless and there were no other options were dead wrong - they just lacked knowledge, more tools and some help and discipline to follow through. I am screaming this from the rooftops with marriage. So many marriages are filing for Divorce ('bankrupcy'), saying they have exhausted all options and this is it - when in fact they lack knowledge and have almost no tools in their toolbox. Heartbreaking. There are resources and tools out there to help us with our finances and help us with our marriage (and improving our finances will improve our marriage).
- 'Live like no one else so you can live like no one else' is what we have built our marriage on (Dave Ramsey's motto). The idea, as we have discussed so many times in Sacred Key, is the law of sowing and reaping. Sowing hard that seed - down on your knees, through tears, so that you may reap a harvest in due time of the seed you have sown. It is such hard work at first but to dig in your heels, get your fingernails, elbows and knees dirty, sweat on your brow... brings great crops. Yes, there are things beyond our control - the rain, the sunshine - things we must pray boldly and petition God for faithfully. But the seed must be sown in order for there to be crops to harvest - and that, my dear friends, is normally left to us to do. As is the pursuit of holiness. Rains may come more plentiful in some years, and you are bound to experience drought in other years - but to the faithful farmers that continue to plant and continue to do their part, blessings come. I encourage you to live like no one else in your marriage, as well as your finances NOW so that later you can live like no one else. When we first marry, we often desire the kind of marriage we see in those that have been married 20 years - but that took years of sowing, maturing, and nurturing. Which brings us to another point:
- Delayed gratification. We have been given the opportunity through Christ, and the filling of His Spirit, to live a life of Godliness and to say NO to ungodly things. As we discussed several Sacred Key's ago, we need to exercise the need to say NO, lest those muscles atrophe and we are completely consumed in materialism. It is hard in these times to see the fruit of delayed gratification b/c we are every bit in an Instant Gratification society. We want it, we get it. Now. Oh how this should challenge us as parents!! Brad and I have an 'impulse list' we started early in our marriage. Not sure if this one is a Dave Ramsey thing or a Dennis Johnson thing ;) but for an item over a certain amount, we had to wait at least 3 months before buying it - meanwhile obtaining three comparables for that item. You can guess what happens - by the time your 3 months is up, you realize that you either a) no longer 'need' it or you b) no longer 'want' it, or you c) realize it really is something of worth that you need And want and you have found a better price/deal from one of your comparables. Having to wait for things is a hard thing, but it is a good thing. I wish we were in a cash society still, not a credit society. Now everyone seems to get/buy what they can't even pay for (i.e. credit), instead of waiting, saving and then paying for what they need/want (i.e. cash).
Great stuff! Thank you Lydia for the packets. And I'll try to get the handout I had for Sacred Key to those that would like a copy that couldn't make it. Lydia shared at our Sacred Key meeting and it was such a beautiful testimony of how this stuff really works (financial principles she teaches) and how to be patient and prayeful with your husband and allowing God to work. We were blessed and encouraged.
Blessings to you all and look forward to seeing you in April!
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