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Does Gratitude Actually Change My Financial Situation? · Becoming Financially Confident

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  Ralph: We talk a lot about practical steps for your money on this
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  show, but what if one of the most powerful tools isn't a spreadsheet?
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  Isn't a budget app, but something as simple as saying, thank you.
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  Can gratitude actually transform your financial situation?
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  Well, stick with me today 'cause I've got the answer on today's show.
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  Hello and welcome back to your Daily Financially Confident Christian.
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  I'm Ralph and it's great to be with you again.
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  I just wanna thank you for trusting me with your time as we continue
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  on our journey, answering that big question, how can I become a
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  financially confident Christian?
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  And we're continuing our new series today beyond the budget.
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  Finding financial freedom through intentional living,
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  and that is really what we're focused on for the next 30 days.
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  And yesterday we talked about cultivating contentment in a world of more and more.
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  More.
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  If you miss it, I'm gonna encourage you to check it out because I really gave
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  you some great ideas of how to break the world's hold in that feeling that you
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  just gotta go get more and more and more.
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  Well, today we're gonna focus on something a little bit different.
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  We're gonna answer this question.
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  Does gratitude actually change my financial situation?
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  Yeah.
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  Might seem a little contrary to what you might think, but I'm gonna
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  answer that question on today's show.
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  We're gonna answer.
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  Does gratitude actually change my financial situation?
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  And because maybe like most people, a lot of people, I'll take
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  myself as an example, maybe you're focused on what you don't have.
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  See, it's so easy to look at our lives and account for what we,
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  we, what we see, what's missing.
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  We, we don't have that.
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  I. We don't have that same fancy car like our neighbor has, or we don't have the
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  vacation home, or we don't take those, those vacations like our neighbors have.
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  And you compare yourself, you compare your life, and you feel like you're
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  just constantly falling behind.
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  Well, really what that is, is just this scarcity mindset.
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  A lot of people get stuck in it.
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  I've been stuck in that from times in my life.
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  It's a scarcity mindset, and what it does is it really drives over
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  spending, but bigger than that.
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  It just keeps you chasing more and more.
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  And we talked about that a lot yesterday because that that goalpost
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  just keeps moving farther and farther.
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  And as you're chasing more, it's just creating more anxiety.
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  And if you have a lot of anxiety, you're not getting to a place of financial peace.
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  But here's the thing, the Bible makes a very strong connection
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  between gratitude and peace.
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  Let's look at the book of Philippians, chapter four,
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  verses six and seven says this.
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  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition.
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  With Thanksgiving, present your request to God and the peace of God
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  will guard your hearts and your minds.
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  I love this verse.
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  See, gratitude reduces anxiety.
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  Don't be anxious about anything, but in every situation with prayer and petition.
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  With Thanksgiving, see that Thanksgiving, it shifts the focus
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  from that feeling of scarcity.
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  And it's so easy to feel like that because we're always
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  comparing ourselves to others.
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  We always feel like we don't have what they have, but it really shifts
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  our focus from scarcity to abundance.
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  And the other side of this, present your request to God.
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  See, this strengthens trust in God's provision.
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  'cause God is producing for you.
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  He is providing for you.
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  Big picture thing.
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  It fights that lie.
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  That lie that more money equals more peace.
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  Hey, our culture screams that from the rooftop.
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  Social media, you name it, it's just a lie.
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  It's that lie that, hey, if I have more money, I'm gonna have more peace.
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  I don't know about you, but I've met people with a lot of money and they
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  don't seem like they have a lot of peace.
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  So now you're asking Ralph, what can we do?
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  How, how do we use gratitude to really do the shift you're talking about?
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  Well, I've got the solution, and the way that you need to do it is to cultivate a
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  consistent habit of financial gratitude.
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  I'm gonna get to how you do that in just a minute, but it starts
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  with two really basic things.
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  Acknowledge and appreciate what you already have.
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  Acknowledge it.
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  Hey, I've got it.
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  I'm gonna talk a little bit about the specifics here in a moment.
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  I've got it.
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  And then appreciate it and express that to God and express that to others.
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  So here's your one action step for today to really get you in that ability to
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  con, you know, consistently cultivate that habit of financial gratitude.
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  I want you to start by creating what I'm gonna call the thank you inventory.
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  I want you to start today, just list five, six, or seven specific financial blessings
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  that I'm gonna give you some examples, but I just want you to list those out.
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  Maybe something like, I was able to pay my electric bill this month without stress.
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  Hey, that's something to be grateful for.
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  Or maybe I have a reliable used car that gets me to work every day.
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  Hey, it's not.
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  It's not the fancy new sports car we talked about the other day, but
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  I have a reliable used car that gets me to work every single day.
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  Here's a great one that you can really consider during times of inflation.
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  There's groceries in the fridge and food on the table.
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  Thank God for that.
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  Or maybe this one.
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  Hey, my paycheck came in on time this week.
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  It's a good thing to get paid on time, but be grateful.
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  Appreciate that.
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  Acknowledge it.
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  Maybe you recently paid off a credit card and you've been working so
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  hard and so diligently to do that.
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  Maybe a friend gave you some free tickets to event that
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  you couldn't afford to go to.
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  Maybe you're gonna tag along as a friend with them.
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  That's something to be grateful for.
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  Or as we get closer to getting ready for school, whereas in Juba,
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  we're getting closer, maybe my children's school supplies are
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  all taken care of for the fall.
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  You've already put the money aside, you've handled that.
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  So start that, that simple thank you inventory, and just
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  say those things out loud.
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  Write those down.
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  Gonna start to change your mindset.
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  Then the second component to this, I really need you to
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  express that gratitude to God.
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  Choose just one item from your list, the one that really is impactful
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  to you, and then just reach out to God in prayer and just say, Lord, I
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  just thank you for your provision.
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  For example, Lord, thank you for providing me with steady income.
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  Even when things feel tight, you continue to meet my daily needs.
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  Help me trust you in faithfulness.
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  And use what I have wisely.
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  Amen on that one.
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  Or maybe this one.
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  Father, thank you for that unexpected gift from my friend.
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  It reminded me that you see me and you care for even the little joys, and
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  I give you praise for your goodness.
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  So just reach out to God and thank him for it, and then I'm gonna encourage
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  you to do one more thing, and that's truly express gratitude to someone else.
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  It's easy to make those lists for yourself.
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  It's kind of easy to say to as the God, but how about
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  expressing those to someone else?
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  Identify someone who's helped you specifically financially.
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  Maybe send them a text or give them a call and just say, Hey, you know
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  what, Sally, I really appreciate it.
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  You helped me last week, or You helped me get through a tough time.
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  Or, Hey, here's one.
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  People don't do a lot of write a note.
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  I love notes.
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  People don't do it anymore, but write a note to just say thank you.
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  For example, maybe text a friend who covered your lunch.
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  Say, Hey, just wanted to thank you again for lunch last week.
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  Could really help me out more than you know, you're a blessing.
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  Or maybe call your parents, Hey, we all need to do that.
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  I wish I could call my mom.
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  She passed away a couple years ago.
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  So cherish the ability to do that.
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  But call your parents who helped you maybe for a down payment on
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  your house and say, mom and dad.
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  I've been thinking today about how grateful I am for your help in this house
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  as I sit here this morning in the kitchen.
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  And I don't say it enough, but thank you for believing in me and supporting me.
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  Or maybe Ray a thank you note to your pastor or to a church member
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  who once helped with a bill.
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  Maybe your generosity during a tough season of my life made a lasting impact.
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  Thank you for being the hands and feet of Christ when I need it the most.
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  And see this kind of stuff really helps, and I'm gonna tell you why it helps.
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  Gratitude truly rewires your mind.
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  It rewires it towards abundance.
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  You start to move away from that, that scarcity, anxiety, riddled
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  place that you are in right now.
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  It reduces stress because you don't have that fear of, of
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  lack, that fear of scarcity.
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  And if you do the things I mentioned, it's gonna improve relationships.
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  'cause people are going to appreciate the fact that you're
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  thankful for what you have.
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  Because I don't know about you, but I can't stand to be around people
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  that are always complaining, always talking about what they don't
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  have, all the lack that they have.
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  And when you, when you express the thankfulness for what you have, hey man,
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  that, that just spreads like a wildfire.
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  And when you acknowledge it to God, what you're doing is you're really anchoring
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  your peace in God and not what you lack.
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  Well, let's pray together.
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  Father God, we just thank you for all you've given us.
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  The provision is abounding to us.
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  It's so abundant, Lord.
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  And we have to confess that we often focus on what's missing, Lord, it's so easy
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  for us to pick apart what we don't have.
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  And we just ask you to help us to see your hand in our finances, Lord,
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  and give us hearts full of gratitude and help us to express that thanks
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  consistently to you and to others Lord.
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  And we ask this with confidence, In Jesus' name.
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  Amen.
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  Listen, gratitude isn't just a feeling.
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  It's not a simple feeling, oh, I'm gonna do this gratitude, I'm gonna feel great.
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  No, it's a transformational force in your life.
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  So I just wanna encourage you one more time, acknowledge and express
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  your blessings today because that is helping you move towards freedom.
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  And one of the things that you can do is share this episode
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  with someone who needs it.
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  There's a lot of people out there right now who are hurting.
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  Maybe that person who doesn't understand what they have and what they can be
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  grateful for, maybe to send them a text and just say, Hey, I listened to this
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  podcast and I really got a lot from it.
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  You might want to consider doing it, or you can point them to our website that's
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  financially confident christian.com.
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  I've got a free gift for you as well.
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  I'm gonna give you a copy of my book.
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  It's called Mastering Your Finances.
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  You can get that@financiallyconfidentchristian.com
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  slash master.
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  It's absolutely free to you.
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  Just go there and you can download it.
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  Now tomorrow we're gonna talk about clarifying your values and how that
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  helps you spend with a purpose.
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  We're really gonna get into clarifying values and how to spend with a purpose.
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  So I'm gonna encourage you not to miss it.
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  Now, let's go.
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  Go out there and be financially confident.
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  Christians, you can do this.
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  I believe in you.
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  Believe in yourself.
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  Stay financially savvy.
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  God bless you, and you have a great day today.