Inspiring stories of Financial Freedom

2/1/2009

Yesterday was my last day of the 10-week Crown class. God is AMAZING and I thank HIM for leading me, equipping me, and giving me strenth. This class was great and not only taught us about Biblical financial principles, it also bonded 9 people together with love, laughter, prayers, and tears. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people.

Our leaders are great people who love the Lord and love people. I am in credit counseling now with four months to go (after 5 years)! And now I have the Biblical training to lead me to do it the right way. Even my 10-year-old grandaughter, whom I adopted, learned along with me. I will re-do the course from step one in May to start on the right foot.

God is amazing and I thank HIM for His love and guiding me to this course. Thank you for following His leading of preparation of this course. BE BLESSED.

Lisa , FL

2/7/2009

I took the Crown course about three years ago at my church. One temptation for me has been to buy another car. But every time I get close to looking, I find myself remembering all I learned during the course. I review my budget, think about the impact, and how I could better use the money that a car payment and added insurance would cost. End result? I'm tithing more to church and also paying tuition for my grandchildren instead of a car payment.

Barbara, GA

2/18/2009

I listen to MoneyLife on the way home from my art teaching job each day. I am an elementary art teacher, and I specialize in watercolor painting. For the last four years, I have been inspired to create Biblical images that can help children to know about the main events of the lives of Biblical people. My initial goal when I set out was to publish a book. However, I found that publishing a book for kids was a hard industry to break into.

So, in January of 2008, I had the idea to make prints of my paintings and sell them online. God provided a great price from a local printer that was half as much as other shops were charging, and my wife and I were able to get 10 images printed. We also had a Christian friend who was starting her own Web design business and she charged us very little to set up a site. All told, God allowed us to get a business going for $2000.

Over the last year, things have been slow, but we have steadily chipped away at our initial investment. Over the year, I have undergone a learning process about contentment and service. Contentment, because I find myself becoming greedy for more sales, without recognizing that God has provided richly for our family through various means. Service, because I have felt the desire to be generous, not stingy with my prints, by giving them to other ministries to help them and offering them at lower prices when people desire them but can't afford them.

Thank you for encouragement to start a business, for your council to be generous, and for your council to let God be in charge of the increase.

Andrew, PA

2/19/2009

We have a 27-year-old daughter who, despite our best efforts, just has never learned how to manage her money. A few years ago my husband and I agreed to stop enabling her by bailing her out every time she got in a financial bind. Since that time, she has never asked us for financial help although we know she has gone through tough times living on Top Ramen.

This year for Christmas I decided to give her your book, The Money Map. When she opened it, I told her it was mandatory reading during her Christmas break (she teaches kindergarten). I really didn't think she would read it or apply it to her life. To my surprise about a week after Christmas she told me she had finished the book.

Last night she told me she was thinking of taking a summer job to help her reach Destination 1. I couldn't believe my ears. A few months after Christmas and she still remembers reading the book and is at least thinking about applying it to her life.

I think your book may be teaching her the money mangement and life balancing skills we could never seem to teach her ourselves! THANK YOU! Please pray that she will continue on her journey to true financial freedom.

Kim, WA

2/23/2009

Shortly after we married in 1998, while on a weekend getaway, we came across a book by Larry Burkett. It was in a little Christian bookstore inside a little grocery store in Amish Country near Sugarcreek, Ohio. The book was Investing Through Your Building Years. God placed it there for us. We were eager to start a family and found the information very helpful, paying off our car loans quickly and building up our savings before the birth of our first daughter a little over a year later in 1999.

We were prudent with our expenses and chose a reasonable home so I could stay home with our girls, but it wasn’t until several years later in 2004, when my mom picked up a couple more books by our favorite author at a garage sale, The Coming Economic Earthquake, and Money Matters, that it really sunk in. We began to understand how our 30-year mortgage worked and started paying it down.

Today, 7 years from the date we signed for our 30-year mortgage, we owe no man anything but to love them. It couldn’t have been more providential as my husband is changing careers. Due to impending financial concerns at his employer, he took a job in higher education that was really more suited for him but at a pay cut that we would have found difficult with our previous debt. The Lord has provided, and we have found that using “His” plan works the best!

Reading the testimonies of others on the Crown Web site, we’re overwhelmed with how God has used this ministry to work His purposes. Thank you for obeying “His” call as He has used you to significantly impact our lives and the lives of our children FOREVER.

In His service,
Anna, Craig & Family, OH

2/24/2009

I just finished listening to today's MoneyLife broadcast with John Piper as the guest (recorded message). When he spoke about how there was no lack, I realized that you all are speaking about what happened at my church 2 weeks ago. Our church gave over $10,000 to a family in need.

We have been doing B3: "Blessed to Be a Blessing" presentations every Sunday where one family in need gets money that was given in the previous Sunday's offering. Here is the biggest B3 presention we had 2 weeks ago captured on You Tube.

My ministry's name is Valley Kingdom Ministries International in Oak Forrest, Illinois. Please share what we are doing with your listeners. This annointing of supernatural giving has spread like wildfire in our church and community.

Thank God for your work. I have been a faithful listener for nearly 10 years.

Tammera, IL

2/25/2009

I have been listening to Crown since 2002. During this time, I have tried to heed the advice provided but never made a full committment. My husband and I have continuously gone around in circles with debt, paying it down then building it back up again.

The economy over the past few months has scared me considerably. So, after praying about it, I decided to refinance our mortgage and pay off the credit card debt. I was torn because I had a feeling that this may not be the best idea, putting $15,000 onto my mortgage. But the credit card monthly payment was eating us up each month, and with a lower interest rate, I would have the credit cards paid off and still save $40 each month. Seemed like a win/win.

God allowed the additional funds to be approved by the bank, so I assume He had blessed the decision. However, my human mind was thinking about holding onto the cash in the bank instead of paying off the credit cards, thus allowing us a fall-back in case of a real emergency. The credit cards were at 0% interest for a few months anyway.

You talked with a woman on today's MoneyLife show that had the same situation as I. It was like God was smacking me upside the head with a 2x4. We are closing on the loan today. I understand now that I should go ahead and pay off those credit cards immediately, and trust in God to provide.

Tracy, VA

2/28/2009

In 2003 I had to have knee replacement surgery. I was told it would not be possible to go up and down stairs, but since I lived in a three-story house, that would be difficult. So I sold the house and bought a condo in a building with an elevator. But I was unable to pay full price for the condo, so I took out a mortgage for the balance needed.

When I became ill and not be able to work for three months, things changed. During this time I decided to use the money normally spent for transportation to and from work for another use. It was about $50 a month. I called the bank requesting the extra money be put on the principle only.

After I returned to work, I left the extra money in place. Then the following January, things changed again. I was able to increase the amount to $75 a month. One of my goals was to pay off the condo as soon as I could. All this time I continued to listen to Crown on the radio. They were encouraging people to pay any extra amount they could afford on lowering their principle amount. With the reduction each month, my encouragement was becoming greater.

By the fall of 2007, it became apparent that I could go on Social Security by February, 2008. Now I had a new goal: Pay off the condo. When I took out the loan in 2004, the loan was scheduled to be paid in full in 2014. That would make me 72 years of age. Maybe I didn't want to work until then. Also I would like to add that out of every paycheck, I added $200 to my savings account so I could pay taxes, car insurance, etc. Not spending any of that money became most difficult.

So when I received my first Social Security check in February 2008, I put 95% of that amount toward the remaining principle balance each month. By July 17, 2008, the condo was paid in full. Wow! What a good feeling to know I was free of the debt of the condo. The man at the bank who encouraged me to keep working at paying down the balance was ecstatic.

The day I went to the bank to ask about an error they made was the day everything would come to an end. The bank had forgotten to subtract the month of July payment from my checking account. If it was paid off that day, the interest would not be deducted. So, without hesitation, I paid it off IN FULL. CELEBRATION TIME! HALLELUJAH!

Mary, MN