Inspiring stories of Financial Freedom

5/4/2008

Wow!!! What a wonderful experience this class [Crown Biblical Financial Study] has been for me. I have learned soooo much.

First of all, the group I have been a part of is wonderful. Everyone in our group brought something to the table that has impacted my life and touched me (my new family).

As for the lessons and homework, my whole perspective has changed on how to live life financially, and in other ways also such as honesty and work. I now know that my money is actually God's money. How God wants me to spend His money has impacted my spending. Learning that God created work and that He established every authority over us has made me appreciate those things much more.

I could write a book on how much I learned in this class and how to be a faithful steward. To sum it up...I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to have been a part of this group, and I would be missing out on so much if I hadn't taken the class.

Jenna, CA

5/4/2008

I am just completing the Crown Financial Study and am so grateful for all I have learned and for the wonderful group of friends I have made. It has been great growing together as God's family and learning how to apply His Word to our lives as we become better stewards of all God has given us.

Most of all my relationship with the Lord has deepened as we have studied His word and memorized it to keep in our hearts always. We have had to work during this study; it's not been something just to read and put aside. It has built character in us as we put the plan to work.

I can see changes in each of us from what we were when we started. God's word is truly alive and it changes people. Thank you so much for this wonderful study.

Judy, TX

5/15/2008

My husband and I were trying to start a family for six years. We prayed that it be in God's time, but we never dreamed it would be six years of waiting. We went through all the infertility treatments until we ended up with the option of in-vitro. The cost of this procedure was way out of our reach, and insurance did not provide any assistance with the cost.

We were still in credit card debt and student loans as well. We were on Destination 2 [of the Crown Money Map] and didn't want to move backwards and accumulate more debt. On one of Moneylife's recent podcasts, contentment was the secret to getting through Destination 2. How true!

After facing the fact that there was nothing more we could do to get pregnant, we had to be content to move through the Money Map and serve God knowing that He would provide. We decided we would not take out a large loan but prayed for God to work a miracle.

What a surprise when we learned we were pregnant two months later! WOW! We are close to Destination 3 and feel good knowing that we did not give in to the temptation to take out a loan and let God work a miracle instead!

Robin, FL

5/18/2008

Having just finished the Crown smal group study, we have already paid off two of our credit card debts and are working on a third.

Thank you for this information. It is so very inspirational and practical with its application. The Web helps are so easy to understand and to use. Thank you for letting God use you. Amen!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Bob and Kay , CA

5/21/2008

I just wanted to write a short note to express my thankfulness for your radio broadcast with Dr. Sittser [original air date May 20 and 21, 2008]. I was traveling yesterday morning in my car and heard the tail end of yesterday's broadcast. I went online this morning and listened to his testimony and the second part of his message.

I have been going through a financial loss for six months now. I know that God is alive and working but there are days that I feel scared and fearful that faith in God is not enough. Dr. Sittser's message has helped me realize that I need to make a conscious effort to allow God time to do His Work within my heart and life. His power is all consuming and the only fear I should have is in His awesome, mighty power!

I just want to thank you for this broadcast and Dr. Sittser's message of hope in despair. I praise God for your and Dr. Sittser's ministries!

God can and will change and even use a 54-year-old man as long as he yields his life to Him! Praise God for his goodness and His Word!

John, IN

5/22/2008

A year and a half ago, I lost my job unexpectantly. I had approximately $2000 in credit card debt and a few medical bills and no savings. A church I had visited was hosting a Crown small group study, so I attended.

Wow! The Lord is just awesome at the doors He opens and what He has taught me. I stayed faithful to Him with tithing even though at times I wondered where my gas and food would come from. He provided with strangers at my door with gift cards and food. Absolutely amazing!

Today I have a state job with great pay and great benefits. I am debt free except my home and am now a budget coach and leader for Crown in my church. Keep up the great work and trust in the Lord.

Brenda, OH

5/27/2008

A few years back, after hearing a pastor speak on tithing for the umpteenth time, we decided to improve on our giving. This was hard for us at first. We were living paycheck to paycheck, with very little savings, but we made the decision to “trust the Lord.” We figured if we trust in the Lord for our salvation, we should be able to trust in the Lord for what we need.

The first thing we did was talk to a minister friend about what “tithing” really meant. My first question was, “It’s off the net right?” Smiling, my minister friend replied that it was off the gross. Next I countered with, “Well, we volunteer our time for the Church, so that counts for some of our tithe, right?” Now laughing at me, my minister friend shook his head in a negative way. Frustrated and reaching for the last straw, I cried, “Well SURELY the value of the items we give to the rummage sale can be deducted???” “Nope,” was his quiet response. Dejected, we walked away knowing that we had more thinking to do. Did we really trust God enough to forego 10% of our gross income? What would we have to give up to make THAT happen? Now that we knew what was expected, could we live with ourselves if we did nothing?

Over the next few days and nights we contemplated our dilemma, and then came up with our plan. We would start to go along the “journey” of tithing, but if anything got too tight, we could always consider a hasty retreat!

We started simply enough. We decided to commit ourselves to giving what we said we would in our annual pledge, and we also modestly increased our pledge. This entailed us treating our pledge as a budgeted monthly expense, and not as an “if we have money left over” luxury. Things went remarkably smooth, until we got our tax refund. Do we have to tithe on that too? A call to my minister friend sent him howling as soon as I said, “I have a question about tax refunds…” We decided to give a full 10% of the tax return to the Church, but we labeled it for a special ministry in which we were both interested. It was actually fun to give that check knowing that we were doing the right thing!

The next year, we were feeling pretty good about what we had done, and we decided to increase our pledge by 50%. This put us up to about 3% of our gross income. This was a real stretch for us, but we both had a good feeling that things would be fine…and they were! We weren’t really sure where the extra money was coming from, or why normal expenses were lower, but there always seemed to be enough for everything, and even a little extra (which we used for a retirement account).

The year after that was truly remarkable! We decided to double our pledge! The warmth and closeness that we felt with our Lord when we handed in our pledge card was simply indescribable! We had never in our lives considered giving so much to our Church! We started getting this feeling of intimate belonging with Christ that we had never experienced before, an intimate warmth that permeated our souls and daily lives!

Today, we are closing in on the 10% figure, and we are completely confident that the Lord will provide opportunities for us to fulfill all of our financial commitments and obligations. We have never given more to our Church…or been better off financially. I truly believe that the parable of the talents is alive and healthy. The Lord gives more to those who put their money to work for His kingdom. It makes sense actually. Why wouldn’t the Lord want to give more to those who tithe as He knows that 10% will be going to work in the Church?

If you are not already on this journey, I challenge you to start. Start now. Take some baby steps like we did, and let your faith grow as ours did. Let the Lord prove His faithfulness to you. You’ll be amazed!

John, Carlisle

5/29/2008

I am a widow who lost her husband 5 years ago. He had been sick for a long time. Mounting hospital bills took most of our savings, and after the debts were paid, I had to return to the work force.

I had thought about tithing for some time and never had the nerve to try it. Then I started to listen to MoneyLife and was fascinated by the testimonies.

Last year I decided to give it a try as a New Year's resolution. WOW! Do we have an awesome God! At this point in time I am down to $1,000 on my only credit card. I have $1,600 in savings. As soon as my income tax refund comes in, I plan to pay off the credit card and then start paying down my mortgage. Thank you for what you do.

Vonnie, PA