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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.