{"id":301825,"date":"2009-05-19T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-19T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/weatherproofing-your-home-in-the-midst-of-the-economic-downturn\/"},"modified":"2009-05-19T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-05-19T15:00:00","slug":"weatherproofing-your-home-in-the-midst-of-the-economic-downturn","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/weatherproofing-your-home-in-the-midst-of-the-economic-downturn\/","title":{"rendered":"Weatherproofing Your Home in the Midst of the Economic Downturn"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In uncertain times, we need to focus on that which is certain \u2013 the Word of God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2009-05-19.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"10.59M","filesize_raw":"11100960","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2851],"tags":[4525,4853],"podcast_series":[7647],"cwp_profile":[3048],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-301825","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finances","tag-finances","tag-money","podcast_series-weatherproofing-your-home-in-the-midst-of-the-economic-downturn","cwp_profile-dennis-rainey","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/301825\/weatherproofing-your-home-in-the-midst-of-the-economic-downturn","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/301825\/weatherproofing-your-home-in-the-midst-of-the-economic-downturn","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"weHnVQiWAw\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/weatherproofing-your-home-in-the-midst-of-the-economic-downturn\/\">Weatherproofing Your Home in the Midst of the Economic Downturn<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/weatherproofing-your-home-in-the-midst-of-the-economic-downturn\/embed\/#?secret=weHnVQiWAw\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Weatherproofing Your Home in the Midst of the Economic Downturn&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"weHnVQiWAw\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var 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God.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2009-05-19.pdf","transcript_content":"<strong>Bob: <\/strong>\u00a0So if you\u2019re counseling somebody and by the way you\u2019ve had to take actions as the president of FamilyLife to make sure the ministry is storm proofed in the midst of this and we have made some of those adjustments that we\u2019ve needed to make, right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis:\u00a0 I just want to say here at the beginning of the broadcast thanks to many of our listeners who have stepped up and financially supported the ministry and continue to support the ministry.\u00a0 You need to know you are really appreciated and your our help is needed.\u00a0 It\u2019s not going to go away any time soon.\u00a0 We got to I think hunker down for the long haul and what we want to do Bob and you know this we talked about it.\u00a0 We want to be here for the long haul.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0 And I want to remind our listeners there is a matching gift challenge that continues this month.\u00a0 If you are able to make a donation this month your donation is going to be matched on a dollar for dollar basis up to a total of $356,000.\u00a0 So you can go online at familylifetoday.com or call 1-800-FL-Today.\u00a0 Make a donation and know that donation is being matched.\u00a0 We hope to take full advantage of that matching gift and we just have about a week and half left for that.\u00a0 So, if you\u2019re able to help today with a donation we would appreciate it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, I agree with that.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the first way to storm proof your house.\u00a0 Embrace the lesson that God\u2019s teaching you.\u00a0 I think in the midst of any kind of circumstance God\u2019s in there.\u00a0 He is at work.\u00a0 He has things He wants to teach us.\u00a0 And 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 these were among the first verses that I learned as I began to grow as a follower of Christ.\u00a0 It says, \u201crejoice always.\u201d\u00a0 In the Greek the word always means always.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Always.\u00a0 [laughter] \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Pray without ceasing.\u00a0 Verse 18\u2014give thanks in <u>all<\/u> circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.\u00a0 Victor Hugo wrote in his book, Les Mis, this is a really profound statement.\u00a0 He said, \u201cGod is behind everything but everything hides God.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn other words, God\u2019s at work all around us we just don\u2019t have eyes to see.\u00a0 You remember the day I came in your office and said, \u201cBob, I wish sometimes I had eye glasses.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Uh huh.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 So I could say here\u2019s where the spiritual battle is coming from.\u00a0 It\u2019s coming from the world, the flesh, the enemy of our souls.\u00a0 If you want to know what the Proverbs really can be boiled down to it\u2019s hear, my son, learn.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Learn. Have a teachable heart.\u00a0 Not a negative, critical speaking heart but a teachable heart that pulls back and says, Okay. God, what do you have for me here?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat are you trying to do in my life?\u00a0 2 Peter 1 if you haven\u2019t read it recently it lists a bunch of Christian character qualities.\u00a0\u00a0 It says at the end of it it says, for if these qualities are yours and are increasing they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of God.\u00a0\u00a0 What it\u2019s talking about there is being a useful person.\u00a0 A useful follower of Christ.\u00a0 It\u2019s talking about being a purposeful, fruitful follower of Christ.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>So, in the midst of any kind of struggle, any kind of suffering.\u00a0 We ought to step away from the struggle and spend some time asking, Lord, you\u2019ve got my attention.\u00a0 What do I need to be paying attention to?\u00a0 What are You trying to say?\u00a0 What are You trying to do in terms of my character,\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 In terms of my family.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> So that you can not miss the spiritual realities.\u00a0 The spiritual lessons that are being taught in the storm.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 He\u2019s trying to give us a perspective of life.\u00a0 For me, this is how it happened for me, you\u2019ll remember back in October when all of this began to unravel.\u00a0 At the same time we were experiencing this economic meltdown as a country we had four couples that FamilyLife had brought over from Rwanda.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Uh hum.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 These were Rwandan leaders.\u00a0 The Arch Bishop of the Anglican church of Rwanda and his wife along with three other couples came.\u00a0 And, Bob, I will never forget this.\u00a0 <em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em> is talking about billions being lost and trillions being spent and all this stuff.\u00a0 And, I\u2019m sitting across the table from four couples who when we begin to describe Rwanda they share that the average income in Rwanda is $264 a year.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 A year.\u00a0 And so I\u2019m looking at <em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em> and I\u2019m listening to the cable news and I\u2019m looking at these dear followers of Christ where a million of their relatives were slaughtered and murdered.\u00a0 And I\u2019m going, what are You trying to teach me, God?\u00a0 So I\u2019ve written down three things that I\u2019ve come out of all this with.\u00a0 Number 1, I think God wanted to right size my heart.\u00a0 All of our hearts can kind of grow in the wrong direction from time to time and we can worship the wrong thing.\u00a0 And the heart will worship something.\u00a0 In America I\u2019m going to tell you something folks if you don\u2019t struggle with materialism and worshipping things call me.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to talk to you because it\u2019s tough living in the culture and not do that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Sure\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 The second thing God convicted me of was to downsize our standard of living.\u00a0 So we put a freeze on shopping.\u00a0 We cancelled some trips that we were going on.\u00a0\u00a0 Personal trips and ministry trips.\u00a0 We stayed home and we cancelled some of the media that we receive at home.\u00a0 Barbara and I talked about how are we going to respond as a couple by downsizing our standard of living.\u00a0 I happen to believe that I think what God is doing is He\u2019s creating a new normal for all of us.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to have to learn how to get by with less and be satisfied with less.\u00a0 And you know what, we can do that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Uh huh.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 The third take away was to supersize our generosity.\u00a0 We are still working this through but I think as a couple, Barbara and I are evaluating how we can be generous with our time, with our money and with our talent and helping other people because there are lots of needs in the economy.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 So you\u2019re saying we really need to be alert to what God is saying to us in the midst of this economic downturn.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And to that point, Bob, the question for the listener is what would you say is the big idea of what God is trying to teach you?\u00a0 What\u2019s the lesson?\u00a0 Or lessons?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Whether you\u2019ve lost a job or not?\u00a0 Whether your income has been cut or not?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Whether you\u2019ve felt it or not?\u00a0 The second way we storm proof our homes is to flex your faith muscle.\u00a0 Flex your faith muscle.\u00a0 Over in Numbers 13:33 it talks about the minority report and the majority report.\u00a0 You remember this.\u00a0 This was when the spies went into the land and God told them He was going to give them the land.\u00a0 They had His promise on it.\u00a0 But 10 came back and said, there are giants in the land.\u00a0 There are some big dudes back there we\u2019re not going to be able to tackle that.\u00a0 And two came back saying let\u2019s go.\u00a0 God said it.\u00a0 We need to believe it.\u00a0 We can take them.\u00a0 The minority report said we became as grasshoppers.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I think, Bob, in these economic times I think the temptation is to look at circumstances and to completely implode and to become a grasshopper.\u00a0 To forget who God is.\u00a0 To not gravitate toward faith.\u00a0 Faith and fear cannot coexist.\u00a0 Where faith goes fear flees.\u00a0 Did you hear that?\u00a0 Where faith goes fear flees.\u00a0 What are you afraid of?\u00a0 Are you afraid of man?\u00a0 Afraid of losing your job?\u00a0 Afraid of the future?\u00a0 Afraid of having to get by on less?\u00a0 Afraid of not being able to retire when you\u2019d hoped you be able to retire?\u00a0 What are you afraid of?\u00a0 I think it\u2019d be important to list your fears and then look to the Bible and ask, what\u2019s the Bible have to say about this?\u00a0 What we\u2019re going to do on the internet we\u2019re going to post these Scriptures.\u00a0 Some of you need to get your Bibles out and read these verses about fear and faith.\u00a0 Psalm 27: 1-3, Psalm 46, Psalm 112, Matthew 10:24-31, John 16: 33, John 14: 1-3, 27, Romans 8, there\u2019s more.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>\u00a0And like you said we\u2019ve got the references for those and the actual text of the Bible on our web site familylifetoday.com.\u00a0 You\u2019re right.\u00a0 Folks ought to go there and meditate on what God\u2019s word has to say about fear.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Yes, where does faith come from?\u00a0 Faith comes from hearing and hearing comes from the Scripture.\u00a0 So, if you want to increase your faith you don\u2019t do it by looking at the headlines of the newspaper, or <em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, or the nightly news.\u00a0 You increase your faith by looking into the Scripture.\u00a0 Faith is the refusal to panic.\u00a0 One of my favorite quotes.\u00a0 Repeat after me.\u00a0 Faith is the refusal to panic.\u00a0 You live by faith.\u00a0 It\u2019s God\u2019s hand to your mouth.\u00a0 Whether you work for IBM, whether you work for FamilyLife, for a church, or on Wall Street.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yah.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Ultimately, God is the One who provides.\u00a0 Third way to storm proof your home.\u00a0 This will be a quick one.\u00a0 As a couple you need to put together a plan.\u00a0 Amos chapter 3 talks about how can two walk together unless they be agreed.\u00a0 The answer is they can\u2019t.\u00a0 You\u2019re not going to be walking together if you\u2019re in disagreement.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Uh huh.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 One of the big problems in a financial downturn like we have is a lot of couples aren\u2019t talking.\u00a0 The man is solving it.\u00a0 The man is working it out but he hasn\u2019t told his wife.\u00a0 In fact, one couple I know, the man shared with me he said my wife got a little angry with me because I hadn\u2019t shared with her what the plan was.\u00a0 Hadn\u2019t talked about it.\u00a0 So we sat down, he said, and we began to work it out.\u00a0 Over the next few days we put together a plan on how we were going to respond and how this was going to impact our standard of living and how we should live and how we should give.\u00a0 And he said you know what that completely disarmed my wife\u2019s anger.\u00a0 Now guys listen up.\u00a0 There isn\u2019t a woman listening right now who won\u2019t respect her husband if he will take the initiative and the leadership to know how to lead her well in this area.\u00a0 Get a plan.\u00a0 That includes a budget.\u00a0 That includes addressing debt.\u00a0 That includes teaching your children how to handle this crisis.\u00a0 By the way don\u2019t miss this.\u00a0 Do not miss this opportunity for your children to be taught in the midst of this.\u00a0 We are raising a generation of young people, folks, who are an entitlement generation.\u00a0 You have an opportunity to take them into the experience and it would be good for them.\u00a0 It would be good for your children to do with less.\u00a0 You may say, Dennis, we already have less.\u00a0 Well, you know what, I think it\u2019s good for kids to sacrifice.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s good for them to feel the weight of this.\u00a0 One time this happened in our home, Bob.\u00a0 We were sharing about how our support wasn\u2019t coming in on time and it was a couple of weeks later I was fishing up in southwest Missouri with my mom and my sons.\u00a0 There was a note on my bed with $6 and 34 cents on the note.\u00a0 And it was a note from one of my sons and it said, Dad I heard you over talking with Mom that you\u2019re facing some financial difficulty.\u00a0 This is all the money I\u2019ve got.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 But I wanted to share it with you.\u00a0 You know, that\u2019s a part of the deal.\u00a0 That\u2019s a part of what God\u2019s teaching you.\u00a0 It\u2019s a part of what God\u2019s teaching them.\u00a0 Take them in to the experience.\u00a0 Talk about now.\u00a0 Talk about the future.\u00a0 Talk about how your Christianity applies to this.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd two more tips for storm proofing your home.\u00a0 Encourage one another.\u00a0 Hebrews chapter 10 talks about let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Uh Huh.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Now ladies, listen to me.\u00a0 Your husbands are facing tough days in the market place.\u00a0 There are not many days that I don\u2019t go home where I don\u2019t feel like, man, I am not a winner.\u00a0 You may not believe that somebody in ministry can feel that way.\u00a0 Well, I promise you people in ministry are feeling that way.\u00a0 People in business are feeling that way at work.\u00a0 There are some men who are fighting for their lives to keep their jobs.\u00a0 You know what?\u00a0 They need a helpmate.\u00a0 They need someone who believes in them.\u00a0 Who speaks words to them.\u00a0 Who encourages them.\u00a0 And you know what?\u00a0 Some of you men need to encourage your wives in like manner.\u00a0 But especially the guys, they need to be encouraged in these days.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tTip #5\u2014be ready to share.\u00a0 Romans chapter 12 verse 13 says, contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.\u00a0 Let me tell you something.\u00a0 There are going to be people in your church who lose their jobs.\u00a0 They will never stand up at church and raise their hand and say we\u2019re having a hard time making our house payment.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have food money.\u00a0 There are going to be some single parents who lose their jobs and they\u2019re not going to have anything to fall back on.\u00a0 In fact, they may have made some choices like the married people do with too much debt and they are in a pickle.\u00a0 Well, you know what?\u00a0 It\u2019s rally time\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Uh huh.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s rally time.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to come around people who are facing tough times who need help and put your arm around them and give them a hug.\u00a0 And open your checkbook and give them help.\u00a0 Tangible help.\u00a0 And maybe you do it anonymously.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t really matter.\u00a0 The point is you step into their lives and exhibit the gospel.\u00a0 God demonstrates His love for us in that while were yet sinners Christ died for us.\u00a0 Did Christ die for us while all of our debts were paid.\u00a0 The answer is no.\u00a0 He paid the debt.\u00a0 And you know what?\u00a0 Some of us may need to get ready to help others who are near us struggling.\u00a0 Who need help and hope and come alongside them in that manner.\u00a0 You know in all this, all of us are experiencing storms.\u00a0 It could get worse.\u00a0 I want to encourage you grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 These are days to practice your Christianity.\u00a0 These are not days to make Christianity a one day a week experience.\u00a0 Now is the day to walk by faith.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And I think we need to be ready to also give an answer for the hope that is within us.\u00a0 Not only walk by faith and show that we do have confidence in the sovereignty of God in the midst of challenging times but then be ready to share with somebody who says how do you continue to have a joyful attitude in the midst of this time or how do you demonstrate peace in the midst of the turmoil.\u00a0 You can say it\u2019s because I know the God who is in charge of things.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got some resources on our web site FamilyLifeToday.com that are designed to help folks walk through the financial storm that we\u2019ve in right now.\u00a0 Ron Blue and Jeremy White have written a helpful book called <em>Surviving Financial Meltdown<\/em>: <em>how to make confident decisions in an uncertain world and uncertain time<\/em>.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got copies of the book in our FamilyLife resource center.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou can go on line at FamilyLifeToday.com for more information about this book.\u00a0 There is also a copy of a transcript of Dennis\u2019 message today and for an opportunity for you to leave comments to interact with the message and share your thoughts with others.\u00a0 Again you\u2019ll find all that on our web site familylifetoday.com.\u00a0 If you\u2019re interested in receiving the materials we\u2019ve talked about and it\u2019s easier to call us our toll free number is \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t1-800-FL-TODAY.\u00a0 That\u2019s 1-800-358-6329. 1-800-F as in family L as in life and then the word Today.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs you were talking about the financial challenges that families are facing I think most of our listeners are aware that we have been facing some of those financial challenges as a ministry.\u00a0 You mentioned that as we got started today.\u00a0 I want to thank those listeners who have responded to us called this month or gone to our web site and made a donation.\u00a0 Your financial contributions are what help keep this ministry on the air in this city and in other cities all across the country.\u00a0 And now more than ever those donations are appreciated especially this month when we have this matching challenge going on.\u00a0 We have some friends of the ministry who are aware of the economic challenges we were facing.\u00a0 They came together and said we\u2019d like to propose a matching gift of $356,000.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf your listeners will make a contribution during the month of May we will match their contribution dollar for dollar up to a total of $356,000.\u00a0 To do that we need to hear from as many of you as possible.\u00a0 In fact we\u2019re asking listeners to just do whatever you can do.\u00a0 If that\u2019s a $5 donation, or $10, $15, $20, $50, $100 whatever it is you can do.\u00a0 Either go online at FamilyLifeToday.com or call 1-800-FL-Today.\u00a0 Make a donation.\u00a0 Know that your donation is being matched dollar for dollar and you\u2019re helping to get us closer to the total amount of this matching gift enabling us to take full advantage of it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain our web site is familylifetoday.com and you can donate online or donate by phone at 1-800-FL-Today.\u00a0 That\u2019s 1-800-358-6329. Again, thank you for doing whatever you can do this month.\u00a0 We appreciate your partnership with us.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tTomorrow we\u2019re going to hear the first part of a classic conversation that took place about six years ago with the founder and president of Campus Crusade of Christ, Dr. Bill Bright.\u00a0 This was just shortly before he went home to be with the Lord.\u00a0 What you\u2019re going to hear is as timeless today as it was when he shared it with us six years ago.\u00a0 That\u2019s coming up tomorrow.\u00a0 I hope you can be with us for that.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We'll see you back tomorrow for another edition of FamilyLife Today. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFamilyLife Today is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas \u2013 help for today; hope for tomorrow.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts for you. However, there is a cost to transcribe, create, and produce them for our website. If you've benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>www.FamilyLife.com<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/301825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301825"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=301825"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=301825"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=301825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}