Finding Your Purpose

Moody Radio's Spring Share event has come and gone, but there's still more work to be done. This year, we want to be bold for the Gospel in encouraging, teaching, and empowering you, our listener. To do this, we need your help.

See our impact and learn more about Moody Radio's new initiative at springshare.org. The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. Proverbs 20, verse 5. Hi, I'm Rob West.

Man's ultimate purpose is to glorify God, but deciding how we do that can be a challenge. Sometimes we need help from a trusted advisor. I'll talk about that today with Rachel McDonough. Then we have some great calls that we've lined up, but since this program is not live today, please hold your calls until we're back in the studio. This is Faith and Finance Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, it's always a pleasure to have Rachel McDonough back with us. She's a certified financial planner and a certified kingdom advisor, and lately she's been deep and thought about Proverbs 20, verse 5, and how it relates to fulfilling our purpose in life with our financial decisions. Rachel, great to have you back with us. Thanks, Rob.

Happy to be here. Yeah, Rachel, I think all believers would like to honor God with the way they use the resources entrusted to them, but perhaps sometimes it's difficult to find the right path for that. Would you agree with that idea?

I would, and I would say, too, our culture really makes it difficult and puts some headwinds of opposition in our path. There's so much in our culture that makes us think it's all about us, right? We come to the financial planning process and we think, okay, what are my financial goals? In fact, as a financial advisor early on in my career, I was trained to ask people what are their financial goals. So we get this notion that maybe we should dream up or conjure up some specific goals to have, and that somehow that's the pathway to meaning and purpose and success in life. But inadvertently, what can happen is that if we start with just trying to decide what our goals should be, it's almost like ready, fire, aim, right? We're starting with what am I shooting at?

What am I targeting? But we aren't taking the time necessarily to back up a step and think through a more biblical framework for how those financial goals should be derived. That's such a big idea, Rachel, and a critical one, I think, for the believer.

You know, you and I recently were at a conference together and I remember something that one of the speakers said, Paul David Tripp. He said, the thing that is your treasure will control your heart. And what controls your heart will control your words, your behaviors, your choices, and your decisions. The challenge is if we start with a financial product or even a goal, we're not starting with our heart, our values and priorities as believers. And then how can we expect to get to the right outcomes? Isn't that right?

That's exactly right. I think so many times people come to the financial planning process and they feel like there's this burden of expectation on them to already know what their financial goals are supposed to be. It's almost like if you show up and your financial advisor asks you, what are your financial goals? And you say, I'm not sure.

Somehow you're failing. And there's almost this anxiety tied to that experience. I don't know if any of our listeners can relate to that, but I want to encourage us to approach the financial planning process rather than saying ready, fire, aim. Let's take a step back and get our foundation laid through understanding our values, our priorities, and then choosing some specific financial goals that are really the right target for us to be aiming towards. That's right. And Rachel, having someone on the outside asking the right questions really can be critical to this process, right?

It can. Oftentimes we operate with a certain set of assumptions, and if we don't have anyone ever challenge those assumptions, we can end up a little off course in changing the trajectory of our financial lives over time. So let me just give you an example from an actual client that I was privileged to counsel a few months ago through the financial planning process. They came looking for a certified kingdom advisor because they wanted a biblical approach. And when we did the values exercise, we learned, among other things, the wife really valued respect and security. The husband, two of his core values were empathy and loyalty.

So we see right away there's a very loving and respectful dynamic between the husband and wife. And they came with a particular financial goal in mind of being able to build a cabin on a parcel of land and another financial goal of being able to refinish part of their house. But as we walked through the priorities and the values process, we learned, oh, maybe it's actually a different season that those are for and there's a better financial goal for this season.

Oh, that's powerful. We're talking today with Rachel McDonough, certified financial planner and certified kingdom advisor, about the role of values in our financial decision making and goals. Much more to come just around the corner. You're listening to Faith and Finance Live. Today's broadcast is prerecorded, so please keep that in mind. We're going to pause now for a brief break, then we'll be back after that with more on Faith and Finance Live. Thanks for joining us on Faith and Finance Live.

I'm Rob West. Joining me today, Rachel McDonough, my good friend, certified kingdom advisor and certified financial planner. We're talking about Proverbs 20, verse five. The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. How do your values and priorities as a believer inform your financial decisions and goals?

And do your values inform them? And if not, perhaps it's a time to back up and really explore your values and allow your money management to be a reflection of what's most important to you as a Christ follower. Well, Rachel McDonough, as a certified kingdom advisor, is really unpacking what that can look like today. And Rachel, before the break, you were sharing an example, a couple that came in with a particular financial goal in mind. I suspect as an advisor, you have folks coming in all the time with that approach. And yet during the course of the planning, things changed a bit.

Tell us more. Yeah, they came in hoping to build a cabin and hoping to refinish part of their home. But what we learned here, some of the financial circumstances where the wife was coming into a large inheritance from her parents, and so they really had an additional amount of resources to make some different choices with. But what I learned as I talked with them about their lifestyle and kind of uncovered some of their pain points, she was in a highly, highly stressful job. I started crying during the financial planning discussion because of the trauma that she was experiencing on a daily basis through her stressful work. And her husband, as I mentioned, one of his values is loyalty and family.

And so he's watching his wife suffer, and it's very uncomfortable for him as well. And by just tweaking the what if scenarios in the financial plan, we were able to model out a new scenario for them that they had not really considered before, where the wife would be able to move down to a part time position or even just earn considerably less, doing a different type of work that would allow her to feel respected and secure in her work environment again. And really, that is a much higher priority for them in this season than building a cabin, right?

Absolutely. Rachel, I'm curious, what did that process look like to uncover those values that then really became key in the planning process? We have a value discovery tool that we use with clients, and it just gets them out of the financial mindset and helps them to think more broadly about their main values, their core values in life in general. And then from there, we can distill some specific financial priorities and then some unique and individual goals for that season.

Yeah. Rachel, we talk a lot on this program about the Certified Kingdom Advisor designation, these men and women who've met high standards and character and competence, but have also been trained to bring a biblical worldview to their professional financial advice. How can a CKA really be key in this process?

Well, a CKA is going to have a unique mindset because what the world tells us is that it's all about us, right? There was a financial institution that had this dream process that they trademarked, where they would help clients think about what were their dreams for the future. Well, dreaming is good when we're dreaming with God. But if we're just dreaming up things for us to pursue, those can really become idols that we end up serving over time, rather than the inspired dreams that God has for us, our Ephesians 2.10, the good works that he planned in advance for us to do. So having a like minded advisor to walk with you prayerfully, through the discovery process of your values, your priorities, and the specific goals for this season, as they align with God's purpose for your life is really a unique value. That's really helpful. Rachel, can you give us some examples of the sort of questions that someone might hear from a Certified Kingdom Advisor who's really attempting to draw out the purposes of the client's heart?

Yeah, absolutely. One of the things that we like to ask clients is, you know, what do you think the Lord would have you pursue? Like, what do you think God's goals for you are in this season? Another one we might ask is, at this season of life, do you need more income or more impact? And just helping clients differentiate because if they've been in a season where they really needed to prioritize providing for their families and pursuing career goals, and now they're in a season of life where they have the opportunity and the capacity to pursue impact, we want to help them shift graciously into that new season of life and pursue all that God has made available for them.

Yeah, that's really helpful. You know, Rachel, I've answered, as you have hundreds and hundreds, I guess on the radio here, thousands of questions from people about money and counseled with lots and lots of families. And my experience is, no matter the income level, people have guilt, shame and regret about money. And those that are most free from the emotional byproducts of financial decision making, have really asked and answered the questions, who owns it?

And how much is enough? And I think as we begin to process God's ownership and our role as a steward, and then really, the enough question, both for our lifestyle and our accumulation, it does completely change everything about how we approach our finances. And then if we put the values at the center of that for our personal goals, as a reflection of that, it really changes the conversation. That biblical worldview of money management is completely different than what you will hear in the world, and what you'll probably get from your typical advisor, right? That's right. Hopefully, the CKA is an advisor who is uniquely equipped to co-labor with God, to draw out the Lord's purposes for that individual's life, and not just help them to chase after things that the world tells them that they need.

Yeah. And so then if we go back to the client scenario you mentioned, Rachel, how can we then translate this newfound purpose that you've uncovered in the discovery process into real financial strategies and recommendations that are very practical? Yeah, and that's a great question, because it has to be specific, right? What we decided to do with this client, the recommendations came out, and they're still wrestling through this. I don't want you to get the impression that clients instantaneously see, oh, this must be what God's plan is for my life, right?

We wrestle through things, and we pray over them. But the wife, we had her set up with a scenario where she was able to earn about half of her previous earnings. The husband, who had retired a bit early because he was in the same stressful line of work, he decided to go actually back into the workforce again to give some relief to his wife and take some of the earning pressure off of her.

And then as those inherited assets began to come in, they were able to have the option, if they wanted to fully retire, they would have the option to cover their health insurance costs before reaching age 65 when Medicare would kick in. And then they also had the option to not get rid of the cabin goal, but just postpone it a bit until some of the more immediate priorities were addressed. And then we left that cabin goal in the financial plan as something that would transpire in a future season if they still agreed that it was important down the road once things were settled at home. That's really great.

Just about 45 seconds remaining, Rachel. So I know you've done this process over and over again with clients. Talk about the fruit. What's the result that comes as you watch clients live out their purpose and their passions and their values in the financial decisions they're making? I will say for clients who are willing to operate out of surrender, and really desire to choose what do I believe God's will is and God's purposes for my life and for my finances, the number one fruit that I experienced is actually freedom from regret. And then you also see the fruit of the Spirit, the peace and the joy and the connectedness with one another, the love that can come from operating out of that sense of wholeness.

Wow, that's powerful. Rachel, really appreciate your insights. Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for having me. That's Rachel McDonough, Certified Financial Planner and Certified Kingdom Advisor.

If you'd like to find a CKA in your area, just go to faithfi.com and click Find a CKA. Today's program is prerecorded, so please keep that in mind. We're going to pause now for a brief break, but we'll be back in a moment with more Faith and Finance Live. Great to have you with us on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West. Let me remind you that we're not live today, so don't call in. But we have great information lined up ahead in the program coming your way.

To Ohio we go. Hi, Brian. Thanks for calling, sir. Go ahead.

Yeah, I just had some questions. I recently resigned from my W-2 job and took a position just working for myself. My wife and I decided to work for ourselves. It's gone really well.

COVID was kind of hard, but the last couple of years it's really going, it's getting better. So now we're trying to use, we have a couple of different businesses and we're trying to use those businesses to leverage, to buy real estate. We have a large family and the idea is to purchase homes for my children as they become adults and marry and move out. Then they rent off of us. So what it would do, the idea is that they support us for our retirement by using the real estate and the mortgage, or the rental income. And we're building that into a whole, a trust company and then a holding corporation.

And then eventually we hand it down to them and just kind of perpetuate that. And I just want to know, I want to make sure that we're biblical in what we're doing with our money and that that's acceptable because it is taking on a lot of debt and leveraging things. And I just wanted to see what you thought about that. Yeah, I appreciate that.

And I also appreciate your sensitivity not to getting over levered here as you do all of this. So you'd end up with how many pieces of property? Well, eventually it'll be 11. We have 11 children plus the house we live in now will be 12. But currently what we have is, I've took out a line of credit against our home. We have a couple hundred thousand dollars equity in our home and we took out a line of credit and we purchased the first home that we're rehabbing and I've got another deal. I'm actually buying a house that needs to be moved to another property I've got the lot to move it to. So I'm going to have to borrow for that.

And then there's another mini property like a mini farm because my one daughter is into horses that we're trying to contract now. Yeah. The only concern I have on what I'm hearing, I mean, I like the plan. I just want you to be careful and not getting overextended.

And I sense that you're feeling that as well. And that's one of the reasons why you're calling about this. The fact that you took on this line of credit on your primary residence, that's not my preferred way for you to deal with this, just because that's obviously going to be a variable rate. So that's that rate is increasing and you're putting your primary residence at risk here for what really is a business venture. I mean, I realize there's a connection back to your your family members, your children, but it really is a business venture of sorts. You know, the other issue we've got is that, you know, given the number of kids we're talking about here, not only is the debt level is going to continue to rise and it doesn't seem like you have the assets to buy these without using significant leverage. The statistics would tell us that at least several of these kids would at some point along the way be unable to make the payment just because life happens and things come up and debt changes the relationship. And so now it's a, you know, it's a lender slave relationship.

The Bible describes it. And so, you know, you have to recognize that at that point, you know, this changes the relationship with you and your kids. And, you know, you may have to step in to avoid, you know, losing a property and you've got to think about the relational damage that that could cause. And so what we don't want to do is your desire to bless them and create an income stream for yourself ends up creating a strained relationship because of something out of their control. Does that make sense?

Yeah. And just to clarify, the line of credit, I'm only using that temporarily. So once we finish the rehabbing, I'll take the mortgage, pay the line of credit off, and then we'll rent the property for the 127th depreciation. So I'll rent the property for, you know, say it's a $100,000 home mortgage, then I would rent the property for, I have a 127th depreciation, that's $2,700 a year.

I would rent it for $200 a month over the mortgage so that I stay below the tax basis on that. Sure, sure. But the line of credit will be paid off.

The only reason I draw that line of credit is to do whatever it needs to get the real estate to be done so that it's movable and then I can lease it. Yep, yep. And it would be leased to your child, correct?

Yes. I have two adult children right now that are married. Well, I have more than two adult children. I have two that are married.

I have two more that are adults that are ready to, they're not married yet, but they're ready to move out. So we're trying to, no, I have other businesses too. I have two other businesses actually, and I produce a pretty decent income off those. Okay. So I have enough to cover any shortages should my children default for whatever reason. Okay.

All right. Yeah, as long as you go into it knowing that, and then I guess the other question would just be, have you really thought through the exit ramp? So what if they decide, you know, God redirects them to some other place, some other part of the country, and they want to get out of this property and sell it, they would have the ability to do that? Yeah, because what we're doing is we're establishing a trust and then a holding company, and then every house will be a separate LLC. Got it, yep. And so the holding company is going to own all of them. So at any time we can either re-rent to somebody that's not family or dispose of the property and just collect whatever equity we have in it. Okay, very good.

Yeah, I think you've really thought through it. What do you think will be the average loan to value on these properties moving forward? I want to try to stay at 80% or less. Really, I don't want to borrow any more money than what we're going to rent it for. So if I rent it, say the rent is established at $1,500, then I want to work backwards from that number. And I want to say, okay, the 127th depreciation would allow for, you know, say $300 a month. So that means the mortgage needs to be $1,200 so I can get the $300 tax free. So we're only going to borrow whatever this will buy for us. Yeah, perfect. Well, if you have the ability to do that, you have the cash flow from your own businesses, it sounds like you put it in the right structure legally to limit liability and handle tax efficiency.

As long as you have clear communication that's documented with each of the kids so they understand what they're getting into, what they're committing to, what the exit ramps are, and you know you need to step in if for some reason something happens, then I think you've covered your bases, Brian. I love it. Well done, sir. Thank you for calling today. Well, it's time for us to take a break. Just remember we're not live today, so don't call in, but we lined up some great questions in advance and we'll get to those in just a bit. We'll be right back with much more on Faith and Finance Live. Stick around. I'm Rob West, your host. Again, we're not here today. Our team is away from the studio, so don't call in, but we've got some great questions that we lined up in advance.

I know you'll enjoy those. Just before the break, we were talking to Brian. I think we lost him for a second. We're trying to get him back on the line, but Brian is really trying to think through how to be found faithful with the resources that God has entrusted to him. He's relatively new to entrepreneurship, he and his wife. He's making a good income from a couple of businesses that he has.

He's got a number of children and trying to provide for them, building a portfolio of real estate that he's going to use debt to purchase, but he's going to lease these properties out to his kids to create a passive income stream for he and his wife, but to bless them with home ownership. But also, he's just wondering, is this too much? Am I following a biblical pattern here?

Am I being greedy? How do I need to think about this, and what about the debt side of it? Am I presuming upon the future when I take on this debt? Brian, as we think about this, it sounds like your main issue right now is number one, is there anything in Scripture that really would discourage me from the approach that I'm taking right now? And then number two, am I putting myself in financial jeopardy by any of the moves that I'm making, notably the amount of leverage you're going to have to acquire this real estate portfolio? Are those the main issues?

Yes. And number three is, we've got to back up and say, okay, what is then a biblical worldview of money management? Well, it starts with the fact that God owns it all, and we're stewards or managers, so we want to go to God's Word and look for principles in God's Word that we can apply to our financial decision-making.

That's the clearest indicator into what's going on in your life spiritually. So, do I see greed? Am I buying into the American dream in such a way that allows me to attempt to redeem greed?

And I need to check my heart there. Am I being envious? Am I coveting what someone else has, and is that my motivation or driver? Have I bought into a materialism message that the world and the culture has, which just says I should be able to spend as much as I want? Those are not the biblical worldview. The biblical worldview of money is really based on this idea that God created us to be workers, and He provides for us. We're to hold what He gives us loosely. Yes, we're to provide for our families, that's clear in 1 Timothy, but I think before that, we should look to be generous. And part of why God entrusts what He does to us is so that we can share it with others, and that really should be a key part of how we think about the resources that God has entrusted to us. And what we'll find is the giving is what breaks the grip of money over our lives. We live in the most prosperous nation in the history of the world, and yet there's a lot of fear, there's a lot of discontentment, there's a lot of worry and anxiety around money.

And the reason is we've bought into the cultural message and not the biblical approach. And so if you approach this with contentment, holding it loosely, looking for ways to give generously, then I think there's a prudent way to save for the future. And that could include building a real estate portfolio that you use to bless your kids, to create an income stream that allows you to be even more generous, you know, now and in the future.

So I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with any of that, as long as you're really praying through it and saying, God, how much is enough? And what's the right lifestyle for me? And what's my lifestyle finish line? And what's the right accumulation?

And what's my finish line for accumulation? And as long as, you know, as you create more wealth, you're using it as an engine to not only provide for your family, but not just continuing to meet an endless list of wants, but you're using it as an engine, you know, to cap your lifestyle and then to accelerate your giving, then I think that's always going to keep your heart posture in the right place. Now, with regard to the debt itself, I think there's some questions that we can ask ourselves and we need to before we take on any debt. You know, the first question is related to, you know, the financial side of this.

Is the economic return going to be greater than the economic cost? Well, in each of these cases, the way you've described how you're using debt for the homes, the answer should be yes. Number two, are you presuming upon the future when you take out the debt? In other words, is there a guaranteed way to repay?

Well, based on the equity you're going to have in the home, based on the rental income you have and based on your business and the cash flow it's throwing off, there should be a guaranteed way for you to repay this debt. You know, if necessary. Third is, do you have unity with your spouse?

And if not, that would be a showstopper for me. But if so, then I think you can proceed. And then the fourth, are there any other alternatives to taking on this debt so that I don't deny God an opportunity to work?

And I think those are at least four, maybe not the only four, but at least four questions you should be asking as you think about this. And then in terms of the dangers of debt, you know, it's really going to come down to first financial, just are you putting yourself in economic jeopardy because you're taking on too much debt, presuming upon the future without that guaranteed way of repaying? I don't think that's a problem here. Are there spiritual issues? That's a danger. You know, the spiritual dangers are, you know, presuming upon the future and denying God an opportunity to work. And then the psychological dangers, which is where it creates stress and tension, particularly in marriage relationships, because the borrower becomes the lender slave.

And so being in debt puts us in a position of servitude. And so I think those are the pieces we need to think through and just see if any of those throw a red flag up. And if so, we've got to lean into that, pray about it, talk about it. But if not, then I think you're clear to proceed. Is that helpful?

Yeah, it is. Prior to this endeavor, like I said before, I was employed. I lived, I would not go into debt. I refused to go into debt. And I was the only provider for the family. My wife didn't work. So I kind of lived by the motto that I'm only going to live my lifestyle so that if everything went completely wrong, I can get a job at McDonald's and sustain my family.

And so I always lived like that. I wouldn't go in debt for anything. And I'm not in debt for anything now. Our vehicles are paid off, everything's paid off. The only thing I owe for now is my house.

And then I have a loan for the business or some equipment for the business. It's only it's 30 some thousand. That's it.

It's not very big. So other than that, that's it. So as we move forward with this real estate, we're not going to borrow more than where we're going to be. And my lifestyle is very simple. We actually live as self-sustaining as possible. We live off grid.

I've heated with wood for 15 years. I don't pay gas bills. I live in the county. I don't have water bills.

I've invested in solar. I'm trying to get completely self-sustaining off grid. And so I try to live as nimble as possible with so many children.

Obviously, there's limitations to what I can do without being moderately convenient. But I've always lived that lifestyle. And outdoorsy, we have huge gardens. We produce our own food. We grow our own animals. We do all these things ourselves. So not only do we invest in real estate and things like that, but we also are investing in self-sustainability. And that's part of our daily routine.

Yeah, very good. Well, I like the way you're thinking a lot, Brian. I think the key for you is to continue to check your heart. I think you've covered really all the bases. I think giving is going to be key to just continue to keep the grip of money from grabbing hold of your life and to make sure you and your wife are on the same page about all of this. But apart from that, I don't hear anything that gives me a check in my spirit, Brian.

I think you're doing a lot of things right. I really appreciate your time today. God bless you, my friend. This is Faith and Finance Live, and we'll be right back. You know, as we think about managing God's money, our goal is faithfulness.

You know, we don't want to allow money to occupy a place it doesn't belong in. We want to make sure God stays at the center of our lives and that our money is actually a tool to not only provide for ourselves and our families, but really to mold and shape our hearts into what God is fashioning us into. You know, money management is one of the ways we work out our faith most tangibly, most clearly, because it's that daily activity. We're always spending money, and if money issues are heart issues—remember Jesus said, Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also? Well, if money issues are heart issues, then it's one of the most tangible ways we work out our faith each day. And we've got to go back to God's Word. We've got to be in prayer, inviting God into our financial life, and we've got to see these spending decisions we're making as ultimately spiritual decisions. And I think perhaps that can help change our perspective.

Perspective is everything. Hey, thanks so much for being with us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West, your host. Just a reminder, we're not live today, so don't call in, but we have some great calls lined up like the one you heard from Brian in the last segment. I was delighted to spend a few extra minutes with him today just to unpack his situation.

Eleven kids wanting to do things right. He's obviously got a lot going on, and just wanting to know that what he's doing is not out of bounds of Scripture. And I think that's where so many of us are. We're trying to be prudent and wise and save for the future, and yet we don't want to get off a track that God may be taking us down. We don't want to buy into the messages of this world, which can convince us that more is always better. And I think we've got to be careful about that as we move forward, and I appreciate Brian's sensitivity to that. You know, we were talking about debt. I think one of the areas that often can trip us up in this area of debt that the Bible is very clear on, and it says in no uncertain terms we shouldn't do it, and that's co-signing.

You know, we've got to be really careful. Here's what God's Word says, Proverbs 17, 18. One who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.

Proverbs 22, 26, and 27. Be not one of those who gives pledges, who puts up security for debts. So we have to be careful. I think the danger of co-signing is the same today as it was 2,500 years ago. One study I saw recently showed that four out of ten people who co-sign end up paying off the loan. Nearly a third suffer damage to their credit, and a quarter say the experience damaged their relationship with the primary signer. Again, usually a relative or a friend, which creates a real problem.

No wonder Proverbs is included in the wisdom books. So this is an area we really need to be careful on, and I would just say stay far away from it because debt changes the relationship. And so whenever family and friends are involved, it could really lead to disaster.

So what are the alternatives? Well, if you haven't done it, I would just say don't do it. The only other alternative might be to just make an outright gift in a situation where you want to bless somebody rather than co-signing. Just make a gift, and that way there's no strings attached.

You're not putting them in a servitude-type relationship. If you do co-sign, like in the case of a child perhaps, again, I would say first option is just not to do it at all. But if you're convinced you need to, I would say you only should do it if you're ready, willing, and able to step in and pay off the debt.

And to do so without it creating one bit of a strain in the relationship. You would need to decide on the front end that you're willing to do that, and you'd be okay with it because it's not worth relational damage over this financial transaction. If you're already in a situation where you co-sign and you want to get out, really the only two options there are to get the co-signer to refinance without you, which in many cases is not possible or else it wouldn't have required you in the first place, but that's really the first step. The second is just to take over in order to avoid damage to your own credit report, and often you're going to need to do that. As I said, the Federal Trade Commission tells us that four out of ten people who co-sign end up paying off the loan. So once again, we see God's Word, the wisdom from the Bible, bearing out truth in our financial lives, and that is certainly something that we need to heed and take to heart as we think about our finances.

Hey, before we head back to the phones, let's tackle a couple of emails. We receive emails from you all the time at AskRob at FaithFi.com. This one comes from Lee, and Lee writes, Well Lee, I would visit with our friends at Christian Community Credit Union. They have some wonderful options for businesses and churches in particular that I think could be great. Not only a money market, but you could even look at a seven-month CD at 4% for up to $250,000. That would be a great option for a portion of this. You can learn more at joinchristiancommunity.com, but I think that would be a great option. Plus, these are folks that are believers, they serve believers in ministries and churches, and a portion of everything that comes in, they're able to share with some of the most compelling Christian ministries doing work in the name of Jesus around the world.

So again, joinchristiancommunity.com is the place to go. Thanks for writing to us. One more email and then to the phones before we wrap up today. Well Martha, I certainly understand your concern that you have around the money that you've lost. I mean, it's frustrating. I know you feel a sense of responsibility as a steward of this money, and you're just seeing it decline. The challenge is that you're looking at this in a very narrow window of time. You know, the last 10 or 12 years, the market's been going straight out. We just happen to be through the pandemic and now post-pandemic with sky-high inflation headed toward a potential recession. We've just been in a season where the market's under some pressure. But the market works in cycles, and so when we take a long view with a properly diversified portfolio, we just have to accept we're going to go through periods like this.

And if we don't look at it in a one-year or a two-year time frame, but a five or a 10 or a 15-year time frame, that's really the prudent way to go. If you pull your money from the Roth, you're going to lock in those losses and run the risk of missing the market recovery, which is the reason why you stay invested during these times, as long as you're properly invested with a prudent portfolio that's diversified. The market may go down, of course, before it recovers, but it always recovers, historically speaking. So if you don't need the money for a few years, it's best to leave it where it is so you get that recovery and let it continue to grow. At 62, if you're in good health and the Lord tarries, you need this money to last for decades. So I would leave it right where it is in that 401k and the Roth IRA, let it recover.

Once it recovers, that's probably the time to look at it and say, was I being a little too aggressive and do I need to make some changes? All right, let's head back to the phones before we round out the broadcast today. Ken in Arkansas. Go ahead, sir. Thanks for calling. Yes, sir.

I really enjoy your commentary and your Christian views on things. And I'm a real estate appraiser by profession and just heard the young man that had 11 kids that were buying rent houses, whatever like that. It would be my recommendation that he buy a duplex or two. He could if one of the kids moved in and the other one was rented out.

There was a little slowness and pain or whatever like that. They still carry the load most of the time. And I also see it with senior citizens that are downsizing.

They don't want to keep up a yard or whatever. My constant recommendation is, hey, buy a duplex. Let someone else pay for your payment. And you don't take and go from there. But anyway, I like that a lot. Go ahead, Ken. Hey, I appreciate your advice. Again, your attitude and everything is is tremendous.

I mean, I look forward to getting on the road and trying to catch you between me measuring houses or duplexes or whatever I do. But anyway, well, thank you. Thank you, Ken. That's very kind of you, my friend. Very thoughtful. I love your comment as well about the duplex.

I think you're exactly right. That could be a great option. A lot of folks have taken advantage of that option to buy a duplex. Not only is it a great way to perhaps cover the mortgage with the other side that you're not living in, but talk about being a landlord that in terms of the ease of dealing with maintenance issues, you're right there. You're living one wall away from your rental property, whether that's a family member or just a private sale type situation.

And you're right there. You can obviously maintain the property very easily. I think a duplex is a great option for a lot of folks. When we think about our investment approach, we want to be properly diversified. That includes different asset classes. So it could include stocks and bonds and real estate and precious metals. And there's other asset classes, of course, even beyond that. So part of our diversification shouldn't necessarily be just in large cap, mid cap, small cap. But we need to think across asset classes as well so we don't have all of our eggs in one basket, and we can apply God's wisdom from Ecclesiastes to our diversification strategy.

Well, folks, we've covered a lot of ground today. So appreciate you being along with us today as we talk about managing money God's way. If you found value in this ministry and you're a faithful listener and you'd like to support us charitably, we'd certainly appreciate Faith & Finance's listener support. And you can give online at faithfi.com. That's faithfi.com.

Just click the Give button. Well, we're about out of time today. Before we go, let me remind us why we do what we do here on this program every day. We gather for Faith & Finance Live because we recognize we all have a high calling.

We're money managers for the King of Kings, which means we're to be found faithful as we manage God's resources, faithfulness, obedience over a long period of time, applying the wisdom of God's word to every area of our lives, and that includes our finances. So thanks for being here today. Thanks for calling and for writing and for your emails. We love to do what we do and serving you to be wise stewards of God's money. I want to say thanks to my team today, Clara, Deb, Amy and Jim. Couldn't do it without them. Faith & Finance Live is a partnership between Faithfi and Moody Radio. We'll see you next time. God bless you. Bye bye.