#027// Do you follow a budget? Do you want to?

Today on the podcast we're talking about the importance of having and following a budget and some ways we can make sure that the budget we create and use is based on Biblical principles and godly wisdom. But let me just say, what that actually looks like might surprise you. Hint: There's risk involved in this brand of budgeting and it's spelled F.A.I.T.H.

I'm going to be giving you step-by-step instructions for how to get started setting up a customized budget and access to various templates and tools you can use to help you get it done quickly and excellently while mastering this skill set. Sounds good, right?

So, if you know that it's time to sit down and craft a budget that is realistic (and that you're really gonna use), grab your journal and a pen . . . Let’s Go!

#026// Are we ready to say NO MORE to this victimhood culture we've got going lately?

In this episode of the Positioned to Prosper podcast, we’re talking about being a victim when it’s long past the expiration date. Oh, yeah, we are SO going there. So right off the bat I want to invite you to pull on your unoffendable pants and sweater, mkay?

This episode should come with a warning, I tell ya. I’m not going to pussyfoot around this stuff because that right there is an actual strategy that the enemy uses to keep you stuck in victim mentality. So I won’t partner. I’m going to shoot you straight today. 

I’m going to tell you what the word of God has to say to people who’ve been victimized – what Jesus himself said to folks who’d been the victim of abuse or a heinous wrong – and I’m not going to bow to what current culture is trying to orchestrate. I don't care if this culture tries to cancel me. Because victim mentality is killing us.

So I will gladly go out front and draw the fire if it means I get to preach the word of God to you and set you free from the lie that is justifying the never-healing wounds of our victimhood. You hear me? Big girl and big boy pants, okay? Unoffendable. Teachable. Sitting real close to the Holy Spirit and asking him to hug us and nudge us – whichever is appropriate – whenever we need it during this session, okay? Do we have a deal? 

So, if you’re ready to get real about how this victimhood lifestyle our culture is pushing is actually killing us, and what to do to get really free and to get your power back, this episode is for you. It's time to grab your journal and a pen . . . Let’s Go!

#025// Have you ever thought about homeschooling your kid?

These days, the public school system environment and the curriculum being taught in its classrooms is becoming increasingly dismissive of the Biblical worldview and is, in many ways, actively working to program your kid into an anti-Kingdom culture. So it's no surprise that there has been an uptick in the number of faith-filled Christians considering homeschooling for their kids. But here's the thing . . .

Most don't think they can do it. Visit any of the thousands of homeschooling groups on Facebook and you'll find tons of discussions around the doubts and concerns parents have as they consider whether they can really bring their kids home and be their primary teacher. So, what are those doubts?

From thinking they don't have the time or that they can't both homeschool their kids and hold down a job at the same time to doubting they actually have the level of experience or skill or knowledge to be able to teach their own kids successfully, parents can start to feel overwhelmed and scared at even just the idea of homeschooling. And then you throw in the notion that maybe their kids won't get appropriate "socialization" (a full-on myth), and it can start to feel like making the move to homeschooling is simply impossible.

But what if I told you it's easier than you think and that a lot of the doubts you might have are actually based on misconceptions? And that the rest of the fears or hurdles can be dealt with if we just take it step by step? Listen, if you've ever thought about homeschooling your kid -- even for a hot second -- I want to encourage you to lean into this episode and let me share some things I've learned after homeschooling my own kids for the last four years. I'm no expert, but I do have some thoughts that might just help to get you past the doubts, fears and hurdles so you can make a solid decision based on what God's plan is for your own family. If you're ready to consider what it might take to homeschool your own kid (and if you really can do it), grab your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

#024// What does it look like to actively parent? What does your gut say that means? And more importantly, what does your Bible say about it?

In the current world we're living in, our children are bombarded on the daily with a particularly humanistic and anti-God worldview, more so than in any other generation before. From the things that are being taught as official "curriculum" in their schools, to what passes as acceptable and even "encouraging" and "kind" in the TV shows and movies they are watching, to the escalating violence found in the video games they are playing, to what is being talked about and offered up as the "norm" in their friend groups, it's a concerning time to be parenting, to put it mildly. It can feel downright scary and overwhelming if we're being really honest.

As a Christian parent, the Bible tells me my first job is to train up my children in the way they should go so when they are old they won't depart from it. God's word also tells me the way to do this best: by telling the stories of what God has done and reminding my children of his commandments and his nature. We are to train our children up in the ways of God. These days that means undoing the training that's being done to them on the daily by all the aforementioned institutions and their authority figures.

How do we actively parent towards godliness and Kingdom values in an environment like this? What's holding us back from being truly present in our kids' lives and telling them the stories and the commands of God on a regular basis? And how do we get back on track? We're having a good old fashioned "Come to Jesus" in this episode of Positioned to Prosper. So if you're ready to get clear on the state of the next generation and how we must align in this season to truly train up our children, grab your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

#023// Are you carrying any amount of consumer debt currently?

Any amount? And any type of personal debt from car loan to a mortgage on your home, a student loan or even an amount due on a past due medical or utility bill. Do you owe any sort of money to anybody for a good or service that you already consumed or used or are currently consuming or using? This is all the kind of debt we're going to be talking about today and I want to make sure our starting point is clear.

Now, how are you feeling about that debt? Does it feel overwhelming at times? Does it make you nervous? Or even scared? Or do you simply feel as though debt is a way of life, something you have to learn to live with or you won't be able to live the kind of life that you need to live? What's your relationship like with debt? And the big question . . . would you like to get FREE?

In today's episode I'm sharing the secret of how to get and stay debt-free for life. The secret is seriously just one key. That’s it. It’s one thing that actually has the potential to sprout and grow in your life and it will have the effect of driving debt out of your life. Are you ready to learn what this is? What this one key secret is? I’m going to share it with you and then I’m going to teach you how to use the key and how to steward the key, so if you're up for a little faith-based financial coaching today, grab your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

#022// If the great wealth transfer the Bible talks about was about to do down, would God find you ready -- really ready -- to steward that kind of wealth?

Could God trust you to stay on mission with that kind of cash? Would you feel confident to carry God’s checkbook in this world and to manage those finances well? It’s a big set of questions, right? 

Most of us might say, “Hey, do you think I could just get enough to pay my rent and my car payment and maybe have a family vacay this year?” If that’s the level of our ask, my friend, we’re asking WAY BELOW the level God has for us. We need to know how to steward what God wants to give us and that starts with understanding why he wants to give anybody large amounts of wealth.

Are you ready to find out what really doesn't move the hand of God to provide and what really gets provision flowing from heaven to you and me? Do you want to know how your very own purpose and calling actually serve to drive provision in a certain way? If you are, let's get into it! Grab your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

#021// What's your take on prosperity? Are you clear on what the Bible says true prosperity is? In this episode we'll be talking about true prosperity and why that "get out of debt" program or "how to be rich" book didn’t work for you. Seriously, we’re going to blow up some hurdles today and leave some faulty mindsets behind. And I’m going to come running out of the gates today because I need to tell you something up front and clear:

A program can’t get you out of debt if your mind has been programmed by generations of lack and poverty mentality.

A book can’t teach you how to get rich if you haven’t been getting rich off the Good Book first.

No guru can teach you how to swap things in your budget around so you prosper until you let the Redeemer swap out all the lies and orphan habits and fear for the inheritance you have access to because of Him.

So jump on into this episode with me and we'll discover not only the definition of true prosperity, but how to step into it and walk in it. Grab your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

p.s. - Sign up for the upcoming Positioned to Prosper Personal Finance Series at www.ericapyle.com/prosper. It's free and starts soon!

#020// Have you ever heard the term "stewarding health?" Do you know what it means to steward your health? If you are a Christian and have read your Bible at all, you may know that this "stewarding health" phrase is a concept you can find in the word of God. Jesus actually told parables that included stewards. Stewarding means to care for something you do not necessarily own. Sometimes you've been paid to do this stewarding and sometimes you do it as a function of being a part of a family.

We are called as sons and daughters -- kind of like apprentices in the family business -- to steward things God has given to us in our lives. We steward gifts he's given us, relationships he's given us and even things like the portions of faith, hope and health he's given us. He calls us to enjoy these things but to also be responsible to guard them and care for them.

When it comes to stewarding health, God has given each of us a portion of health, and it is our responsibility to steward it. Our bodies are considered to be temples of the living God; the Holy Spirit lives inside of us as believers. So to the extent we maintain and care for our bodies, we are stewarding our "temple" well and our health will be protected.

But did you know that you aren't just a body? If you've listened to episode #3 of the Positioned to Prosper podcast, you are aware that you are a triune being. You ARE a spirit, you HAVE a soul and you LIVE IN a body. In order to effectively your steward health, you must understand this triune health concept and how your triune being works. Once you do, it's to you to walk in such a way that you care for your health holistically -- spirit, soul and body. And you need to do this because you are carrying the very presence of God AND the purpose and call for your life that he created you for. If you don't steward health well, you won't be around long enough or strong enough to do and be all God created you for.

It is vital that we understand how to steward our health right now, and so I wanted to give you some resources and tools to help in this endeavor. If this is something you want to lean into and learn more about, grab your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

#019// How is the Church positioned as we enter 2021? What's our stance when it comes to what is happening in our culture? I've got some thoughts I want to share . . . 

This episode of the podcast is slightly different than my "normal" offering. In general, I like to offer highly practical and applicable teachings here on Positioned to Prosper, but today I really felt to share my heart around the state of the Church and Christianity as we enter 2021, as they have been buffeted over the past ten months by pandemic, social justice tensions and a highly contested election. And this episode may be quite pivotal for some as they determine whether they can handle my brand of delivery when it comes to absolute truth and the role of the Church to influence and shape culture as we move forward.

I'm also addressing the elephant in the room: "Erica, do you think someone who voted for Joe Biden can really be a Christian?" I'm going there in this episode of the Positioned to Prosper podcast. So if you're interested in where this Christian speaker and educator stands on some of the most volatile culture questions facing us at the top of this newly dawning year, grab your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!

#018// Do you know where your worthiness really comes from?

Today I want to encourage you on a topic that I think a lot of us have dealt with at some point or another when we’ve tried to do something that means focusing some time on personal transformation. 

Over the past decade or so there've been a few guiding voices who’ve put out a sound that says, “Look, you’re worthy of self-care. You can’t take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself first. So take the time for yourself so you can be better for others.” And I think those sentiments are based in truth. I do believe you’ve got to have something to pour from. If you’re empty and leaking all the time, you’re going to be giving out of nothing. And that’s a recipe for bitterness and burnout. But here are two root issues I think go unaddressed:

#1 - We don't know where a true sense of worthiness really comes from and so we pull from a counterfeit source and wind up feeling unworthy as a result; and

#2 - Because we don't know true worthiness, we don't value and/or we don't know how to establish appropriate boundaries around our life so we can grow and strengthen and steward what God's given us to care for in our lives while appropriately relating to those around us.

In today's episode I'm sharing an excerpt from an audio series I created for one of my programs, The Beacon 21 Day Reset, where I share how to receive a true sense of worthiness and then how to establish appropriate boundaries so you can live successfully out of that worthiness while serving God and others. Sound like something you need? Then grab your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!