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When God entrusts us with more than we need, the question is not simply “How can we preserve it?” or “How can we grow it?” The deeper question is, “What is this surplus for?”

That question moves stewardship beyond spreadsheets, tax strategies, and investment performance. It takes us into matters of the heart, family, calling, and purpose. And for many families, that is where stewardship becomes both more challenging and more meaningful.

Rachel McDonough, a Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA®), Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), and author of The River and the Garden: A Story of Faithfully Stewarding Surplus, joined the show today to explore how Christians can think more deeply about stewarding wealth, especially when they have been entrusted with more than they need for provision.

Rachel has spent more than 20 years crafting financial plans. So when her publisher first suggested she write fiction about stewardship, she was surprised. After all, much of the financial world is built around practical tools, frameworks, and step-by-step guidance.

But Rachel came to see that a story can reach places a spreadsheet cannot. That matters because real families do not fit neatly into formulas. They bring different perspectives, fears, desires, wounds, and hopes to the table. And when money is involved, especially significant money, those relational dynamics often come to the surface.

That is part of what makes The River and the Garden unique. It is not a technical manual. It is a parable about wealth, family, faith, and the purposes of God.

The novel follows three generations of the Craig family.

Maddie, the grandmother and matriarch, has come into a surplus after the sale of a family business. Her son Roger is analytical, driven, and accustomed to solving problems through strategy and optimization. Willow, Maddie’s granddaughter, is a young artist who wants little to do with money, numbers, or spreadsheets.

Together, they begin a journey that takes them through overlooked neighborhoods in Dallas and even to Rwanda as they explore investment and giving opportunities. Along the way, they wrestle with a central question: What does it look like to steward a surplus faithfully?

The imagery of the book is simple but powerful. The river represents capital. The garden represents what we choose to water, cultivate, and grow.

That image reframes the way we think about money. Capital is not neutral. It does not merely sit still in an account. It flows somewhere. It waters something. And the faithful steward must ask whether those resources are flowing toward purposes that honor God and serve others.

One of the most striking scenes in the book comes through one of Willow’s dreams. In it, she sees dark, stagnant pools of water—a picture of capital left unattended.

Rachel says that the image should unsettle thoughtful Christians for at least two reasons.

First, capital never truly stands still. We may think of it as simply “sitting” in an investment account, but it is always connected to something. It may be funding businesses, industries, practices, or systems that either contribute to human flourishing or diminish it.

Second, surplus wealth needs a purpose. Investing for provision is good and right. Families should plan wisely, save diligently, and seek to provide for their needs. But when a family has more than enough for provision, the conversation should expand.

What is the surplus for?

Rachel describes surplus

"Can a marriage survive infidelity? Maybe a better question is: What happens after the apology? Justin and Trisha Davis talk about rebuilding trust, navigating triggers, and learning the difference between forgiveness and pretending everything is fine. Because healing isn't usually fast, simple, or predictable.

Show Notes and Resources

• Learn where you can get Justin and Trish's book "One Choice Away From Change "

• Learn more about Justin and Trish at justinandtrisha.com

• Sign up for Janelle Breitenstein’s 5-session video series on mom anger at familylife.com/momanger

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God has given us mere humans the opportunity to participate in giving life. A mom and dad bring life into this world with their newborn baby. And as believers, we have the privilege of bringing the message of new life to people as we share Christ. But some folks are not easily persuaded. They’re stuck in their sin and don’t want to move. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie points out how we can reach the unreachable. It’s part of his series called Refresh.

Join Greg Laurie for the Annual Jesus Revolution Baptism at Pirate's Cove on July 18.

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Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years.

Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.

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Hidden within the Great Seal of the United States lies a call to virtue, unity, and freedom.

The post The Hidden Message of the Great Seal of the United States, Part 2 appeared first on Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.

Teen moms face tremendous challenges – from difficulties finding housing, education, and childcare to dysfunctional families and generational poverty. Lisa Steven shares her story of becoming a mom at 17. After becoming involved with MOPS, Lisa realized there were no resources for parenting teen moms who needed a place to live. She started Hope House. Over the last twenty years, God provided in miraculous ways. Hope House now serves over 280 women with GED classes, self-sufficiency programs, residential facilities, and childcare. An amazing story of God’s provision and faithfulness!
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What’s your approach to confrontation? Do you avoid it at all costs? Or are you a little overeager to engage in it, almost like you’re looking for a good fight? In this program, Chip’s gonna encourage us to handle conflict in a healthy, God-honoring way.

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When I go to the doctor, he sure is inquisitive. I tell him, “I feel sick!” And he insists on getting all the details: what’s your temperature, tell me about your symptoms, what about your throat? Let’s check your throat. I mean sometimes he even resorts to a blood test. How radical! And if it’s serious enough, we even have to get into my mother’s health and my father’s health, and my family history. Actually, I’d be wise to give the doctor all the specifics I can think of. If I just walk in and say, “I’m sick,” that doesn’t do much. It’s really tough to help someone when they’re not specific about what’s going on.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Getting All the Way Clean.”

Our word for today from the Word of God - Luke 3, I’ll begin at verse 7. “John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, ‘Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.’ ‘What should be done?’ the crowd asked. John answered, ‘The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.’ Tax collectors also came to be baptized. ‘Teacher,’ they asked, ‘what should we do?’ ‘Don’t collect any more than you are required to,’ he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, ‘And what should we do?’ He replied, ‘Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely - be content with your pay.’”

Now, the picture here is of people coming to the Jordan River where John the Baptist is preaching, and they’re coming to repent of their sins. But John isn’t going to let them get away with general repentance. He insists on getting specific. He talks about fruit that is in keeping with repentance. He tells some of them, “I want you to repent of your selfishness about your food and about your clothes.” He tells a different group, “I want you to repent of your cheating in your business.” And then he tells some others, “I want you to repent of lying about people and of complaining.”

Many people never really break free of a specific sin because they never come to God and specifically repent of that sin. We kind of like the safety of being general don’t we? “Lord, forgive my many sins, whatever they may be.” Do you ever name them? I think God might be saying, “Like what? Which one are you repenting of? Name the sin.”

It’s important to come to Jesus’ cross with the particulars of the sins that need forgiving. “Lord, I come to your cross with that lie I told this morning. I come to you with the lustful thoughts I’ve had toward _____ (fill in the blank). I come to you with that harsh response I gave to my son, my daughter, my husband, my wife last night. I come to repent of that night of sexual sin; of those websites that are poisoning me spiritually; of the neglect of my family’s needs.”

The point is that God calls us to specific repentance. We may have to go back and clean up a sin that we buried instead of dealing with it, maybe a long time ago. Until you’ve really brought it to the cross, you should not forget it. Once you have brought it to the cross, you shouldn’t remember it, because God has forgotten it forever at that point.

I can’t just go to the doctor and say, “Help my sickness.” I have to give him the specifics if I want to be well. I can’t just go to God and say, “Forgive my sins. I’m sorry for my sins.”

If I really want to beat one sin in particular, I need to be specific in dealing with that sin. It’s this simple: no specifics, no solutions.