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Christians often say that God owns everything and that what we possess has simply been entrusted to our care. We apply that principle to our income, savings, investments, and giving. But we may treat another significant asset differently: the equity in our homes.

Harlan Accola, who leads the reverse mortgage team at Movement Mortgage, joined the show today to discuss why homeowners—particularly those approaching or already in retirement—should consider home equity as part of their overall stewardship plan.

For generations, many families have followed a familiar pattern: buy a home, pay off the mortgage, and eventually leave the house to their children.

That goal is certainly not wrong. But Harlan says tradition can sometimes cause us to mentally separate home equity from the rest of our financial resources.

“The home equity is wealth,” he explained.

That does not mean every homeowner should borrow against a home's value. Rather, it means home equity deserves to be considered alongside retirement accounts, savings, investments, and other assets when evaluating the resources God has entrusted to us.

That consideration has become increasingly important as home values have risen.

Harlan pointed to research from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies showing that many older Americans have accumulated substantial equity in their homes. In some cases, homeowners may have more wealth tied up in their houses than they have available in retirement accounts and other liquid assets.

That can create an unusual situation: someone may appear financially secure on paper while struggling to generate enough monthly cash flow for ordinary expenses.

Another common assumption is that parents should leave the family home to their children free and clear.

Again, that can be a worthy goal. But Harlan encourages families to consider it within the broader purpose of stewardship.

Scripture places tremendous emphasis on the spiritual legacy we leave behind—our faithfulness, wisdom, example, teaching, and love for God and others. Financial resources may certainly be part of an inheritance, but they are not the only inheritance that matters.

That raises several important questions:

• Could some of the wealth stored in a home help meet legitimate retirement needs? 
• Could it help provide for a surviving spouse? 
• Could it reduce unnecessary financial pressure? 
• Could it create opportunities for generosity while someone is still alive?

Those questions do not automatically lead to the same answer for every family. The point is to prayerfully evaluate the home as part of the entire financial picture rather than assuming it must remain untouched simply because that has traditionally been the plan.

In many families, adult children may also care far more about their parents having financial stability and appropriate care later in life than about preserving every dollar of home equity for an eventual inheritance.

Owning substantial home equity does not necessarily mean retirement expenses are easy to manage. Harlan says he regularly encounters older homeowners with significant equity who nevertheless struggle to cover monthly expenses or unexpected repairs.

He also noted that many older homeowners still carry mortgages well into retirement. When housing costs consume a large portion of a household’s income, even someone with considerable home equity can experience financial strain.

That distinction matters. A home may represent considerable net w

Think of the conversations you have with a good friend of yours. If the only time you spoke to them was to ask a favor or borrow a couple of bucks, that relationship would start to feel pretty shallow. No, good friends connect with each other and let the relationship deepen. Today, on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us see prayer as more than just a request line. We’ll see it’s a way for us to deepen our relationship with the Lord, and bring our will in line with His will. We’ll see prayer is a lifeline to a loving God.

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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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Licensed counselor and mom Michelle Nietert brings her trademark stories, humor, and practical wisdom to parents navigating the teen and young adult years. Drawing from her newest devotional, Strong and Secure, Michelle shares candidly about her own struggles — from parenting teenagers to launching her daughter into college — and the lessons God has taught her along the way.

Praying for Your Teen's Heart and Future -- Lift your child up to God and raise them in Christ with this FREE video series. Jodie Berndt will give you tips on finding peace in God as a parent, rooting your teen's identity in Christ, showing love despite challenges and more.

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In this program, Chip introduces a common condition he calls, “Chronic Relatititis.” When you’ve tried all kinds of ways to change someone and you’re still bumping up against the same old issues, there’s only one thing to do. Join Chip as he opens Luke, Chapter 6 for the solution.

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He might be America’s most famous bear – Smokey! Maybe you can picture Smokey Bear right there in his blue jeans and his Park Ranger hat. They used to have commercials like that all the time. He’s probably holding a shovel or he’s looking straight at you very soberly. And he’s saying, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Actually Smokey has been a pretty effective spokesman, especially if we can think of his big line as soon as we think of him. Oh we’ll never know how many fires he’s prevented, but he’s drilled one very important idea into our heads. Take care of your fire; it could do terrible damage.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Fighting Fire When It's Small.”

Have you ever noticed the words we use to describe anger? “I’m really hot about this!” “Boy, he’s really steamed!” “She just blew her top!” “I was really burned up!” There’s this strong smell of smoke here isn’t there? And fire - the Bible has a lot to say about the fire of anger and how to control it. Our word for today from the Word of God, James 1:19 for example: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. For man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

Well, that’s interesting that it doesn’t bring about anything good, right? A rough translation or paraphrase might be, “You don’t do anything right when you’re angry.” In fact, isn’t it when you’re angry that you tend to make your biggest mistakes? Oftentimes you’ll also leave the deepest scars. You create some of the biggest regrets, and it’s when we’re angry that we most often hurt the people we love the most.

That’s why the Bible says in Colossians 3:8, “You must rid yourselves of all such things as anger and rage.” This isn’t just passively saying, “Well, I can’t help it. I lose my temper.” It’s saying, “Attack this thing! Get rid of it. Take it out like the garbage.” James 1 gives us some hints as to how. We could call these fire fighters for that anger fire inside of you.

First of all, it recommends a big ear. That’s the first fire fighter. It says, “Be quick to listen, and then you’ll be slow to become angry.” If you discipline yourself to listen before you speak, to ask two or three questions before you react you’ll be a lot more likely to tame your anger. Bite your tongue until you’ve heard the whole thing. A lot of “blow ups” come from misunderstanding; that’s where we get most of our exercise - jumping to conclusions. Have a big ear. If you’re quick to listen you’ll be slower to become angry.

I think the second fire fighter is the "cool down time out." That’s what I call it. It says, “Be slow to speak.” Take a step away before you respond; leave the room if you have to. Step away from the person. Step away from the situation. Take the cool down time out, and come back in and act instead of reacting.

And thirdly, here’s another fire fighter. I call it the “sundown clock.” The Bible talks about it in Ephesians 4:26. “Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry.” See, anger never stays the same size. It always grows bigger. It will never be smaller than it is right now. So, get rid of it before you go to bed tonight. Deal with it. Get it out. Don’t stuff it inside. When you don’t act that way, well, Ephesians 4:27 kicks in, “Do not give the Devil a foothold.” Unresolved anger, when you go to bed at night, leaves Satan a wide open spot in your heart.

You and I have caused enough emotional forest fires in our lives haven’t we? And too many people have gotten burned. It’s time we draw actively on the love and the power of Jesus Christ to declare war on that fire inside; to keep that fire small, to extinguish it quickly before we allow it to do any more damage.

Today we visit with awarding-winner columnist, Bill Gertz about several national security and defense issues. We start with President Xi’s recent visit to the American and learn what promises were made, what issues were discussed and what, if any gains, were made by the U.S. Get ready to hear keen insights from someone who has been covering these kinds of issues for decades.

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Anger happens; it's part of being human. But it does not need to control or ruin your life! Learn to express anger in a healthy way that brings positive results. Whether you are seriously out of control, hot-tempered or easily annoyed, now you can break free from the grip of anger. Joins us as Dr. Linda Mintle takes your questions on the topics of anger and forgiveness.

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