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Women currently control the majority of wealth in the United States, and their financial influence is growing. But perhaps the more important question isn’t simply how much wealth women will steward. It’s what they want that wealth to accomplish.
Julie Wilson, President of Women Doing Well, joins the show today to share some new research, conducted in partnership with the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, that offers an encouraging look at how Christian women are approaching generosity.
The findings reveal women who are engaged, discerning, and increasingly intentional about aligning their financial decisions with their faith, values, relationships, and sense of purpose.
When Generosity Becomes More Than a DutyJulie tells the story of Leanne Horton, a CPA and serial entrepreneur who had been a faithful and generous giver for years.
Leanne approached generosity much as she approached business: carefully and methodically. She tracked her giving, studied what Scripture said about money, and genuinely wanted to steward her resources well.
But after attending a Women Doing Well event, something shifted. Surrounded by women who spoke openly and joyfully about generosity, Leanne recognized that her meticulous approach had gradually become more legalistic than spiritually formative. Giving had become more about getting it right than responding to God's goodness.
Her experience reflects an important theme in the research: faithful stewardship involves more than making the right financial decisions. Generosity can also express worship, gratitude, community, and purpose.
Women Are Taking a Larger Role in Financial StewardshipWomen already wield significant financial influence, and that influence is expected to grow considerably in the decades ahead.
According to the research shared by Women Doing Well, 95% of women will become the primary financial decision-maker for their families at some point in their lives. Women are also expected to receive a significant share of the wealth changing hands during the coming generational wealth transfer.
That raises an important stewardship question: What will women seek to accomplish with the resources entrusted to them?
The research suggests that many Christian women are already thinking deeply about that question. They aren't standing on the sidelines. They're participating, leading, discerning, and looking for ways to align their resources with their faith.
Generosity Flourishes Through RelationshipsOne striking finding involved married couples. Seventy-two percent of married women surveyed said they make charitable giving decisions jointly with their spouse.
That's encouraging, but sharing a bank account doesn't necessarily mean sharing a vision.
Couples may support the same organizations without ever discussing what they ultimately hope their generosity will accomplish. Meaningful conversations about shared values, priorities, and passions can help generosity become something a couple pursues together rather than simply a collection of individual gifts.
And community matters beyond marriage.
Whether women are single, married, divorced, or widowed, relationships often play an important role in shaping generosity. Among the women surveyed, 98% said their values were important or very important to their giving, while 95% said the same about their faith.
Conversations with family, friends, church leaders, mentors, and trusted advisors can offer valuable opportunities to discern how to steward resou
Mortgage. Meetings. Four kids in Pull-Ups. Where exactly does “mission” fit in? Trevor and Tanya Kravick say marriage on mission doesn’t require an extraordinary life. They join FamilyLife Today guest host Cheryl Shumake to explore what God might already be doing in the middle of your ordinary chaos—and why your marriage may be about something much bigger than the two of you.
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The things we’re eager to buy, we’re eager to buy them because they’ll make us happy, right? Like a new car! Oh yeah! If that really satisfied us, everyone would still be driving the first new car they ever bought. But people only keep their new car about 8 years, on average. Okay, so let’s decode this mystery. How can we find real happiness? Well, today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie brings us a message on happiness. Jesus addressed the subject in the Sermon on the Mount.
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The goal of parenting isn’t perfect behavior—it’s shaping your child’s heart! Juan and Jeanine Sanchez offer some tools to equip you to raise your children in the truth of God’s Word and to apply biblical principles in ways that are practical, grace-filled, and real. Parenting is a battle for the heart… and none of us can fight it alone.
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From Ephesians 5, Chip explains that if we’re not operating out of the love we already have, as a beloved child of God, we tend to operate out of dysfunctional means to manipulate, pretend, or image-cast, to get people to affirm and love us. Chip helps us understand we are to become imitators of God. The question is - How do we do what feels impossible? Join Chip and find out.
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Gary had a hotel on the Jersey Shore. It’s one of those big, old rambling hotels with a lot of style the East Coast is famous for; kind of a bed and breakfast place. Now, if you had just taken over a hotel, what would be your greatest need? Well, of course, fill the rooms! How do you get all these rooms filled to pay off all that you’ve just invested in the place?
Well, a man stopped and offered to fill Gary’s hotel for a week. That sounded pretty good. Gary was about to give in to the possibility, but he asked this important question, “Who’ll be staying here?” The man said, “Oh, it’s senior week! Our high school seniors will come down and take over your hotel for a week.” Gary thought about that, thought about the kind of damage and mayhem that those high school students could do with a week of senior partying. And he very wisely said, “No, thank you.”
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Cost of Compromise.”
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Samuel 13. Let’s get a little background. Saul is in a dilemma. He is the king of Israel, his enemy the Philistines are marching their troops. He is wanting to get to battle and stop this enemy. He’s waited a week, and there’s one thing they needed to do before they went. They had to present a burnt offering to the Lord. That was the way to seek God’s favor to present that offering. That’s a good thing to do.
The problem was only a man of God could do that, like a priest. Samuel promised he’d be there in seven days. It is the seventh day, the troops are leaving, the enemy troops are amassing, the day is almost over, so Saul decides to do something. He invades holy ground and he himself - not a priest - offers the sacrifice. That’s a good thing to do, right? It’s the wrong way to do it.
It’s kind of like Gary who needed to fill his hotel. That was a good thing to do, but he knew there was a wrong way to meet that need. Saul knew that the end he was working toward was positive, but the means were wrong. He went ahead because he was in a jam.
1 Samuel 13:10 - “Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived.” Samuel asks, “What have you done?” Saul explains his predicament, and he says, “’I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.’ ‘You acted foolishly,’ Samuel said. ‘You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom.’” Listen to this, “Now your kingdom will not endure.’”
There’s a principle here: when you’re in a jam, it’s tempting to compromise, especially if the result would be something good. Don’t do it! It will cost you what you need the most. It will cost you God’s blessing. You have a need right now. You have a chance to meet that need if you just shave the truth a little bit, if you allow yourself to get into a romantic relationship with someone who doesn’t know Christ or who doesn’t love Him as much as you do, if you just give in to a temptation to get even a little bit, if you just take matters into your own hands because after all, God hasn’t come through yet, right?
Look at the price Saul paid. I’ve often thought impatience may cost us God’s will more than any other thing we do. And the end does not justify the means. It is better to have your need unmet than to cross God’s line to save the situation. That hotel owner knew it was better to fill it right or leave it empty because of the damage that would be left behind. When it comes to meeting your needs, don’t panic because God is taking longer than you think He should. Let God fill that need the right way. Believe me, it’s worth the wait.
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