Hi friends, my name is Katie Swank. I am a Christian woman. I am a wife and a mom of two wonderful miracles from Jesus. I homeschool my children and enjoy making my own Christian curriculum which is free for anyone to use and enjoy. I love children’s ministry, baking, creating, sewing, reading, learning new skills, thinking outside the box and constructively simplifying life. Simply My Swank.

My family lives in sunny Southern California in a little house, close to the beach. We love riding BMX, surfing, skateboarding, hockey, many different martial arts, flag football, dirt bikes and the list goes on and on. We are a very active family, and our number one passion is sharing the love of Jesus everywhere we go. We attend The Mission Church in Carlsbad – you should check it out sometime!

My #1 prayer is that God would grant me wisdom. I pray for this so that my life may be used to bless others. I am a sinner saved by grace. If I say anything that helps you it is because a miracle happened and my prayer was answered. I pray to be humble and to shine in the light of Jesus for His sake. That He would erase me completely so that people would only see Jesus and find their way to a new life, rebirth in Christ alone.

I would like to take you on a journey that I have been on lately. It is a curiosity that I want to share because I can see God working in my life with financial stability, and I believe it’s always good to bless others with treasures and encouragement when God is showing me a simple, strong and secure path.

Let’s start by defining sanctification. According to the Bible, sanctification is the process of becoming more righteous and being set apart for holy use. It is a gift from God to those he already loves, and it is a continual process that requires effort, commitment, and personal sacrifice.

I have been listening to a lot of people teaching about financial stability and I keep searching for the first things first. I like math equations. 2+2=4 and I am sure you would agree with me that if there was easy path to financial stability then we would all be walking that path, right?!

What is the first thing I need to do?

All of the secular teachings on financial stability involve getting rich and living your best life. I listen to those things through the lens of the Bible. I am very secure in my faith. There is a spiritually-rich-life waiting for everyone in the Pages of the Good Book. Money cannot buy you what is good – in fact, the love of money is the root of all evil.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

God has placed us here to be good STEWARDS of borrowed objects that belong to Him. I am interested in living in a way that stewards my time and efforts wisely. If we are blessed with the capacity to objectively assess our lives and make wise choices with our finances, then that is living in a Christ-like manner.

Life, however, has its twists and turns, it’s ups and downs and seasons. We are all in different bodies, with different thoughts, different pasts, and different futures. There is one thing that can be shared however, and that is our faith in the ONE TRUE GOD – JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. If we share that, then we share the belief that 2 Timothy 3:16 is our backbone. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right…

Well friends, if you would like to join my journey of financial sanctification, I would love to have you come along with me. I am doing this with the lens of no fear, the way God commanded me to do. I need to seek HIM first and HIS righteousness and all these things will be added unto me.

If you are going to take this journey with me, you need to remember there is no fear in God’s love. He is with us. If we fall, He will help us back up. If we do not take chances in life, we will never succeed. No matter how large the laundry pile is, you have to attack it one fold at a time. So let’s do this. One step at a time.

STEP #1 – READ YOUR BIBLE EVERY MORNING

I never, ever wanted to read my Bible in the morning. Before this new routine, that was inspired by the Holy Spirit, reading my Bible was the last thing I had time for. But now, looking back, I didn’t have time for anything. I had laundry piled up, dirty dishes in the sink, messy bedrooms…what was I doing all day? I didn’t have social media either…honestly, what was I doing?

Prior to my daily morning routine with Jesus, I prayed about it. I knew that starting my day with Jesus was the right thing to do, but I didn’t want to do it. I started praying that God would change the desire of my heart. He did! Miracles happen every day, thank you Jesus. Now, I can’t imagine waking up and not craving this special time with Jesus. It is an essential part of my day. Oh, taste and see that God is good.

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Now that I make time for Jesus every morning, I am way more productive in my day. I am so much more fulfilled and successful in my endeavors. Is that because angels came and did my laundry while I was reading my Bible? No. There is no magical answer to this equation. The simple answer is that God is changing me for good – from the inside out. He is changing my thought process, my desires, my heart. He is giving me inspiration to be better, and the best part is this change is that it is not for me, it’s for HIM.

He knows the thoughts and intent of our hearts. He knows what is best for us.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart Hebrews 4:12

You have to read the Bible every morning, friends. You must know the person of Jesus in order to be filled with HIS WILL and HIS WAY. This is a wonderful and beautiful realization and until you do this first step, all you will be doing is tripping through life.

The Bible is clear. It is not foggy or what if. It is full of pin-point-treasure.

The Bible is an “if” = “then” guide book. If you do this, then that will happen. It is not maybe this will happen, it is a PROMISE

IF you do this = THEN this will happen.

You do not have to search to find the treasures of the Bible, they are clear, visible and ready to be read. Simply ask the Holy Spirit to explain things to you as you read, and you will gain spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Amen, the Bible says this is a Yes and Amen situation. John 14:26 says, But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you

The first thing and only thing I ask from Jesus is for wisdom, understanding and discernment. There is a sanctification process that happens in our Christian walk. A slow but exciting growth pattern that is so beautiful and so Christ-like. If you are a Christian you understand what I am talking about. I love Jesus with my whole heart. I want all things I do to shine in HIS light, not my own. Amen.

Step #1 is new to me. I started this routine on August 20th, 2024. I am only 4 months into this life-changing routine. If you think you are too late to the game, you are wrong. It’s the end of one year and the beginning of a new one. In the last 4 months I have seen so many wonderful things changing for the better in such powerful ways. Start this routine today.

Step #1 – Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and HIS righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.

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Step #2

So the second thing that I have done on this journey of sanctification is acknowledge that wisdom comes from Christ alone. Anything good that happens in my life stems from the only thing that is good inside me. Jesus.

The first thing Jesus gave us in the garden of Eden was choice. We can choose for ourselves – but not others. Choice is an individual sport. You can’t play choice as a team, you must play this game by yourself. You have to choose to make good decisions, but you can play this game with the best coach, Jesus.

I give you my full surrender, Lord. I give you the thoughts and intents of my heart. I want you to guide me and teach me the right way to do life. Help me be painfully aware of my sin, so that I can turn from it before it happens.

Help me be wise Jesus, with everything that you have given me with your generous love. Help me make wise choices with my money and help me use it to help others, to be generous and kind and to not be wasteful. Give me the opportunity to get out of debt, to save and to give my family a secure life that comes from being a good steward of the things you have blessed me with. You want this for me, you desire for me to be wise and to be a good example for my children. You do not desire for me to be a failure, but to win the race with humility and honor. Let all I do glorify you, Jesus, in your awesome name, Amen.

STEP #2 – LIVE BELOW MY MEANS

My husband and I used to eat out almost 5-6 (even more some weeks!) times a week. Food from restaurants tasted delicious, it was nice to sit around the table and chat and then it was super nice for me not to do the dishes or clean up the table. This is a very “American” routine. Convenience is the key. Quick, easy, and on to the next quick and easy thing.

After 2020 (I need to start calling it my drastic awakening – not the sickness name) things just started to taste super gross…and food from restaurants started to make me feel really sick. Over the last 4 years, we have dwindled down to only going to 2 restaurants now, if we need to eat out. Upper Crust Pizza in Oceanside, or In-n-Out Burger. That’s it – and we can feed our whole family for around $40.

Let’s pause and take a quick commercial break – let’s talk about 2020. God never makes mistakes. Isn’t the term 20/20 what we use for perfect vision? 2020 – I needed to wake up and see what was going on right in front of my very eyes. I needed wisdom. I needed to say NO to so many things. Wow. Nothing is ever by accident or coincidence. It’s all with purpose and is so loving and kind. Thank you Jesus.

Back to our regularly scheduled programing,

So if I calculate things correctly – we were spending on average $500-$600 a week on eating at different restaurants. This was essentially paying a bunch of money for some stomach cramps and rushes to the bathroom. That is a ton of money for a lot of gross pain! Could we afford it? Yes, but we were living paycheck to paycheck with pennies left over at the end of the week. Terrible! But I thought we were okay because we were not in debt or using credit cards…we just had no money to save at the end of the week.

We were consuming our savings. yuck.

I discovered the joy of Trader Joes – all the food we can make for pennies on the dollar! Organic, delicious food that takes minutes to prepare at home and doesn’t hurt my tummy. Tacos, spaghetti, homemade pizza, chicken curry, salads, fried chicken, amazing sandwiches, steak and broccoli, fried rice, breakfast for dinner, goo-lash, lasagna, ravioli, mashed potatoes and pork chops… oh man I can go on and on. We also decided as a team, that we would help with after-meal-clean-up. Everyone pitch in – teamwork makes the dream work! yay!

Now there is actually $500-$600 left in our account each week, too. Think about that! That’s a ton of new savings: we have (best case scenario) $31,200 at the end of the year. I’m not kidding. That is a lot of money to us.

How do you define wise financial wealth? I think that you are wealthy if you pay all your expenses and you still have money left over to save. That is wise financial wealth.

My husband would go to Starbucks each day on his way to work, this was costing us the average $10 charge I just spoke about. I realized how to overcome this: it was the routine and the process of the coffee purchase that was the treasure. So, I bought us a really nice coffee maker, a coffee grinder and I keep the pantry stocked with organic coffee beans.

Think about it friends, what kind of water are the coffee shops using to make the coffee? Where are they storing the food? Are there rats in their coffee shop? So many gross things to think about.

At home, we drink Carlsbad Alkaline Water and we filter all the tap water because it tastes so gross to even cook with. Then the coffee beans are fresh and organic and I also purchase “to go” cups for us that costs less than a dollar a day. So, the whole experience mimics the cozy Starbucks feel, but we do the process at home in a healthy and controlled way, and it costs less than a dollar a day. Score!

Let’s do that math really quick – buying a coffee at Starbucks = $3650, making coffee at home $365 – that saves you $3285 a year. Interesting, wise and so fun.

Living below your means does not have to make you miserable. You just have to assess what your life is like – take one day at a time and see what God can help you change when it comes to spending. Dear Lord, please make the thoughts and intents of my heart be wise and good, profitable for my life and for my family.

Food is usually the culprit if we are being honest with ourselves. Think about this doozy of a thought. Food was the medium used by Satan to tempt Eve in the garden and allowed the first sin to occur. Food is indulgence and it is a good example of how sneaky sin is and how it can control our lives. It is a tangible reminder that we need to be fully submissive to Jesus when we ask to be sanctified. Only HE has the power to help us overcome and make good choices. We cannot do this on our own. We need a coach – the BEST coach. We need Jesus.

If you are making extra money each week, each day, then you are able to put a couple extra dollars aside to save and you can put a couple extra dollars into your debt. Seeing savings add up is essential to your confidence. You must see this happen in order to feel fulfilled.

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STEP #3: REPENTANCE

Wow, remember how I told you that I am reading my Bible each morning? There is power in God’s Word and affirmation that comes from being faithful. I read Micah this morning and it totally affirmed Step #1 and Step #2. Praise your name Jesus. You alone are worthy of all glory, and honor and praise. Micah was a prophet of the Old Testament and this book totally makes you stop and reassess life.

Lord, we need your wisdom and we need to have open minds and hearts for what you are guiding us towards and what we need to apply to our lives. Help us be honest and repent, to turn away from our sin and to keep our eyes fully locked on you.

Addiction is a chemical connection to a sin that you physically suffer from or battle. Your battle may be immoral actions, or it may be a psychological sin that is in your mind – a synapse that is connected to something visual. Either way, you are allowing the drug, adrenaline, fuel your life and make decisions for you. This drug is 100% defeated by God if you submit all of its power to Jesus.

Take adrenaline and put it in your hands (we are using our imaginations) look at it for a while. Ask the adrenaline what good it had done for you. If you like what you see, then you are still under its power, and you are not ready to repent. If you don’t like what you see in your hands, then you can give it away. Hold your hands up to heaven. Tell God honestly and without reproach, that you are sorry and you hate your sin. Give your adrenaline to Jesus. He killed it on the cross – once and for all.

Hebrews 10:10-18

¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. ¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

¹⁶ “This is the covenant I will make with them
    after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
    and I will write them on their minds.”^[b]

¹⁷ Then he adds:

“Their sins and lawless acts
    I will remember no more.”^[c]

¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

God is sovereign over all things, for by Him all things were created, in Heaven and on Earth (Colossians 1:16).

There is a very serendipitous warning in Micah when it comes to sin – but it is a warning that exists throughout the Bible – God will bring you to ruin, if you are living in sin. The Bible is so clear, it is and “IF=THEN” Guidebook.

We know – IF you walk off the edge, THEN you will fall. IF you add 2 to the number 2, THEN you will get 4.

The Bible is clear. IF you live in sin, THEN you will be punished. You will be punished, but if you repent and turn away from your sin and ask for forgiveness, then you will be forgiven because GOD is full of grace and mercy. Mercy is the gift of God’s undeserved kindness and compassion.

Therefore, assess life, we know Step #s 1&2 are to Read the Bible and Live Below our Means, but now comes the IF = THEN.

Step #3 is REPENTANCE: You can’t achieve Step #4 if you are not in the right place with Jesus in your life. One of the punishments you see in Micah is eating but never feeling full. If you suffer from this punishment, then you will consume all of your savings, like Dustin and I were doing with our over-indulgent lifestyle of eating at restaurants to the tune of $500-$600 a week.

Proverbs 30:6 – Do not add to his words,
    or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

You deny the power of the Bible, and you cheat yourself from the good life He promises you will have if you simply obey Him. John 15:10 – If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

IF you obey = THEN you will be blessed.

This punishment also prevents you from saving anything of value – Micah 6:14.

You will eat but not be satisfied;
    your stomach will still be empty.^[a]
You will store up but save nothing,
    because what you save^[b] I will give to the sword.

You will try and save your money, but it will come to nothing in the end. All attempts of living life on your own terms will end up in destruction. The fuel you are using is your own ego and it is like putting sand in the gas tank of your vehicle. You will get nowhere and destroy your life in the meantime.

So if you cannot repent of your sin and turn away from living the way you are living and indulging in the sin you knowingly are participating in, you should probably stop reading this book. You will not be able to make it on your own merit. You are judged by the only righteous Judge who sees the thoughts and intent of your heart (Hebrews 4:12). You know that your sin does not equal reward and so you know that you are back to square one. Choice.

So, Step #3 is Repentance. If you cannot repent, you will be consuming your savings and you will not be able to go further. Do not pass GO, and do not collect your $200, you remain in the prison of your choice.

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STEP #4: GIVE TO JESUS FIRST

I am a mom and I can’t imagine not giving my children my best. Even though they do not always give me their best, I always try to give them mine. I love them with a like-Jesus-kind-of-love. This is the only example I could think of to explain the kind of love we have to have for Jesus. It is the greatest earthly example of love that I have in my heart.

God deserves our best. He doesn’t deserve the leftovers or scrapings from our plates. We should be serving Him first and then all the other things will be added unto us. It’s Jesus math! Thank you Randa.

IF you give your best to Jesus first, out of love, THEN you will be blessed. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

Financial stability comes with right thinking. Matthew 25:14-30 – The Parable of the Talents If you store away your riches and do not trust that God will provide for all your needs according to His riches in Glory, then you do not believe the Bible and you are not ready for this journey in the first place. You must go back to Step #1.

God wants us to act in love. His 2 greatest commands were this. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. If you complete these 2 commands, it will be impossible for you to defy the other 10 Commandments.

God does not want us to act in love to satisfy our Salvation. He completed our Salvation on the cross of Calvary – ONCE FOR ALL. We cannot achieve our Salvation by action, we can only express our love for Jesus with our actions. If I completely ignored my children, would that be loving them? If I did not give them my best, would that be loving them? If I didn’t show them with my actions that I love them I would be labelled the worst mom in the world. We cannot do this terrible thing to Jesus, the Author and Creator of our lives. It’s simply wrong.

So, Friends, we need to give to Jesus first. Let’s say you take home $3200 a month. You must give Jesus $10 a day, or whatever the value of a full day of labor would be.

Matthew 17:24-27

 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

 “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

“From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin (double day’s wage for a manual laborer). Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

How interesting that Jesus explains that tariffs are the best way to run a country, not taxes. This is how our country was run by our Founding Fathers and our country was so strong, and isn’t that what Donald Trump is suggesting with his administration?

My husband taught me that tithing to the building of a church is not what our family was going to do. This method made my husband cringe because it was an electronic tithing process and our names were connected to the amount of money we were giving. That pricked the Holy Spirit inside him. My husband taught me that if giving Jesus the best meant doing it without personal credit then we cannot give to a church that can see the amount we are giving. We must be giving to God’s people, not an organization.

Matthew 6:3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

Zechariah 7:9-10: Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.

James 1:27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world

Job 31:16-18: Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows? Have I been stingy with my food and refused to share it with orphans? No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father, and all my life I have cared for widows.

Acts 4:32-35 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.  With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

My husband’s personal conviction is giving to Jesus means giving to those in need, being generous with the gifts God has given us because they are not our own, but borrowed objects that belong to Jesus first. If we really believe in Jesus math, which we do. Because he knows and cares about all the hairs on my head:

Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

And because God provided food for Elijah by sending ravens to feed him:

Elijah Fed by Ravens

^{1 Kings 17:2-16} Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”

So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

We believe that our tithing is giving to people and not establishments that can see and judge our love for the Lord. We are to be judged by Christ alone. Wouldn’t it be easy as humans to set a nice chair and to give extra attention to someone who gives you a lot of money? Is that somewhere in the Bible? I believe it is!

James 2:3-4 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

We are secure in our faith and we desire to be humble most of all. We seek Jesus’ love above all things and we want all of our actions to be considered loving in His eyes alone. Money is something I desire to be a good steward of. I do not want money to be a means of being set aside by others and I absolutely do not want to be judged by it.

You can tithe to the church with dollar bills privately. You can put your money in an envelope and put in in a collection box at church when no one is looking. This is a way you can give to your church building to help out with keeping the lights on so you can read your Bible while you are at school. This is a very generous and kind way of giving to Jesus. Using your tithe to credit yourself at the end of the year against your taxes….well, I’ll let the Holy Spirit convict you on that.

I’m not in the business of telling anyone what to do. I love sharing the amazing ways that God is working in my life. This is a fantastic testimony of the sanctification process of the Holy Spirit. When we give Him full surrender, He is able to do great things. Praise you Jesus, great things you have done.

I loved the Proverb I read this morning in my devotions. Do you know what proverb means? Webster defines Proverb like this: a form of the verb do used to avoid repetition of a verb (such as do in “act as I do“) If you ever want to know what to DO to make Jesus happy, how to love him best, simply read Proverbs – and hide these actions in your heart. You will know what God expects from you as a Christian.

Proverbs 30:8-9

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.

I know what is best for me, and that is to TRUST JESUS in everything. Give Him my best first and He will always take care of me. He will never leave me or forsake me. Hopefully you are enjoying the fruit of your labor of love. I pray that you are fully submitted to Jesus and that your walk with Him is full of Joy! I pray that you give him all of your anxiety and fear and see that He is good, and the world is bad.

The way the world wants you to do things is so bonkers. The way that God wants you to do things is so full of peace and wisdom. God has already given you His best. His one and only Son. You are saved by GRACE. So lean on Him and do what He says. Do it with a happy heart. See what blessings pour out when you simply obey. But how can you obey if you don’t do Step #1? You can’t. You need to know Him first. Love Him first. Give Him your best.

Step #4 is giving Jesus my best, not because I have to, but because I want to. Because I love Him and He is worthy. I love to love Him. It brings me so much joy to do this.

This journey to Financial Stability is going to make you RICH I tell you, RICH! But it is not going to be by the standards of the world. I am so sorry to tell you that. You will be rich in wisdom from Jesus. You will love Him better. You will seek Him first because you dedicated yourself to Step #1 and you see how rich the sanctification of the Spirit is. You will let go of doing life your way and you will do things the way God wants you to do them. You will give Him your best first.

Step #4 is complete..

STEP #5: What is Currency?

Do you know what Fiat Currency is? Nope, I didn’t either until my very wise, intelligent and handsome husband explained this shocking fact to me. Fiat – let’s battle this word first, what does it mean? The definition of fiat in light of the Bible is this – The word “fiat” comes from the Latin “let it be done.” Mary’s “fiat” was saying yes to God, or “let it be done to me” as it is written in Luke 1:38. To know your “fiat” is to know your “yes.” What are you saying yes to?

So, if fiat means “let it be done” – what does fiat currency mean? “Let it be done” dollar bills…well, kind folks, it’s starting to make sense. Friends, fiat currency is money that simply just says so. “Do as I say, and not as I do.” This piece of paper means that my work is worth “X” amount of dollars, for no other reason than – because I say so. This currency proclaims to the public – blah! (in a very sing-song voice). It was the originator of the widely popular insane proclamation of “My Truth” and “I’m Offended”.

You see my friend, anything that is not based on something of utmost value and substantiated and quantitative (something you can calculate) measure is worth nothing. How disappointing. But, this is what we have to work with now friends. This is it. Fiat currency. A piece of paper or a coin that simply just says “let it be done”.

Let me insert this thwack of knowledge as well, and add a bit of spice to the insanity of fiat currency while I am on a roll…did you all know this? As of 2023, it costs the U.S. Mint approximately 3.07 cents to produce a single penny, which is more than its face value of 1 cent. ¹

Let’s scratch our heads and jaw-drop in horror in a very choreographed and shocking manner. We all say together in unison “that makes no cents” and wait for the laughter and applause at our whit and humor.

Crickets? I WISH.

This is such a joke and it’s not funny but it is because this way of calculating wealth has been going on since President Richard Nixon adopted fiat currency in the United States in 1971. He did this by ending the convertibility of the US dollar to gold. 

Let’s do some real stuff for a second – math. 2025-1971 = 54 years of nonsense. Or of NONCENTS.

Please pay me $5 for this cup of 100% disposable coffee because I say “let it be done”, not because there is something of value behind the paper you are exchanging. It is simply hot air (and hot liquid) and a whole bunch of trust in an institution that really has proven time and time and time and time again to let everyone down. Who will never let us down? Let’s say this one in unison as well, “Jesus”. Thank you. I needed some truth to stand on as I started to sink into a deep depression with all the bonkers I just spoke.

Jesus, name above all names, Father and Friend, Savior of the World – Creator God. Thank you, Jesus, for who you are. YOU alone are worthy of all Glory and HONOR and Praise. Amen.

Let’s read the Bible and build up our appetites and our spiritual wallets with some love and some truth. In the second chapter of the Good Book who is alive and well and lives and reigns forever, it tells us about true wealth and about life in God’s Garden:

Genesis 2 – ⁸ The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. ⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² And the gold of that land is good.

Interesting right, and so impactful – God told us right away what was valuable to men. Walking with him, what was good to eat, where fresh water was and where the gold rush was.

HUMMMM…

What do you think about Nixon taking us off the GOLD Standard? Did we chat about gold standard yet? NO? Oh my goodness…I am so sorry. Let’s chat about that for a second

The gold standard is a monetary system that ties the value of a country’s currency to a set amount of gold. The government guarantees that the currency can be exchanged for gold at that fixed price. 

As of February 9, 2025, the price of gold in the United States was $2,874.77 per ounce. Num, Num little piggy, there is almost $3,000 of real value getting plopped inside your head…

why a piggy bank do you ask? me too – The term “piggy bank” comes from the word “pygg”, which was a type of clay used to make pots and jars in the Middle Ages. The words “pygg” and “pig” eventually came to be pronounced the same, and potters began making “pygg” pots in the shape of pigs. 

STEP #6: Don’t Sell – (Borrow till you die.)

So, now we know that the paper and coins we use are completely “my truth” and have no value at all, AND are not built on solid ground. Should we panic or should we seek wisdom? Good choice, wisdom speaks, “We have to start thinking this – “WHAT DO I DO?!?!?”

I have the answer, don’t worry. But first, let’s seek Biblical truth.

The Wise and Foolish Builders

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Build your life upon the SOLID ROCK – On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.

Matthew 25:14-30

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

¹⁴ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,^[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ³⁰ And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Notice how our Instruction Manuals for Life tell us that the value on earth is found in Gold. Did you ever read this in Genesis? God specifically declares where the good gold is found.

Genesis 2:11-12

¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there.

Nixon, Nixon, Nixon – shame on you for taking us off the Gold Standard. But the historical paper trail of guilt is distributed to so many people. The U.S. effectively left the gold standard in two phases. President Franklin D. Roosevelt suspended the gold standard for domestic transactions in 1933, and President Richard Nixon ended the international convertibility of the dollar to gold in 1971, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. This transition moved the U.S. to a fiat money system. 

Did all of you know that the removal of the gold standard and the introduction of federal income tax and the federal reserve – happened all at the same time in 1913?!?!?!?

The 16th Amendment fundamentally changed the way the federal government is funded. Before the amendment, the government primarily relied on tariffs and excise taxes. Today, individual federal income taxes are the largest source of government revenue. 

ugh, we could easily find ourselves lost down that rabbit hole, and get super frustrated at all those insane decisions couldn’t we, but I am going to redirect and get right to the point of this chapter.

So – I titled this chapter, don’t sell. You are asking, don’t sell what?
Answer: Don’t sell your house!

If you own your home and you have equity on your home, that is money in your pocket. That is something you can use when you retire to pay for your living expenses and those expenses will not be passed on to your children.

How do we do this?

Put your home under a trust. – This place says the will do this for $350

Next, wait.

Wait until you retire – during that time – maybe it’s 30 years, well your mortgage is paid off and you have a title on your home. Maybe your home is worth a million dollars? yup, well that home is your piggy bank that will appreciate value, especially here in Southern Cali close to the beach – we struck GOLD!

We can leverage – or borrow – against our piggy bank until we die, $300,000 here and $300,000 there, and just keep borrowing…. do, de do…. live, live, live, borrow, borrow, borrow…then die and see Jesus! yay!!

Okay, so we are dead and we maxed out our million dollar value – which will be so much more in the future – but right now we will only use a million dollars just for our picture painting right now. So we are dead and we max out our money on our home – why is that good? now our kids have to pay off all that money we borrowed!! Why is that good?

Because it is! Lawyers say so….

The step-up in basis applies to property held in a revocable trust because the property is included in the grantor’s estate for tax purposes. (see link above) This ensures that the beneficiaries, like children, enjoy the same tax benefit as they would if they had inherited the property outright.

In normal people talk, this means we borrowed money against our house while we lived it up in retirement, travelling, making awesome memories, and living for the Lord. Then, we died, and we see Jesus, (I said yay before, but I have to say YAY again about that). Now our kids on earth, and they are still raising kids, and living for Jesus, and being disciples… So what we did is this:

1. We put our home under a trust,
2. and made sure that our children were the beneficiaries,
3. so when we die – they get our home and
4. all that debt we accrued by living it up,
5. well, it completely disappeared and
6. they inherited our home
7. free and clear.

Our debt disappeared, and our children receive a free gift.

Big sigh, breathe, Katie, Breathe…. What does that reflect?

Is that a Godly way to manage your money? You bet. Sound just about right to me. Thank you Jesus for the wisdom you share with us. Thank you for taking away our debt of sin, and for loving us so much that you wash us clean with the blood you poured out for us on the cross. Thank you for giving us the free gift of eternal life – that is only found in you. You are so awesome Jesus. So awesome.

In conclusion – Don’t sell your stability. Don’t sell your home. Keep it. Use it to bless your kids and yourselves. Borrow till you die.

Step #7 Where Are You Spending Your Money? AKA – Stop Spontaneous Spending.

I did, and I REFUSED to look at it. This knowledge would convict me and I did not want to be convicted – not about my spending habits. ugh.

Well, thanks to church, and how God is growing me – I looked. I looked, and I cried inside like a hurt little kid.

Let me confess. It is so dumb…I know I don’t have to do this online shopping garbage. During the lockdown in 2020, I was so angry at Amazon and big business that I stopped shopping on their websites – completely for about 2 or 3 years. I know I can 100% stop doing this. What breaks my heart is the indulgence of spending that I was allowing myself to be involved in.

So, I deleted the debit card number on my Amazon Account. I can no longer can just blindly take my money and burn it at whim. This was my big step towards freedom from spontaneous spending, and a wonderful step towards sanctifying my financial future.

Click, spend, ship, buy, mindless addictive shopping is so ungodly and so hilarious. Ha! I’m done!

So, I’m on day 2 – of the rest of my life – no more online shopping. I am going to buy in stores, or not buy at all. This decision doesn’t affect me – my kids see this behavior every single day when another Amazon package arrives at the door and they go and pick it up and bring it in the house. This is almost a daily routine for them. The flow of packages and cardboard is endless at my house. What about you? Can you relate?

What we teach our kids is what they see, what we do, not what we say! Are we clanging like it says in 1 Corinthians 13:1? “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Am I loving my children by setting a good example for them – how they should be doing life in the future?

I want to be better, to do better, to teach better and to love best. The best way to do this is to put more effort into my life. To do the hard things instead of choosing the easy way – the easy way always ends up being the hardest way in the end, and most often leads to disaster.

The massive clear breath I can take when I face the convictions with the power of the Holy Spirit and go head-on into the battles is overwhelming. I know God is fighting these battles for me and it is such a wonderful life. He gets all the glory. Not me. He loved me first. Now, I just get to love Him back – and actions speak louder than words – In Jesus’ name, amen.