we can afford anything.

The other night my husband and I sat down to go over our budget and I made a few jokes about how stress-inducing it was. Maybe that sounds familiar to you, but the truth is - talking about money really ISN'T so stressful for us these days. It's not because we're rolling in dough and it's not because the numbers always add up just so, it's because we've learned one seriously valuable lesson in the last few years.

We can afford anything.

Before you get the wrong idea or try to hit us up for cash, I should back up just a little. Our family has absolutely known poverty. I mean, real financial poverty. We've had seasons of very, very little and the economic downturn hit us hard a few years ago. Right now we're in a season of seriously needing to trust the Lord with our finances - as part of our income comes from fundraising because my husband is a church planter and the other part comes from our online business. So how we can afford anything? Well, what I really mean is...

We can afford anything the Lord wants us to.
And you can too.

I'm not getting all prosperity gospel on you and telling you that you can envision a million bucks and have it the next day. I AM telling you that if you love and serve Jesus, your Heavenly Father owns everything in this big, huge world and He can choose to resource you with WHATEVER He chooses for you to have, regardless of your bank account or credit score. What we can afford isn't a matter of how much money we have, it's really a matter of what the Lord wants us to have and how we're willing to make it work to have it.

For us, we're not willing to go into debt to have things we want, but we absolutely ARE willing to work a little extra or cut back in other areas for something that feels right for our family. So when we approach our budget, you'll rarely hear us telling one another "Oh, we can't afford that" and we try not to speak that over our children either. We don't want them to trust our bank account for provision, but our heavenly Father. Because if we're all seeking first His Kingdom anyhow, the chances are - our desires are lined up with what He wants us to have.

I pray that as women of Influence - we'd all have this mentality. Not a false gospel that says "if you work hard, good things will happen and you'll have all the things" but rather a gospel-centered view of money that says, "I seek God's will for my life and know that nothing is off limits to my Father. He wants good for me and He will absolutely provide and make a way for me".

Some verses to dwell on here:
Psalm 50:10-12
Matthew 6:26
Matthew 6:33

Are you wanting to attend The Influence Conference, but you're worried about money? 

Here are a few tips: 

1. Pray! If the Lord wants you there, it could cost a billion dollars and you could still afford it.

2.  Think about where you can redistribute money from in your budget to make this investment for yourself/ your business/ your blog/ your family. Maybe cutting out Starbucks trips or fast food with the kids for a few months is the very investment you need to make.

3. Think through ways to earn money to go towards your ticket/expenses and brainstorm with other gals in the network. Hop on the forums if you're a network member or us the #InfluenceConf hashtag on twitter/facebook/instagram to brainstorm your way there.

One more thought: 
We wouldn't be surprised if the Lord isn't prompting some of the women in our community to hold their hands open and be generous and sponsor some other gals for their conference tickets. Maybe some of pray and ask the Lord what we can afford, he answers with - we can afford to be generous.  If this is you - email us at conference@theinfluencenetwork.com.