Thank you for tuning in again to the Transformed podcast! Today we welcome Matt Bell back to the program. Matt is a personal finance writer and speaker.

He is the author of three books: Money, Purpose, Joy (September 2008), Money and Marriage: A Complete Guide for Engaged and Newly Married Couples which was published in March of 2011 and Money Strategies for Tough Times, which we will talk about today.

Matt has been quoted in U.S. News and World Report, the Chicago Tribune, and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, has written for ChristianityToday.com, writes the Matt About Money blog, and has been a guest on several nationally syndicated radio talk shows.

Matt is a return guest to Transformed! His first interview about Money, Purpose, Joy can be found here.

In today’s episode, we explore how you can successfully navigate the challenging times we live in and how to get to a better place with your personal finances.

We know this episode will be a great help as Matt talks with Matt about …

• How to get past the financial crisis
• Find some breathing space
• Ditch the debt, and
• Position yourself for lasting success

Many of these topics are from Matt’s book, Money Strategies for Tough Times.

In these tough times, Matt encourages you to pick up a copy of Matt Bell’s book, Money Strategies for Tough Times. We know this resource will help you take charge of your financial life.

Matt talks about home mortgage help from the government. Click here for that website.

We are giving away TWO copies of Matt’s book, Money Strategies for Tough Times as well! Check out these simple rules and tell your friends.

To be eligible for a FREE copy …

1.     Just sign up for the Eagles In Leadership blog notifications (Right side of this web page)

2.     Make a comment below this post on the web page indicating your desire for the book and how you would envision using it.

3.     Deadline for the free copies will be September 15^th.

Winners will be notified after the contest concludes.

Artwork Credit: lacy.obeyingthetruth.com

Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general.

Proverbs – Becoming a Virtuous Wife (Proverbs 31:10-31)

As we wrap up the book of Proverbs we come to one of the mist exciting passages in the Old Testament. While many speak of the denigration of women in Bible times, this passage shows us that when that happened, it was NOT God’s will or desire.

As we look carefully into the virtues of this ancient woman, we see many of the desires of their contemporary counterparts – and a lesson for husbands as well. The Biblical term for this position is “home manager,” but do not look at that disparagingly. It is obvious to any, except perhaps the casual or bigoted observer, that this position was one of great power and authority!

In Biblical days it was “all hands on deck” to bring about the prosperity and dominion of the family. Rightly understood, the husband would work with his partner to extend their profits and prospects. This meant giving the virtuous woman the “keys to their kingdom,” allowing her to do what today would seem unheard of in the normal marriage! Consider the “careers” of this model woman, from the Old Testament book of Proverbs – the book of wisdom – and learn, if you will from them for your own prosperity and dominion in your community! She was …

• A trusted partner in the family business! (31:11)
• A commodity broker! (31:13)
• A manual laborer!  (31:13)
• An importer of goods!  (31:14)
• A 5-star chef!  (31:15)
• An employer and staff manager!  (31:15)
• A realtor!  (31:16)
• An investor!  (31:16)
• A fitness enthusiast!  (31:17)
• A retailer!  (31:18)
• A clothier!  (31:19, 24)
• A philanthropist!  (31:20)
• A woman of wealth!  (31:21-22)
• A political aid!  (31:23)
• A valued counselor! (31:25-26)
• A hard-working C. O. O.!  (31:27)
• A blessed mother!  (31:28)
• A praised wife! (31:29)
• A godly woman!  (31:30)
• A community leader!  (31:31)

After you recover from the impact of these realities, one this is for sure: Those who place women as second-class citizens through their faith, are truly misguided and mistaken as to their potential and possibility as joint-heirs of all God longs to provide for them!

It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible.

© 2011 Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, All rights reserved.

For daily insights into the passage we are reading together each day, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.

You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.

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Host a Reaching Your Community In Your Generation Seminar!

The world around us changes approximately every 18 months! Such change brings great challenges to our mission. Eagles In Leadership has designed a weekend to help you energize your congregation or organization to fulfill the Great Commission in your community. You can bring this weekend to your church or organization!

The weekend revolves around four key messages:

• Help! My Community Is Changing!
• What’s Your Dream for Your Church? (And How Do You Reach It?)
• Healthy Churches Grow!
• Reaching Your Community In Your Generation! (It’s All About the Mission!)

You can learn more here.

Trusting God is a process of removing our self-dependence. When we desire to trust God more, he initiates an amazing transformation, a ‘purging process’ which Pastor Jim Cymbala describes in his book, “Break Through Prayer” …

“This purging process rids us of self-dependence so that our faith can remain solely in God. It refines us of self-indulgence so we can walk in holiness. It deepens our surrender to God’s will in preference to other more convenient options. And the experience reminds us that God’s grace is sufficient as we wait for the fulfillment of his word. We must accept that many breakthroughs are not instantaneous. Instead, they place us in the refiner’s fire. Yet the Lord’s purpose is not to diminish but to abundantly bless us in the end!”

As we complete our series ‘The Trust Test’, we will also finish understanding the ways in which we can learn how to trust God more completely from our study of Proverbs 3.  The series wraps up with a message entitled, “The Trust Test – Part 2.”

As the hearts of a nation grew increasingly fearful back in October of 2008, Pastor Matt continued to encourage the people of First Baptist Church of Palos Verdes, California to step out in faith and demonstrate their trust in God.

“Fighting for your time, your place, your voice, or your importance will always hinder your effectiveness in the great house of God. If you are faithful with what belongs to somebody else, God will give you’re your own. The testing ground is when you are being a loyal steward over what belongs to someone else. These are the silent years, the needful precious, unseen years. The silent years bring a depth of devotion that cannot be found in ‘quick fixes.’ Silent years that are done well build a foundation of trust between yourself and the Lord that is not easily shaken.” As Darlene Zschech

In Part 3 of our series ‘The Trust Test’ we start understanding the ways that we can learn to trust God more completely.

Our study of Proverbs 3 continues with a message entitled, “The Trust Test – Part 1.”

As the darkness of the financial meltdown in the United States grew, Pastor Matt continued to encourage the people of First Baptist Church of Palos Verdes, California on October 19th, 2008 to deepen their trust in God, despite the torrent of bad news.

Jerry Bridges reminds us, “Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act of the soul by which we choose to lay hold of the promises of God and cling to them despite the fear that at times seeks to overwhelm us.”

Continuing our 4-part series entitled ‘The Trust Test’, Dr. Matthew Lee Smith digs deeper into Proverbs 3 to discover the fact: We can trust God! 

We continue exploring God’s faithfulness from Proverbs 3 today with a message entitled, “Trust – the Key to Successful Living.”

As the waves of recession brought deepening numbers to the stock market back on October 12th, 2008, Pastor Matt encouraged the people of First Baptist Church of Palos Verdes, California to trust God, despite the desperate headlines.

This is a special iTunes/iPod ENHANCED podcast. This podcast contains the PowerPoint slides that Pastor Matt uses during his sermons so you can follow along in iTunes or with your iPod. You can subscribe to this podcast by clicking here or you can subscribe via iTunes.

Foreclosures, bankruptcies, and dwindling retirement accounts seem to be all the news these days. Everyone seems to be hurting these days. The recession has tested the limits of many people’s faith.

Dr. Matthew Lee Smith encourages our hearts to ‘trust in the Lord with all our hearts’ in the midst of these turbulent times as we begin a 4-part series entitled ‘The Trust Test.’

Today we begin exploring God’s faithfulness from Proverbs 3 with a message entitled, “Trusting God in Turbulent Times.”

This message was first given at First Baptist Church of Palos Verdes, California on October 5^th, 2008 – just as the waves of recession were sinking major financial institutions across the nation.

Foreclosures, bankruptcies, and dwindling retirement accounts seem to be all the news these days. Everyone seems to be hurting these days. The recession has tested the limits of many people’s faith.

Dr. Matthew Lee Smith encourages our hearts to ‘trust in the Lord with all our hearts’ in the midst of these turbulent times as we begin a 4-part series entitled ‘The Trust Test.’

Today we begin exploring God’s faithfulness from Proverbs 3 with a message entitled, “Trusting God in Turbulent Times.”

This message was first given at First Baptist Church of Palos Verdes, California on October 5^th, 2008 – just as the waves of recession were sinking major financial institutions across the nation.