July 21, 2025 • 12 mins
Let’s dive into the juicy stuff! Today, we’re all about how envisioning your future can actually pull you closer to financial freedom. Sounds wild, right? But hear me out—when you picture that ideal life, it’s like a magnet for your motivation. We’re talking about how having a clear vision can turn your daily grind into something way more meaningful and even joyful. So, if you’ve been feeling like freedom is just a distant dream, stick around because we’ve got some killer tips to help you connect your daily hustle to your bigger purpose. Grab your favorite drink, kick back, and let’s get this show on the road as we explore how you can “future-pace” your freedom and live your ideal intentional life.
Check out the full podcast episode here
Imagine cruising through life, budgeting like a champ and slowly but surely making progress, but still feeling like freedom is just a mirage on the horizon. That’s the vibe we’re tackling today—how to pull that ideal life a little closer. We dive deep into the idea of ‘future pacing’ your freedom, which might sound fancy, but really, it’s all about having a vision that pulls you towards living with purpose, joy, and a whole lot less financial shame. We talk about how having a clear picture of what you want helps make those boring budgeting sessions feel a bit more sacred and less like a chore. After all, without vision, we drift. So, let’s grab a cup of coffee and sketch out that dream life we all want, because who doesn’t want to live intentionally and break free from the daily grind?
Chapters:
- 00:13 - Bringing Freedom Closer: The Power of Imagination
- 01:11 - Vision and Purpose in Financial Freedom
- 05:15 - Envisioning Your Financial Future
- 05:50 - Envisioning Your Ideal Life
- 09:37 - Aligning Habits with Higher Callings
- 10:42 - Starting with Vision
Takeaways:
- Budgeting and saving are essential steps, but true freedom can feel out of reach sometimes.
- Imagining your ideal life can help bridge the gap between your dreams and reality.
- Having a vision gives purpose to your financial discipline and makes the daily grind worthwhile.
- Without a clear vision, it's easy to drift through life without purpose or joy.
- Writing down your goals and key scenes can make your vision more tangible and motivating.
- Taking small actions towards your vision can lead to greater financial freedom and fulfillment.
Links referenced in this episode:
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Submit your questions or ideas for future shows - email us at
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(01:47):
You're budgeting, you'resaving, you're making progress. But
if you're honest, does freedomstill feel far off? Like just far
away at this point? Like thefinish line is always just out of
reach? What if imagining yourideal life could actually bring that
freedom closer? Well, todaywe're exploring what it means to
future pace your freedom soyou can live with vision, purpose
(02:10):
and joy. Starting right now.This is Financially Confident Christian,
your daily dose of gospel,grounded insight and faith driven
tips to help you break thecycle of financial shame with confidence.
Hey, welcome back toFinancially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph and I am so gladyou're here. This is the show where
we answer that question thatreshapes your money and reshapes
(02:33):
your mindset. And that's howcan I become a financially confident
Christian? And we'recontinuing our series today, beyond
the Budget, Finding financialfreedom through intentional living.
Now, yesterday we redefinedwealth as just being more than money.
If you missed the show, I'mgoing to encourage you because I
talked all about relationshipsand community and I'm going to tell
you right now got a lot offeedback on that show already. So
(02:56):
I'm going to encourage you tocheck it out if you missed it. And
today we're casting a vision.So we're going to explore how your
future can pull you forward.Yes, you heard me right. If you have
a vision for your future, itactually can pull you forward. Let
me paint a picture for you.Just think about this for a second.
You're doing all the rightthings. You're budgeting, you're
(03:18):
tithing, you're cuttingspending and you're reducing debt.
But still, that day in and dayout grind, that dream of peace, that
dream of purpose and thatdream of freedom, many times it seems
like it's just years away. Andthat daily grinding, if you're putting
in the reps like I'm puttingin right now doing my exercise routine
(03:40):
every day, if you're puttingin the reps with your finances, that
daily grind will wear youdown. And it's so easy to lose your
focus and you start to wonder,hey, Ralph, is this even worth it?
And see, without a vision topull you forward, the journey loses
its joy. It truly does. Itloses its joy. Unless you've got
(04:00):
a vision that can pull you tothat point of staying in it day in
and day out. Well, here's thething. Vision gives purpose to discipline.
I'm going to say that againbecause I think it's so important
that you understand this.Vision gives purpose to Discipline.
See, without vision, without aclear understanding of where you're
(04:22):
trying to go, the effort todaily routine just becomes that,
it becomes routine. But withvision, every small step becomes
sacred. Well, let's talkingabout sacred, let's look at the scriptures.
Let's look at the book ofProverbs, chapter 29, verse 18. And
it says this. Where there isno vision, the people perish. But
(04:44):
he that keepeth the law happyis he. What a great, what a great
verse. And it ties exactly towhat I was talking about today. Where
there is no vision, the peopleperish. See, without vision. And
I'm gonna, I'm gonna lay thison you right now because I think
it's so important to reallygrasp this. And you're like, Ralph,
(05:04):
where are you going with this?But I really believe this. Without
vision, we just drift, we'rejust drifting. But with that vision,
I'm going to use a power wordhere. I truly believe that we can
thrive. Let's get back intothe word. Look at the book of Habakkuk.
And this is chapter two, versetwo. And says this. Then the Lord
(05:28):
replied, write down therevelation and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run withit. And I just thought that was,
I don't really quote that bookof the Bible very often, but when
I was preparing for today'sshow, I was like, that is perfect.
See, it's not just aboutprophecy. That's part of it, but
(05:49):
it's about clarity and it'sabout action. Okay, now you're thinking,
Ralph, how does that apply?Well, here's how it applies. True
financial planning to truefinancial stewardship is more than
math. And if you're going tobe effective in it, it's much more
than math. It's a mission. Andsee, when you future patient, you
(06:10):
partner with God's vision foryour life. And when your budget serves
your calling, your motivationgrows. And when your motivation grows,
big secret here, freedomfollows. Like, hey, great, that's
perfect. That's what I want todo. Now what can we do about this?
(06:32):
I want you to create a vividpicture of your financially free,
intentional life. Just putthat picture in your mind. What does
that look like? What's thatpicture look like? Being financially
free and intentional aboutyour spending decisions. And then
take one small action towardsthat vision this week. Because this
(06:52):
is about connecting your dailydiscipline. You're doing it, you're
putting into reps, but this isabout connecting your daily discipline
to your God given destiny. Sohere's your one action item for today.
Your one challenge, if youwill, for today. I want you again
to envision your ideal life.Take a few minutes today, find a
quiet space, close your eyesand just picture yourself five, maybe
(07:17):
seven, maybe ten years fromnow. I really want you to get this
in your mind. What are youdoing each day? What does your day
look like? Who are you with?How do you spend your time? What
brings you peace? What bringsyou joy? What brings you fulfillment?
So that's the first step.Envision that ideal life and just
(07:40):
picture yourself what thatlooks like. And then I want you to
do is I want you to write downthree or four or five key scenes
from that. Be specific and Idare you to do this. Be emotional
about it, because I think ifyou can tie specificity and emotion
into it, it will really paintthis beautiful picture. I'll give
you a couple examples. Likemaybe for you, your vision is giving
(08:02):
generously without fear. Youwant to be able to help people. You
want to be able to supportmissionaries or support your church,
whatever that looks like foryou, without fear, without worrying
about that scarcity. Maybe foryou, it's traveling debt free to
serve on mission trips. You'relike, Ralph, you know what I've always
wanted to do? I've alwayswanted to be that one that could
raise my hand and say, yes,I'll go, Lord. Maybe that's what
(08:25):
your vision looks like. Maybefor you it's simply working fewer
hours so you can be presentwith your family. Maybe right now
your kids are getting to theage where they're starting to have
a family, they're owning.You're like, Ralph, I'd really like
to have time with mygrandkids. So my vision is working
fewer hours so I can spendtime with them. Or maybe for you,
(08:46):
you've got this big vision ofrunning a business that reflects
your faith. So I just want youto take time and really write down
three to five key scenes, whatthat looks like for you. And then
I want you to just pick onealigned action for this week. Ask
yourself this simple question.What small step today supports that
(09:07):
vision? You know, maybe foryou it's making that extra debt payment
so you can get that margin.You're not so worried about being
in debt, which means you maynot have to work as hard later. You
may be able take that time offfor the grandkids. Or maybe for you,
you want to have a biggeremergency fund or you want to have
a sinking fund to save forsomething. So starting a new savings
goal, maybe for you, that ideaof running your own business not
(09:31):
having to work that 9 to 5 andreport to work for somebody else
is important. So for you,maybe research a skill or learn a
new side business, or maybefor you, you just want to live more
intentionally so maybe sayingno to a time waster so you can pursue
a deeper calling. Maybe youhear the Lord speaking to you right
now and he wants you to dosomething deeper. And you just have
(09:53):
to. You have to find time. Youhave to find margin to do it. So
you want to say no to thosetime wasters. And I hope right now
you're feeling how this helps,because it's going to reconnect you
to your why. See, it's allabout the why. If you want to live
an intentional financial orjust in general intentional life,
you've got to connect to yourwhy. That's what makes that daily
(10:15):
grind, makes it work everyday. Because if you don't have a
why, I'm going to tell youright now, you're not going to do
it. I use that analogy. Myexercise, my why is I'm a type 2
diabetic. I want to get off ofinsulin. I want to get off of medication.
You know, about four or fiveyears ago, I had my A1C tested. It
was over 13. Well, just twoweeks ago, it was down to 7.3. So
(10:40):
in my mind, I see this vision.I see this vision of going to the
doctor and the doctor saying,Ralph, guess what? You're no longer
a diabetic anymore. And see,that motivates me. That motivates
me to watch what I eat. Thatmotivates me to exercise every day.
It motivates me in that dailygrind. And it boosts my motivation,
(11:00):
it boosts my joy. I'm soexcited to see that I'm making progress.
And it turns that dailyroutine into worship because I'm
doing it for a purpose. I'mdoing it because God is calling me
to be healthy. God is callingme to be able to do things. Maybe
that's take emissions trips,or maybe that's be around for my
grandkids. I don't have anygrandkids yet, but that's going to
(11:22):
happen eventually. And the bigreason that this works is it aligns
your habits with your highercalling. That's what it's really
all about. It's making thosedaily habits, that daily grind, align
with your higher calling.Well, how about we pray together?
Heavenly Father, we just thankyou for dreams and the callings you've
(11:43):
placed inside of us. Lord, ourdreams forgive us when we forget
them, Lord. And when we getcaught up in the day to day and we
lose sight of the vision thatyou gave us, that clear vision that
you've given us for our life,that you've imprinted on our heart
today, Lord, just give usfresh clarity. Help us to imagine
the future you're calling ustowards and then help us to take
(12:03):
faithful steps to walk in thatdirection. And Lord, we just ask
that you would help us makeevery financial decision, serve a
greater purpose, let everyhabit reflect your glory. And Lord,
may we move towards peace,maybe move towards purpose. And may
we move towards bonus. And weask this in boldness, in confidence.
(12:24):
In Jesus name. Amen, friend.Freedom begins with vision. I'm going
to say that again because it'sso important that you understand
that today I could haverenamed this, this title of this
particular show, Freedombegins with Vision. But it does.
It begins with vision. If youwant to walk in your calling, you've
(12:45):
got to see it first. Yougotta, you gotta picture it. You
gotta paint that canvas. Sotoday I want to encourage you, take
time to dream with God, takethat one bold step, because your
future, it's not far off. Andit can start right now. It can start
today. Speaking of starting, Iwould really encourage you if you're
(13:08):
getting value from this show,I would love it if you would share
the show. You can send yourfriends, send your neighbors, maybe
send some family members andsay, hey, listen, I catch this daily
podcast and it's reallyhelping me grow in my faith. It's
helping me really focus on myfinances. The best way to do that
is just point them tofinanciallyconfidentchristian.com and
now listen, while they'rethere, they can also pick up a copy
(13:30):
of my book. It's a free copy.It's called Mastering Your Finances.
It's a brief book, but man, itis super impactful to helping somebody
get started on that path tobeing financially confident. And
you can get that book by goingto financiallyconfidentchristian.com/master.
Now tomorrow we're going tohave a powerful talk on legacy. Yeah,
we're going to talk about whatyou leave behind for God's kingdom.
(13:52):
A lot of people get hung up onthe will and all that stuff, but
I'm going way beyond thattomorrow. So I'm going to encourage
you to check it out. And untilthen, I just encourage you right
now, stay intentional, stayfaith filled and stay financially
confident. You can do this. Ihave confidence in you, have confidence
in yourself. Stay financiallysavvy. God bless you. And you have
(14:14):
a great day.
You're budgeting, you'resaving, you're making progress. But
if you're honest, does freedomstill feel far off? Like just far
away at this point? Like thefinish line is always just out of
reach? What if imagining yourideal life could actually bring that
freedom closer? Well, todaywe're exploring what it means to
future pace your freedom soyou can live with vision, purpose
(02:10):
and joy. Starting right now.This is Financially Confident Christian,
your daily dose of gospel,grounded insight and faith driven
tips to help you break thecycle of financial shame with confidence.
Hey, welcome back toFinancially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph and I am so gladyou're here. This is the show where
we answer that question thatreshapes your money and reshapes
(02:33):
your mindset. And that's howcan I become a financially confident
Christian? And we'recontinuing our series today, beyond
the Budget, Finding financialfreedom through intentional living.
Now, yesterday we redefinedwealth as just being more than money.
If you missed the show, I'mgoing to encourage you because I
talked all about relationshipsand community and I'm going to tell
you right now got a lot offeedback on that show already. So
(02:56):
I'm going to encourage you tocheck it out if you missed it. And
today we're casting a vision.So we're going to explore how your
future can pull you forward.Yes, you heard me right. If you have
a vision for your future, itactually can pull you forward. Let
me paint a picture for you.Just think about this for a second.
You're doing all the rightthings. You're budgeting, you're
(03:18):
tithing, you're cuttingspending and you're reducing debt.
But still, that day in and dayout grind, that dream of peace, that
dream of purpose and thatdream of freedom, many times it seems
like it's just years away. Andthat daily grinding, if you're putting
in the reps like I'm puttingin right now doing my exercise routine
(03:40):
every day, if you're puttingin the reps with your finances, that
daily grind will wear youdown. And it's so easy to lose your
focus and you start to wonder,hey, Ralph, is this even worth it?
And see, without a vision topull you forward, the journey loses
its joy. It truly does. Itloses its joy. Unless you've got
(04:00):
a vision that can pull you tothat point of staying in it day in
and day out. Well, here's thething. Vision gives purpose to discipline.
I'm going to say that againbecause I think it's so important
that you understand this.Vision gives purpose to Discipline.
See, without vision, without aclear understanding of where you're
(04:22):
trying to go, the effort todaily routine just becomes that,
it becomes routine. But withvision, every small step becomes
sacred. Well, let's talkingabout sacred, let's look at the scriptures.
Let's look at the book ofProverbs, chapter 29, verse 18. And
it says this. Where there isno vision, the people perish. But
(04:44):
he that keepeth the law happyis he. What a great, what a great
verse. And it ties exactly towhat I was talking about today. Where
there is no vision, the peopleperish. See, without vision. And
I'm gonna, I'm gonna lay thison you right now because I think
it's so important to reallygrasp this. And you're like, Ralph,
(05:04):
where are you going with this?But I really believe this. Without
vision, we just drift, we'rejust drifting. But with that vision,
I'm going to use a power wordhere. I truly believe that we can
thrive. Let's get back intothe word. Look at the book of Habakkuk.
And this is chapter two, versetwo. And says this. Then the Lord
(05:28):
replied, write down therevelation and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run withit. And I just thought that was,
I don't really quote that bookof the Bible very often, but when
I was preparing for today'sshow, I was like, that is perfect.
See, it's not just aboutprophecy. That's part of it, but
(05:49):
it's about clarity and it'sabout action. Okay, now you're thinking,
Ralph, how does that apply?Well, here's how it applies. True
financial planning to truefinancial stewardship is more than
math. And if you're going tobe effective in it, it's much more
than math. It's a mission. Andsee, when you future patient, you
(06:10):
partner with God's vision foryour life. And when your budget serves
your calling, your motivationgrows. And when your motivation grows,
big secret here, freedomfollows. Like, hey, great, that's
perfect. That's what I want todo. Now what can we do about this?
(06:32):
I want you to create a vividpicture of your financially free,
intentional life. Just putthat picture in your mind. What does
that look like? What's thatpicture look like? Being financially
free and intentional aboutyour spending decisions. And then
take one small action towardsthat vision this week. Because this
(06:52):
is about connecting your dailydiscipline. You're doing it, you're
putting into reps, but this isabout connecting your daily discipline
to your God given destiny. Sohere's your one action item for today.
Your one challenge, if youwill, for today. I want you again
to envision your ideal life.Take a few minutes today, find a
quiet space, close your eyesand just picture yourself five, maybe
(07:17):
seven, maybe ten years fromnow. I really want you to get this
in your mind. What are youdoing each day? What does your day
look like? Who are you with?How do you spend your time? What
brings you peace? What bringsyou joy? What brings you fulfillment?
So that's the first step.Envision that ideal life and just
(07:40):
picture yourself what thatlooks like. And then I want you to
do is I want you to write downthree or four or five key scenes
from that. Be specific and Idare you to do this. Be emotional
about it, because I think ifyou can tie specificity and emotion
into it, it will really paintthis beautiful picture. I'll give
you a couple examples. Likemaybe for you, your vision is giving
(08:02):
generously without fear. Youwant to be able to help people. You
want to be able to supportmissionaries or support your church,
whatever that looks like foryou, without fear, without worrying
about that scarcity. Maybe foryou, it's traveling debt free to
serve on mission trips. You'relike, Ralph, you know what I've always
wanted to do? I've alwayswanted to be that one that could
raise my hand and say, yes,I'll go, Lord. Maybe that's what
(08:25):
your vision looks like. Maybefor you it's simply working fewer
hours so you can be presentwith your family. Maybe right now
your kids are getting to theage where they're starting to have
a family, they're owning.You're like, Ralph, I'd really like
to have time with mygrandkids. So my vision is working
fewer hours so I can spendtime with them. Or maybe for you,
(08:46):
you've got this big vision ofrunning a business that reflects
your faith. So I just want youto take time and really write down
three to five key scenes, whatthat looks like for you. And then
I want you to just pick onealigned action for this week. Ask
yourself this simple question.What small step today supports that
(09:07):
vision? You know, maybe foryou it's making that extra debt payment
so you can get that margin.You're not so worried about being
in debt, which means you maynot have to work as hard later. You
may be able take that time offfor the grandkids. Or maybe for you,
you want to have a biggeremergency fund or you want to have
a sinking fund to save forsomething. So starting a new savings
goal, maybe for you, that ideaof running your own business not
(09:31):
having to work that 9 to 5 andreport to work for somebody else
is important. So for you,maybe research a skill or learn a
new side business, or maybefor you, you just want to live more
intentionally so maybe sayingno to a time waster so you can pursue
a deeper calling. Maybe youhear the Lord speaking to you right
now and he wants you to dosomething deeper. And you just have
(09:53):
to. You have to find time. Youhave to find margin to do it. So
you want to say no to thosetime wasters. And I hope right now
you're feeling how this helps,because it's going to reconnect you
to your why. See, it's allabout the why. If you want to live
an intentional financial orjust in general intentional life,
you've got to connect to yourwhy. That's what makes that daily
(10:15):
grind, makes it work everyday. Because if you don't have a
why, I'm going to tell youright now, you're not going to do
it. I use that analogy. Myexercise, my why is I'm a type 2
diabetic. I want to get off ofinsulin. I want to get off of medication.
You know, about four or fiveyears ago, I had my A1C tested. It
was over 13. Well, just twoweeks ago, it was down to 7.3. So
(10:40):
in my mind, I see this vision.I see this vision of going to the
doctor and the doctor saying,Ralph, guess what? You're no longer
a diabetic anymore. And see,that motivates me. That motivates
me to watch what I eat. Thatmotivates me to exercise every day.
It motivates me in that dailygrind. And it boosts my motivation,
(11:00):
it boosts my joy. I'm soexcited to see that I'm making progress.
And it turns that dailyroutine into worship because I'm
doing it for a purpose. I'mdoing it because God is calling me
to be healthy. God is callingme to be able to do things. Maybe
that's take emissions trips,or maybe that's be around for my
grandkids. I don't have anygrandkids yet, but that's going to
(11:22):
happen eventually. And the bigreason that this works is it aligns
your habits with your highercalling. That's what it's really
all about. It's making thosedaily habits, that daily grind, align
with your higher calling.Well, how about we pray together?
Heavenly Father, we just thankyou for dreams and the callings you've
(11:43):
placed inside of us. Lord, ourdreams forgive us when we forget
them, Lord. And when we getcaught up in the day to day and we
lose sight of the vision thatyou gave us, that clear vision that
you've given us for our life,that you've imprinted on our heart
today, Lord, just give usfresh clarity. Help us to imagine
the future you're calling ustowards and then help us to take
(12:03):
faithful steps to walk in thatdirection. And Lord, we just ask
that you would help us makeevery financial decision, serve a
greater purpose, let everyhabit reflect your glory. And Lord,
may we move towards peace,maybe move towards purpose. And may
we move towards bonus. And weask this in boldness, in confidence.
(12:24):
In Jesus name. Amen, friend.Freedom begins with vision. I'm going
to say that again because it'sso important that you understand
that today I could haverenamed this, this title of this
particular show, Freedombegins with Vision. But it does.
It begins with vision. If youwant to walk in your calling, you've
(12:45):
got to see it first. Yougotta, you gotta picture it. You
gotta paint that canvas. Sotoday I want to encourage you, take
time to dream with God, takethat one bold step, because your
future, it's not far off. Andit can start right now. It can start
today. Speaking of starting, Iwould really encourage you if you're
(13:08):
getting value from this show,I would love it if you would share
the show. You can send yourfriends, send your neighbors, maybe
send some family members andsay, hey, listen, I catch this daily
podcast and it's reallyhelping me grow in my faith. It's
helping me really focus on myfinances. The best way to do that
is just point them tofinanciallyconfidentchristian.com and
now listen, while they'rethere, they can also pick up a copy
(13:30):
of my book. It's a free copy.It's called Mastering Your Finances.
It's a brief book, but man, itis super impactful to helping somebody
get started on that path tobeing financially confident. And
you can get that book by goingto financiallyconfidentchristian.com/master.
Now tomorrow we're going tohave a powerful talk on legacy. Yeah,
we're going to talk about whatyou leave behind for God's kingdom.
(13:52):
A lot of people get hung up onthe will and all that stuff, but
I'm going way beyond thattomorrow. So I'm going to encourage
you to check it out. And untilthen, I just encourage you right
now, stay intentional, stayfaith filled and stay financially
confident. You can do this. Ihave confidence in you, have confidence
in yourself. Stay financiallysavvy. God bless you. And you have
(14:14):
a great day.
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