July 27, 2025 • 12 mins
Ever feel like you start off strong with your habits, only to watch them unravel the moment life gets hectic? You’re not alone. Whether it’s budgeting, meal planning, or just trying to catch your breath in the chaos, staying consistent when life throws punches is no small feat. But here’s the truth—lasting change doesn’t come from big, one-time pushes. It’s built in the quiet, everyday moments. Those small, steady rhythms are what keep us grounded when everything else feels like a whirlwind. And it all comes down to one powerful q0uestion: How can one daily habit keep me focused on what matters most?
Check out the full podcast episode here
Building solid habits is awesome, but let’s face it, keeping those habits alive when life gets all hectic? That’s a whole different ball game. Today, we’re diving into the nitty-gritty of creating a daily rhythm that helps you stay grounded, even when the world around you is throwing curveballs. This isn’t just about finance; it’s about finding that sweet spot in life where your money habits align with your values. You see, it’s super easy to start strong with budgeting and tracking your spending, but then life just swoops in and chaos ensues. A missed day turns into a week, and before you know it, you’re back to square one. But don’t sweat it! The key is simple: small daily check-ins. Just a few minutes each day can bring clarity, intention, and hey, a whole lot of peace.
So, what’s the deal with these daily check-ins? Well, it’s all about being consistent, not intense. Let’s take a peek at some scriptures that back this up—like how Jesus encourages us to ask for our daily bread, not weekly or monthly. It’s about those little daily disciplines that build up over time, leading to that financial freedom we’re all chasing. And Ralph lays out some practical steps for you: choose a time, ask yourself some key questions about your spending and values, and wrap it up with a bit of gratitude. This doesn’t have to be a long, drawn-out ritual—just a quick, intentional moment each day to keep your finances in check and your spirit anchored. So let’s kick those money worries to the curb and build that rhythm together!
Takeaways:
- Building strong habits is key to making real progress in life and finances.
- Creating a daily rhythm helps to keep you grounded when life gets hectic and busy.
- Consistency in daily check-ins can lead to big changes in your financial awareness.
- Taking just a few minutes each day to reflect can help you align your spending with your values.
Links referenced in this episode:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You've built strong habits,you're making real progress, you're
seeing change. But here's thequestion. How do you make it stick
long term? That's the toughpart, isn't it? So today we're going
to talk about what simplerhythm will keep you grounded even
when life gets busy. So stickwith me because today we're building
your daily intentional living.Check in. This is an episode you
(00:23):
don't want to miss. This isFinancially Confident Christian,
Your daily dose of gospel,grounded insight and faith driven
tips to help you break thecycle of financial shame with confidence.
Hey there. Welcome back toFinancially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph and I am trulyhonored that you're here again today.
This is the show where we askthat big question, how can I become
(00:45):
a financially confidentChristian? And when our final week
of our new series, beyond theBudget, Finding financial freedom
through intentional living.Now, yesterday we talked about finding
the unshakable confidence inChrist and not cash. And if you missed
it, I'm going to encourage youto go and check it out. It's a great
episode. We really got towhere you need to have your faith
in Christ, not in your bankaccount. Well, today we're going
(01:07):
to get super practical. Let'stalk about a daily routine that keeps
your finances and hey, moreimportantly, your peace aligned with
your values. Well, let's startby being honest. You start strong,
most of us start strong. Andyou budget, you track your spending
and you're feeling reallyfocused. But then like most of us,
life gets busy. Maybe you missa day or maybe two, maybe three.
(01:31):
And then your tracking startsto slip. And those goals, well, to
be honest, they just start toblur. And before you know it, you
feel like you're justslipping. That consistency becomes
your greatest struggle. ButI've got great news for you today.
There's a simple solution. Andthat solution is a daily rhythm to
keep you anchored. Here's thething. Small daily disciplines lead
(01:56):
to big peace. It's all aboutthat daily, that thing you do every
day, that rhythm. And thebeautiful part of this is you don't
need some 30 minute ritual.You just need two, three, four, maybe
even five minutes a day tojust have some clarity, have some
surrender and have someintention. Well, let's get right
into the scripture. Let's lookat the Book of Matthew, chapter 6,
(02:18):
verse 11. And Jesus teaches usto pray. What does he say? Give us
today our daily bread today.Not weekly, not monthly. Daily. Jesus
is giving us the answer. Praydaily for our daily bread. What we
(02:38):
need to keep that Rhythmgoing. Let's look at the book of
Luke, chapter 16, verse 10. Itsays this and I use this on the show
all the time. Whoever can betrusted with very little can also
be trusted with much. Again,it's that daily. It's those little
things, those little thingsthat add on that, create that and
keep that momentum going. Andfinally, let's look at the book of
(03:02):
Galatians, chapter 6, verse 9.And Paul writes this, and I love
this scripture. Let us notbecome weary in doing good, for at
the proper time we will reap aharvest if we do not give up. Paul
nailed it. Don't become wearyin doing good. That daily rhythm,
(03:25):
that decision every day to dothe right thing with your finances.
Because at the proper time wewill reap a harvest if we. What if
we don't give up? See thosesmall check ins daily, they may not
seem like much at the time,but honestly, they're building that
long term freedom. And whatthey do in the end is they turn that
(03:47):
stewardship, that dailystewardship into a rhythm. A lot
of people say, Ralph, yeah,but it becomes a burden. No, it's
a rhythm, not a burden. So nowyou're asking, Ralph, what can we
do? How do we get to thatpoint of having that mindset? What
does that daily rhythm looklike? Well, I've got a solution.
(04:07):
I kind of alluded to italready. And I'm going to encourage
you to establish a two to fiveminute daily, what I'm going to call
intentional living. Check in.It's really that simple. So the first
thing I want to tell you to dois keep it simple. Just check in
daily, 2, 3, 4, 5 minutes.Keep it simple, keep it sustainable,
and most importantly, let thatground you every single day. When
(04:32):
I want to give you your actionitem for today, you know, on the
show, I always want to giveyou one thing that you can take away.
We talk about a big topic andthen I try to just narrow it down
into an action step. So todayI want to tell you how to build that
daily rhythm for yourself. Thefirst part of this is to choose a
time. I'm going to encourageyou to pick a consistent moment for
you. Maybe for you it's thatmorning coffee time. That's a time
(04:54):
that's sacred. You're alwaysat the right spot. You can do this.
Take a couple minutes and justgo through that. Maybe for you it's
before bed at night. Nowlisten, I gotta be honest with you.
Before bed, for me, I'm tired.Not the best time for me. But maybe
that works for you. Or maybefor you at your lunch break. It's
a great time to kind of catchin, see how the day is going. That
rhythm, maybe after yourdevotionals, that's a good time for
(05:16):
you because here's the secretsauce. Consistency beats intensity.
You have to be intense aboutit, but just be consistent. Choose
a time every day. Like I said,that's your morning coffee before
bed. Hey, whatever works foryou. And then ask yourself a couple
of quick questions. I'm goingto give you a list of those and I'm
(05:38):
just going to encourage you tokeep two of those on top of your
mind. Here's what I suggest.Ask yourself this question. Did I
track my spending today? Say asimple question. Did I track my spending
day? It's going to help youmaintain that rhythm. Another question
you can ask is, did I spend inline with my values? We talked a
lot about that on the show.What are my values as it relates
(06:00):
to spending, as it relates tomy finances? So ask yourself, Did
I spend in line with myvalues? Here's another great question.
What's one financial task fortomorrow? Sort of that. Pre planning.
What's going to happentomorrow? What's on the. What's on
the calendar? What's on theagenda? Is there something coming
up? Is there a bill coming up?Is there, Is there money coming in?
(06:20):
What's that one financialtask? I'm going to encourage you
to close it out with thisquestion because here is another
one of those big truth bombs.Ask yourself this question every
day. What am I grateful fortoday? Simple. What am I grateful
for today? List those thingsout. Because when you start to live
(06:41):
in gratitude, hey, that rhythmbecomes something you look forward
to. And then of course, thisbeing a Christian show, I'm going
to encourage you to add aquick prayer to that. Something like,
God, thank you for today'sprovision. Provision, guide me tomorrow.
I surrender any financialstress to you. It doesn't have to
be some elaborate big longprayer. Just, hey, look up to God
and say, God, just thank youfor the provision today. You know,
(07:04):
it's been a struggle, Lord,but I know you're right there with
me and just help me to getthrough the rest of today. Guide
me tomorrow. And I justsurrender all this to you. And like
I said from the beginning, thekey is to keep it short. This doesn't
need to be a half an hour oran hour, some kind of crazy amount
of time every day. This is notyour devotional time. That's a discussion
(07:25):
for a whole nother show. Justtwo, three, four, five minutes. Hey,
a couple minutes a day just tokeep that rhythm going. Because the
goal, like I said at thebeginning of this, is consistency.
It's not depth, it's just aconsistency. And now you're thinking
of yourself. Okay, Ralph, Iget it. But how does that help? Well,
here's. Here's one of thebiggest things it does. And don't
(07:46):
overlook this. It makesfinancial awareness automatic. It's
something you do every day.Hey, it's like brushing your teeth,
combing your hair, whateverthat looks like for you. Shaving
for me. It makes it automatic.It's a daily rhythm. It's a daily
check in. And if you're doingit right, if you're asking those
questions, it keeps yourspending aligned with your values
because you're doing thatcheck every single day. You're doing
(08:08):
that intentional check in.Hey, what am I spending money on?
Am I tracking it? Is it inline with my budget? Is it in line
with my values? It also helpsbuild gratitude and it helps build
peace. Because you know what'sgoing on. You're not wondering. There
have been times in my life,I'll be honest with you right now,
I didn't even open up myonline banking app because I was
scared to see what was outthere. And I would just let it go
(08:31):
and let it go. And hey,sometimes it was a week, sometimes
it was a couple weeks. Finallylog in and be like, oh, I'm scared
to watch it. Oh, okay, I'mokay. But just think about the stress
that that created then and thecomplete lack of peace. And if I
just had that daily rhythm tocheck in, see what's going on. Because
(08:51):
if you do this, it's going toanchor your finances is in daily
faithfulness. How about wepray together? Father God, we just
thank you for the grace yougive us each and every day, Lord.
And we confess honestly thatwe often start strong, Lord, but
we struggle to stayconsistent. You see that? You see
(09:12):
the struggles we go through.So, Lord, we just ask that you help
us form this daily check in asa rhythm of gratitude and a rhythm
of awareness and honestly,just a rhythm of surrender, just
handing it to you, Lord. Yes,we're going to do our part, Lord,
but we want to give you thestress of this. We want to give you
the burden. And, Lord, we askthat you would help us to feel your
(09:34):
presence even in the smallthings like tracking a dollar or
praying over a bill. Lord, wejust ask that you would keep us faithful
in the little. Lord, as yourscripture says, as your word says,
just keep us faithful in thelittle so we can be trusted with
more. And we ask this inconfidence. And we ask this in the
name of Jesus. Amen, friend.As I've said a couple times today,
(10:01):
and I want you to hear thisloud and clear. Consistency always
beats intensity. It just does.It's all about being consistent.
You don't have to be superintense, but if you're consistent,
it will get you somewhere.Because here's the truth. Big transformation.
I'm talking about monumentaltransformation. The stuff that you're
(10:21):
thinking down the line, thosebig, hairy, audacious goals. Big
transformation begins withsmall faithfulness. So I want to
encourage you today, startyour daily check in, make it yours.
Pick the time, pick thetopics, whatever that looks like
for you. Make it yours. Keepit simple and let it be sacred. One
(10:42):
of the other things I'm goingto encourage you to do right now,
if you're getting value fromthis show, if this is changing your
financial life, if you'refinding things in the show like Ralph,
I'm so glad you talked aboutthat. One of the ways that you can
help me is to help grow theshow. Just share this show with somebody
else. Maybe, you know,somebody that's struggling right
now with their finance andthey can use this daily habit to
(11:04):
check in. Or maybe it's atopic we've covered in the last 30
days on our series aboutbudgeting and being intentional.
It's real simple. Just sendthem a text message, send them an
email, say, hey, check outthis website, financiallyconfidentchristian.com
they might not look at itevery day, but hey, it could be just
a little bit of a little fireto give them, to help them get on
(11:26):
their way financially. And youhave the power to do that. Now. Tomorrow
we're going to wrap up thisseries beyond the Budget with a powerful
final episode on. Hey, readyfor this one Lifelong stewardship.
We talked about those littlesteps. Well, tomorrow we're going
to bring it all to closurewith lifelong stewardship. I'm going
to bring it all together,package it up in a nice bow, and
(11:46):
we are going to be profitablein that. So until then, I'm just
going to encourage you. Stayfaithful, stay consistent and stay
financially confident. You'vegot this. I have confidence in you,
have confidence in yourself.God bless you. And you have a peaceful
and productive day.
You've built strong habits,you're making real progress, you're
seeing change. But here's thequestion. How do you make it stick
long term? That's the toughpart, isn't it? So today we're going
to talk about what simplerhythm will keep you grounded even
when life gets busy. So stickwith me because today we're building
your daily intentional living.Check in. This is an episode you
(00:23):
don't want to miss. This isFinancially Confident Christian,
Your daily dose of gospel,grounded insight and faith driven
tips to help you break thecycle of financial shame with confidence.
Hey there. Welcome back toFinancially Confident Christian.
I'm Ralph and I am trulyhonored that you're here again today.
This is the show where we askthat big question, how can I become
(00:45):
a financially confidentChristian? And when our final week
of our new series, beyond theBudget, Finding financial freedom
through intentional living.Now, yesterday we talked about finding
the unshakable confidence inChrist and not cash. And if you missed
it, I'm going to encourage youto go and check it out. It's a great
episode. We really got towhere you need to have your faith
in Christ, not in your bankaccount. Well, today we're going
(01:07):
to get super practical. Let'stalk about a daily routine that keeps
your finances and hey, moreimportantly, your peace aligned with
your values. Well, let's startby being honest. You start strong,
most of us start strong. Andyou budget, you track your spending
and you're feeling reallyfocused. But then like most of us,
life gets busy. Maybe you missa day or maybe two, maybe three.
(01:31):
And then your tracking startsto slip. And those goals, well, to
be honest, they just start toblur. And before you know it, you
feel like you're justslipping. That consistency becomes
your greatest struggle. ButI've got great news for you today.
There's a simple solution. Andthat solution is a daily rhythm to
keep you anchored. Here's thething. Small daily disciplines lead
(01:56):
to big peace. It's all aboutthat daily, that thing you do every
day, that rhythm. And thebeautiful part of this is you don't
need some 30 minute ritual.You just need two, three, four, maybe
even five minutes a day tojust have some clarity, have some
surrender and have someintention. Well, let's get right
into the scripture. Let's lookat the Book of Matthew, chapter 6,
(02:18):
verse 11. And Jesus teaches usto pray. What does he say? Give us
today our daily bread today.Not weekly, not monthly. Daily. Jesus
is giving us the answer. Praydaily for our daily bread. What we
(02:38):
need to keep that Rhythmgoing. Let's look at the book of
Luke, chapter 16, verse 10. Itsays this and I use this on the show
all the time. Whoever can betrusted with very little can also
be trusted with much. Again,it's that daily. It's those little
things, those little thingsthat add on that, create that and
keep that momentum going. Andfinally, let's look at the book of
(03:02):
Galatians, chapter 6, verse 9.And Paul writes this, and I love
this scripture. Let us notbecome weary in doing good, for at
the proper time we will reap aharvest if we do not give up. Paul
nailed it. Don't become wearyin doing good. That daily rhythm,
(03:25):
that decision every day to dothe right thing with your finances.
Because at the proper time wewill reap a harvest if we. What if
we don't give up? See thosesmall check ins daily, they may not
seem like much at the time,but honestly, they're building that
long term freedom. And whatthey do in the end is they turn that
(03:47):
stewardship, that dailystewardship into a rhythm. A lot
of people say, Ralph, yeah,but it becomes a burden. No, it's
a rhythm, not a burden. So nowyou're asking, Ralph, what can we
do? How do we get to thatpoint of having that mindset? What
does that daily rhythm looklike? Well, I've got a solution.
(04:07):
I kind of alluded to italready. And I'm going to encourage
you to establish a two to fiveminute daily, what I'm going to call
intentional living. Check in.It's really that simple. So the first
thing I want to tell you to dois keep it simple. Just check in
daily, 2, 3, 4, 5 minutes.Keep it simple, keep it sustainable,
and most importantly, let thatground you every single day. When
(04:32):
I want to give you your actionitem for today, you know, on the
show, I always want to giveyou one thing that you can take away.
We talk about a big topic andthen I try to just narrow it down
into an action step. So todayI want to tell you how to build that
daily rhythm for yourself. Thefirst part of this is to choose a
time. I'm going to encourageyou to pick a consistent moment for
you. Maybe for you it's thatmorning coffee time. That's a time
(04:54):
that's sacred. You're alwaysat the right spot. You can do this.
Take a couple minutes and justgo through that. Maybe for you it's
before bed at night. Nowlisten, I gotta be honest with you.
Before bed, for me, I'm tired.Not the best time for me. But maybe
that works for you. Or maybefor you at your lunch break. It's
a great time to kind of catchin, see how the day is going. That
rhythm, maybe after yourdevotionals, that's a good time for
(05:16):
you because here's the secretsauce. Consistency beats intensity.
You have to be intense aboutit, but just be consistent. Choose
a time every day. Like I said,that's your morning coffee before
bed. Hey, whatever works foryou. And then ask yourself a couple
of quick questions. I'm goingto give you a list of those and I'm
(05:38):
just going to encourage you tokeep two of those on top of your
mind. Here's what I suggest.Ask yourself this question. Did I
track my spending today? Say asimple question. Did I track my spending
day? It's going to help youmaintain that rhythm. Another question
you can ask is, did I spend inline with my values? We talked a
lot about that on the show.What are my values as it relates
(06:00):
to spending, as it relates tomy finances? So ask yourself, Did
I spend in line with myvalues? Here's another great question.
What's one financial task fortomorrow? Sort of that. Pre planning.
What's going to happentomorrow? What's on the. What's on
the calendar? What's on theagenda? Is there something coming
up? Is there a bill coming up?Is there, Is there money coming in?
(06:20):
What's that one financialtask? I'm going to encourage you
to close it out with thisquestion because here is another
one of those big truth bombs.Ask yourself this question every
day. What am I grateful fortoday? Simple. What am I grateful
for today? List those thingsout. Because when you start to live
(06:41):
in gratitude, hey, that rhythmbecomes something you look forward
to. And then of course, thisbeing a Christian show, I'm going
to encourage you to add aquick prayer to that. Something like,
God, thank you for today'sprovision. Provision, guide me tomorrow.
I surrender any financialstress to you. It doesn't have to
be some elaborate big longprayer. Just, hey, look up to God
and say, God, just thank youfor the provision today. You know,
(07:04):
it's been a struggle, Lord,but I know you're right there with
me and just help me to getthrough the rest of today. Guide
me tomorrow. And I justsurrender all this to you. And like
I said from the beginning, thekey is to keep it short. This doesn't
need to be a half an hour oran hour, some kind of crazy amount
of time every day. This is notyour devotional time. That's a discussion
(07:25):
for a whole nother show. Justtwo, three, four, five minutes. Hey,
a couple minutes a day just tokeep that rhythm going. Because the
goal, like I said at thebeginning of this, is consistency.
It's not depth, it's just aconsistency. And now you're thinking
of yourself. Okay, Ralph, Iget it. But how does that help? Well,
here's. Here's one of thebiggest things it does. And don't
(07:46):
overlook this. It makesfinancial awareness automatic. It's
something you do every day.Hey, it's like brushing your teeth,
combing your hair, whateverthat looks like for you. Shaving
for me. It makes it automatic.It's a daily rhythm. It's a daily
check in. And if you're doingit right, if you're asking those
questions, it keeps yourspending aligned with your values
because you're doing thatcheck every single day. You're doing
(08:08):
that intentional check in.Hey, what am I spending money on?
Am I tracking it? Is it inline with my budget? Is it in line
with my values? It also helpsbuild gratitude and it helps build
peace. Because you know what'sgoing on. You're not wondering. There
have been times in my life,I'll be honest with you right now,
I didn't even open up myonline banking app because I was
scared to see what was outthere. And I would just let it go
(08:31):
and let it go. And hey,sometimes it was a week, sometimes
it was a couple weeks. Finallylog in and be like, oh, I'm scared
to watch it. Oh, okay, I'mokay. But just think about the stress
that that created then and thecomplete lack of peace. And if I
just had that daily rhythm tocheck in, see what's going on. Because
(08:51):
if you do this, it's going toanchor your finances is in daily
faithfulness. How about wepray together? Father God, we just
thank you for the grace yougive us each and every day, Lord.
And we confess honestly thatwe often start strong, Lord, but
we struggle to stayconsistent. You see that? You see
(09:12):
the struggles we go through.So, Lord, we just ask that you help
us form this daily check in asa rhythm of gratitude and a rhythm
of awareness and honestly,just a rhythm of surrender, just
handing it to you, Lord. Yes,we're going to do our part, Lord,
but we want to give you thestress of this. We want to give you
the burden. And, Lord, we askthat you would help us to feel your
(09:34):
presence even in the smallthings like tracking a dollar or
praying over a bill. Lord, wejust ask that you would keep us faithful
in the little. Lord, as yourscripture says, as your word says,
just keep us faithful in thelittle so we can be trusted with
more. And we ask this inconfidence. And we ask this in the
name of Jesus. Amen, friend.As I've said a couple times today,
(10:01):
and I want you to hear thisloud and clear. Consistency always
beats intensity. It just does.It's all about being consistent.
You don't have to be superintense, but if you're consistent,
it will get you somewhere.Because here's the truth. Big transformation.
I'm talking about monumentaltransformation. The stuff that you're
(10:21):
thinking down the line, thosebig, hairy, audacious goals. Big
transformation begins withsmall faithfulness. So I want to
encourage you today, startyour daily check in, make it yours.
Pick the time, pick thetopics, whatever that looks like
for you. Make it yours. Keepit simple and let it be sacred. One
(10:42):
of the other things I'm goingto encourage you to do right now,
if you're getting value fromthis show, if this is changing your
financial life, if you'refinding things in the show like Ralph,
I'm so glad you talked aboutthat. One of the ways that you can
help me is to help grow theshow. Just share this show with somebody
else. Maybe, you know,somebody that's struggling right
now with their finance andthey can use this daily habit to
(11:04):
check in. Or maybe it's atopic we've covered in the last 30
days on our series aboutbudgeting and being intentional.
It's real simple. Just sendthem a text message, send them an
email, say, hey, check outthis website, financiallyconfidentchristian.com
they might not look at itevery day, but hey, it could be just
a little bit of a little fireto give them, to help them get on
(11:26):
their way financially. And youhave the power to do that. Now. Tomorrow
we're going to wrap up thisseries beyond the Budget with a powerful
final episode on. Hey, readyfor this one Lifelong stewardship.
We talked about those littlesteps. Well, tomorrow we're going
to bring it all to closurewith lifelong stewardship. I'm going
to bring it all together,package it up in a nice bow, and
(11:46):
we are going to be profitablein that. So until then, I'm just
going to encourage you. Stayfaithful, stay consistent and stay
financially confident. You'vegot this. I have confidence in you,
have confidence in yourself.God bless you. And you have a peaceful
and productive day.
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