Season 6 Spending Allowance: How Much Can You Afford?

The episode begins with a candid recounting of a stress-induced vertigo episode, revealing how even blessings can lead to overwhelming pressure. This experience taught the crucial lesson that energy, regardless of its intent, requires balance.

Quan shares several breakthroughs that emerged from this experience. The first was seeking the Lord for perfect balance, recognizing that even ill-intentioned energy won't prosper if one remains aligned with faith. This insight aligns with the biblical promise that no weapon formed against us will prosper, highlighting that the weapon's formation isn't the issue; rather, its lack of prosperity is what matters. This profound realization underscores the need to balance energy and pressure, regardless of their source.

Another breakthrough discussed is the importance of hearing and feeling the word of God. Faith, after all, comes by hearing, and this principle is vital for both believers and those who are lost. The host emphasizes that everyone is on an assignment to speak the word, and this realization has led to significant personal growth. Throughout the season, the podcast has focused on elevation and living better, with the host openly sharing mistakes and the desire for a quicker "bounce back" anointing.

The episode transitions to the workplace, where managing emotions like anger is crucial. The host describes feeling anger and frustration due to workplace dynamics, despite being naturally upbeat and positive. This anger is likened to financial spending, where emotions deplete one's reserves, leaving little energy for actual work. Drawing parallels to childhood lessons on financial management, the host highlights the need to balance desires with available resources, emphasizing that overspending leads to regret.

Inspired by Pastor Hannah's teachings and the rich imagery of spiritual growth in Ezekiel 47, the episode explores measuring spiritual and emotional investments. The lyrics of a meaningful song taught by Pastor Hannah symbolize a journey of increasing spiritual immersion, paralleling the biblical imagery of water rising from the ankles to overwhelming the body. This journey emphasizes the principle of giving as highlighted in Luke 6:38, where generosity leads to reciprocity. By evaluating how much energy and time we can afford to spend, the episode stresses the importance of mindful resource management to avoid "buyer's remorse."

Quan shares personal anecdotes, such as childhood lessons on financial management, which reveal surprising parallels to emotional spending. Growing up, the host and a sibling received a snack allowance, teaching them to manage money without realizing they were learning a lesson. This experience taught the importance of balancing desires with available resources, a principle that applies equally to emotional and physical investments.

The episode also delves into the concept of finding a daily spending limit for emotional and physical investments. This practical strategy helps regain control over personal investments, ensuring that energy is spent wisely. By managing these investments mindfully, listeners can achieve a balanced and fulfilling life.

Quan discusses the importance of managing workplace emotions like anger. This emotional management is likened to financial spending, where unchecked emotions can deplete one's reserves. Drawing from childhood lessons on financial management, the host emphasizes the need to balance desires with available resources, avoiding the regret that comes from overspending.

The episode concludes by encouraging listeners to reflect on their spiritual and emotional investments. Inspired by the principles of generosity and reciprocity found in Luke 6:38. By finding a daily spending limit, listeners can regain control over their personal investments an

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:04

Welcome back to Vision in the Valley. I'm going to ask that you forgive me for all of the interruptions with my coughing today. I was trying to wait until I felt better to record, but I've been sick for two weeks now so I just I can't wait any longer. So in the last episode we discussed balance and how important it is in our lives. I had a health scare where stress-induced vertigo had led me to feel dizzy and unbalanced. My equilibrium was thrown off, and this was all due to overwhelming pressure. Now I thought it didn't make sense, because everything that I was experiencing was a result of beautiful blessings, but I learned that pressure is pressure and energy is energy, regardless of its intent. I had several breakthroughs in that episode. The first was to seek the Lord for perfect balance period period. The second one was if we truly believe that all things work together for our good and that no weapon formed against us will prosper, then the energy behind even the ill-intentioned folks or the ill-intentioned plans should not be our concern. That was a hard lesson for me, because I had to lean into what was being said. God doesn't say that the energy or the weapon won't be formed. He says that the weapon won't prosper. So again, energy is energy and pressure is pressure, regardless of its intent, but it also needs balance. The third breakthrough was hearing and feeling the word. This is as important for believers as it is for those that are lost, because we all need faith to do this thing, and faith comes by hearing. And finally four I'm on assignment. I'm on assignment to speak the word. We all are. So I've experienced several breakthroughs all season long. The whole season has been about elevation and lifing better, owning my mistakes and making corrections. I've asked God to increase my bounce back, anointing right. We serve an awesome God who gave us Jesus as a reminder of what bounce back really looks like. Not that Jesus sinned and had to recover. I'm talking about the fact that he died and rose again. Now that's real bounce back, right. I'm asking the Lord to help me recognize my mistakes faster and turn them around quicker. I know that I'm going to fail. I just want to recover quicker, quicker. I know that I'm going to fail. I just want to recover quicker. I want to recognize my error before I've gone too far. I want a serious bounce back, anointing.

Speaker 1 2:51

I want to enjoy life as I work on my alignment with God and, as I told you before, alignment period, which is my jewelry line and clothing line, it's a lifestyle movement. It's a journey. You don't just arrive. It's about seeking alignment with God, no matter how long you've been saved right. It's more than Sunday service. It's more than Thursday night or Wednesday night Bible study. It's all those days in between. I want to enjoy my life during that alignment period because it's the entire journey. That means that I'm representing my alignment everywhere I am, including in my workplace. Now I'm going to spend some time talking about that, because we spend a lot of time in our workplace and finding joy here in particular is important.

Speaker 1 3:42

This current journey of my I'll call it my ever evolving career. It's been difficult and it's been very blessed, all at the same time. That's the elevation part I'm talking about recognizing that even in my tough days, I'm still blessed and highly favored. This whole year has been quite challenging for me in ways that I've not had to face, not even in my last work environment, which there was a lot going on there. This is something different and, yeah, it's already been a whole year at the new company.

Speaker 1 4:19

I found myself angry about a few things. It's such a conflict for me because I'm naturally an upbeat person, a positive person. It's how I've been described all of my life. But lately I felt anger. Anger about how I'm being handled, anger about the lack of progress or the lack of accountability.

Speaker 1 4:40

The work itself doesn't frighten me. It's all the effort that goes into discussing and rediscussing that bothers me. Right, I'm exhausted or I'm spent before I even do the work. So when you're spent, you're drained or you're exhausted. When I think about this, spending is associated with pulling from resources or reserves. It doesn't matter whether it's money or if it's time and I like that comparison I still have the work to do. So how much can I afford to spend on these feelings of anger? I'm nervous, anxious and upset before the meetings even start because they are draining me. I need to be able to do the actual job, but I don't have the energy to do it because the meetings are draining me. I'm depleted before finishing the job and then I'm regretful about how I allow myself to become spent. You know, it's like buyer's remorse. Remorseful because as a Christian, I am to be anxious for nothing.

Speaker 1 5:47

We learned that in Philippians 4 and 6. So this made me think about allowance and budgets, bank accounts and reserves. When my sister and I were growing up, my grandmother would leave our snack allowance underneath the family Bible. She'd do this for five days a week. This is our after-school snack allowance, and we had access to snacks because we had a small convenience store right beneath the house and I spent a lot of time a great deal of time, as a matter of fact working there as a kid, but that's another story. We were being taught how to manage money without even realizing that we were learning a lesson. We were learning what we could afford. Getting the snacks whenever we wanted to and as often as we wanted to wouldn't teach us to appreciate the value of money or the importance of managing a budget. I'm sure that my sister has learned that lesson so much better than me Shouts out to her for that for sure. We were learning to balance our desires or our appetites against what we had available to spend so important.

Speaker 1 6:58

As a matter of fact, I'm shopping for a new sectional now, and before I headed out to look, I had to determine how much I could afford to spend, or if this was the right time to spend, allowing myself to be talked into financing or spending more than I budgeted. It. Just it couldn't happen. I had to know that before heading out the door, what I could afford. Because what I've learned is that if I overspend, I'll not only take away from what the money was intended to do it's actual purpose but it also causes me to suffer from that buyer's remorse. I'll become regretful of what I purchased. You guys, you've been there, so it's important to me not to have that sense of regret. It's important that I use my time and my funds appropriately. See, I know that the Lord has trusted me to do some things. He's trusted me with a few gifts and I must see those things to fruition.

Speaker 1 8:03

If I've overspent, I've taken away from a needed resource. It's literally like squandering my gifts. The same way I check my budget and decide what I can afford and spend before I go shopping, I need to check my emotional and physical budget reserve to decide what I'm able to spend on a meeting or, better yet, what I'm able to afford to spend on the people in the meeting. In the same way, a salesperson has no power over my decision to buy or not to buy, or how much I'm going to spend. Neither does a colleague have the power or authority to cause my emotional or mental or spiritual spend or depletion. I need those resources to get the job done, and I'm working with the spirit of excellence, so I'm not just doing the job, I need to do the job well.

Speaker 1 8:54

I'm on assignment here. I don't want to take the gifts that God has given me and not redeem them wisely, right or squander his blessings for my own use. I'm going to talk a little bit more about that in the next episode. Though. 1 Peter, 4 and 10, new King James Version. It says as each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. You see, all believers have received at least one spiritual gift from God, and we're not to hoard these gifts but to use them faithfully and to be good stewards.

Speaker 1 9:33

I'm also saying that I can't afford to be angry while I'm working toward this project completion, whatever assignment I'm on. I can't afford to be angry while I'm waiting for my colleagues to acknowledge what I bring to the table Right. The evidence is going to support that. The anger doesn't allow me to be the light in dark places. My anger, instead of being the reflection of his light, I blend in with the darkness. It also robs me of the chance to receive all that I know I can be getting from this journey. I can be getting from this journey Because, if you're following me, you know that everything I've done in the past has resurfaced as a tool for my projects today. It's unbelievable. So for me, I'm looking at my professional space and my own brand in the work I'm doing with the church it's all resurfacing things that I learned in other areas. So we need to be sure that, when we're going through the process, that we're able to receive the lessons In Romans 12 and 6, we learn that we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, and each of us is to use them accordingly.

Speaker 1 10:46

In fact, verses 6 through 8 tells us to serve. It's plain and simple. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith. If your gift is serving, then serve. If it's teaching, then teach. If it's to encourage, then give encouragement. If it's giving, then give generously. If it's to lead, do it diligently. If it's to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Plain and simple. So there are things that I'm unsure about, things that I have to continue to pray about, relationships that I need clarity on. But what I'm not confused about is what the Lord has called me to do. I understand my gifts and I choose to serve diligently.

Speaker 1 11:30

I'm blessed to hold several directorships at work on the boards, at church and in the community that I serve. I'm busy establishing my ministry and getting behind other ministries I've been assigned to. I need all of my energy for that. I need all of my reserves, the full reserves. There's a lot going on in my space and I hope that I'm sharing enough details with you as we go along so that you can see the environment that I'm living in, and there are crazy opportunities presented every day. I don't have time to waste. I don't have time to squander. I can't afford it. I don't even have the time to explain why I don't have the time. You know that's already allocated. So I know I have to manage my accounts, my balances.

Speaker 1 12:22

I want to encourage you to run your race. I want to remind you that you have to protect your peace and your energy, that there is opportunity for leakage and potential depletion with every distraction, with every person that hasn't heard the same calling that you've heard, every coworker that's really just trying to do the minimum, that eight and skate right, and especially the colleagues that haven't witnessed progress like the progress that ate and skate right, and especially the colleagues that haven't witnessed progress like the progress that you're bringing, because that can be intimidating to people, but those are all unauthorized withdrawals from your reserves. They're pulling from your spiritual, your mental and even physical accounts. I applaud you for running this race. The sacrifice is real. He called you and your obedience will be rewarded, and I love that. Please keep up the good fight. Before you get distracted by someone else's opinion, ego or feelings. Before you tap out because it seems like it's tougher to do the thing, that thing you do is tough. Now, right Before you give up, check your reserves, find out where you're overspending, what's depleting your account with no return on the investment.

Speaker 1 13:40

When my assignment is complete, both in a natural and spiritual sense, I want to be sure that I worked as hard for the Lord as I did for my own brand or for the companies that I worked for. I want to be pleasing in God's eyes. I want to work with the same spirit of excellence in all that I do for him, and I cannot be depleted, exhausted or spent. The tasks are many and I don't believe that I can change that. But I can change how I approach the leakage in my emotional and spiritual spending allowance. So I can't properly relay my passion for the Lord or the spirit in which I work for him. Because if you're not in that space today, this may just seem like too much. But today I want to tell you that this wasn't always my space. It was an evolution, an elevation, if you will. The spirit overwhelms me.

Speaker 1 14:38

Pastor Hannah taught us a song last Sunday. The lyrics are really simple. It goes from my ankles to my knees, from my knees to my waist, from my waist to my shoulders, to your spirit overwhelms me. Another measure, another measure. It's referring to that measuring stick back in Ezekiel 47. We love Luke 6, 38. Give and it will give into you. Good measure, press down, shaking together, running over. We love saying that we're really quick to recite this one, but it's saying with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. Now that's a return on my investment that I can trust, that we can trust. So I ask you how much can you afford to spend? You only have so much energy, you only have so much time. Decide how much you can afford to spend before spending it. No buyer's remorse for us. Find your daily spending limit and take back the ownership of your spending allowance. I can't wait to talk with you soon.