THINK BIG about being debt-free

By Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman

As newlyweds, with big hearts but a not-so-big checking account, Jim and I used a credit card to buy gifts our first Christmas. Then, after the last gift was unwrapped, credit card bills arrived with exorbitant interest rates attached.

"Never again!" we vowed. Jim immediately opened a
Christmas savings account, and it was a tough year—paying off while paying into. The following November, with our debt paid off, we used the Christmas money we'd
saved, and only that, to buy gifts.

Debt. It seems like the right thing to do at the time, but holds us back from thinking BIG and doing the BIG things that God has in store for our lives. God cares so much about our finances that He included a formula in the Bible (II Kings 19:29/ESV) for getting out of debt! He initially gave it to King Hezekiah, a very good king of the Jews who was attacked by the King of Assyria for unpaid debt.

1. "...this year, eat what grows of itself..." Live on only what God gives you. Don't borrow another penny. Pay off your debt as much as you can.

2. "...and in the second year, what springs from the same..." Continue to live off what God gives you while increasing your debt payments. It won't be as tight, but don't borrow anything more.

3. "...Then in the third year, sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit." Continue the advice from years one and two. By now, you should have some extra. Invest that in something conservative and let your money begin to work for you.

This three-year plan saved a kingdom threatened because of debt, and allowed King Hezekiah to accomplish his BIG, God-given plan of a positive faith renewal and increased literacy rates among his people.

I'm so grateful to my husband for providing this same example for our family. And I'm so thankful to God for giving the ministry this wisdom, especially during tough economic times, enabling us to continue to spread His love and hope around the world.

If you need some debt relief, try using this proven financial formula. Then watch how God frees you to accomplish His BIG plan for your life!

I allowed God to THINK BIG through me

By Greg Anderson, Founder & CEO, Cancer Recovery Group of Charities

Everything I know about thinking BIG I learned from Dr. Robert Schuller.

It was the mid-1970s and following my discharge from the Army, I became a cynic—an impossibility thinker. But the bright spot in my life was meeting this cute girl named Linda. On one date, she brought me a gift, the book Move Ahead with Possibility Thinking. Its message ignited my mind and touched my spirit: “Catch the vision of the person God meant you to be.” “Attempt great things for God. Expect great things from God.” “Inch by inch, anything’s a cinch.”

I began to change, to believe I could make a difference in this world. Life was good and getting better. Then in 1984, my budding possibility thinking was put to the test. I was diagnosed with lung cancer. My surgeon gave me just thirty days to live. I wanted so much to live. But my mind was crippled by fear and doubt. Could possibility thinking be part of health and healing? The possibilities did not look promising.

My weight dropped to 112-pounds, my skin was ashengrey, and I was on morphine to control the pain. I prayed, Lord, use this—use me—show me what is possible to help the next patient, the next family, dealing with cancer. I held a vision of myself as vital and alive. I determined I would live the next hour, the next day.

God planted a seed in my mind: Cancer patients need to help and encourage each other. I made calls and invited people to meet. What started as a single Cancer Conquerors support group, today extends to every continent providing help, hope, and healing to millions of people every year.

I don’t always think BIG. But I do my best to allow God to think BIG through me. Then, I take one small step after another in an attempt to do something great for God. It has changed my health and my life.

By the way, that cute girl who gave me the book turned into a beautiful woman. We just celebrated our thirty-first wedding anniversary.

More information at www.cancerrecovery.org.