The Ramsey Show - App - The 2018 Annual Giving Show (Hour 2)

Episode Date: December 21, 2018

The show about you

🎵 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. This is our annual giving show here on the Dave Ramsey Show. We're glad you're with us, America. And we want to take your calls from those of you that have a great generosity story. A generosity story where you received something or maybe a generosity story where you gave something. I don't care.

We want to hear. And we do this because tis the season for generosity. Generosity is what Christmas is all about. God gave his only begotten son. Talk about generosity. Wow, that's mind-blowing. And, hey, this is the deal. We're going to talk about the best use of money,

the best financial decision you'll ever make generosity the phone number 888-825-5225 beth is with us in traverse city merry christmas beth how are you good merry christmas dave how are you better I deserve. Tell me your giving story. Well, I kind of have a receiving and giving story. So I work in a small office, and we would adopt a family through, like, United Way, and we would provide gifts for the family and food for Christmas, and we would deliver it to the families. And it was just so amazing to see like how appreciative they were. So five years ago, my daughter was diagnosed with a very rare disease

and that diagnosis came in middle of October. And so once we got an appointment with specialists, we were running down to Southern Michigan several times, you know, over that, you know, time frame. So my office had adopted my family that year. Oh, wow. It was truly amazing to have that, like, that weight listed right off. So, sorry. that's okay that's amazing that's a great story so um ever since then um my kids and i we um and my husband we get um you know gifts or tags at church and you know, every year we go out and we buy, you know, gifts for, you know, people who are in need through our church.

And then this year, one of our coworkers, her husband was in a very bad accident and was not able to return to work, you know, very quickly at all. And so we were able to give her that gift. Oh, wow. It was just awesome. Yeah, well, the coworkers helped you guys out the year before, and then you're able to help one out this year.

Yep, definitely. Amazing. So how's your daughter doing? Is she doing okay? Oh, she's doing very well now. After her rare disease, she got diagnosed with cancer. But now we're almost a year in remission. So, you know, we are very thankful.

Wow. Thankful for that. Wow. Yeah, that makes you thankful. This time of year makes you stop and pause and just say a prayer of thanks. So, amazing. Beth, great story. Thank you for joining us.

Rick is with us in uh west carolina i'm sorry hey rick how are you oh damn near flawless in yourself merry christmas to you better than i deserve tell me your your giving your generosity story well i was at work one day in pennsylvania and i get a text. It said my dad was washing the roof and slipped off and broke his femur and was lifelighted to the next town over to emergency surgery. After that, we got together and figured out what the mortgage was and all that, and I was able to take care of that and some living expenses for him for a little while. So you paid the monthly bill for a while, or you paid off the whole mortgage?

I paid off the mortgage. Oh, just like that? How much was the mortgage? In the neighborhood of $50,000. You said that so nonchalantly. I didn't know you dropped $50,000, dude. Wow said that so nonchalantly. I didn't know you dropped 50K, dude. Wow, that's pretty cool. I bet your dad freaked out

when he realized he didn't have a mortgage anymore. He was pretty much wiped out from all the drugs he was on. I don't think he really noticed right away. How's he doing now? My mom was. He's doing well. He's back to work. Just take that stress off him so he can recover and get back into it.

So that was a good time. Yeah, that was fun for you, wasn't it? Yes, sir. Amen. Hey, that's beautiful. I love it. $50,000. I'm just going to stroke a check and pay off my dad's mortgage.

Just like that. It's just another walk in the park. just another day out there for old Rick. Way to go, Rick. I love it, man. Well played. Well played, my man. Amy is with us in Baltimore. Merry Christmas, Amy.

How are you? Thank you, Dave. I'm doing great. Good. So tell me your giving story. So my story began back in May of 2013 when I was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. I was 38 years old at the time, and my kids were between 2 and 12. And a few months before my diagnosis, I'd been praying about having opportunities to talk to them about God's faithfulness to our family. So my diagnosis really wasn't answer to prayer because we had so many opportunities to just witness his care and provision for our family through the generosity of so many people.

So I went through treatment and surgery, and I finished in 2014, and we thought that we had kind of turned the page and closed that chapter of our lives. But in 2016, we found out that the cancer had returned and it had spread to my bones, which meant stage four terminal cancer. So I started conventional treatment pretty soon after that. And praise God, it's still working. I'm on the same treatment and I have been for the past two and a half years. Wow.

So it's just a once a month infusion. It's very expensive, but'm on the same treatment, and I have been for the past two and a half years. Wow. So it's just a once-a-month infusion. It's very expensive, but we have great health insurance, so it's very, very minimal cost to us. But I also started a complementary treatment at the time, which is high-dose vitamin C IVs, and insurance does not cover those. So I still go weekly for those, And they're $220 a piece. So we're paying out of pocket. Thankfully, we don't have any debt except our mortgage. We have a good emergency fund.

So we were in good shape going into this. But we've kind of watched our savings account balance just creep down a little bit each month because what we're paying out for the IVs is less than what we're putting in. So about a month ago, I was driving down for my IV appointment, was feeling a little bit burdened, and I was just praying and asking the Lord to show me what I should do. Should I keep going with the IVs? Should I take a few months off and kind of let our savings account build back up? Or should I stop the IVs? But like I said, this was just a conversation between me and the Lord.

I didn't tell anybody what was on my heart. But when I got to the office that day, the office I said, this was just a conversation between me and the Lord. I didn't tell anybody what was on my heart. But when I got to the office that day, the office manager said, Well, good morning, Amy. You are the woman of the hour. And she said that someone had called the office and said that they wanted to pay for my next four IDs. So I don't know who it was. They wanted to remain anonymous. I have not been able to thank them.

I love it. You just did. They heard you. But if I could thank them, I would tell them that not only do they need a financial need, but that it was an answer to the prayer that I've been praying for years, which is that I would have opportunities to teach my kids about God's faithfulness and His care and provision for our family. And how he answered that prayer that fast.

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To learn more, visit chministries.org. That's chministries.org. Christian Healthcare Ministries is a proud sponsor of Dave Ramsey Live Events. chministries.org. It's our giving show. We do this annually on The Dave Ramsey Show, the last live broadcast before Christmas every year. And that is happening today, baby. So people are calling in with their generosity stories. Their story of a time that they were able to be generous. Usually you are blessed. You understand you are blessed for one reason, and that is that you might be a blessing. Yeah, your earnings and your handling of money

should create an overflow to be used for the good of others. And it's the most fun you'll ever have with money. Or you might have been on the receiving end of a generosity story. Either way, the phone number here 888-825- 5225.

Laura is in Wichita, Kansas. Merry Christmas, Laura. Well, in Wichita, Kansas. Merry Christmas, Laura. Well, Merry Christmas to you, Dave. So, tell me your giving story. Well, it's a giving and a receiving story, actually. In 2011, the week before Christmas, it might have actually been, you know, seven years ago today, for that matter. I lost my job and was totally overwhelmed.

My husband and I, you know, we share the responsibility for the income in our home, and so it was a big blow financially to us. Sure. And it was the week before Christmas, and I worked for a church, and so when it was announced in church that there had been some staff layoffs because of finances, a couple of church members who we had served with, people we knew well, but, you know, not heart friends, but people we knew, showed up at our front door, and they brought us an envelope with $800 in cash.

Whoa! Yeah. And my husband and I are very frugal people, always have been very frugal people, and our first instinct was to refuse the gift. But I'm a big believer that just as we're called to give, we are also called to let others give to us. Amen. And so we took the money, and we tucked it up in the kitchen cabinet, and we muddled through.

We figured out how we were going to deal with our situation, and we carried on. And we had the emotional security of we knew that envelope was in the cupboard if we needed it. And the Lord has always blessed us, and we never needed that $800. And we kept it in the cabinet, and we just started to think about what are we going to do with that money. That was a gift that we had received, we were grateful for. It was a gift from an emotional standpoint as far as the security it gave us. Absolutely.

And after about four years, there was a terrible fire here in Wichita, and it was an apartment complex, and it was an apartment complex where a bunch of people who were refugees from Myanmar, or some people call it Burma, were living after they had lived a horrific experience of being refugees and had come to be settled here in the States. And this apartment complex fire, dozens of families lost their homes. And these were people who barely had anything to start with. And so we were able then to take that $800 that was still in the original envelope. We had never, we'd never even opened it. And we were able to give that really in somebody's moment of need as far as, you know, it was a fire.

You need cash. You need to be able to go buy food and groceries and things to eat and clothing to wear right now. And the nonprofit that had settled the refugees, you know, they have a lot of forms and vouchers and things they can do long-term to help with rent and whatnot, but having cash on hand in an emergency is a big deal. It changes everything. It does, and it was a blessing to us. It was a blessing all those years that that money was sitting in the cabinet waiting for us to need it and reminding us of the love our brothers and sisters had for us, and then it was a blessing to us to be able to turn around and pay it forward again. And I think sometimes as Christians we get taught to serve one another,

and we forget that we have to allow others to serve us. And so that was why I wanted to tell the story today, was because it was so important to accept that gift, even though our first instinct so many times is to not accept the gift. Yeah, amen. That's very important. It's a great lesson. And it ended up being paid on forward anyway, but who knew that?

Yeah, well done. You might have needed it. And like you said, the emotional relief was a big part of the gift for you guys. Beautiful. Well done. It's a generosity show today. We're taking your questions, or not your questions, your stories about generosity this hour and next hour.

The phone number is 888-825-5225. Sarah is in Atlanta. Hi, Sarah. Merry Christmas. Hi, Dave. Merry Christmas. So tell me your giving story. Alright, so my story is a receiving story from a little over three years ago. This was my junior year of college right before Thanksgiving. I was 20 years old. My best friend and I were heading back to our hometown for Thanksgiving break, and we were driving home in her car because I didn't have one. Unlike most of my friends, I was never gifted a car by my parents on my 16th birthday.

We just didn't have the kind of money for that. So we're driving home, and she tells me that we need to stop by her boyfriend's house because his parents wanted to give us cookies or something like that. So I thought, all right. I was really close with his parents. Actually, they had actually let me live with them the summer prior to this because my dad had downsized to a one bedroom apartment and I didn't really have a place to stay at that point. So his family is just absolutely amazing. But

once we got to our hometown, we were pulling up to their house. I noticed a truck in the driveway that I'd never seen there before with a bow on top of it, which I thought was strange. And then I noticed everybody was standing outside, seemingly waiting for us to get there, which I also thought was really strange. And then I walked up to the truck and where everyone was waiting and they handed me the keys, and they were giving me my very first car. Wow! How fun! Very cool. And we got a picture of it they're showing on YouTube.

That's a nice truck. Yeah, it's a little 2002 Mazda pickup, and I just absolutely love that car, and it turns out they've been planning it for about two months to give it to me. Their aunt bought a brand-new truck, and that one was just sitting at her house collecting dust, car and turns out they'd been planning it for about two months to give it to me um their aunt bought a brand new truck and that one was just sitting at her house collecting dust and they decided as a family that i could get a lot more use out of it so it was just absolutely amazing and they gave me the freedom that i really needed as a young adult and it was just absolutely the

best gift i've ever gotten. Man, that's huge. I mean, who gives somebody a car? Wow, very nice. Very nice. I mean, you probably had to just, like, be in shock. I was definitely in shock. I was looking around, and I was like, wait, is this a joke? Are you serious?

Are you punking me here? Yeah, it's Christmas. Don't be punking me. I love it. Very cool. Well, you'll be able to do that many times over into the future. I'm sure you're on your way to financial peace and living like no one else so that later you can live and give like no one else. Well done.

Great story. I love that one. Well, if you're a last-minute shopper, you don't have to stress. We've got 25% off all of our live event tickets coming up here in the spring. We're going to be doing smart money events in Colorado Springs, Irvine, California, Raleigh, North Carolina, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Cincinnati, Ohio, Atlanta, Georgia, and San Diego. We are so looking forward to this.

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So you don't want to miss out on any of that good stuff. This is a generosity, a giving show here on the Dave Ramsey Show. Let me tell you a story about two families that are very much alike in a lot of ways. Both families have two working parents and a couple of young kids. Each has debt and a struggle to make ends meet. But they're starting to make headway with their budgets and smarter decisions with money. They have dreams and plans, and the only real difference is that one family has the right amount of term life insurance and the other doesn't. Big difference. If one of the parents die, and that does happen, their well-being would be destroyed. Paying for

the mortgage, utilities, food, and other bills would be impossible, let alone saving for education or retirement. That's why every day I talk relentlessly about getting term life insurance. Just go to ZanderInsurance.com or call 800-356-4282 and see how inexpensive it really is. Be the family that takes those deliberate steps to be different and responsible. It really does make you the hero of your story, and it puts you on course for better things ahead. These guys look like a great Christmas card to me. Our own Jason Miller is the program director for our SiriusXM Ramsey Network

and works on our broadcast team behind the scenes. One of our family members, our Ramsey team members are joining us each hour to tell their giving story. This family has had an incredible year. So Jason, welcome. Thank you. Merry Christmas. So excited to be here. Merry Christmas. Thank you. So tell us your giving story. Well, I'm joined up here by my son, Ian. He is 10 years old, about to turn 11 here in just a couple weeks. And we have had a hard year, but it's been a very good year. When he was 16 months old, he had a brain tumor. And so we fought and we fought for a year.

We went to St. Jude, and he went through chemotherapy and radiation treatments and just so many surgeries back when he was just a little baby. And over the years, he just continued to thrive and do well. And, you know, we thought everything was, you know, on track. He was just doing so good. We did. We did. But earlier this year, back in about March and April, things just began to change. And we didn't know what was going on, but we just noticed some seizures and just some personality changes that weren't consistent with who he was.

And so we went in for a routine checkup with St. Jude, and we just voiced our concerns. And when we went in, we found that cancer had returned. And it wasn't the same cancer that we had started with. It was a second cancer caused because of the treatment of the first. And they warned us early on that this is something that could definitely happen again later in life. And we have hit that stage where side effects from all the things that we had to do to beat it the first time have begun to show up. And thus begun our journey throughout the summer and into the fall of living through chemotherapy treatments

and lots of tests and MRIs and all of that fun stuff in Memphis. Yeah. So you guys have had a year with the Super I t-shirts on, Super Ian. That's right. Absolutely. Fighting cancer at St. Jude's. St. Jude's people are incredible, aren't they? Absolutely.

They are the best. I mean, they meet all of our needs. I mean, they care for us. It's more than a hospital, for sure. And without them, we know for sure that we wouldn't be standing here with smiles on our faces this holiday season. Absolutely. Absolutely. So the prognosis is now

he's doing really well um he we're done and with with the chemotherapy we're at home and so every month we go back for for a quick checkup if it's just to heparinize his line because he still has a port in um and we're doing checkups every couple months i mean there there are a couple things i won't you know act like everything's great that we have to keep our eye on, but St. Jude is on it. We know our God is on it, and we're leaving the rest to them, and we're just enjoying the time we have, and we're just praying over him every day

and enjoying the health that he does have at this moment. Overall, the worst is behind you, though. We believe so, absolutely. You've got it beat, it looks like. Yeah. Very good. And your hair's growing back, Ian. Yeah, peach fuzz.

All right, man. See, my hair ain't going to grow back, buddy. You get yours back. Mine won't be coming back. Wow, we're proud of you, man. He's making good strides. He's a fighter. He is a fighter.

He's been fighting for a year. Absolutely. We've all been tracking with you, man. He's making good strides. He's a fighter. He's a fighter. He's been fighting for a year. Absolutely. We've all been tracking with you pretty close. Your team has been there with you and been there with you in prayer and stood beside you guys. I know that. You definitely have. And we are very thankful for you. We're very thankful for everyone here in our team because you guys have supported us just so well. One of the things that, one of the blessings that I wanted to make sure I got on here and

talked about that people, well, there's two really big ones that I want to share. You know, the hospital we chose to go get treated at was in Memphis. And, you know, it's still about 225, 250 miles away. And through a big part of our journey, I knew I was going to be making that trip a lot during the week. I think I had figured it out that I would be traveling at least twice a week back and forth. And so we were going to put miles on the van. And our minivan at the time had over 200,000 miles on it.

We'd had that sucker paid off for a long time. But a lot of our friends thought, well, we need to step in the gap here. We know that they're planning to ride this van out for a while longer, but we don't want something to happen in transit on one of those many trips. And so a friend of ours started a GoFundMe account. We didn't even really know about it at first. I don't even know if they fully got our permission. They were just like they really wanted to do something for us.

And through the process of friends here and the company and friends, you know, out and about all over the place, they were able to raise enough to get us a new van so that we didn't have to do anything else. A new to us, not brand new. Yes, that's right. That's okay. A great used van. That's okay.

With low miles. It's a good thing. It's a good thing. You've got to make that kind of a trip in this kind of a situation. You don't need to be on the side of the road. I knew we were going to put maybe even 20,000, 25,000 miles on that van with what we were doing. So we have been very, very blessed through that act. We also, as we were leading into the summer, Ian, really, his one thing he wanted to do this year was to go to Washington, D.C.

And when he got sick, we were just like, buddy, I just don't know that we're going to be able to do this. I don't know when we're going to find the time and when you're going to be healthy enough. But sure enough, a couple day break came in the middle of treatment plan. And we were dealing with some heavy stuff at that moment. We had gotten some results that worried us a lot. And so we just said, you know what, we need to take this time. We need to do something, something that he's always wanted to do. And my team over here, the media team, I mean, they jumped in the gap real quick. They said, you know, on like a day's notice, they helped us find a hotel room. They got everything taken care of so that we could go, and we stayed right on the mall.

Pennsylvania Avenue. We got to do all the fun stuff that he had wanted so desperately to do all summer and was really kind of so upset about. Yeah. And just friends, they just jumped in, and they did it, and they made it happen for us. And we have memories that, you know, we wouldn't have otherwise. Well done. Well done.

Well, it's been a hard year and a beautiful year at the same time, especially by the time we get to this part of the story, where things are going well again. Yes, and we want to say that through these acts of kindness and generosity, it's really taught our kids to want to pay it forward. And it just warms our heart to see them take initiative and want to do things for other people because of all the things that have been done for us. And so for the second year in a row, the Monday before Thanksgiving, we do a day of giving back.

And the kids and I sit and talk and pray about who we feel like really needs something. And we just show up at people's doors with either cookies or flowers or gift cards. And we pick like six or seven people and we do that for them just to get that in their DNA, where they are always looking for those people that have needs and that could just use some cheer. And so I'm hoping that because of the generosity shown to us that my kids will always be generous to others. Amen. Well done. Well done.

Well, Merry Christmas, Super Ian. Good to see you, my man. I'm proud of you. Good stuff. A great story. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for sharing that with us, Jason and team.

That's beautiful times. Merry Christmas to you. Merry Christmas. Wow. Our question of the day comes from Blinds.com. They have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, which means even if you mismeasure or you pick the wrong color, they will remake your window blinds for free. You get free samples, free shipping, and the new promos they run every month. You save even more.

What's the promo code? Ramsey. Maggie is in Illinois. Dave, I have five grandkids, all older and working. I don't have much contact with them, though they live 30 minutes, and they don't return my texts. I give them money at our Christmas Eve party, and they say thank you as I hand them the card. But no other contact during the year. My husband says to quit the gift, but the grandmother in me says to keep giving them money.

Do I tell them why there's no gift or take that gift and donate it to a charity and explain in the card who the gift will be going to? Hmm. I don't think you manage a relationship with a gift. This is a relationship problem. It's not a gift problem. So, no, I think I would call each one of them and schedule a lunch individually throughout the year and just tell them that you want to have a better relationship with them and you want to talk to them more often, that you miss them and you love them.

If they then choose to not have any interaction with you, then I wouldn't give them gifts anymore. But I wouldn't use the gift to try to repair the relationship one way or another or send a message about the relationship. You need to talk about the relationship. That's the problem. That's so sad. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Merry Christmas, America.

This is a generosity show, a giving show, a special edition of the Dave Ramsey Show. We're glad you're with us. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Your giving or receiving story. Dan is in Connecticut. Merry Christmas, Dan. Merry Christmas, Dave. Thank you for what you do.

Absolutely. Thank you, sir. So tell me your giving story, sir. Yes, sir. So I'm a home care physical therapist, which means I go into patients' homes and provide care for them. And in providing care, oftentimes when you're there two times a week, you get to really know these people quite well and develop relationships and get to love them, these people, just like their family.

One particular couple four or five years ago, they lived in a pretty weathered, tattered home, I would call it. It was a three-story Victorian. On the third floor, there were holes in the windows that were covered by plastic. And I came to love these people. And I'm married for 60 years. Three times a week, the wife dedicatedly would bring her husband out down the ramp of their home, wait for dialysis.

Three days a week, 430 in the morning, zero home, wait for dialysis three days a week, 430 in the morning, zero degrees, didn't matter. Talk about dedication. Wow. So in conversation with them, yeah, in conversation with them, come to find out that I certainly could see that their home was not efficient based on the fact that it was looking weathered, and probably their boiler was probably decades old. And they told me that they were going through oil a tank of oil every two weeks at best during the dead of

winter we're talking between three and four gallons um three or four dollars a gallon at the time we're talking easily over a thousand dollars a month and so you know it kind of spoke to me and my wife and i you know um we kind of keep we keep money aside at the end of you know, it kind of spoke to me and my wife and I, you know, um, we kind of keep, we keep money aside at the end of the year to give kind of creatively and honestly to those who need it way more than we do. In this particular case, it was on my heart and I, and I called my wife and I said, listen, you know, this is the story. And I was able to find out, let's really find out what oil company they used. And I drove over there, and I told the woman that when these customers were to call in for an oil tank refill, that they would be receiving an anonymous gift for a refill for oil that day.

And they kind of looked at me like I had, like, three heads. And they're like, no, no, what now? Do what? You know, right. And I said, please do not tell them the young man came over here to do this i just want to give the gift and um i want it to be a gift and so that was done and um you know what's cool is when you're doing it anonymously you can just sit back and wonder what the reaction was when she picked up the phone and said, gosh, you know, we need oil again.

And they had that response that they never expected and kind of were able to take a deep breath and say, holy smokes, you know, we get to rest easy for the next couple of weeks. And, you know, it's just a blessing to be able to think of what that response might have been. Very cool. Yeah, that's fun. That's about as good as it gets right there. You're keeping somebody warm. I mean, literally.

That's very well done. Good job, Dan. Good job. Great giving story. Tim is with us in Columbus, Ohio. Merry Christmas, Tim. How are you? Merry Christmas, Dave. Good to Columbus, Ohio. Merry Christmas, Tim. How are you? Merry Christmas, Dave. Good to talk to you. You too, sir. So tell me your giving story.

Well, I guess it's more of God's story than my story. And, you know, my life is covered, colored by the Bible and what God's done for me. First Corinthians 4, 7 says, what do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you act as if you did not? So just try to, you know, hold what God gives me loosely. My story kind of starts back a year after I got married. I was diagnosed with melanoma. It was malignant and invasive. You know, it could have taken me pretty quickly,

but God chose to spare me, and, you know, it was really a miracle at that time. Fast forward to a couple years ago, my wife and I now have four kids, praise the Lord, and we got to know a little girl in our church, Bryelle. Bryelle was, I think, four years old at the time, and when she was one, she came down with cancer called Wilm's tumor that affected both of her kidneys. And to save her life, they had to take out both of her kidneys. And she was put on dialysis for 12 hours a day. You know, just a real sweet little girl, but obviously didn't have a lot of the things that we have. She finally got old enough and was cancer-free long enough to be eligible to get a kidney transplant. And, you know, my wife and I got to know her family and kind of wished them the best.

You know, hey, you'll get put on the list, and I guess somehow know her family and kind of wished them the best. You know, hey, you'll get put on the list, and I guess somehow you'll get a kidney someday. The more we learned about that situation, the more we prayed about it, the more we learned about living donations, understand that basically we're all born with a spare kidney, and after a while my wife and I prayed about it, and I decided to see if I would be a match. And my blood type is O negative. And come to find out, it was a match.

And a couple months later, we did a kidney transplant. I shared my spare. And Brielle, you know, got to have a new normal. She got to be a normal child. Wow. She's grown. Yeah. She's grown like a weed. They still go to our church.

It's an honor to be able to see her grow up and share my story with you. Wow, that's amazing. Yeah, we've heard a lot of giving stories over the years. I don't know if I've ever talked to somebody who gave their kidney to someone not in their family. Wow. Just to a little girl in the church. Absolutely amazing. Tim, Tim, you're an important guy.

That's amazing. Very, very well done. Well, praise God. I mean, I think someday we'll all get to sit around heaven sharing these stories and praising the Lord above everything else. Amen. No question about that. Well done, sir. Wow.

There's generosity, and then there's you gave them a kidney. Wow. That's over the top. Amazing. Okay. Joy is with us in Los Angeles. Hey, Joy, Merry Christmas. Hi, Joy is with us in Los Angeles. Hey, Joy, Merry Christmas.

Hi, Merry Christmas. So tell me your giving story. Okay, well, my husband is an electrician, and he had at that time been laid off due to the bad economy for, I'm not sure how long, a month or two. And anyway, he had just gotten a very good job. And I was on the phone with the unemployment office disputing one last check that we were supposed to get. And they were not making it sound like we were going to get it.

But anyway, I get off the phone kind of frustrated. I told my husband, you know what? If that check comes, why don't we give it to that family that Miriam's been telling us about? And he said, okay, that sounds good. So Miriam had been helping this neighbor of hers. It was a husband and wife. They had adopted five special needs kids, and the husband was recently hospitalized due to a work-related injury.

And so anyway, lo and behold, a few days later, the check came. So we said, okay, my husband felt an urgency. Okay, we need to bring it over right now. And so we were a homeschool family. We all piled in the car. I first had to call Miriam and say, Miriam, can you give me the information about your neighbor, that lady? And so she gave me her name. I didn't even know her name at the time. Jotted down where she lived. We went to the

bank, cashed the check. My husband wanted to give cash. I'm like, are you crazy? Let's just do a money order or something. No, let's do cash. So we get to the street. We were doing it incognito. We had my daughter walk down to the house, put the envelope in the mailbox. So because we're friends with Miriam, we got to find out how this whole thing went down later. So what happened was Deborah, the mother, the wife, she had been doing her bills that day and realized she was going to be about $1,000 short in her budget.

And she was just devastated, didn't know what she was going to do. Do I pay the rent? Do I hold back bills? What do I do? So she goes into the backyard and is having a very loud prayer session with God, telling God, don't you care, Lord? Don't you care? Well, then she hears a creak on her mailbox.

Goes to the mailbox, finds a white envelope, opens the envelope, a thousand dollars fall out with a note that says, from a God who cares. Oh, love it. Oh, home run.

Mic drop. Well done. Hey guys, this is James Childs, producer of The Dave Ramsey Show. I'm excited to announce that we're now carried on 600 radio stations across the country. To find one near you, head to DaveRamsey.com slash show.