Margin: A Year Later | Generosity Story

Speaker 1:
Your generosity fuels all of Westside's efforts to make disciples, equip families and share Christ's love, here and around the world.

Kent Young:
We've been attending Westside since 2008. Came to Christ, both of us in 2009, July we were baptized. When Westside started talking about doing the Financial Peace University, we decided to go. And after the first night, we did a little pinky swear out in the truck after we left and decided, "We're going to do this, we're going to be all in on this." The night we started the class, we were $62,580 in debt.

Kammra Young:
Livin' paycheck to paycheck.

Kent Young:
Paycheck to paycheck, sometimes over our means. I'm just being honest, more than once we had our lights shut off for late payment, for a day or two, and then got them back on. The first credit card we paid off was $3,000. It took us several months to do it, but as that snowball started, that was the first, "We can do this," and we celebrated. As each one came up, we celebrated.

Kammra Young:
Mm-hmm.

Kent Young:
All the way up to the last one, was our house. I wrote the biggest check I ever wrote my life for fifteen thousand some-odd dollars. And we put the check on the kitchen table and all three kids came in. We each took a pen, almost like what the president does when they write a law, and we each signed that check and put on there what it was for and-

Kammra Young:
One of the kids did the date, one of them put in the memo, "Paid house off," and I got to write the long number. And then he signed it.

Kent Young:
It was, yeah [inaudible 00:01:57]. It was.

Kammra Young:
That was pretty cool that the kids were a participant in that and got to see it. It was a huge moment in our lives.

Kent Young:
Right.

Kent Young:
Praise God for everything, because of what he's done-

Kammra Young:
We couldn't have done it without him.

Kent Young:
We couldn't have done it without him. No, not one bit.

Kammra Young:
There's no way.

Kent Young:
Not one bit. When we prayed out there in the parking lot that night after the first meeting, we pinky swore this is what we were going to do, we just begged God to come into the center of this and do it all, and lead us down his path.

Kammra Young:
We don't know where we would be without having that money built up, and it's just comforting to know that we don't owe anyone.

Kent Young:
Right.

Kammra Young:
My hope is to bless people more often, whether that's buy somebody coffee at the coffee shop, or a tank of gas.

Kent Young:
I'm kind of giddy thinking about this now with Christmas coming up and finding somebody in front of you at the checkout stand, and I know that you are too, that maybe can't afford something. And you say, "I got it. I'll take care of this for you. Don't worry about it."

Kammra Young:
Those big giving moments are awesome, but it's also little giving moments that you see throughout, just in your day to day life-

Kent Young:
Just listening to the Holy Spirit.

Kammra Young:
Yeah, as to where he guides you and what he wants you to do. It's his money, it's not ours.

Kent Young:
It is, it's all his.

Kammra Young:
Thank you, Westside.

Kent Young:
Thank you, Westside for your generosity. We have gone through this and come out on the other side with $62,000 plus paid off in 18 months, with a six month emergency fund. The world can throw anything at us and we're good to go. Because of your generosity, we're here to say this today.

Kammra Young:
Because of the church surrounding us and helping us, and giving us the tools to make the right decisions.

Kent Young:
And our small group backing us every step of the way.

Kammra Young:
Yep. Go, Westside.