Since next week is Christmas Eve and everybody will be busy, I decided to share my author interview with you early. After all, I didn’t want anyone to miss an opportunity to win a free book!
So today it’s a joy to share Kimberly Long and her book, Financial Hope: Take Control of Your Destiny, with you…and the timing is perfect! In this season of overspending and underplanning, Kimberly can help you uncover the time-tested Biblical truths of freedom from poverty.
Don’t forget to leave a comment for Kimberly and you could win a free book! Just be sure to check back next week to see if you’re the winner. 🙂
Okay, let’s get started! Kimberly, I have to ask, why did you write a book on finances, especially with so much competition?
After a sudden divorce without any time to plan for future finances, I ended up in poverty. My family raised me in a middle class environment and I had never experienced the “poor house” until then. I had a two-year-old daughter and had no formal education. Needless to say, I stayed in poverty for a while. After graduating from Barber School and working as a hairdresser for a little while, I continued to struggle.
I thought, “Since I’m obedient in paying tithes, I must be destined to be poor, but it doesn’t seem right to struggle so much.” God must have heard my thoughts because He challenged me in my devotion time one morning soon after. The scripture was “The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty … ” (Proverbs 21:5a). Well, I knew I didn’t have plenty, so now my feelers were hurt. I thought I was being diligent. So I made a commitment to go to work that day and do extra. I asked if I could re-paint the cabinets that were smudged with color. I folded towels in between clients. I swept and washed hair for other co-workers who were overwhelmed.
Then I realized—I had been sitting in my chair, reading, in between hair appointments before this new mission. And I thought I was being diligent? It was only a matter of days before my clientele increased. It continued until I was one of the busy ones. I knew this wasn’t a coincidence and thus began my journey coming out of poverty. I also knew God was not partial and would do for others what He had done for me. I wanted to help other women and felt my miraculous stories mixed with God’s word was a different angle than most other finance books.
Were there other principles that brought financial blessings?
Yes, I continued to get my feelings hurt as my eyes were opened to more scriptures that told what it was that tends to poverty. But the good news is that I took each challenge, sometimes with white knuckles, and stepped out in faith. God amazed me every time—hmmm … and to think that God’s word works! I found out that financial success is really a matter of balancing many principles like integrity, knowing our value in the workplace, having a right view of riches and being a distribution center, to name a few.
Did you come out of poverty while still single?
I did. I can say it was all God and the power of His word that brought me out. So many women remarry to get out of poverty, which results in co-dependency. It’s not God’s best plan for us. He wants us to know Him as our Provider and Protector, even when married.
You talk about poverty mentality: what is your definition of this term?
The last chapter is a little on the sarcastic side. It’s titled, “You Might Have PMS (poverty mentality syndrome) If…” It’s best if you read this title with a redneck drawl. Here are some of the symptoms of P.M.S. If …
- You wash out disposable cups, utensils and zip top bags to reuse them. They’re called disposable for a reason. Go on, use your good china if you’re gonna wash anyway.
- You have bleached, brassy fried hair, or two-inch long nappy roots, but own a cell phone and more than one T.V. You don’t see the value of investing in yourself.
- You peel and use the last tissue from the toilet paper roll—glue and all. Better read up on what’s in the glue before you wipe.
- You save newspapers and magazines from nineteen aught seven because you may get around to reading them someday. I wouldn’t let anyone smoke in the garage if I were you.
Poverty mentality is a fear that makes us do crazy things. To get rid of it, we can take specific principles from God’s word, allow it to challenge us enough to exercise our faith, and then we will progressively replace the fear with faith. It works in any economy and any circumstance. I’m a living testimony. And the results are pretty nice.
Thank you for sharing your book with us today, Kimberly. And readers, be sure to leave a comment and you’ll be entered into the drawing for a free copy of Financial Hope: Take Control of Your Destiny.
BIO: Kimberly’s passion is to build women’s confidence and courage from God’s view. She has been delivered and healed from so much and wants to see the same in others! Gleaning from the ten years she was a single mom, Kimberly published her first book, Financial Hope to help women increase their understanding of how to live in freedom and peace. Her articles have been published in The Upper Room, The Herald, and Living Magazine. She is a graduate of Christian Communicators and has attended writer’s conferences throughout the country. Kimberly has served as Director of Christian Women’s Job Corps, Youth Minister, Worship Leader, Women’s Minister, and Small Group Pastor. But her best training came from scrubbing the church toilets, changing other children’s diapers, and finding out she was not called to sing by being allowed to lead worship and sing “specials”. She has three grown children—all married and finally producing grandbabies for her! You can find out more about Kimberly and her ministry at her website,
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On Wednesday I shared a summary of Pastor Larry Scott’s three part message about the night Jesus was born.
Well, since this is the day before Christmas, I know many are like me, running around, cleaning house between cooking and wrapping and dreaming of sugarplums!
It’s the 3rd Thursday, and that means it’s time to share some writing opportunities with you!
Each month I post a list of writing opportunities here at The Christian Writer’s Den, and as a result, many of you have found success through the years by taking advantage of those opportunities.
