From the National Christian Foundation in San Diego, I’m Kim Moeller, and this is the GenerousGirl podcast, a show that shares inspirational stories about generosity through faith, family, finances, fitness, and friendships, as well as deep thoughts aboutwhat matters most and practical tips. My guests are all amazing women who have overcome adversity and are big believers in hope And in maximizing their time, their talents, and their treasures, and making their lives count. So we’re so happy that you’re here. Thanks for joining us.
Introductions
Kim Moeller [00:00:39]:Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the Generous Girl podcast. I am thrilled today to welcome Janice Thompson, And Janice is amazing. She’s the founder of One Degree Advisors, and youare going to just reallyyou’re in for a treat. She’s a certified financial planner. She also has a Master’s degree in financial services. She’s on the board for Kingdom Advisors, and She’s in what she calls the third act of her life with her husband. And when she’s outside of the office, you can find her with her family.Kim Moeller [00:01:12]:
She enjoys being at the beach And bike riding, reading, and has 2 adult kids, and they continue to add grandbabies to her family. So she’s living a very blessed season, and we have a lot to talk about today in terms of finances and family. So welcome, Janice.
Janice Thompson [00:01:31]:Thank you. It’s a Great privilege to be here with you, Kim. Thank you.Kim Moeller [00:01:35]:Well, I know I’ve you know, just One Degree Advisors as a financial advisory firm in San Diegohas such a stellar reputation. And I’ve just enjoyed getting to know you through my role at NCS.And when I got to know you, I thought, wow, you would be an amazing guest On the podcast,and the question is why? Why should all the listeners, you know, want to tune in to hear Janice?And it’s for several reasons because I want you to tell your story of how you even got into starting this firm and then how you’ve recently pivoted and you have a new focus What whatyour, you know, your heart goes after and what you’re doing with this huge audacious goal. But really, I also want the listener the female listener to be empowered to be able to take the nextstep of how can she be like have better preparation that leads to, You know, more organization.
Kim Moeller [00:02:31]:in the financial area andKim Moeller [00:02:32]:then also generosity. You work with some incredibly generous people and I know you’ve got you’ve learned a lot over the years in working with them. So welcome welcome, and why don’t we start with telling how you got started with the firm One Degree Advisors?Janice Thompson [00:02:46]:Well, it’s interesting.
My First Money Memory
My very first money memory was of my father sitting beside me, at my bed.I was probably 5 years old, and he would give me my 10p allowance And he would put 1 penny was for Jesus 1 penny was for savings And Jenny could spend the reston whatever she wanted. And it was just fascinating that that memory as a small child translated Into watching my parents model generosity and great financial management. And then I started studying scripture as the child and everything about money, it was as if the Holy Spirit was illuminating that passage. So I, as a from childhood, have been studying. But the Bible has to say about money to the point where I started working with people in college and helping them set up what I called spending plans because I had been living off of once since I was a 5 year old. Right?
And that then turned into after I got my education, I started teaching at a college financial planning class, andthe students would come and ask questions. And then they started sending their parents to me, and I realized I was actually enjoying that coaching piece of how to take a comprehensive
approach from a biblical perspective to their money. And, then after I realized that I was having far more impact there than I was with 18 to 22 year olds, by faith, stepped out and started a company to get all the degrees and the certifications so that I could do it professionally, and it’s been the ride of my life.
Starting One Degree Advisors
Janice Thompson [00:04:13]:I it’s I’ve never felt like I worked a day in my life because I’m so passionate about helping peoplewisely steward not just their money. It’s really At the intersection of their faith, their family, andtheir finances, those 3 are very integrated. And when they are and they’re done according toscripture, It’s an incredible journey.
Kim Moeller [00:04:33]:It is. You know, you it’s amazing you have that memory as As a 5 year old, we were at some conference when our kids were little, and they sold these plastic banks, with the large rectangle containers ,and they had 80% and then the 10% and the 10%, and so we tried to do the same thing with modeling that type of a bank for the child to see that it’s all God’s and the discipline of putting it in and saving and giving from the beginning. I work with many generous people as well and they just talk about over their lifetime about God’s faithfulness. And whether they had very little or they have plenty, they’ve been consistent in giving the 10% or a lot of people a lot more than that. And, it is fascinating and amazing to watch their stories, and they’re just so convinced of when you follow that 80, 10, 10 plan, what God can do.
The 80, 10, 10 plan
Janice Thompson [00:05:35]:Yes. Yeah. When you look back at Matthew 25, and that was actually the mission verse that Ianchored starting the My company, my business around the parable of the talents was you understand that if you’re afraid and you bury the talent, Not only will you lose what you have, but it’s going to be given to someone who knows how to manage it wisely. And that just so motivated me to want to see and I’ll say since we’re talking to an audience of women, I’m especially passionate about seeing women thrive in this area
Helping Women to Thrive
because so many of them are timid or they don’t have confidence in their financial skills or they have goals that are typically centered around their children and they don’t want to be a bag lady someday I mean it goes on and on and on but those those same stewardship principles of burying your head in the sand is not the answer But even if you don’t feel like you’re competent or equipped to do that, there are lots of resources to help you get to where you can actually thrive in in financial areas.
Kim Moeller [00:06:33]:Okay. I love that, Janice. Let’s unpack that a little bit. So for the listener who feels maybe she resonated with one of those points that you just made, What would be some of those resources that you would recommend or if she was sitting with you in her your office and Maybe, you
know, she’s been married 20 years and the husband’s done all the finances and maybe now the kids are being launched and she feels like she has more margin and wants To learn more, what would you say to that woman and how could you help, empower her?
How Do you Help Empower A Woman with Her Finances?
Janice Thompson [00:07:03]:Well, first of all, if you’re married, the obvious places to communicate well with your spouse.Now I will say I’ve been doing this for over 3 decades, that in a perfect world works great. Butthere are a lot of spouses that do not communicate about money. So it’s a matter of helping you become equipped with the level that you are able to control. So, read books by Ron Blue, there are lots of them on basic money management. Take a Dave Ramsey, Total Peace University class. You can do a lot yourself. You can also meet with a certified financial advisor or and I’d also like to add 1 more designation in there because I believe so strongly in the biblical integration process that
A Kingdom Advisor Designation
happens with the CKA, the Certified Kingdom Advisor designation, where someone just meet with them for an hour to get the basics.
Janice Thompson [00:07:55]:Where do I start? What’s the first best next step to take?Kim Moeller [00:07:59]:So So you’re saying someone could Google C K A, which is Certified Kingdom Advisor in their area because many people are listening to this podcast, you know, outside of Southern California, And they could find someone who has that designation and that is a blend of what the Bible says and then Financial Planning, rules, principles all blended together and integrated in that designation, if I understand that correctly.
Janice Thompson [00:08:25]:And you can actually put in your ZIP code and see if there’s someone in your area. I will say we produce a blog where we’re edge we do a lot of educational videos for people that may never be clients of the firm. That’s okay. We want to get the educational piece out there. And I can tell you, every blog, every piece out there. And I can tell you, every blog, every video we produce, you can be assured that biblical wisdom is graded into that no matter which adviser is doing the presentation.
Kim Moeller [00:08:49]:And do you know that URL that you could share withthe listeners? We can put it in the shownotes.Janice Thompson [00:08:54]:
Yes. I can I can send that to you? It’s onedegreeadvisors.com/blog,
Kim Moeller [00:09:01]:Okay. Great. Onedegreeadvisors.com Forward slash blog.Janice Thompson [00:09:05]:Right.Kim Moeller [00:09:05]:Perfect. Okay. How about what we hear a lot in the news today about this great wealth transfer happening and a lot of that money going to women.
The Great Wealth Transfer
How can you speak to that? Because we haven’t spent much time on that on the podcast yet.
Janice Thompson [00:09:19]:Right. There is a huge tsunami coming. It’s not even a wave. I would call it a tsunami. Kinsey and Company, a great research firm, states that women hold trillions of dollars of wealth that they’re in control of. Within the next six and a half years, that number triples to $30,000,000,000,000. When we look out to 2045, we’re looking at a transfer of 84,000,000,000,000. And if you look at the statistics, 80% of women will eventually be responsible for finances.
Janice Thompson [00:09:56]:Whether they want to or not, it’s coming. So my challenge to every woman listening is no matter where you are in this journey, maybe you feel like you’ve totally blown it. Or maybe you know that you you think you’re doing most of the things right, but you just maybe want to check a few things. Regardless of where you are, my encouragement to you is be prepared. It’s coming whether you’re ready or not.
Kim Moeller [00:10:18]:Mhmm. Okay. That that I have, you know, in my industry that I’m in as well, we heara lot about that. And one thing I hear is often times, obviously, the women outlive the men and when the man passes away, sometimes the woman gets rid of that Financial Adviser because she doesn’t have the relationship with him. So I think for all the financial advisory firms, they’re aware of this huge tsunami coming as well and trying to figure out how can we educate women ahead of time so that we don’t lose them as clients if the husband does pass away.
Janice Thompson [00:10:55]:Right. You know what’s interesting is I’ve had a lot of men engage with our firm, not because the wife is interested in it, but he wants to make sure she is connected to someone they trust.Before the statistics hold true, he’s gonna go first. And I just think it’s such an act of love for men to connect to their wives, and they’ll come to meetings, and I can see their eyes may be glazing over. We try to make it fun and engaging. I love this stuff. I could talk about it all But I recognize not everybody’s wired like that.Kim Moeller [00:11:25]:Yeah. The famous Elizabeth Elliott whose, you know, husband was a martyr. She’s always said, just take that next step. And that’s on this podcast, for everyone listening, the stories are so encouraging to allow each of us to hear the message, the story, and maybe someone’s had this huge story of overcoming adversity, maybe someone hasn’t.But the goal is then to hear that story and then go, okay, in my own life, wherever I live, I’m going to do this tomorrow. And so I know you do have a number of practical steps that you like to encourage women to take, so why don’t we segue into that area where, For the listener, whatwhat might some of those be?
Janice Thompson [00:12:06]:If we know that 8 out of 10 of the women listening are going to be responsible at some point fortheir finances. Then there’s what I call 4 essentials that must be addressed.
The Four Essentials
And if you’re prepared ahead, the process is going to be much easier. The first essential is assembling your team. So your team could be a spouse, and if that’s not an option because for any reason, then a trusted family member who you can engage to help you make sure that you, are stabilized before you head into an event like this. The second one is a trusted team.
Kim Moeller [00:12:43]: Can you give an example of that, what that might look like?Janice Thompson [00:12:47]:Yes.Kim Moeller [00:12:47]:So Mary’s married to Paul. And so what are you saying? Mary should have a friend, Jennifer, that’s there too?
Janice Thompson [00:12:53]:
It could be a friend. If there’s not an appropriate friend, then I’m gonna go to Part b of this trusted essential team, and that would be surround yourself with an adviser that you can trust, that you’ve connected with before this event. Because like I said, the ones who are prepared grieve differently than the ones who are unprepared.
Kim Moeller [00:13:13]:You have some Financial Adviser. And, obviously, you’re with One Degree Advisors, and I work with a ton of different advisers. So any adviser that you’re feeling is the one you’re working with and like you said is a Certified Kingdom Advisor, all the better, but you’re saying that is number 1 essential that a woman should have in her court whether single or married.
Janice Thompson [00:13:38]:Yes.
Kim Moeller [00:13:39]:Okay.Janice Thompson [00:13:40]:And, again, if you don’t have a close family member, then find a close friend. If you don’t have a close friend, then make that financial adviser your best friend or have them on your speed dial.You’re going to be need to be surrounded by love and wisdom to go through this process. So andI just look at the people. You know, I run the finances for our family. My husband’s very good in his arena. This is my thing, But it’s my responsibility to communicate with him and make sure that he is prepared if something happens to me. And we take steps every year to go through a process where if anything happens, this is the next best step, then this, then this.
Janice Thompson [00:14:17]:We’ve engaged the entire family so that they’ll be able to surround him with the support he’s going to need if I’m gone first. So,again, I think it’s just wise stewardship to make sure that they’re not feeling completely abandoned I’m drowning. So whether it’s a family member, a friend, and or a great financial adviser team. And by the way, the advisory team includes several other professionals. So we typically act as the quarterback of all of the things because we’re comprehensive in nature, we’re looking at making sure the widow has cash flow and the widow has her debts paid and the widow is dealing with life insurance proceeds and Social Security and retirement. We want to make sure she’s not a bag lady someday living on the streets which is the biggest fear that I hear from women is that they’re so afraid they’re going to run out of money and be dependent on someone We don’t want them to experience that we can prepare for it So the other team members will be an estate planning attorney Most people are probably going to need them at some point to help them through the settlement of an estate.
And then the tax professional because there’s always very interesting tax dynamics that occurAfter death. So, again, we engage those professionals.Janice Thompson [00:15:26]:If the widow doesn’t have them, we bring them to the table. But, again, when you’re working witha certified financial planner who’s a DKA, they should be able to have those resources tosurround you with as well. So the first one is essential team. The second one is essentialdocuments. And I can’t say this enough. Even for younger women who and I always talk tofamilies. If you have an 18 year old or more, these children need these documents as wellbecause at least here in the state of California at 18,we can’t do anything when our kids turn18. They have to have these documents in order for us to help them Through tragic things thatmay happen in their life.Janice Thompson [00:16:01]:And that’s a power of attorney for financial matters, a power of attorney for health, And even awill, even though they may not have much, a will is still necessary or the things if there’sanything that happens like A payout of a settlement or a life insurance is gonna wind up goingthrough a court system to get settled. So those are 3 nonnegotiable Documents that everywoman should have. If mostKim Moeller [00:16:26]:happens, would you tell the listener if a person doesn’t have a power of attorney?Janice Thompson [00:16:31]:You have to petition the court for guardianship or some kind of authority to act on that behalf.That is labor intensive. It’s financially intensive, and it takes time. And a lot of times you don’thave time you have to act immediately Having these documents in place ahead of time theyimmediately as long as the circumstances According to the document provided for it you canstart acting immediately.Kim Moeller [00:16:56]:Great. I know I I’ve heard just what you’re talking about, the importance of these, the POA as weused to call it in myold company and It probably takes maybe an hour of time to get it printedoff, go to your local bank, get it notarized, And make sure the people who need to know in yourfamily know where it is, but that 1 hour of time and what it can save you in what youjust said,your Future time, money, the headaches, the fear, it’s just really a very valuable use of time toget that done. Okay. So we have our team. We have the documents and papers. And I’m wanting a part of the document is a beneficiary review. So I so often see someone has died and nothing was ever done to update beneficiary designations. So that’s part of what I call essential documents review is making sure we go through medical insurance, long term care insurance, life insurance, annuities, anything that has a beneficiary designation, retirement accounts, and make sure whoever is the beneficiary is, in fact, who is the the widow wants to be the beneficiary? So there’s the essential team, there’s essential documents, and then there’s essential actions now. And I will say, I have 1 do and 1 don’t, essentially. So you need to compile a list of where everything is. That’s the very first thing I do when a widow wheels in a suitcase full of documents is let’s just get all of this on paper and figure out what do you own, and what do you owe? And let’s see if we can start there and, nail that one down.
I want to know everything about the insurance so we can know what benefits do we apply for, what benefits need to change, what are you eligible for?
Janice Thompson [00:18:45]:I want to know if you have estate planning documents. What is the most current version of those estate documents so that we can make sure that we’re observing everything that has to be done? Another thing that a lot of widows don’t think about is digital assets. So much of our life is online. Yes. So passwords, For example, how will anyone know to be able to get into anything that you valued if they don’t have your passwords or where those things are located? So we make [00:19:10]:a list. Like frequentJanice Thompson [00:19:12]:flyer mileage. Frequent flyer miles. Yes. Yep. There’s a lot of those hidden things that you don’t think about that’s become a very important part of estate planning now. And then there’s personal effects. It’s interesting. You can put together a financial balance sheet, but there’s also that, I call that balance sheet of life where there’s values and there are things that have sentimental values that may not certainly be something you do put on a financial balance sheet, but there are things that the kids might fight over after you’re gone.Janice Thompson [00:19:41]:And I’ve seen them fight over the craziest stuff and fracture Your family. So helping everyone know this thing that I inherited from great great grandma, this needs to go to this child or this friend helps minimize a lot of that stress after.
Kim Moeller [00:19:57]
Ahead of time, you’re saying. Right. Before you pass away, I’ve heard people put, like, Cards on the back of the grandfather clock or Janice Thompson [00:20:04]:Right. Yes. They’re all under that list of just compiling where everything is and really what you value. The big don’t is don’t make major decisions in the 1st 6 and sometimes 12 months. You are in a very, very dark fog. And there’s many times you don’t know how to put1 foot in front ofthe other, let alone try and decide if you’re going to move back East with a child or you’re going to sell the family home. Those things can all typically wait. I look at this process as triage in the the 1st few weeks of a new widow’s life is let’s just deal with the essentials. Janice Thompson [00:20:40]:Let’s put off everything that can wait. Everything to them feels equally heavily weighted, And it’s hard to distinguish what needs to take the priority over other things. So get someone to help you triage and understand all of these things can wait. All of these things should wait. This is what I have to deal with within the next 30 days, and this is all I’m going to focus on. So that’s theessential actions for now, and then I look at the essential communication. So I already mentioned that I think a family meeting is so so helpful.
Holding a Family Meeting
And I’ve walked through families who have had these family meetings and have prepared the heirs for what’s next and those whohaven’t.
Janice Thompson [00:21:21]:And the clear and I I guess communication is the grease that oils the relationships that comebehind you. If you can prepare them with Annual updates and what to do. And as I mentioned, that’s something that my husband and I have really taken seriously is communicate With your family on what your expectations are, how you’re gonna if you as a man listening, how we’re gonna to take care of mom after I’m gone, what I want to see your children do, or if mom is left behind what she wants her children what’s important to her for her children to remember those family communication memes are critical And then I like to go 1 step further with I talk about family wealth as much more than just finances. It’s really Mhmm. What did you value? What If you’re trying to honor that spouse that’s gone, what did you value about him? And how can you memorialize that to the generations that are coming behind you who may never know how much he meant to you and why he meant to you, does he know his story of how you how you met, how you came to Christ, what what you valued in your marriage. All of those things kinda falls under the what I call the family legacy planning
Family Legacy Planning
is taking that wealth total wealth approach to family, not just finances, but What made you you and the unique things that God did in your life? Because really, what scripture is all it is remember what God did because he wants to do it again. I want to know that my grandchildren and great great grandchildren coming behind me know that the same God who took care ofT om and Jan all those years Mhmm. Doesn’t matter what’s happening in the world.
Janice Thompson [00:22:57]:It’s not gonna get better. We already know that. But the same God’s gonna show up just like hedid for Moses and just like he did for Joshua and just like he did for Tom and Jen and just like he’s gonna do for you. So capturing those stories, those memories, those values is really an important part of when you could see clearly of taking that Big step forward.
Kim Moeller [00:23:17]:Oh, I love that. And I like the every year, you know, revisiting this, and Whether I don’t know ifyou use, like, Google Drive and you send everybody to a site there or if you have actual paper folders that you give out to your kids. Do you have any thoughts that way of how Janice Thompson [00:23:33]:you do that stuff? Digital. And because I’ve got, 1 one of my children is married, and the 3 of our grand kids are in Texas, so we don’t get to see them as often. But we all communicate viaZoom, and Uh-huh. They know where the documents are, and We’re very, very intentional about as we update those about communicating those changes to them so that they’re prepared.Kim Moeller [00:23:55]:That’s great. I mean, I feel my husband and I have our documents in order, but I don’t feel that communication with our adult kids in their twenties would really know exactly Where all those are, so that’s going to be my next step.Janice Thompson [00:24:08]:Well, it does need to be age appropriate. I can’t say that when they were in their twenties, we were sharing as much information as we do now that they’re in their thirties, but you just have to be aware that as they grow up and you’re getting older, we all know we have an expiration date on our birth certificate we just don’t know when it is.Kim Moeller [00:24:24]:Right, that’s right. Oh that’s really encouraging. Okay share the audacious goal that you and your husband have.Janice Thompson [00:24:33]:I’m glad you asked. I couldn’t be more excited about what my husband and I are affectionately calling the 3rd act of our our lives, and that is our kids are grown.
Our Big Audacious Goal
Our grandchildren are we’re investing in them, but we’re really looking at turning our attention toward some big holy audacious goals that God has put in our hearts from early on in our marriage. One of them is to help influence The investment of $100,000,000 into kingdom work, and that’s simply through the financial planning process and the conversations with clients and people that we get to reach out to, we can learn interesting ways to take what we call social capital, which are tax dollars,And turn them into kingdom capital and really not affect balance sheets very much at all. So we look forward to having those experiences as we continue to work with people at this stage of our life to see if we can’t hit that $100,000,000 goal of influencing Those gifts for laying treasure in heaven where we know that, you know, we think we’re great investment managers and we do a good job of financial planning, but when you actually invest in the things that god values for eternal purposes, that’s an investment return that we can’t calculate on paper. And I’m so excited about getting to devote more time to that. The other one is really, really working with families in helping them transfer their wisdom before wealth, And a big part of that is mylongtime passion to come alongside widows. I just feel like, James 127 talks about the Outwarddisplay of our inward faith is taking care of the widows and orphans, and that’s always been amandate I felt like God put on my heart as I Enter this whole professional arena of financialadvising is to make sure that if it was in my power to never let a widow be taken advantage of and to help them eventually get to the point where they’re thriving, that that would be a great way to end this, When God calls me home to know that we have had been fulfilling thatmandate to take excellent care and help these widows begin to thrive again, because it is a tough road.Janice Thompson [00:26:42]:I have not that journey. I’ve been through it with many, many, many women and men who have been cast into that very difficult position, But there is life. There is light at the end of that very dark tunnel, and helping them navigate that path and get to the point where We have seen them thrive again is the most probably the most personally rewarding experience of my entire career focus.Kim Moeller [00:27:09]:Oh, that is so beautiful and it just makes me think of a number of things. Like going back to your first part of the goal. I think sometimes we don’t realize how generous our tax code is in theUnited States toward charitable giving. And just as you said, like there are ways that when you work with the right advising team, the whole collection of your CPA and your investment advisor and the people who really know the code. There are just ways to stretch the dollar and make things possible that you had noidea. We have people that come to us kind of thinking there’s no chance and then they walk away going, I had no idea that by doing this with my restaurant, I would free up, you know, these 1,000,000 of dollars that would be available for the passions and causes that, you know, I love the most, I’ve worked 16 hours a day for all these years. So it’s so exciting to do that. And what a great goal in this, as you said, the 3rd act, for you and your husband to have $100,000,000 of capital invested that way for the kingdom, I heard one advisor recently say, the eternal rate of return.
Janice Thompson [00:28:18]:Yes, that’s a good one. Excellent.Kim Moeller [00:28:21]:That’s what I thought also. And then I Yeah, and in terms of the widow side of things, I mean,you are a 100% right and I have seen you in action where I connected you with someone whorecently lost their husband. I just felt like your emails to her were so compassionate and you justreally empathized with her situation as you were talking about whether or not she wanted to meet with you for an exploratory meeting or not. And I just really, you know, appreciated that about your heart behind why you’re wanting to focus on this and do what you’re going to do and I’ll just give a little spoiler. Our next podcast will actually be with a widow who lost her husband in the armed forces in her 20s. And will, And she’s also a financial advisor in another state, but I think the listeners will really, you know, hear firsthand what it’s like to walk in those steps That you really, you know, she was married less than a year. Had no idea this was the path ahead of her.Kim Moeller [00:29:26]:So, I love that people like you are investing your life, you know, to people like her to help them through the journey. And, you know, I’ve also seen a number of really, what seemed very tragic stories and situations at the time and I’ve seen the redemptive story through it and how God does provide and it becomes beautiful even though the pain is never, you know, fully, obviously, gone, but God is faithful. He is always faithful.Janice Thompson [00:29:53]:He does. He reads he takes those ashes and forms a whole new something of value, which you couldn’t design it the way he, If if we can submit and walk through that journey with him and trust him to redeem a very painful experience, it will pay dividends. And I I just love to see the light that comes on in widows’ dark hearts and vacant eyes when they walk in to know that It’s not always going to feel this bad. It’s not always going to be this heavy, but there are steps youhave to take to I say don’t I never wanna help them move forward or move on.Kim Moeller [00:30:34]:Fantastic. Yeah.Janice Thompson [00:30:36]:Because that means leaving everything that they value. They can’t handle that. But if we justlook at taking the next best step forward, and then that step gives us the confidence to take thenext step forward, Then you actually memorialize all that you valued in that relationship and
actually build on that memory that the way that honors that former spouse, And yet they would want you to be most of those widows would their husbands would have wanted them to thrive. Anyway. So, eventually, we’ll get there. And sometimes you just have to stand in that gap for them because they don’t have the faith or the emotional strength to believe that yet. Soone of my biggest jobs and what all of the advisers here in our team is we are the ones standing in that gap for them Until they can believe that for themselves.
Janice Thompson [00:31:26]:And we will just keep pouring him to the two north, which is the word of God and his plan and purpose. Why he chooses to take 1 and leave another? I don’t have the answers to any of that, but I do know that He will redeem it. And we’re gonna stand in the gap and keep pointing in that direction until they can believe it.Kim Moeller [00:31:44]:Yes. That is so, so well said. Okay, I know we’re almost at the end of the podcast, but I don’t want to end by just touching on the overcoming adversity side of things for you Personally and when you’re talking about the widows it also makes me just think of your sweet parents that you lost with the 2 in the same year, so close to each other, and I just thought it might be good for the listeners to hear how you had to walk That journey and how that affected you to be able to take the next step and keep going.Janice Thompson [00:32:19]:Well, We all know that our birth certificates have an expiration date. We just don’t know what that one is. So when we brought, we took care of my husband’s parents well, and let them, ushered them into heaven when they Jesus called them home. And then we had the privilege of doing the same thing for my parents. Just recently. So they had grown up in an orphanage together and had been together all of their lives. And when we brought them into our home 4 years before they both passed, they just wanted to be together. They’d all been together all their life.Janice Thompson [00:32:52]:They were each other’s comfort zone. They’d been married 74 years, and they wanted to die together, and they loved Jesus. So we never ever worried about that. But at the last year of their lives, their health took a dramatic turn. They went from being really healthy and very able to to carefor themselves to that last year was extremely dark and difficult for both of them because they never wanted to be a burden on us, but you can’t help it. The body is not designed to last forever. Right.Janice Thompson [00:33:19]:
So I look at that dark period of time as our gift to honor them, and was it stressful?Extraordinarily. Did it feel like it was never going to end? Yes. Did we have to do things that cause them great indignity? Yes. But did we do it because We love them. Absolutely. And would I do it again? Yes. I would. So, the I just keep going back to, tt was very, very hard to daddy went first, and then my mother followed him 7 weeks later.Janice Thompson [00:33:48]:He just he kept saying, I I can’t leave before your mom. I can’t leave before your mom. But Jesus called him in the middle of the night. The next morning, we came in, and he was gone. SoI looked at some a passage in Joshua 1 that was such an encouragement to me and continues to be an encouragement, it’s one I use a lot when I’m working with widows, and that is the final reality. Joshua 12, it says, Moses, my servant, is dead. I mean, it’s just a fact of life. They are gone.Janice Thompson [00:34:19]:Whatever you knew in the past is now is no longer going to be that way. It’s going to look print. I remember having that conversation with my mother the day my father passed and saying, mom, it is going to be different. It’s going to be different going forward, but we’re gonna be here. We’re going to walk through this journey with you. I didn’t know she’d only last 7 weeks, but I go back to this the commands that God gave Joshua in verses 6, 7, 8, and 9, and that’s be strong and courageous. I had to be strong for my mother when she wasn’t. She just wanted to call just take me now.Janice Thompson [00:34:54]:And she kept saying, why has he left me? Why has he left I don’t know, but we’re going to be strong and courageous. We’re going to take the next step forward. So verse 6, be strong and courageous. Verse 7 says, be strong and very courageous. And in verse 9, it says, be strong and very courageous. Again, it’s not an option. This he says, this is a command. You have to do this.Janice Thompson [00:35:15]:But tucked away in verse 8 between verses all those be strong commands is the key, and that is staying in the word of God, meditating on his word day and night. So mom and I would just read scripture in the morning. We’d read scripture in the evening. We’d pray together. I put worship songs on for her. Just anything to help her focus on. We knew she wasn’t probably going to be here long, But let’s prepare our hearts for where you’re headed because daddy’s there. You’re going to be joining him soon.Janice Thompson [00:35:45]:
And you know what? In a blink, I’m gonna be Kim Moeller [00:35:48]:there too, as far as Janice Thompson [00:35:49]:we’re not going to live forever. So just looking at how scripture becomes our anchor when nothing in this world makes sense, But we have everything about eternity to look forward to. And I watched that meditating on scripture day and night that He promised to be with us wherever we go, and He promised to redeem it. And that again, that’s my love of working with widows is I know that we’re going to be able to redeem this not because we’re so great at what we do, but because He’s so good at what he does. Right. And that’s so much fun to get to have walk that journey with people.Kim Moeller [00:36:23]: Oh, I love that. And I feel like there’s going to be a listener listening who just needed to hear whatever she’s going through today. She needs to be strong and courageous. And if that’s so hard to do, she needs to even be very strong and courageous.Janice Thompson [00:36:38]:And part of that being strong and courageous Just having the courage to reach out to someone who can stand in that gap with you no matter what it’s what heartache you’re going through, what difficulty, a divorce, broken families, all of that. God doesn’t give us an excuse. He says, I will be with you. I will walk through this with you, what’s past is past. It’s never gonna change.But the future, I’ve got a plan and a purpose, and let’s figure that out together and sometimes it’s going to take a friend or an advisor or a counselor or someone to help you move forward.
God is Always With You
Kim Moeller [00:37:11]:Right. Never believe the lie that you’re entirely alone because you’re not. He’s always with you and he’s put people in your life Or wants to put in new people in your life to be there to stand in that gap and be your friend during this process. Exactly. Yeah. Because I think where things get challenging and things can go south is when we start believing the lie that I’m the only one that’s had to go through this and no one understands. No one could imagine, you know, what I’m going through. But, God sees it all And other people who walk through even far worse sometimes than we have.Kim Moeller [00:37:48]:
And so we have to just keep our eyes on him, On his word and the body believers around all ofus. And I have Janice Thompson [00:37:56]:to advocate for a lot of churches have what they call the Grief Share program, and I’ve seen both extroverts in widows and introverts in widows who said I could never go and bear my soul to people I don’t know. But if we take them and just take that 1st step and introduce them to people, it’s amazing how much they start connecting with because they recognize they aren’t alone. Right. You know, other people they’re in the same stage I am, and it may look different and it may take me longer or I may be moving quicker, but having that community that gets exactly where you are and what you’re doing, I can’t speak enough to how that I’ve watched widows. Really, that’s an important step is being surrounding yourself and with a community of people who I really can identify and continue to be that bolster of support for you.Kim Moeller [00:38:45]:No. That’s that’s a great shout out. Just as we’ve said on prior podcast, the importance of being in a small group, whatever stage you’re in.Janice Thompson [00:38:52]:Right, right. Yeah. We need each other, we need each other.Kim Moeller [00:38:54]:We’re in life together, yes. Right? 100%.
Bible Verse, Book, and Bargain
Okay. And any book you’re reading right now that you want to recommend for the listener?Janice Thompson [00:39:05]:Well, I would say, since this podcast is for women, it’s one that I am really enjoying. It’s a very simple book,but my husband and I have been actually reading it with our adult children. And it’s the 5 love languages of children. So we had read the 5 love languages, for adults and learned a lot about ourselves and how we communicate. But it’s interesting now as we’re now as we’re working with our adult children and their understanding of parenting these grandchildren of ours that we are learning so much about them already that helps us express love to them in away they can hear it and receive it. So I would say that’s probably because that’s what I’m working on right now with our family generations that it’s just a simple read, but it’s been a fascinating study because out of our 5 grandchildren, not one of them are alike because anyone can attest to. So for women who have children or grandchildren, I think it’s a very, very helpful book if you want to connect with them in a way they can hear you and communicate back with you.
Kim Moeller [00:40:06]:That sounds wonderful. I knew there was the one,and I’m familiar, obviously, with the one forthe adults, but not for the kids. And I have, you know, my 4 adult kids, so I’m going Yeah. It’s a Janice Thompson [00:40:16]:lot of fun. We’ve had so much fun with it.Kim Moeller [00:40:18]:So good. So good. Okay. And then finally, any bargain? I think you told me you’re not as much of a shopper. I am Janice Thompson [00:40:26]:not a shopper. That’s that’s not one of my claims to fame. But I will tell you one of the smartest decisions I ever did about 5 or 6 years ago was buy an electric car. We’re here in Southern California where gas prices are through the roof, and we’re always grateful when we can park that big old SUV that’s 17 years old and just sucks gas and use my electric car and charge it very, very inexpensively. So I’m not an advocate for any brand or any type, but it was a very wise decision now when we look back
Kim Moeller [00:40:56]:I like that. I have a partial electric car. My husband always loves to follow, you know, how many miles we’re seeing. It is fun. Well, Janice, it’s been just such a treat to have you on the podcast. And I know you just really shared some true pearls of wisdom and this is a podcast I feel like people can bookmark and go back and listen to it. You know, especially when you had talked earlier about those 4 essentials and the different components, the different financial documents. So, thank you.Kim Moeller [00:41:31]:Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Thank you for devoting your life, for just serving people and using your financial gifts to bless people and their resources and help them navigate their futures and now what you’re working on with the widows and together with your husband. I think you’re gonna reach that goal and probably double it is my well,Janice Thompson [00:41:51]:I hope it’s a laughable goal when I enter the gates of heaven. I said, your faith was way too small. But if there’s 1 word I could leave with everyone, and that is be intentional. Life can either happen to you or you can take steps to, minimize the difficulties by being more intentional now.
And if there’s one thing that I I see over and over again in the financial advising arena and eventhe family wealth transfer, If intentionality is not a big part ofit, it just happens and it’s not it’s really messy. So I would rather see successful family wealth transfers and wisdom transfer because you were proactive in being very intentional.Kim Moeller [00:42:34]:Yes, I think that’s a very great call out. And tonight, I’m going to be at the group called the Barnabas Group in San Diego And the leader who founded it years ago, Bob Shank, that’s exactly how I would define Bob. We had his wife Cheri on the podcast a few episodes ago. Soi ntentional and such an inspiration for all areas of life to really analyze and ask, Am I being, you know, strategic with my choices? And because you’re right. It we can be on the offense or the defense. And part of it is our choice, not always. Right. Exactly.Kim Moeller [00:43:10]:Like, not Janice Thompson [00:43:10]:we can’t control, but whatKim Moeller [00:43:11]:we can Janice Thompson [00:43:12]:is worth investing the time.Kim Moeller [00:43:14]:That’s right. Alright. Well, Thanks again. Thank God. Kim.Janice Thompson [00:43:17]:God bless you. Thanks so much. You’re so welcome. Bye bye.Kim Moeller [00:43:24]:Thanks so much for joining us today on the Generous Girl podcast. We’re so glad that you’re here. And if you know of someone that you think needs to be a guest on this podcast, Please reach out to us. New episodes are released every other week, and you can follow us on YouTube and on all platforms. Thanks for being here, and we’ll see you next time.
