The product description exclaims,

“Nothing radiates the endless love of Jesus like the shimmering light of nearly a half carat of full cut diamonds – perfectly set in solid 18k gold. Worn close to your heart, our uniquely elegant Pavè Tear boldly expresses your love and faith.”
Regular Price: $999.95
Special Offer: $849.95

What?! How does spending 850 bucks on a shiny necklace boldy express your faith? How does a diamond encrusted drop of gold radiate the endless love of Jesus more than anything else?

If we want to radiate Christ’s endless love let’s put away our selfish vain greed and actively love people.

How about using that money to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, visit those in prison, and minister to widows and orphans?

James 2:14-17

Matthew 25:34-40

I know it’s just marketing, advertising, a way to sell stuff. But I’m tired of it. I’m tired of people thinking Christianity and unbridled consumerism somehow go hand in hand. Our culture sells us a lie, and the church continues to buy it… on credit. How much is the interest going to cost? How soon till we’re spiritually bankrupt?

Music Video: Shawn McDonald - Greed

My four year old just walked in and asked me, “Are you a spender or a saver?”

Two days ago she was playing children’s monopoly with her brother and uncle. Someone had to pay her a dollar because they landed on her property. She cheerfully declared, “Thanks, I’ll put that in my budget!”

I’m used to these kinds of comments from Jeremiah, but not from his sister. He must be giving her personal finance classes while I nap.

I drove by our old house yesterday. It hurt a bit, but not as much as it used to. I still miss the backyard and the flat top stove and the comfortable life we had.

I recently found someone linking to my husband’s blog by saying,

“If you had a total debt of $556,848.38, could you make yourself a man …”

I don’t know the person who wrote that sentence, but his words meant a lot to me. They made me proud. My husband is a real man. A man who stands up and does what’s right even when it’s hard. And sometimes it is very hard.

This debt has changed him. It has changed me and changed who our children will become. I believe these lessons are worth the tuition.

Through out our first decade of marriage, one thing always made me uncomfortable. I hated it when Joel talked to people about our finances. I didn’t want people to know how much he made, how much we paid for our house, or car or leather couch. Oh and please, don’t tell people about the student loans!

These things are personal, and I was ashamed. I knew our house cost much more than the ones our friends bought, and that embarrassed me. We don’t need a nice big house in a certain part of town and we definitely don’t deserve one. How many people could have been fed with the money we spent on that leather couch? Don’t even dare to ask how much the throw pillows cost! I’ll lie to you and say I don’t remember… maybe I don’t… I’ve tried to repress that memory.

I’m naturally embarrassed by excess and ashamed of debt.

Joel’s talking about money again. He’s using numbers.

Big, ugly, profane numbers.

He’s not just telling close friends either. He’s telling everyone. EVERYONE. He’s shouting out to friends and family, Guess what? We owe HALF A MILLION DOLLARS! Half-a-million-dollars… say that slowly. $506,189.05. Try to get a grip on that number. Careful, it’s heavy.

So. Am I embarrassed? Upset? No. I’m proud of him. He’s telling people this for a reason. We’re going to get out of debt. If we can so can you.

We Are Never Going To Borrow Money Again.

And I pray that you won’t either.

Debt is sin.* It is slavery.* If our story encourages someone to tear off the chains of debt, if it helps to free just one family… Then all of this pain will have been worth it.

I praise God for the mess that we are in.* Because I know He will be glorified in it. He will use it for our good… and for the good of those we owe, if they love Him.*

Please read Joel’s blog. He’ll be posting every day, describing our journey out of debt and encouraging you to join us.

* Romans 13:8 - “Owe no man…”
* Proverbs 22:7 - “The borrower is slave to the lender.”
* 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - “Give thanks in all things.”
* Romans 8:28 - It’s not a cliché

Ladies and Gentlemen… the moment we’ve all been waiting for….

My husband has a blog!

Joel will be writing about our adventures in getting out of debt. This is going to be good stuff people… and of course, his blog will be a beautiful Wordpress masterpiece when I’m through with it.

Tonight we attended our second FPU class. My husband was awesome during the discussion. He spoke with such strength and enthusiasm. He answered our classmates’ questions and got them excited about the system. He should be teaching these classes. Joel, I’m proud of you. You’re a hottie.

We attended the first meeting of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. Besides the obvious reasons for joining the class, I also need to attend in order to be qualified for certain scholarships.

The class was painful. Not because of the lesson, the leader or the other students. Dave didn’t say anything on the video that I didn’t know. We’ve already read his book, The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. But for some reason, it all made me want to throw up. I couldn’t help but look at all the other couples and think, “If you added up all their combined debt, we probably still owe more.” No where in the book, filled with success stories and testimonials, did anyone owe nearly as much money as we do.

It just seems like a cruel joke. Like offering someone a children’s Tylenol when they have a migraine. Or an Elmo Band-aid when they’ve cut off a finger.

I know this system works. It can get the average person out of debt pretty quickly. Our estimated payoff time seems more like a prison sentence. “Five to Seven” or was it “Ten to Twelve”? Maybe I’ll get time off for good behavior.