Longing for Freedom!

"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender" - Proverbs 22:7

"You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men." 

- 1 Corinthians 7:23

I want to be out of debt sooooooo bad!  I am very thankful that I went to Southwest Baptist University.  I grew up going to a public school; so going to a college where I was surrounded by strong Christians and wise professors was a completely different world, and I loved it!  Of course, I also met my husband at SBU, and he is worth every penny I paid to go to a private university!  However, when I look back now I realize how foolish I was.  I took out loans without even really having a concept of money.  I just figured I wanted to go to school, and I would pay back whatever I needed to later.  Skip ahead six years . . .

I am currently teaching 9th grade Physical Science, and 8th grade American History at a public school.  I enjoy teaching and am very thankful that my husband and I get to be at the same school with the same schedule (I already can't wait for the first snow day!), but my heart longs for the day I can stay at home and do what God has called me to - the most noble pursuit any woman could have; to be an excellent wife and mother.

While Skyler and I were in college, he asked me if I wanted to go through Crown Financial with a group from our church.  Him and I were just friends at this point, but I remember asking God if He was trying to tell me something.  See, my parents had recently gone through Dave Ramsey, and they had told me before I could ever get married my husband and I would have to go through Dave Ramsey as a pre-requisite!  We learned so much from that class, and later once we were together we did, in fact, go through Dave Ramsey.  

So far, we have paid off all of Skyler's school loans.  Using the debt snow-ball method we are now working to pay off my school loans.  One of which will be paid off in February 2011.  If you are familiar with Dave Ramsey at all, then I should tell you that I am the free spirit and Skyler is the nerd.  He loves working the budget.  He even has it down to the exact year and month we will be debt free!  We realize God could always shake things up to make it shorter or longer, but right now we are scheduled to pay off our last debt in 2015.  This includes our house and land.  We are both working hard to make this happen as quickly as possible.

For the past year, we have been diligent in paying things off.  However, I have not really had to give up a whole lot.  My perspective has been changing, though.  Since discovering God's call for us to become homesteaders, suddenly getting out of debt seems even more crucial.  Indeed, if one is going to have a homestead, getting out of debt should be his or her number one goal!  It is not possible to be self-sufficient (God sufficient really) if you are in bondage to the creditors!

Our very good friend, Houston, recently told us that "as Christians we are pilgrims."  We are to go wherever God is leading us.  Our cry should always be "here am I Lord, send me!!"  As much as I long for God to use me,  if I am in bondage to the creditors . . . my cry can't be "send me" because I am stuck where I am making sure I can pay off the debt I owe.  Don't get me wrong, I still seek God's will, and I know that He is even using me right now as I teach, probably more than I realize.  However, the point I am trying to make is that God's will is for us to be a slave to no man, to be completely out of debt, and to be FREE to drop everything and follow Him!

For those of you who are like me, and desperately long to be debt-free check out Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University."  He makes it really fun!  Even a free-spirit like me can enjoy talking about financial matters with his curriculum!

P.S. My husband and I decided to go ahead and try the envelope/cash system for this month's paycheck.  We hadn't tried it before because we thought we would do fine just keeping track of our categories on paper, and using the debit card.  It has been okay, but we want to see if using cash will actually keep us from going over in some areas.  If it works out, there is a very practical and cute wallet that Dave Ramsey sells on his site.  I know it may seem like an added expense considering we are talking about saving and getting out of debt, but if this is to become a lifestyle for us I think it would definitely be worth it!

 

http://www.daveramsey.com/store/budgeting-tools/envelope-systems/designer-envelope-system-red-/prod266.html