A new mind

Romans 12:1-2
Living Sacrifices

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Footnotes: 1 Or reasonable

That's our verse for this week. No, it's not Aidan's verse for Sunday School. It is my and Brad's verse for our small group. Interestingly enough, it's not the first time I've heard it this week. I've been reading (a lot lately!). I'm about to finish Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. Can we say, "VERY CONVICTING"? Anyway, that verse was in there, too. We are about to make some big changes. Now that we have our mortgage taken care of--in the sense that the payments are reasonable--we need to address our debt. By the grace of God, we don't have that much debt outside our car. The car...the silly, ridiculous payment car. We have to get rid of it. That's all there is to it. Brad actually brought it up, but I know it was from God. Brad, on his own, would not suggest it--Brad likes cars. Okay, I do, too. I guess it just boils down to this: it's just a thing; it's just stuff. Stuff can be replaced--by saving and paying cash later. We won't be completely carless, though. We have our old truck. It's paid for. It runs. It needs a little bit of work, but not the $20,000 plus interest that we owe on the Explorer. Peace of mind is a great thing. When you are in God's will--no matter what is happening around you--you have peace of mind. That is just how it seems to work for me. There is turmoil sometimes in finding God's will for me, but when I get there...aaahhhhhh. So now we are in the process of renewing our mind. We are learning not to think like the world does. Debt is not okay. As someone said, money makes a great slave, but a terrible master. Our master is the Lord with His good, pleasing, and perfect will.