War and Peace

In our 25 years of mostly marital bliss, one of our main sources of conflict has been (surprise!): MONEY. I'm a tightwad Scotsman. Susan loves to spend. It's been a push me, pull me battle/challenge all the way. And yet in His grace and mercy, the Lord has given us a unity and healthy balance. But it hasn't always been that way.

Since we first married, we maintained a continual Visa balance of around $1,500. For some kooky reason, we thought that this is the norm -- always carrying some credit card debt. We finally began to implement some of the principles advocated by Larry Burkett -- sort of. On the first Saturday of each month we sit down and have a finance meeting, using his one page monthly budget guide which is so helpful. And yet it wasn't until we attended a couple financial classes at church that we really got serious -- especially after the Dave Ramsey "Financial Peace" class that Paul and Lenda Jensen led us through at the first of this year. On the second Sunday class, we and some others cut up our credit cards. It was scary, but in time it was so freeing. And we now use a debit card, have no debt but our house (o yes, I also owe my Mom some money). We're really trying to stay within our means. God is giving us true financial peace. And yet that does't mean the war is over.

Last Saturday we had a battle over what to spend on Christmas presents. My thinking is to be very moderate. Susan, on the other hand, loves to give presents to our kids, me and her sisters (al four of them!). I reluctantly agreed to spend the "exorbitant" amount she desires for this Christmas.

Then we faced a bedroom furniture decision. We prayed and shopped and prayed and shopped. And I was so proud of Susan for urging us to be very careful and prayerful about this decision. We finally found a bedroom set we both love. And we were on the verge of getting a short-term loan and buying it. Quite frankly, I didn't want to pray about it -- afraid that the Lord might tell us to wait. (He already has told us about borrowing and debt -- it's all over the place in Scriptures).

I saw Paul Jensen at church Sunday and didn't want to tell him that we were thinking of borrowing that money to buy the furniture. Then last night, when we were about to make our decision, we turned on Dobson at 6:30 and the guest was Dave Ramsey. After hearing him, praying some more, Susan and I both came to the decision to hold off on the furniture purchase, save up for several months, and use our tax return money to buy it in April. We both went to sleep last night feeling so much at peace.

It is an ongoing battle for us -- the spender and the saver. But we thank God for the victories He is giving us in finances. And after all, it's all His money. We're just His managers of it for awhile. And when we keep submitting to Him and His way of managing funds, He always gives us peace.

Jim