Revelation: The beginning of the end of my "American Dream"

Ever since I can remember, I have been told I am destined to do great things. Well, this past week, I realized this for myself. There have been several times in life that I have made the realization but for whatever reason, I seem to forget. This time, it has stuck and mine and Mr. Thrifter's (MT) life is about to change....DRASTICALLY and for the BEST. I am not quite ready to share with you what God has shown me...but SOON. I promise...I'm still working on getting MT to get on board. :)

The summer of my 8th grade year, we took a mission trip to Reynosa, Mexico that rocked my soul. In this third world country, I felt so alive and at peace...I felt home. Fast forward a few summers to after I met an amazing man named Randy Stanton at church camp. He introduced us to two little towns in Mexico called Soto La Marina and La Pesca. The first summer I was here, I knew I had found my calling in life. Serving people- That is my calling. Being selfless for the greater good and to glorify God. Sadly, because of the extreme danger in their area, I haven't been able to go since Evan and I spent our first Christmas there. Yes, folks, he is a great guy! :) I love him so unconditionally, especially since he has put up with me and my "craziness" (obsession) this past week. He humors me and lets me go on these "phases" as he likes to call them. Well, honey, I have news for ya! This is NOT a phase! 

So, I guess you are all wondering what I am talking about at this point...Well....I have decided that I am a hoarder of things. Not so much a hoarder in the sense you might think: 

This is not QUITE my life...

I have however, been very centered and focused on the possession of things. Things have begun to define my life. I think "if only I could just have that, then I would be happy." Well, I have all this stuff and I am not satisfied. After I wrecked my car, I decided I  needed a newer,  nicer one...even though the last one was paid off. I didn't need it. When we first got married, we had a super cute little house for very cheap rent. I decided that I wanted my OWN house, so we bought one. I wish we would have stayed...This all comes back to one thing- STUDENT LOANS. They will be the death of me. Everyone really emphasizes the importance of education - which I TRULY believe in...if you can afford it. I, could not, and cannot afford those loans. If I continue to pay them, we will  be in poverty for the rest of our lives. It is the loans that keep us from doing the things we long to do. We want to have kids, we want to take vacations, we want to go do things! We just cannot afford it with almost $1,000 a month in loan payments. It is because of this and because I have developed this "need" to have things that I have decided to declutterize and simplify my life. This also, will help me be able to reach my calling in life which the loans are also holding me back from. I graduated from college in 2009, that was 4 years ago...the Bible talks quite a bit about debt and there is one verse in particular that really stands out to me....

Deuteronomy 15:1-2 says: “At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.”

Now, I KNOW that Sallie Mae is not going to cancel my debts...HAHA. I KNOW the federal government won't do it either...I alone am responsible for paying it which means, I have less than three years to make this happen. It's time to start paying.

God and I have talked about this and decided that Evan and I need to get rid of EVERYTHING we don't need to survive. Starting today, I will be going through all of our things and selling them. Everything that we make will go towards student loans. We are going to be living HARDCORE Dave Ramsey style for the next year or so. This will probably involve selling our house and downsizing. It is going to be a REALLY hard year, but one for growth, learning, and change. I will have a hard time getting rid of my things, especially ones I have made, but they will go to a good home. And when this debt is paid, I can buy new stuff. I am so excited to start this challenge, especially with Mr. Thrifter AKA Evan Ervin by my side. He is totally on board with dumping our debt and living life like no one else so we can REALLY live like no one else later! 

So what does this mean?! For this blog, which I originally created as a place to share the things that I made, it will become a place where I will be blogging about our change in life style. I will talk about hardships, struggles, and miracles. It also means that we need PRAYER and LOTS of it! We are about to face one of the most difficult years of our lives. We ask that you pray for us that the Lord will bless us and encourage us to persevere to the end. It also means that we may have to say no, A LOT. Please understand that if we say no to going out for drinks or dinner, movies, etc, we are not being rude, we literally just can't afford it. Our priorities have shifted. If it involves spending money, we will probably not be able to do it. (Linnea, I'm not quite sure what this means for your wedding just yet.) Some of you are probably thinking I have gone off the deep end. I promise you, I have never been more here nor felt more alive! For those of you that know me, this next part will come as a total shock...

I, Michala McWhirter, being of sound mind, body, and soul, SOLEMNLY SWEAR that I will NOT buy ANYTHING for myself or my husband that is not a life necessity until this debt has been paid.  PLEASE feel free to hold me accountable and remind me of my mission. 

I want so badly to have this paid off....I have an end goal which hopefully, I will get to share in the next few months...Evan says I have to give it at LEAST 30 days... :)

If anyone would like to provide support for us as we embark on this wild and crazy journey, we need prayer, and lots of it. Please pray for patience on both of our parts. Pray for healing from this obsession of things. Pray for guidance and the direction we are being led. Pray for wisdom as we journey through the waters that are the "debt snow ball" but most of all, pray for conviction. This is supposed to be a journey for learning and growing as individuals.

Instead of being "I can make that" this blog will now be called "I can sell that!"

Let's get started!!! :)