Hair color and lots of make up. Dooney & Bourke bags. Many trips to Kohl’s and Belk. New cars every few years.

These are a few of the things I’ve given up over time. In the beginnings of my Christian walk, I was worldly. Worldly and materialistic. These two things are quite the combination!

We live in a culture of hyperconsumerism, and participate in an economy that is based off of debt. These things seemed quite normal to me before the Lord led us to flip our finances upside down and pay off our debt. These things are likely normal to our children, too.

While hyperconsumerism and a debt economy may be “normal” in America today, neither of which are good for us or our children. When our children grow up in materialistic households, they likely will become that way, too.

It is so easy to forget that one day the things of this world will pass away. All that will matter will be our relationship with the Lord. Money, houses, clothes, and cars? These things will be gone.

I have been convicted to let.these.things.go for the sake of my children. And goodness, it is hard. As a wife and mother, the desire to make my home a beautiful place for my family is a good thing. But I should not be concerned about luxury or opulence. It is good to use what we have and be thrifty, too.

During our quest to become debt free, I became very thrifty. Sometimes this was tough. A close family member once told me that I was depriving my children of memories because we weren’t going on many vacations. This accusation stung, but I did realize that it wasn’t true. Our children can have a full and joyous childhood without an abundance of toys and vacations.

While by no means can we know what our children’s convictions might look like as adults, we can pour a solid foundation for them to build upon if they choose.

Concentrate on that foundation, mamas. By modeling contentment and focusing on the eternal, we can point our children to the Lord.