The Jones' Syndrome

This weekend I found myself having to enter the most dreaded store....Lowes. Everytime I go in there my husband says I get the "Jones'Syndrome." We entered the store looking for a mirror for our bathroom. We did a much needed inexpensive update to our main bathroom. We removed a 1960's mirror/medicine cabinet/light fixture unit. We patched up the wall, painted, and hung a new light fixture. Instead of getting an expensive medicine cabinet we are looking for simple mirror.

Anyways, I was in the store looking for the mirror and the hunger hit me. We live in a simple 3 bedroom ranch with a full basement. Our basement is only halfway finished. We actually could make our home a 5 bedroom by simply building a few walls/closets and adding egress windows (with fourboys ranging from 13-1 you can see why I would love for them to all have their own rooms!). But all those "simple" things really add up in costs. When I am away from the stores and away from wealthy friend's homes I don't desire them. But the moment my kids invite someone over or we visit a friends home or we enter the dreaded home renovating stores my hunger to expand, update and redo my home hits me.

My husband reminds me that these desires are not in line with God's will for our lives. I realize many pf bloggers are not of the Christian faith and find those striving to live by the Bible as silly or unnecessary, but to us it is something we desire. I know his word says to "Owe no man nothing but love" and that is what I truly desire. I feel guilty having debt. I want this burden gone. But when this bug hits me--or as my husband titles it---this Jones' syndrome, I start to get the "gimmies" and "wantitis".

It is hard to balance doing home renovation projects as well as paying down debt. Does anyone else struggle with this?