d o // n o t // c o n f o r m // t o // t h e 

p a t t e r n s // o f // t h i s // w o r l d,

b u t // b e // t r a n s f o r m e d // b y // t h e

r e n e w i n g // o f // y o u r // m in d.

t h e n // y o u // w i l l // b e // a b l e // t o 

t e s t // a n d // a p p r o v e // w h a t 

 G o d ' s // w i l l // i s -

h i s // g o o d // p l e a s i n g // a n d

p e r f e c t // w i l l.

  r o m a n s  // 12:2

Who are you!? Introduce yourself to our people!  

I'm Crystal Paine, wife to Jesse (for 18+ years!), mom to 4 biological kids (16, 13, almost 12, and almost 1), and foster mom (we currently have a longtime placement of a sweet little 9-month-old baby boy with lots of medical complexities). I'm also founder of MoneySavingMom.com, podcaster (the Crystal Paine Show), and author. I love inspiring women to fall more in love with Jesus and understand the freedom and joy that is found in the Gospel. In addition to being actively involved in our local church, I love finding great deals at the grocery store, long heart-to-heart conversations with friends, laughing until I cry tears, and trying to read too many books at once!

If you had to tweet about this month's verse, what would you say?

Learning to replace the lies I was believing ("I'm a disappointment." "I'm a failure." etc.) with the truths of God's Word took a lot of time, work, practice, and intentionality, but it was so worth it. The more I understood the truth, the more set me free! Putting in the effort to rewire the pathways of our brain and respond from a framework of truth instead of lies (i.e. renewing our mind) truly does transform us from the inside out!  

What's one personal story from your life that speaks to the concepts of this verse? 

For me, I had to actively recognize the lies I was believing. And not just verbally call them out as lies, but then actually replace them with the truth. It was a two year process for me. It didn't happen overnight. It was a slow and gradual process -- which I often believe that renewing our mind is. It's a re-learning of what we believe and it involves immersing ourselves in the truth of God's Word and preaching the truth to ourselves day in and day out. The more we immerse ourselves in God's Word, the more it will sink in.  

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What is your life verse, and why?

I actually don't have a life verse -- but I often have different verses that I am holding onto in different seasons.

What thing are you most excited about right now that we should all give a try?

I think the thing I am most excited about right now is walking by faith. Saying yes to fostering a baby with a lot of medical complexities has challenged me in brand-new ways and increased my faith. To say yes in the middle of a book launch when my husband and older girls were out of town -- and to get to see God show up and be so faithful and to meet needs every single hour, has been so humbling and awe-inspiring. It makes me want to continue to step out and say yes to God's calling, even when it really scares me!

Be sure to check out the Dwell podcast to hear more from Crystal this month! Thanks for reading!