Just Get The TP and Get Out

(~41 bottles? Graffiti, much?)

I try, I really do.  The whole less-is-more thing is worth living by.  With so much readily available to us, it is next to impossible to resist getting just a few more _______________(light bulbs on clearance, gift bags for half off, BOGO dish soap, etc...).  

We Americans are plagued with "Wal-Martitis".  You know what I mean, right?  Well, it is when you walk into the store for toilet paper and leave with produce, shampoo, candles, and dog treats.  I know, because I do it. Often.  This plethora of plenty doesn't just exist at Sam Walton's store, but any place that lures you into the display at the end cap of an aisle in red-ticketed glory.

I only got to thinking about this tonight as I was perusing Pinterest for organization ideas.  My mouth almost fell off my face when I saw the disgusting overflow (however, organized) of some of the behind the closet ideas.  Why do we do this to ourselves?  I just wonder if we are the only nation that buys way too much, then buy more merchandise to store it neatly...and then photograph it for everyone else to try? It truly boggles me.  Don't get me wrong.  I love a pretty roll of wrapping paper....even 2 or 3 rolls.  But, is it just me or is it just a bit superfluous to own, say 19 rolls?

Matthew 6:19-21 states, "Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being."

Look, I love a bargain just as much as the next girl, but if my joy resonates in only that merchandise, and is not found in a life after God, something is off...especially when we are neatly trying to stockpile the 30-40 scarves we own, but couldn't care to utter an earnest prayer for a struggling friend or give a nickel to a humane cause.  

Christ loves us all the same, whether our pantries are bare or overflowing.  The only problem I can personally see is when we become servant to that pantry or that closet or that really neatly rearranged sock drawer.  And if the purpose to rearrange our stockpile is to make room for more, then we must question, "If not for God's purposes, then whose?"  

The ridiculousness of the situation is that when we are lying in our cemetery plot, it will not matter what you owned....but rather what owned you.  Is it jewelry? Bags? Decor? Technology? 

Lay down these treasures and put no more significance in them.  Stuff won't further your life, nor your faith.  Less is more.

Reflections... Not Resolutions

I am not a 'resolutions' kind of gal.  I have tried them, and then have forgotten them by January 20th.  Lose 15 pounds?  Sounds great.  Give more to charities... That is noble.  But, instead, I do this thing with a lot of my passwords on email, online accounts, etc..., where I choose a 'word of the year', if you will, to live by.

One year, I changed my password to journey2013.  I was pregnant, and in for major life changes.  Last year, it was heal2015.  My mom was in need of healing, and my own body was also in need of remedy from some autoimmune stuff.  By changing my computer passwords, I intentionally type daily or a few times daily the very idea that I need to focus on, or pray for.  It is an automatic reminder to remain steadfast in my faith on whatever is happening in my life.

As I reflect for my 2016 "word".... Only one comes to mind.



Sacred.   

What a sentimental, beautiful idea, right? There is not much room for sanctity in our world today.  All things held dear are either for "old souls" or so completely exploited by our society/ media that they lose their luster.  There have been literally hundreds of times that I think of snapping a photo of something that has happened here at home to immediately upload onto Facebook.  But the reality is, it makes it a little less sacred to me that way.  I decide to keep it for myself and put in an album (although, those snapshots tend to hang around way too long on my iPad).  

Sacred.  What is that to me, exactly? For sure, my little immediate family here on Hastings Road.  My thoughts, and prayers, and songs in the car.  My memories in-the-making with nephews and a niece.  My parents.  My weekends.  Sipping coffee.  Walks.  Making cheesecakes.  Lunch with the girls.  My faith and my actions.  Sacred doesn't mean grand or expensive... It just has to be worthwhile.

For 2016, the plan is to keep sacred things sacred... Eggs and bacon for a Saturday brunch may not sound sentimentally heavy, but I think I will tuck those moments into my heart and hold them a bit closer this year.  Let's face it.  Life is busy and complicated.  My marriage looks forward to and relies on moments of sincerity and peace.  I also know my baby boy's growth depends on sacred moments at the beach or park or playing in the snow or reading on my lap.  Sanctity is the stuff of life.  "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:7

I hope I can encourage you to think of a new word to dwell upon this new year.  Make it a password or something you must see or write every day.  It will make an impression.  It will prompt prayer and intentions, and eventually, results.

"Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies." Philippians 4:8