No More "Stuff"

THINGS...
What role do they play in our lives? For months I have felt restless every time I purchase something. I constantly ask myself, "do I need this?" I always justify my purchases, and if I can't, I look to other people to justify them for me. And someone always has a way to make me feel better... to feel justified.

So I've been praying that God would help me focus less on things, I've been ignoring the desire I feel when I look at Whitney's new SUV beside my much older car, and I've told myself I would give more of my money to people who need it. It hasn't been enough, and I've known that for a while. After talking with a friend about what areas of our life we weren't surrending to the Lord, I thought about it later that night, and my answer was clear... I have been allowing God to be in control of most areas of my life - except my desire and "need" for THINGS. Even after this realization came, and I told myself I'd do better, I simply couldn't let go. My roomate, Whitney, and I have been having a lot of conversations about this, but we just kept going in circles. About a week ago I was packing and cleaning my room in preparation to go to Tennessee for work. As I dug through my clothes and all of the other "stuff" in my room, I was absolutely disgusted by how much I had. And how much of it I never use or put on my body. God was calling. I decided I'd figure it out when I got home in two weeks.

But while Whitney and I were in Tennesee the answer came. We were reading some magazines and Whitney came accross and article about a family who had compeltely cut their spending for a year. As we talked about whether or not we could do it, it became more and more clear that I needed to. And I thought of more and more reasons why it wasn't practical. Whitney committed before I did. I just kpet thinking of excuses. Until one morning when we were sitting in a high school and I finally blurted out, "I have to!" Whitney looked a little confused, because we hadn't even been talking about the subject. I explained to her that as I was rolling the idea around in my head I finally realized that the fact that I was having such a hard time committing to this was my evidence that I needed to do it.

So... here's the deal:

I am committing to not making any material purchases for 6 months.

In looking back, I realized that I haven't purchased any material goods since the new year. So, my goal date is July 1.

The guidelines:

• I can purchase depleteable goods (shampoo, makeup, gas, etc.)
• I will obviously purchase food
• There are a few purchases I have been planning on that I will make (for example: if I'm going to run a half marathon in May Inew running shoes will be essential or my knees will be shot)
• I am working to re-define my use of the word NEED. I use it far too often... and in reality, there are many things I'd like to have, but very few that I NEED. I'm trying to eliminate that word from my vocabulary.

My prayer for this experience:

• That I would be made more like Christ
• That I would be more dependant on my relationship with Him for my joy.
• That I would learn to live more simply - and that it would become a lifestyle.
• That in focusing less on material things I would focus more on:

- Christ

- People

- Relationships

- Prayer

- Giving

- Serving

Here's the bottom line:

Things will never satisfy me and I REFUSE to let them take the place of the most important priorities in my life.

Along the way I will blog about my experience - how it's going, when it's hard, when I see it paying off in my relationships, and more. My request to you - my friends and family - is to hold me accountable. Ask me how it's going, and call me out if I need to be. I know this will be tough for me. That's why I'm doing it.

Here's to living more simply.