Archive for the 'Contentment' Category

Don’t worry, we haven’t been robbed.

We’ve decided to live life a bit more fully…which means that the large TV that used to sit here has been returned thanks to a generous return policy at Costco. We are making some big changes in our life…and this is one of them. The room already feels completely different and we love it.

We are not anti-television. We enjoy it and feel that it does have educational benefits. We just didn’t want it to be the main focus of our evenings and weekends anymore. We want our focus to be on relationships and connection…and getting rid of the TV just made a lot of sense for us right now. We are cancelling cable, but will keep one TV to watch movies/Netflix…just not in the living room.

I have big plans for this empty corner…it will involve paint and hanging things and light and other yummy stuff. Stay tuned for that update

One of my most recent eBook discoveries is “The Minimalist Mom” and it’s partially responsible for our TV exodus. I LOVE Dusti’s bold stance on her beliefs and I am completely inspired by her passion to live life on her terms. She recently compiled an AMAZING minimalism resource list. It will rock your world.

She also just launched a new blog, Undefinable You with all kinds of goodies happening in the next month. Check it out…she’s a little firecracker

I am working on a new series about minimalism and the first post is on how I am downsizing my wardrobe…can’t wait to share it with you all!

Have you gotten rid of your TV and/or cable? I’d love to hear your thoughts about it and how it has changed your life…

If you’ve ever taken steps to simplify your life or home, then you know that it’s not just a one time deal. It’s an on-going journey…one that takes diligence and commitment to maintain. There are lots of little tricks that you can implement to make it easier for you. In our family, one of the things we try to do weekly is a purge of our “extra stuff”. I’ve nicknamed it “Simplify Saturday”. You could pick your own catchy name. Like “Thrifty Thursday” or “I Want Less Wednesday”.

Every Saturday, we get out grocery bags and we walk around the RV and grab stuff that we are not actively using or something that we know someone else will use more than us. Most of it comes from our closets. It’s amazing how few clothes a person actually wears on a daily basis from their wardrobe. You have to be brutally honest with yourself and only keep the clothes that fit these criteria:

• I wear this on a weekly or monthly basis.
• This makes me feel beautiful.
• I have to wear this for work.

Yep. That’s it. Get rid of the rest. If you don’t LOVE it, it’s gone. If it doesn’t fit you very well, it’s gone. You will feel free…like a bird. If it helps you, you can say Bella’s mantra out loud as you go: “I can give more stuff away if I just try harder”.  In fact, just today she told me that she really doesn’t like hanging clothes up and she wanted to give most of her clothes away so she just had a few things to put away. I was all for that. So she went through and gave away another bag full…on top of the bag she already did yesterday! I love this girl. She’s hard core.

To make it even easier, I’ve now implemented a giveaway drawer. Everything we come across during the week that we want to giveaway goes in that drawer. Out of sight, out of mind. Even items that we think we MIGHT want to get rid of go in this drawer. On Saturday, we go through it one more time and the drawer gets emptied into a bag with the rest of the stuff. Many people have another version of this…and it’s just a box by the back door. That way, you see it when you’re walking out and you remember to take it to Goodwill or your thrift store of choice.

Keeping clutter at a minimum is the key to a less chaotic home. Clutter saps your energy! It makes you feel overwhelmed. When your home is uncluttered, so is your mind. Live clutter free and be happy.

Happy simplifying!

In a recent letter from Laine, she spoke about gratitude and not complaining. It really spoke to my heart and I wanted to share part of it with you. If you are like me, by the time you are done reading it… you will feel like the most fortunate person in the world, no matter what your circumstances!

A complaining and negative spirit builds upon itself The more you complain…the worse you feel. The worse you feel, the more you want to complain. Sarcasm can be a roundabout way to complain about life…and can suck the life out of you! Be careful what comes out of your mouth and fill your mind with positive words and scripture. This is an ongoing pursuit…as it’s pretty difficult to “fix” a problem of complaining in our culture, when we have so much media bombarding us and telling us that we should be outraged that we don’t have everything we want! But it can be done. It is fine to want to improve certain things in your life, but when your focus on them becomes a detriment to truly living, re-focus needs to happen.

There is so much beauty and wonder in every day things…you don’t even have to look farther than your own home and family! So why not adopt a spirit of gratitude and look for the amazing aspects of your every day life? I find that it is helpful to list 3-4 things in my mind that I am grateful for each morning and evening. It instantly changes my outlook. Each of us has a choice at the beginning of each day to start with joy…we, as mothers and wives, have so much control over the “feel” of our home and life. Fill it with joy.

 Dear Sisters,

“Do everything without complaining or arguing.”  Philippians 2:14

How I hear these Words in my mind over and over, especially when I want to do one or the other. Mostly the complaining part. So within the last year I have had this imaginary conversation with a woman from the mid 1800′s; and when I am tempted to complain, rather than to thank God for His many goodnesses, I say this silently to her in her era:

How can I complain when I can hold the whole counsel of God in my hands and read it any time I want?

How can I complain when I can go to the sink and hot and cold water pours out for me at the flick of my wrist?

How can I complain when at the push of a button I can have instant heat on my stove?

How can I complain when it takes me minutes to load my washer and at the push of a button all the work is done for me?

How can I complain when I can get into my car and be at a market within 15 minutes?

How can I complain when I can have hot or cold air piped into my car while driving?

How can I complain when I can listen to the most beautiful music while driving?

How can I complain when I can see the doctor or the dentist on the same day I am suffering?

How can I complain when I can write a letter and send it to be received on the same day I sent it?

How can I complain when the shelves are so full of good things at my supermarket?

How can I complain when I can buy clothes cheaper than the cost of just the thread at garage sales and thrift shops?

How can I complain when I can turn on this machine called a vacuum and it sucks up all the dirt for me in my house?

How can I complain when I can sleep in front of a fan in the hottest time of summer?

How can I complain when I can go to the air conditioned library in the summer and use their computers for free?

How can I complain when I can talk to my mother in another state on a moment’s notice over a hands free phone?

How can I complain when I can soak away my aches and pains in hot water piped right into my tub?

How can I complain when I don’t have to use an outhouse, rather a lovely bathroom right inside my home?

How can I complain when I have this big above ground pool right in my backyard to jump into when it is so hot?

How can I complain when I have a closet full of clothes for my whole family?

How can I complain when I can turn on my t.v. and learn a whole new recipe from a celebrated chef for free?

How can I complain when I can buy canned food for my winter pantry already canned for me?

How can I complain when I can lay fully back in my chaise lounge chair on a heating pad when I am ill?

How can I complain when I want to go to a concert that I can listen to it right in my kitchen on a CD?

How can I complain when at the flick of a switch I can light up a whole room?

How can I complain?

How can I possibly complain?

“For if a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness…I say that a stillborn child is better than he…though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man, even if he lives a thousand years twice – but has not seen goodness.” Eccl. 6:3-6

How can I complain when every day is such Sweet Sabbath Rest with Him?

Love,
Laine

alternative:
a chance to choose between two or more possibilities;
one of the two or more possible choices.

Sometimes I forget that our little family is not normal. I forget that our life is a little on the “alternative” side…because it’s just us. It’s just life. But the more people I meet on the road…the more I realize just how different we are than the typical American family.

And yet, we are all so similar. Everyone longs to be free. Free from the burden of a mortgage. Free from the constraints of a nine to five job. Free from the pressure to conform. I see that longing in people’s eyes and hear it in their words over and over again…and yet, comfort usually wins out. It’s comfortable to be like everyone else. It’s easier to give in to the pressure to live the “American Dream” because everyone else is doing it too. Everyone else is at the mall. Everyone else is buying a house and cars they can’t afford. Everyone is charging it on their most recent 0% interest rate credit card. But I don’t want to be like everyone else. I want to live in my own little alternative dream world.

Over the last couple of years, we’ve worked towards making our dream world a reality…and it has all come down to choices. We chose to sell our house and move to a smaller apartment so we could pay off debt faster. We chose to move West and simplify our life even more…with the goal of truly enjoying each day. We chose to go on the road full-time and explore the country while teaching others how to live green. We chose to give up the stability of a steady job in exchange for a wild journey of faith. Here are a few thoughts on the alternative parts of our life…and the variety of choices that are before us.

Employment
One of the most common questions we get asked is “how do you make money?!”. Most people are so accustomed to thinking about making money in the most traditional of ways…so making a living without a 9-5 job is a completely foreign and scary thought. The reason that it’s so scary is that we are constantly told by the media (and sometimes our family/friends) that to be accepted, we must appear to be successful. We must own a house. We must own a new vehicle. We must have a job with a fancy title. None of these things are bad…but they really aren’t necessary to have a happy life. When I started thinking about what was motivating us to have the big house, the car, the fancy job, etc…I realized that it was mostly driven by other people’s expectations. So, we left the very nice steady job and now we make money doing lots of small jobs. And we couldn’t be happier…because we are doing what we LOVE. Demos for the tour, photography, life coaching, handyman work, graphic design…everything adds up, and by the grace of God, we are able to pay bills and stay on the road! God has been so faithful throughout this journey and continues to amaze us with His provisions every day.

Housing
If you browse around my blog a bit…you will quickly notice that I am WAY into alternative housing. Yurts, cob houses, earthships, tipis Anything that looks a little quirky and I’m all over it. So it wasn’t a huge jump for us to move our entire life into a teeny box with wheels and hit the road. And we LOVE it. We love the smallness. We love having our home with us wherever the road leads. We couldn’t imagine it any other way! When we do settle down again somewhere…I’ll be checking one of my favorite books out from the library: Mortgage Free: Radical Strategies for Home Ownership. Love it.

Faith
Relying on something other than yourself is a foreign concept in our culture. We are constantly bombarded with messages of self-sufficiency and using our own “power” to create a new reality. And while I agree that we have amazing power within…I believe that power comes from Christ. He alone gives us power to pursue those dreams and He opens doors and opportunities beyond our wildest dreams when we abide in Him. Living a life focused on Christ is not always a popular choice, but for us…it’s the only choice.

Parenting
It’s a crazy thing…this parenting job. We are trying to do the best that we can with the information that we have…and adding a whole bunch of love and kisses along the way We are a homebirthing, cloth diapering, non-vaxing, gentle disciplining, babywearing, co-sleeping, extended nursing family…whew! That’s a lot of labels. I prefer to think of it as natural parenting. We believe that children are to be treated with respect and mercy. It’s not an easy road and we’re not perfect by any means…but we try to treat Bella the way we want her to treat others….with respect and kindness.

Education
Another question that we get asked a lot is “…but what will you do when Bella needs to go to school?”. And to that my response is “…she is already in school!”. The school of life, that is Bella is learning new things every day…in the last week we have learned about railroads, numbers, seasons, food, money, and more…just by living life. She is learning about the world around her in every interaction we have. She constantly asks questions and I do my best to teach her new things each day. We fall into the “unschooling” camp and it fits perfectly with our lifestyle and beliefs about how a child should learn. For some great reading on this topic…here is a great book to start with.

Food
We definitely go against the flow when it comes to food…we’ve been vegetarian for almost 4 years and are most recently eating all raw vegan foods. We feel amazing and we’re having a great time teaching others along the way!

Beauty
To be considered beautiful in our culture, it might appear that one needs to be a size 2, have long flowing blonde hair, and wear designer clothing. These are all things that the fashion magazines tell us…and it’s probably the most difficult thing for women especially to overcome. But for me, it’s much more fun to love myself for who I am, in the clothes I found at Goodwill….with hair that doesn’t have to be combed.

I love the definition above of “alternative” listed above…“a chance to choose between two or more possibilities”. A “chance to choose”. There is so much possibility in that phrase. What is your ultimate dream in life? Are you pursuing it? Are you taking steps each day towards that goal? Or do you just lay in bed at night and think about it? Do you think about how impossible it is? How life just isn’t fair? No more thinking. JUST START NOW. Take one step. And then take another. And another. Until you are living your dream and you couldn’t imagine it any other way!

God places passions and desires in our hearts for a reason. He wants us to be in the center of His will…pursuing the passions that He has placed in our hearts. Abide in Him. Listen. Dream. Take one step toward the alternative.

Photo credit: Flickr| tonystl

When I committed to The Compact in October of 2006, I had no idea how radically it would change my life. I set out on a mission to simply stop buying new stuff…but instead the experiment changed my entire view of our consumerism-obsessed culture, marketing, wants vs. needs, giving vs. selling, the poor…the list goes on and on. While I did not complete the entire year of Compacting by my “rules”… I will be forever changed by this experience. I have blogged in the past about my journey, but here are some effects of The Compact that are still with me today:

• I LOVE buying used. It’s almost physically painful for me to buy things new/full retail cost. I could spend hours and hours at Goodwill…especially if I have a list of things I’ve been looking for. The thrill of the hunt is so fun. Whenever we need something, whether it be RV related, clothing, kitchen gadgets…we always turn to eBay, Craigslist, or Goodwill first before ever looking for it new. I would have to say that this ONE THING has been the biggest change for us.
• I’ve become appalled at the price of things…and have started to realize the crazy profit companies make on our purchases because we are just too lazy to search out the alternative. My current pair of jeans (yes I only have one pair) were 99 cents at Goodwill. Matt found them for me in the men’s section and said “here honey…these will be cute on you”. I LOVE them! And now, when I go in and I’m browsing the jeans, a tag for $3.99 seems ludicrous! Ha ha! How dare they think they can charge $3.99! This also happens when I’ve been to too many garage sales…I get used to the LOW prices and it’s hard to go back to eBay or consignment stores after that!
• I started to give a lot more stuff away. I think that when you come to the realization that it’s the STUFF that is bogging you down emotionally, mentally, and physically…you just want to get rid of it! So I got very good at filling boxes and going to Goodwill. Is there anything that feels better than handing over boxes of stuff that has been cluttering your home to the Goodwill attendant in the back of the store? I love it…a natural high!
• Handmade gifts are where it’s at…if it’s a handmade/recycled/found object art gift, even better! I think it was during my Compacting days that I discovered Etsy. Oh my goodness. How can you not love Etsy?!
• I am so much more sensitive to the marketing teams whose main goal is to make me feel like my current state of being is not good enough. They want me to want something. They scheme all day long on the by putting “want creators” on TV, internet, billboards, junk mail…it’s rampant.
• Because I am more sensitive to these things…I can hardly stand to set foot in a mall. The bright lights, the busyness, the insane amounts of money being exchanged. It’s overload.
• I can now walk into a Target or any other store and actually only buy what I went in for. Prior to The Compact, I almost felt like a zombie as I walked out of Target…wondering what just happened in there! Last night, we went as a family to buy a few items that we’ve had on our list for weeks. And it felt so good to come out with just a few things on the receipt.
• Now that Bella is at the age where she can understand purchasing, money, wants, etc…it has become more time consuming to go into stores because I need to discuss everything with her as we go. She amazes me with her self-control though. When we walk by the $1 section in Target, she likes to stop and look, but is not thrown into a frenzy if we decide not to get something there. We talk through it and it becomes a teaching moment about consumerism, money, and priorities. We talk about whether or not we need it…does she already have something similar in the RV? And if we were to get that item, would she be willing to give something else in her toy box away to make room for it? Young minds are hungry for teaching…I try as hard as I can to teach her things that aren’t in a normal school syllabus! Of course, it’s pretty rare that we even go to Target, so I think this is the key to success. Keep children focused on the abundance they DO have…not what they don’t have. Gratitude breeds contentment.
• And oh what JOY will come if we can learn contentment! Pray for it…Christ wants to give it to you!

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:11-13 (New Living Translation)

I would LOVE to hear from all of you who have committed to The Compact at any time (and for any length of time). Let us know how you felt about it and how it has stuck with you even after you were officially “done”.

Photo credit: Flickr/Creative Commons: ATIS547

The more time I spend with Jesus, the more disenchanted I am with the things of this world. I’m soaking in His words and realizing once again what He is all about. And I’m wondering. Pondering. Over and over in my head…

How can people who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ live a life of EXCESS?

I don’t know the answer…because there are so many more questions that go hand in hand with this:

“What IS excess?”
“Is one person’s excess different than another person’s?”
“Is living with excess ever ok?

Let’s start by defining excess:

1. The state of exceeding what is normal or sufficient.
2. An amount or quantity beyond what is normal or sufficient; a surplus.

Ok. So…excess is having more than you need. But what exactly is a “need”? Is having a new living room set a need? Is having brand name clothing a need? Is having more than two pairs of jeans a need? Is having organic food a need?

See what I mean? It’s very difficult to nail down exactly what a need is. Everyone defines it differently. I may look at someone and think that they are living a life of excess…but chances are, they don’t see it that way. They may see it as being “blessed”. Each part of the country will have a different answer. Each income bracket. Each church. Each family.

Has our definition of excess and need changed over the years? Yes. TV and advertising has radically altered our view of necessity. Your parents’ and grandparents’ definition of need is most likely different than yours. Go a few weeks without watching TV. Don’t visit the mall. Don’t read the advertisements from the Sunday paper or open “SALE!” emails in your inbox. And then….see how different those wants and needs feel. How much less “urgent” they seem.

Is excess having more than one of something? Is it having two or three or four of something? Bikes? Cars? Cell phones? Coats? Shoes? Pots and pans? Why do we have so many of these things? When there are people in the world without shelter, without food, without basic necessities…how do we go on accumulating more for ourselves? It reminds me of the quote by Ghandi, “Live simply so others may live”. How can we stop consuming so much…so that we are able to provide more resources for others?

I would suggest that we figure out WHY we are running after all of these “things”. Why are people working 80 hours a week to pay for a house that they are never there to enjoy? I’ve heard it so many times since we hit the road for the tour…people saying “I wish I could do that!”. When I tell them that they COULD do it…they give me all the reasons why they couldn’t. They have a big house payment.They just bought a new car with payments. They have too much credit card debt. Notice a pattern? Everything holding them back is related to money. Money they spent that they didn’t have anyway. They were seduced into believing they needed these things, and now they must work endless hours to pay for it all. And now they just want a real life.

On a somewhat related note…
I’ve often heard it said that if there weren’t wealthy Christians with an excess of possessions and money, who would minister to the wealthy unbelievers? Who would be “in their crowd” to show Christ to them? What about Christians who use their abundant resources to reach the lost? Who open up their large homes for people to use? Could all of that extra money be used in a different way that is more effective in ministry? I don’t know what the answer is to this. I’ve asked so many people this question over the years and no one gives me the same answer. My initial thought: Isn’t God bigger than that? Does he not own all the resources in the world? I don’t think it’s necessary to “blend in” to the world to minister to the world. I think everyone could live simply and still minister to all types of people.

I read an interesting excerpt on the Youth Specialties website regarding how Christians and consumerism:

The materialism of American Christianity rests entirely in the fact that we’ve turned one single verse on its head. Paul surrenders himself with the words, “To the Jews I become like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those not having the law” (1 Cor. 9:20 NIV). When in Rome, we might say.

But American Christians are largely doing this in reverse order. Paul chose to be like the Gentiles to minister to the Gentiles. We choose to minister to the suburban middle class, because we have chosen to be like them. The average American Christian seeks to go to college, secure a career, move to the suburbs, have 2.5 kids, and then declare, “Here I am, Lord! Send me!” We, the crew, have cast out the anchor and settled down before asking the captain, “To where are we sailing?” And I imagine that Jesus feels like his call to us is like a captain trying to steer an anchored ship. In the Navy, this is called mutiny.

I just wonder. I wonder what kind of amazing, crazy adventures God would take us on if we gave Him the reigns before we TOLD him what we were doing and asked Him to come along?

Jesus makes it very clear in the following parable that having “riches” makes it more difficult, but not impossible to follow Him.

The Rich Man

16 Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher,^[a] what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep^[b] the commandments.”

18 “Which ones?” the man asked.

And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. 19 Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[c]”

20 “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”

21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 24 I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

25 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

I’ve found this to be so true in my own life. In times where our income has been small…I rely on Jesus for EVERY LITTLE THING. I ask him to help me be wise in my grocery shopping…to help me choose the right foods for the right price. When we are bringing in more money, I tend to forget about praying before I head into the store. More money feels like security. I mistakingly believe that I have provided myself with a safety net. But in reality…ALL things come from God. Nothing is ours to begin with. And if you continue on that road long enough…believing that YOU are the one who EARNED your income to buy all of your excess things, it will be harder and harder for you to rely on God for your daily needs.

I do not believe that making a good income is bad in itself. It’s when people start to put their hope and trust in it…when they start to think that the world would fall in if that money went away tomorrow. The following quote by John Wesley really hits the point home:

“When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart.”

 

Jesus knew the seductive power of money…and this is why he spoke about it more than most things in the Bible.

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (1 John 3:17).

“Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘who is the Lord’? Or I may become poor and steal and so dishonour the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:8).

“And my God will supply all our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

Living simply and giving money away to others is a radical way to live in today’s society. But are we not called to live a life set apart? A life that is different? Right now, it just seems like most people are blending in. Be different…and confront your ideas about excess.

I’d love for this to be a starting point for a discussion about these ideas…I truly have no answers here. In fact, I think I asked more questions in this post than I answered. These are ideas that are constantly in my mind…and I would love to hear your thoughts. I know there isn’t one “right” answer to the question about having excess…but let’s all learn from each other’s experiences and insight.

It’s that time again! That’s right. Friday is Buy Nothing Day. Check it out.

“Whenever I go on a trip, I think about all the homes I’ve had & I remember how little has changed about what comforts me.”

-Brian Andreas (Story People)

Glowing, cozy rooms. Comfortable couches. Hot tea and cookies. Thai food. My Bible. Curling up with a good book or magazine. Great fellowship with friends. These are just a few of the things that “comfort” me…and like the quote says, those things have never changed. No matter how many times we move and how much “stuff” I get rid of, as long as I have a few wonderful things, I am comforted.We are now settled in our new apartment and whenever we are there, I am comfortable and content. A calmness comes over me when I sit in our living room and drink it all in. Here are more photos…come take the tour!

However, none of these good feelings can compare to the comfort and peace I receive from Jesus Christ. But so often, I look to the “created comforts” of this world to bring me those feelings…my home, my rituals, my friends and family, my hobbies. While I adore living in a space that I love and in a town that I love…would I still be contented and praise Him in different circumstances? I’ve been pondering that lately. I have a feeling that this is why my emotions start to go crazy when my house is a mess and things are in disarray. A clean house is always nice, but I tend to let it affect me deeper than it should. Can I be full of joy even as I clean up the mess?

True joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness can come and go with circumstances and moods…but joy comes from Christ. Knowing that ultimately, no matter what happens in my life, I will spend eternity with Him. Paul had this mastered…here is what he wrote as he was sitting in jail.

“I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”

Philippians 4:12 (The Message)

I am so encouraged by this verse…and I like this particular paraphrase a lot. I cannot say that I have conquered the “wants” in my life. I have found that when I am not spending time meditating on God’s word…those wants seem to multiply out of control. When I am disciplined and reading daily, I am better able to demonstrate self-control (or Jesus-control!) over my desires and wants…especially for material things.

Knowing that we can have joy despite what is going on around us is transforming. It frees me from the worry, wanting, and fear that come with daily life. I am enjoying the amazing blessings that God has given us…but I know that I can’t place my hope or confidence in my apartment, relationships, or my things. My comfort and hope comes from Him.

I’ve been thinking so much about what it means to be truly satisfied. I can look back through my life and pick out so many things I pursued that I thought would satisfy…but they all came up short. Relationships, money, possessions….none of these things satisfied me completely. Temporarily, yes. But not completely and without fault. The only thing that can offer that kind of satisfaction is Jesus Christ. Knowing Him. Loving Him. Glorifying Him. To quote John Piper, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him”.

Psalm 90: 14

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. (I love this one…when I meet with Him early in the morning, I am filled and satisfied all day. I am much more able to resist the temptations of this world!).Psalm 145: 15-17
15The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.

16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.

Isaiah 55:2
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Isaiah 58:11
The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

 

Over and over, He says that HE will satisfy our needs. But in a culture that screams so loudly about how we’ll never be satisfied without more money, more stuff, more square footage…it’s no wonder we are distracted to the point of forgetting His promise.

If we take Jesus at his Word, and start trusting that He will give us all that we need…why do we need to pursue all the things that the world pursues?

Piper has this to say about it:

If Christ is an all-satisfiying treasure and promises to provide all our needs, even through famine and nakedness, then to live as though we had all the same values as the world would betray him. I have in mind mainly how we use our money and how we feel about our possessions. I hear the haunting words of Jesus, “Do not be anxious, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things” (Matthew 6:31-32). In other words, if we look like our lives are devoted to getting and maintaining things, we will look like the world, and that will not make Christ look great. He will look like a religious side-interest that may be useful for escaping hell in the end, but doesn’t make much difference in what we live and love here. He will not look like an all-satisfying treasure. And that will not make others glad in God.

What would happen if every Christian lived a life that “looked different” than the world? Would it be possible to live lives like those in the early Church? To live in complete community and share all that we have?

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales, and put it at the apostles feet and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. *Acts 4:32-35

There were NO needy persons among them?! Amazing. The thing is, if everyone just shared what they had today, the same would be true. There is more than enough to go around…enough for the entire world. I know I’m thinking crazy thoughts…but it’s good to think about such things.

No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had?! Wow. Think about how much crime and hatred is the result of jealousy of someone else’s possessions. How caught up we get in determining what is mine and what is yours. Lawsuits, wars, divorces…

When we release our possessions and recognize that everything we have comes from Christ and belongs ultimately to Him, it’s much easier to have a loose grip on it all. We are just stewards of everything God has given us…none of it is OURS anyway. They are His to do with what He wants. It’s much easier to be satisfied when you take the distraction of possessions out of the picture. Jesus loved talking about money the poor. Fifteen percent of all His teaching revolves around those topics. I used to just skip over those passages apparently, because it wasn’t until I went deliberately searching that I realized how much Jesus wants us to take care of the needy.

Lastly, I will leave you with one last passage from Piper’s book “Don’t Waste Your Life”. It’s such a great reminder that although we should be salt and light and be “attractive” to others in order to win hearts to Christ, we also must be wary of becoming to comfortable in the “world”.

I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in. I start to love what others love. I start to call earth “home”. Before you know it, I am calling luxuries “needs” and using my money the way unbelievers do. I begin to forget the war. I don’t think much about people perishing. Missions and unreached peoples drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about the triumphs of grace. I sink into a secular mindset that looks first to what many can do, not what God can do. It is a terrible sickness.

A very convicting reminder…we are in this world but not of it. Do you look different? I’m going to leave it at that, and let you ponder. If you’ve never read of heard John Piper, I urge you to check him out. It’s deep stuff for sure, but well worth your time.

Be satisfied!

Wanting: \Want”ing\, a. Absent; lacking; missing; also, deficient; destitute; needy

During the holiday season, it is very easy to feel like our current possessions are “lacking” and “deficient”. Everywhere you turn, there is an advertisement for this or that. Even though you may only hear them in passing, they do affect you deeply. The advertisements are created to MAKE you feel want…like you are “less” if you don’t rush out and purchase their item. Or, during this season, you are less if you don’t rush out and purchase it for your friend, spouse, child, etc.

Recently, I took my grandma to the mall because she wanted to get some gift certificates for Christmas. I hadn’t been out to walk the mall in a long time…and I found it completely overwhelming. The people, the noise, the bright and shiny objects! I started to find myself looking in the windows … and feeling that WANTING that I so hate. I was in the mall for literally 5 minutes or less, and in that little space of time, the sirens sucked me in. I walked out chanting to myself “look straight ahead, there is nothing you need”! I am so glad I don’t have to deal with that anymore this season!

I started to think about other ways that WANT is created in my life. I have discussed this before, but it’s worth doing it again. It’s an ongoing battle, and if you don’t think about it and how it happens, it will control you.

I started with my email inbox. I went through and unsubscribed from every single newsletter, update, etc. that I receive. I was astounded at how many businesses/spammers have my email. It took several hours to complete this, and I am still doing “maintenance” unsubscribing daily. I needed to do this because there are several really fun crafty sites that I get updates for…and even though they are homemade, ethical, etc, I do not need them. Opening those emails only creates want. Having less emails makes me spend less time at the computer and have less distraction in general. I also unsubscribed from several discussion groups that I just didn’t have time to read. From now on, I will make a point to be more protective of my email address. I know that spammers can get it without me knowing, but I will do all that I can.

The other “tool of wanting” that I’ve been thinking about lately is the TV. I know that most of you will agree with me on this one…but I want to talk about a certain genre in particular that I used to find harmless. The two channels that I used to give myself “permission” to watch, HGTV and TLC, are experts in creating want not just in their advertising but within the programming. What?! Say it isn’t so! Yes. Think with me for a moment.

“Dream House”, “I Want That”, “National Open House”…these are three programs that create want in myself when I watch them. Basically, when you are looking over and over at lifestyles, people, and possessions that don’t align with your values or your budget, it will only leave you “wanting”. When you see “excess” as the norm, your standards and expectations start to change. The same principle applies to reading gossip magazines (i.e. People, Us, etc.). If you read it enough, focus on it enough, and desire to KNOW and imitate other’s lifestyles enough…you will continue to WANT.

On TLC, there is a show called “What Not to Wear”. The hosts go into someone’s closet, basically tell them what a horrible dresser they are and how ugly they look, and they throw away (donate?) all of their clothes and give them $5,000 to go shopping for a new wardrobe. First of all, clothing is an extremely emotional and personal choice. When you come in an dissect someone’s wardrobe, it’s traumatizing. Secondly, I could buy a whole army a wardrobe with $5,000 (does anyone else think that is insane?!). With that said, I can see how it sucks people in because I used to be very entertained by it. But when I would watch them go shopping, I started to wish that I could just go on a shopping spree like that. I WANTED to be them. TV turns you into a happy little consumer.

John Piper, one of my favorite pastors and authors, calls TV the “great life-waster”. He has this to say in his book “Don’t Waste Your Life“:

“The main problem with TV is not how much smut is available, though that is a problem. Just the ads are enough to sow fertile seeds of greed and lust, no matter what program you’re watching. The greater problem is banality. A mind fed daily on TV diminishes. Your mind was made to know and love God. Its facility for this great calling is ruined by excessive TV. The content is so trivial and so shallow that the capacity of the mind to think worthy thoughts withers, and the capacity of the heart to feel deep emotions shrivels.”

So, there you have it. In addition to creating WANT, watching TV turns you into a shallow idiot.
Turn it off! (Please don’t tell me that TV is educational. Get out there and LIVE life instead of learning about it on your TV).

I want to stop wanting. Looking back at the definition…I am not lacking, missing, deficient, or in need of anything. The only thing I am in “need” of is God’s grace and forgiveness daily. I want to be satified by Christ alone.

*photo courtesy of davepatten/flickr.com