Contentment Revisted
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If you've been a long time reader or one who does a little digging around here, then you know a little about our family's ministry and all the ups and downs that we have faced. There is a HUGE chunk that I left out to keep people from thinking I was bitter (which I was and still have to deal with). I also felt the Lord would bless our family more if I never spoke a name of a person(s). I honestly believe the Lord has blessed us because of this and that he is going to continue to bless our family.
I wrote BE CONTENT in 2009 after a whirlwind trip to Montana to bring our family possessions home. Almost three years later, I still feel a little twinge of hurt when I think about some of the items that we left behind. Those items were earthly possessions that we either bought or were given to us by loved ones. At one time,these were items that we loved and thought we could never live without. Funny, three years later 90% of those items we can't recall and we've lived without them.
In these three years, the Lord has provided new items to take the place of the old ones. I have also kept myself from longing for certain items by not flipping through magazines, watching home shows, and being careful at searching the internet where I will see things and begin to want.
Since 2009, we have changed how we live and collect items. If we bring something in that is similar to items that we already own, one is sent out. My husband and son are not really collectors of anything, so when I say "I" or "we", truly, it's all me. For example, I collect old milk bottles and I have limited my collection to 6 and no more. For clothes, I have a large bag hanging in my sewing room where I place clothing items that no longer fit or have not been worn in the past year. We also add to the clothes bag when new clothing comes into the house. I can't help but remember the conversation made by Missy to Marty in the movie Love Comes Softly, about being able to wear only one dress at a time. I am not that drastic in our clothing, but who really needs 5 black skirts or 25 pairs of shoes? (I have never owned 25 pairs of shoes at one time, let along 25 pairs of black shoes.) :)
I am not a minimalist, I do like to see "pretties" sitting around and being shared with others. I believe the Lord wants us to have nice things, and he wants us to be good stewards with the items and space that we have. I don't believe he wants us to fill our closets full of clothing we don't wear, nor have boxes full of UKIs (unknown items) filling our attics, basements,closets and garages. I honestly don't think he would want us spending good money on storing all the junk we've collected just to keep from having to ditch it.
To end this post, I want to express I am still CONTENT.
I wrote BE CONTENT in 2009 after a whirlwind trip to Montana to bring our family possessions home. Almost three years later, I still feel a little twinge of hurt when I think about some of the items that we left behind. Those items were earthly possessions that we either bought or were given to us by loved ones. At one time,these were items that we loved and thought we could never live without. Funny, three years later 90% of those items we can't recall and we've lived without them.
In these three years, the Lord has provided new items to take the place of the old ones. I have also kept myself from longing for certain items by not flipping through magazines, watching home shows, and being careful at searching the internet where I will see things and begin to want.
Since 2009, we have changed how we live and collect items. If we bring something in that is similar to items that we already own, one is sent out. My husband and son are not really collectors of anything, so when I say "I" or "we", truly, it's all me. For example, I collect old milk bottles and I have limited my collection to 6 and no more. For clothes, I have a large bag hanging in my sewing room where I place clothing items that no longer fit or have not been worn in the past year. We also add to the clothes bag when new clothing comes into the house. I can't help but remember the conversation made by Missy to Marty in the movie Love Comes Softly, about being able to wear only one dress at a time. I am not that drastic in our clothing, but who really needs 5 black skirts or 25 pairs of shoes? (I have never owned 25 pairs of shoes at one time, let along 25 pairs of black shoes.) :)
I am not a minimalist, I do like to see "pretties" sitting around and being shared with others. I believe the Lord wants us to have nice things, and he wants us to be good stewards with the items and space that we have. I don't believe he wants us to fill our closets full of clothing we don't wear, nor have boxes full of UKIs (unknown items) filling our attics, basements,closets and garages. I honestly don't think he would want us spending good money on storing all the junk we've collected just to keep from having to ditch it.
