Aren't we all hoarders?

 Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.  Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. 

Matthew 6:19-21

Today:

I am thankful for my family, my home, and never needing anything. I find it so hard sometimes to let go of the earthly things that I hoard and collect. I really think many of us buy things and save things because it satisfies some void in our lives. I get soooo caught up in the process of needing (wanting) stuff, that I can't see the forest for the trees. No, I am not a hoarder, my house is not packed with newspapers and books and rotting food from 1986, so much that I have to crawl through the door ways with only a 6 inch opening (true story from hoarders). Hoarders have some sort of psychological issue that they really can't get rid of things and they keep collecting things, but I wonder if most of us have some mild form of this too.

So my question to you is this:

Where are you storing your treasures? 

And what are you going to do with all of the extra stuff you have collected here on earth?

Good-bye my Beloved Enrique

Today is the anniversary of the death of my beloved Suburban #2, loving named Enrique (don't ask, the kids named it). 

    

As you may recall from a post several years ago, Suburban #1 burned up in a raging ball of fire. Actually, as I was driving home from work, I noticed that my butt was getting warm, and well it was August after all, so I ignored it. But my butt got hotter, so I thought that I must have accidentally hit the seat heater button. After going into the house and remembering that I left my bag in the car, I returned to find the entire car engulfed in smoke! So I did what any sane women would do, I ran inside and yelled for my husband to come help me! Need I say more.... 

Long story short, Suburban #1, Lady Kesha, was totaled.

Enrique met his death last year when we were on our way to church. A new driver, bless her heart, pulled out in front of us when she mistakened (I'm not sure that's a word) the gas pedal for the brake. We were all shook up, but no one was hurt badly.

There is irony here. We were on our way to a Dave Ramsey study. Financial Peace....

Dave doesn't like car debt, we had car debt. I was trying very hard to align my financial life in a way that honored God, with Dave's help. I had plans to quietly pay that car off and promise God I would never do it again. I wasn't thinking that God would just wipe that car right out of my life. But then again, who am I kidding, God almost always has to basically hit me over the head with things to get my attention. I was often labeled "testa duro"(hard head) by my Italian famiglia. So, he took the Suburban in one foul swoop! Gone! Totaled! So I started in a panic to look for another car to replace Enrique. And to no avail, I could not find one. I cried. I would have to give back the rental and drive the forbidden and disgusting Minivan, so aptly named The Grey Turd.

A year later, The Grey Turd and I are friends. It has gotten me everywhere I need to go, and it is paid off. That minivan is a reminder everyday of the fact that God is in control and is literally at the wheel of my life. I love the fact that it has a dent in every side and often tease my up and coming drivers that they will soon have the pleasure of driving it. You know how they love that :)

Thank you Jesus for my life, for my family, and for breaking me down every day so that you can build me back up to be more like you... Amen.

Stuck

At what point do you reach the end of yourself? One thing I know for sure is that God is forever in my lifetime on earth working with me. I used to think that I would someday attain this status of greatness never to go no more.. he was done with me ;) That's a lie I told myself, or perhaps it was the whispering of those little evil angels that whisper in our ears and try to convince us of the things that we really know deep down inside are not the right thing to think or do. One thing I know for sure is that God will NEVER, EVER, EVER be done with me.

So I have to look back at the path that I have traveled:
     
     I have lived in this tiny house since 2005, it was a panicked decision to buy this house, well, the divorce and other circumstances blinded my decision making process. With that said, I have never really connected with this house. In fact I really hate this house! I have always hated this house!! It's a dump in my eyes and somehow I think I have always felt it was below me to live in such a place. It was such a back step coming from my half a million dollar paradise off of Robious Road (if you are local, you know what I am talking about). Because I needed 4000+ square feet of living space with a husband, 3 kids and 2 dogs. I needed to keep up with the Jones-es and the Smith-es, and run around in my little tennis outfit when I picked up the kids from school even though I didn't really hardly play tennis, it was always about the outfit. I needed all that because I worked hard and earned it. I deserved this, this stuff. NOT. But those demon angels convinced me that I did, and so I did.
     Now I live on 10 acres in the middle of nowhere in a barely 2000 square foot house that is falling apart and often looks like Sanford and Son live with me, oops, no, that's just my husband. No wonder I still have boxes that I haven't unpacked in 7 years!
     So for seven years I have somehow been trying to makeup for my "misfortune". I have bought things to put band-aids on the mess I have made of my life. I think we are all caught up in this vicious cycle of making ourselves believe that we need things. I have used shopping and buying things as a way to heal myself, and the biggest revelation I have had has come straight from heaven.

God has kept me here in this stuck place until I change my ways.

My to do list:

1) Stop buying crap that I absolutely do not need, regardless of whether it is cute or I want it. Sorry, Cute Orange Purse all my friends have and I really, really, really want... you will have to wait until all my other 200 purses wear out. 

2) Give the extra crap AWAY! or sell it. 

3) Be content, and wait for God to show me the next step in my journey called life.

Resurrection

I have struggled with blogging over the past year. I felt as if I was having to pull things out of my you-know-what just to post something...... and well, that's just not a good reason to blog.

I started blogging as a way to process, share, vent, and explore ideas and information. 

       With that said.... 

I have a multitude of information to process these days. Maybe my brain was just storing up thoughts, and now it's time to purge. So let's begin........

Ok, so I started reading this book called 7, you can find it here. (And yes, I do have time to read, people ask me this question all of the time. Between family, work, school, and work, I read. It's how I start my day and end my day. I'm somewhat OCD about it... the morning must begin with coffee and God, and the night always ends with some sort of good fiction book! I digress.)

Let me give some background:

It occurred to me that we have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF! I was preparing the house for painters to come in to paint bedrooms, and it seemed as if the walls were caving in. 

We have too much, an excess of everything!!!

I can't stand it!

I'm even contemplating moving to a bigger house, as if this crap won't follow me there!

So, one day as a way to escape the clutter, I went to the Christian book store to spend the gift card that my work girlfriends gave me last January. And I came upon the book 7. It looked interesting, and after putting down the $90 Beth Moore study, 

I picked up 7, 

it cost $15, 

it would simplify my life, 

what better timing. 

(Beth Moore study, I will buy you later).

And the adventure begins.......