Oh Peanut! We have that book! We used it as part of our homeschool curriculum. It will blow your mind. It certainly puts things into proper perspective.
The holidays have been very hard for me the last 3-4 years. Yes, money is an issue, but it's not the whole story. For us the holidays was a huge celebration, loaded with family and friends. It was a time of year where we focused on charity to an extreme. Given our economic circumstances that no longer is an option.
Add to it deaths, grandparents aging and losing their ability to participate in the holidays, family moving away, and our world has shrunk to just my Mother and my in-laws.
Of course I'd not be honest if I did not say that I've been having a bit of a temper tantrum over my physical abilities declining. The upcoming holidays is on the heel of me resigning myself to the fact that really stylish shoes are no longer an option. I had to buy a pair of sensible shoes (read-ugly), that did not kill my back and allowed me to walk more than a few feet without feeling like my spine was going to break in half. Well, it really felt like my world was coming to an end. All I could think was, great, I'm an old woman at 43, next week I'll need a hearing aid and a walker. Stupid huh? I totally missed my blessing by behaving like a spoiled brat. Here God provided me a pair of shoes that was EXACTLY what I needed, and all I could focus on was this was not what I wanted. Fast forward to the guy with soda bottle shoes and that fact smacked me hard right upside my head.
So when it comes to the holidays this year, or anything else, I've purposed myself that I am going to focus on the fact that God really does meet my needs, and I need to stop every single time I think something is a need and evaluate if it really is, or just me being a spoiled brat. Because truth be told, I only need one set of clothing, and it does not have to be fabulous clothing either. It just has to cover my nakedness. Anything more than that is a blessing and I need to recognize that. I don't need my own car, I want my own car. I don't need a working dishwasher, I want one. I don't need certain foods on my table, I want certain foods on my table. If I really get down to what my needs really are and how much I have above my needs, then, well....I am very blessed.
So this post was about me turning my eyes off of myself, and turning them towards the things that are truly important in this world. Outing myself is rather humbling, but necessary in grounding myself in the truth. The truth is ugly and raw, full of human failing. I purpose myself to be a better human being.
The holidays have been very hard for me the last 3-4 years. Yes, money is an issue, but it's not the whole story. For us the holidays was a huge celebration, loaded with family and friends. It was a time of year where we focused on charity to an extreme. Given our economic circumstances that no longer is an option.
Add to it deaths, grandparents aging and losing their ability to participate in the holidays, family moving away, and our world has shrunk to just my Mother and my in-laws.Of course I'd not be honest if I did not say that I've been having a bit of a temper tantrum over my physical abilities declining. The upcoming holidays is on the heel of me resigning myself to the fact that really stylish shoes are no longer an option. I had to buy a pair of sensible shoes (read-ugly), that did not kill my back and allowed me to walk more than a few feet without feeling like my spine was going to break in half. Well, it really felt like my world was coming to an end. All I could think was, great, I'm an old woman at 43, next week I'll need a hearing aid and a walker. Stupid huh? I totally missed my blessing by behaving like a spoiled brat. Here God provided me a pair of shoes that was EXACTLY what I needed, and all I could focus on was this was not what I wanted. Fast forward to the guy with soda bottle shoes and that fact smacked me hard right upside my head.
So when it comes to the holidays this year, or anything else, I've purposed myself that I am going to focus on the fact that God really does meet my needs, and I need to stop every single time I think something is a need and evaluate if it really is, or just me being a spoiled brat. Because truth be told, I only need one set of clothing, and it does not have to be fabulous clothing either. It just has to cover my nakedness. Anything more than that is a blessing and I need to recognize that. I don't need my own car, I want my own car. I don't need a working dishwasher, I want one. I don't need certain foods on my table, I want certain foods on my table. If I really get down to what my needs really are and how much I have above my needs, then, well....I am very blessed.
So this post was about me turning my eyes off of myself, and turning them towards the things that are truly important in this world. Outing myself is rather humbling, but necessary in grounding myself in the truth. The truth is ugly and raw, full of human failing. I purpose myself to be a better human being.
