What is up with all this STUFF?
To be honest, I am frustrated. For anyone who has ever watched Mom's Night Out, I am stress paralyzed. Yes, that scene in the movie. Yes, that is where I am. I am surrounded by stuff. Stuff I do not want anymore. Stuff I cannot seem to get rid of. Stuff that is taking over everything and stealing my … JOY. Oh, it makes me sad. I say all of this to remind myself that this is actually a good thing. It is a good thing to de clutter and to purge our possessions. It is a good thing to live with less. It is a good thing to donate things to people who are in need. It is a good thing to get our focus off of ourselves and onto others. It is just…HARD in the midst of the purging.
I am one of those many people who get nervous and anxious when my house gets out of order. I do not like it. I try to fix it. Right now though I am trying to go through each room and purge A LOT. There is only so much that can fit in a travel trailer. Going from 10 years of stuff accumulated by 10 people in a 2200 square foot house to 10 people in a 250 square foot moving house is tough. I am surrounded by the stuff I want to get rid of. And I can't. My husband has had Army duty last week and this week. He has been around less than what I would like him to be. The stuff keeps accumulating in the garage. The piles are getting higher and higher. I keep adding to it. I am almost done the first purge of the whole house, which is an accomplishment in itself. I just cannot get rid of it all. It seems when you share the idea of living with less to your friends and family and then call them up and say "Hey, come get my stuff so you can have more" does not work. Our church body has been so convicted of sharing the gospel lately that no one wants to come and get what I do not want because they do not want it either. That is a blessing. The problem is that now I am stuck with all this stuff that I do not want and neither do my friends. Can you hear me sigh?????
I am trying to be patient and calm but honestly there have been times during this purging process where I have not been very kind to my husband and children. I know, you are shocked. Last night my husband came home from a full day of pre planning for his brigades annual training next year. He got upset over a trivial thing and I took it as a personal affront and huffed upstairs and locked the door. I had been working all day and I thought he should have been praising my efforts and instead, in my mind, I found criticism. Now, it was simply a lack of communication on both our parts. I know that is hard to imagine coming from two people married for almost 17 years, right? Ha!!!!! Once we both cooled down, it was all worked out and we got more done last night than we thought. My loving husband let me rest while he put the three littles to bed and then took down our built in school desks. I love that man.
Okay, so what is the point of my rambling. I have so many thoughts running through my head these days that sometimes it is hard to put them all down. Oh, STUFF. My stuff. Well, not anymore. I am ready to bless others. We have already. We had a yard sale and were able to bless some people. We were able to pass out cards with this blog address written on it where people will be told about how God is working in our lives. That is a good thing. We were able to bless another family we know with things that they needed. That is a good thing. We were able to donate the rest of the yard sale leftovers to a wonderful organization that works with homeless people. Definitely good. But I think the most wonderful thing is that after a hard week and a yard sale that seemed to never end with lots of stuff left over, my family and I got to serve others at church. My husband led the hymns. My second son read scripture aloud during the service. I shared the testimony about Michael and also led the younger kids after church. The thing is my husband and I did not even realize it. We were so busy doing and did not even think about how much our family has grown until one of our elders pointed out the growth to us. THAT brings my joy back. THAT is what I am clinging to this week. THAT is what helps me get up off the floor of my closet and not be stress paralyzed anymore. What is THAT you ask? It is loving God so much and growing in Him everyday so that His loves comes pouring out of in ways we do not even know. It is touching lives with His love. It is the desire to want to touch more lives and show them how much HE loves them. THAT is what I am working to and so often fail with my own family but with God's help I can. Today I am praying for patience and peace and to show my children and husband and anyone else God may send in my path how much I love them and how much God loves them.
I am one of those many people who get nervous and anxious when my house gets out of order. I do not like it. I try to fix it. Right now though I am trying to go through each room and purge A LOT. There is only so much that can fit in a travel trailer. Going from 10 years of stuff accumulated by 10 people in a 2200 square foot house to 10 people in a 250 square foot moving house is tough. I am surrounded by the stuff I want to get rid of. And I can't. My husband has had Army duty last week and this week. He has been around less than what I would like him to be. The stuff keeps accumulating in the garage. The piles are getting higher and higher. I keep adding to it. I am almost done the first purge of the whole house, which is an accomplishment in itself. I just cannot get rid of it all. It seems when you share the idea of living with less to your friends and family and then call them up and say "Hey, come get my stuff so you can have more" does not work. Our church body has been so convicted of sharing the gospel lately that no one wants to come and get what I do not want because they do not want it either. That is a blessing. The problem is that now I am stuck with all this stuff that I do not want and neither do my friends. Can you hear me sigh?????
I am trying to be patient and calm but honestly there have been times during this purging process where I have not been very kind to my husband and children. I know, you are shocked. Last night my husband came home from a full day of pre planning for his brigades annual training next year. He got upset over a trivial thing and I took it as a personal affront and huffed upstairs and locked the door. I had been working all day and I thought he should have been praising my efforts and instead, in my mind, I found criticism. Now, it was simply a lack of communication on both our parts. I know that is hard to imagine coming from two people married for almost 17 years, right? Ha!!!!! Once we both cooled down, it was all worked out and we got more done last night than we thought. My loving husband let me rest while he put the three littles to bed and then took down our built in school desks. I love that man.
Okay, so what is the point of my rambling. I have so many thoughts running through my head these days that sometimes it is hard to put them all down. Oh, STUFF. My stuff. Well, not anymore. I am ready to bless others. We have already. We had a yard sale and were able to bless some people. We were able to pass out cards with this blog address written on it where people will be told about how God is working in our lives. That is a good thing. We were able to bless another family we know with things that they needed. That is a good thing. We were able to donate the rest of the yard sale leftovers to a wonderful organization that works with homeless people. Definitely good. But I think the most wonderful thing is that after a hard week and a yard sale that seemed to never end with lots of stuff left over, my family and I got to serve others at church. My husband led the hymns. My second son read scripture aloud during the service. I shared the testimony about Michael and also led the younger kids after church. The thing is my husband and I did not even realize it. We were so busy doing and did not even think about how much our family has grown until one of our elders pointed out the growth to us. THAT brings my joy back. THAT is what I am clinging to this week. THAT is what helps me get up off the floor of my closet and not be stress paralyzed anymore. What is THAT you ask? It is loving God so much and growing in Him everyday so that His loves comes pouring out of in ways we do not even know. It is touching lives with His love. It is the desire to want to touch more lives and show them how much HE loves them. THAT is what I am working to and so often fail with my own family but with God's help I can. Today I am praying for patience and peace and to show my children and husband and anyone else God may send in my path how much I love them and how much God loves them.
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