12/20

Today would be the last day of the world if we were Mayan.  That would be a good thing for the clothes I have worn for the last 30 days.  I have had a few casualties; holes in shirts, pants, hook and eye failure on my skirt, but nothing that prevented me from wearing them.  I must admit I am extremely grateful for all that I have and am looking forward to pulling out some warm sweaters so I don't have to be cold all the time.  I am also looking forward to wearing some different pants and shorts when I work out.  It has been so hot at the gym!

Anyway...tomorrow starts our month of giving away.  Giving away parts of ourselves as well as physical objects.  I have noticed that we have WAY TOO much stuff in this house that was not missed this last month.  I did begin a bit early and gave away 26 pairs of shoes to the Amherst Middle School shoe drive for Soles for Souls.  That was last week.  No household should have that many shoes to give away.  I also gave a winter coat to a little boy in the kindergarten classroom I volunteer in each week.  We are blessed with so much.

This month I am going to try and see what it means to live out Micah 6:8.

 "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

What does it mean to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God?  What are your thoughts?

Waiting

Why is waiting so difficult?  Whether it is waiting for a baby, waiting for Christmas, waiting for vacation, waiting to wear more than 7 articles of clothing, waiting for news from a biopsy...waiting.  As believers we are called to wait patiently with our Lord.  Wait for His arrival.  Wait for His answer to our prayers.  Wait for Him to come back.  Again with the waiting.  It ought to be easier with Him in the picture.  It ought to ease some of our worry or anxiousness.  Many times satan gets the better of us and we become consumed/paralyzed. 
Please pray with me for my friend who has to have surgery today to remove a lump beneath her eye and then wait for news about whether or not the news is good or bad.  She is not a believer.  Nor is her family.
Thanks.

Earings

Let's talk earrings today...For the past couple of days my collection of earrings have been calling my name.  Now this is strange in many ways and I won't unpack all of them, but I will talk about one of them.  I usually only wear two or three pairs of my many pairs.  I never notice their color and tend to go for the silver ones.  These past few days their color, size and sparkliness have been pulling me in and luring me to wear them.  When I began the clothing section, I decided not to wear earrings except for one pair.  This pair now seems very drab, inappropriate, and just plain ugly.  I don't believe any of this is true.  I think it is the lure of change, the promise of different, that I am finding so attractive.  Isn't this what I do in my daily walk with Christ too?  What am I replacing with sparkly things, trying to fill a void that only Christ can fill?

shoes, shoes, shoes

Ok this is a little embarrassing.  I own 48 pairs of shoes.  Multiple pairs of boots, many sandals, clogs, running sneaker, a few dress shoes worn only once.  How many do I usually wear?  In any given week?  Probably three max.  I go for the easy slip on and off shoe most days.  I have my shoes that stay downstairs and the shoes that stay upstairs (ridiculous I know).  I have shoes only worn for weddings, Sundays, or running.  Lots of running sneakers.  Every 6 mos I get new running sneakers.  How did this happen?  How can one woman use/need this many shoes?  I even asked for a new pair for Christmas.  I know I have a problem.  I need to go through and sort and gift them away.  I need to stop pointing fingers at my husbands coat addiction (he may have more coats than underwear) and take care of my addiction first.  Isn't there that nifty little verse about taking care of the log in your own eye before helping your neighbor with his splinter?

This is just the tip of the iceberg folks.  I haven't counted my t-shirts yet.  One area at a time.  I think my brain might explode if I do too much at once.