do you ever have one of those days when it feels like life is one endless load of laundry??

sometimes it is SOO hard to get motivated.
which brings me to another point of purging.

there's been an ongoing discussion in our home about how to spend (or not spend) our money. (a bit of a more ongoing discussion now that there is a third person.) especially now that i'm not working i don't feel nearly as free to purchase things "just for fun". BUT buying baby clothes aren't "just for fun", right?? they actually serve a very good purpose, no? well, 1 of the 2 of us has a little bit of a more conservative view on the matter...
(i'll let you do the deciphering)

it's been a few weeks and we still hadn't figured out a good balance
UNTIL
last week it became apparent that one of the main issues is freedom.
in other words, being able to "get up and go"- no being held back or tied down by

"stuff"

ok, i TOTALLY get that! anyone that knows me understands that i LOVE adventure and going...

and THEN i ran into this post while browsing one of my favorite blogs a few days later...

"I was walking back from the coffee shop near my office recently when I just happened to see a stencil of a clover on the street and snapped a photo of it. I guess it was left over from the St. Patrick’s Day celebration, but I took it as one of those little messages the Universe likes to leave in your path when you’re in need of a mental bitch slap. As in, don’t forget how lucky I am to be taking a break from a job many people would kill for with a kind of pretentious iPhone camera in my pocket and an expensive handmade coffee drink in my hand. I generally take all those things for granted in the sense of just not thinking about them deeply enough. It’s as if I’ve become so used to them that I have an unconscious sense of entitlement, and I really really hate that. It not only cuts me off from reality, but it also insulates me from the possibility of astonishment around every corner.  All the things and stuff I accumulate, like that daily complicated coffee order, distract me from bigger issues, deeper needs, the solitariness and yearning waiting at the heart of every life. What can I do without in order to live a richer life?"

"What can I do without in order to live a richer life?"

wow.

well, now, that is a SPECTACULAR question!

(and i believe there's something about this in the Bible too)
ever heard of the Rich Young Ruler?

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. "Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." ... "But many who are first will be last; and the last, first. - Mat 19:21-24, 30 NASB

you know, i find it rather astonishing sometimes how the truths of the Bible are inside of us in our very souls and yet sooo many people don't see that we ALL are created for God's glory- whether we decide to believe it or not!
there's no escaping his handiwork and master plan

(i don't believe in "messages from the Universe, btw, i think it's something called sovereignty)

anyways, back to purging.

But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
 - 1Ti 6:6-11 NASB

you see, it's like we treat these kinds of discoveries like an epiphany when it's
WHAT WE WERE MADE FOR

the way it's SUPPOSED to be.
and we wonder why people who seem to have it all, the world at their fingertips, are just never quite "happy" enough and every once in a while someone (like my fellow blogger) says, "wait a minute, LOOK at all these blessings! look at all the little things i have that i don't even NEED."

THESE are the very things that CLOUD my eyes from what's really important. the special little moments of each day that canNOT be noticed unless i get rid of STUFF. distractions. things that i think make me happy but in reality keep me from finding contentment all around me.


(so i guess now you know whom is the more materialistic out of the 2 of us)

so what does all this have to do with LAUNDRY you might ask?
well, while that may never actually go away i think it is the perfect reminder of how the more stuff we have the less free TIME we have. time to notice the flowers poking out of the bushes, the butterfly coasting through the air, the sun shining through the window, the feeling of a little head contentedly resting on my shoulder. AND the power of our valuing capability decreases as it is spread over a ginormous amount of objects instead of just a handful that actually MEAN SOMETHING.


i'm certainly still learning

but it's a start...