spending

this is the season of spending.
Black Friday.
Cyber Monday.
gifts for everyone on the list.
decorations for the mantle.
i'm sure your inbox is full of coupons just like mine.
and your paper is full of ads just like mine.

it is very easy to get sucked into this attitude of spend, spend, spend.

or at least it is for me.

the other night I was laying in bed thinking.
i do that often, by the way.
sometimes too much.
but, hey, it's how God made me.

so i was thinking about how much time i spend thinking about ways to spend money.
we're trying to buy a house $$$$$$$
so then i start thinking about the furniture we'll need to put in that house (guest bed, accent chairs, dining room table, couch, desks, etc. etc. etc.) $$$
then i think about having a baby. yikes! need i say more?!? $$$$$$$
and how we don't even have a four-door vehicle to put that baby in $$$

you get the picture, right?

so this was the track that my mind was on
when all of the sudden i heard:
"what if you spent as much time thinking about how to give to others
as you do thinking about spending?"

what if?

don't hear me wrong:
I don't think that any of the things that I mentioned above are bad things,
nor do I think that it is wrong to spend money on those things.
I'm sure at some point we'll buy all the aforementioned items.

but i just think that I have gotten a little off track.
and I want to make sure that I recognize that all that I have
come from God.
it is all HIS, first and foremost.
and always.


as I begin my holiday shopping
(i bought my first gift tonight!!)
I want to keep a good perspective on my spending habits.
and my giving habits.

because I am extremely blessed.
and I want to be a blessing to others.

i hope that Rob and I can talk this week about ways to give
and bless those around us.

will you have these conversations with us, too?

Lord,
all I have is yours.
I want to honor you with all I have and all I am.
Thanks for all you given for me.
amen.