I had a group of girl friends over the other night, and brought out my bag of “no longer wants” for them to sift through, and they were all “shopping” (for free) excitedly in my bag, and each went home with a few items they just LOVED. As most of my girl friends currently are in tighter financial circumstances than I, it felt really good to “give” and also to see my things through their eyes. You are right…it’s all in perspective, isn’t it?

I too complain about my house (of 34 yrs)…it’s small, the rooms are too small and not enough of them, my kitchen is to small and out of date, the layout of our house isn’t what I want anymore, and on and on. But THANKFULLY the Lord is faithful to remind me how truly BLESSED we are having so much to complain about. And in reminding me I stop complaining, realizing my blessings FAR outweigh any ‘complaint’ I might have. After all, I’ve been blessed to grow up in the most prosperous country in the world. What do I KNOW about suffering and doing without??

I find my self telling God ‘Thank You’ when I take a shower…in WARM, comfortable, CLEAN water, with soap and shampoo, etc. So many in the world have nothing like that. I find myself thanking God each night when I go to bed for the GREAT blessing of having a comfortable bed, in a safe and secure house already paid for. So many must sleep under bridges or in card board boxes, mostly in the most dangerous places of what ever city or country they are in and in all sorts of horrible weather throughout all seasons. When a really bad storm blows up (we get really bad tornado’s here in the Mid-West) and I pray that God will just keep us safe the Holy Spirit reminds me to pray for those living on the streets with NO shelter or protection. I ask Him to protect them with His own hands.

How’s the saying go? ‘I’m too blessed to be stressed’!

HOW TRUE!

“I realize just how blessed I am and just how much I can bless others. Instead of clamoring for more, more, more, I can be content and focus on what I can do for others. Thank you, God.”

If a home estimator could seriously turn up her nose at a “huge, beautiful kitchen with a huge granite island” and declare it “seriously subpar,” she would probably throw up over my upgraded kitchen! Remind me never to have such a person evaluate what we have!

I think, if any of my sponsored girls were to see our house–with old age showing–one of the first questions they might have is, “Why do you need so much space, and so many rooms?!” Never mind that eight people once lived here; I’ve seen one-room wood-and-tin shacks with great gaps in the “walls” and roof, smaller than our guest room, serving as home for seven people. We really need to downsize!

Brittany, I know what you mean about the kitchen! I was convicted the other day watching a home show on HGTV. A woman was getting a home estimate. She had a huge, beautiful kitchen with a huge granite island. The home evaluator turned her nose up and said, “This kitchen is seriously subpar.”!!! A good reminder that enough never seems to be enough!