Still...a small voice

Thankful???????

    I am sure that this will not be my most popular blog. Let me apologize in advance.... actually, I will not apologize, the Lord  has laid this on my heart so I am going to share it!! Here goes......

 Let me begin by saying that I am a shopper. When I say shopper, I mean I LOVE to shop, I LOVE to find bargains and I love stuff!!! I am also a giver, I love to give to others, especially my children and my precious grandson!!!

So you are thinking, wow she is a giver, that's a good thing!!!!

Is it?

I find myself in the Holiday Mode. I am making lists and crunching numbers and trying to find a way to get everyone everything that they could ever want. In most cases, even things that they have no idea that they want. WHY? so that I can feel good about myself. I have to admit, it puffs me up a little bit to know that I was able to give my kids everything they could ever imagine. What a fabulous mom that makes me.

So basically, this giving is self-serving.....hmmmm.....

Don't get me wrong, my kids love what they receive and they are always grateful. However, if I were to ask them what was their favorite gift from last year, I'm not sure that they would remember. You know why, because it was just stuff.

Well. this morning on the news I heard that some major department stores are now opening on Thanksgiving day. Actually, 8pm on Thanksgiving. Why you ask, because that's what the customers want.

Honestly??????

On the one day of the year that is set aside merely as a day to give thanks for our abundant blessings, we would rather go get more stuff???

Now, I am guilty of being the crazy woman who is standing in line on Black Friday, waiting for the 4am opening. I am even a little ashamed to say that I find it exhilarating.  This year I really feel differently about this.

 It seems that we live in a country that believes that the more you have, the more you are. It's very easy to fall into this line of thinking. While I was having a little R&R in Chicago. My aunt and I drove around through her suburb and looked at the new homes. I am not even sure that home is the appropriate word. These residences were large enough to be a hotel. They were single family homes.
Colleen and I were talking and when you see these places, you wonder how family life is inside. These houses are large enough that every member of the family could have their own wing. Do they even speak to one another. Obviously, they are able to have everyTHING that they could want, but is it just about the things. This is not how life used to be.

My Mom was the oldest of 5 children and she grew up in a 3 bedroom home. That's how it was back then, you know something?? her and her siblings talk everyday , my aunts, uncles and cousins are like sisters and brothers to me. She certainly did not grow up with many things, but she grew up with love and family and a sense of security and belonging. For my grandparents. it was never about stuff.

The question is, does more stuff = better quality of life?

I think the overwhelming answer is NO. I think more stuff = the desire for more stuff,
the desire for more stuff becomes a consuming passion, that consuming passion leads us to greed. When who we are, is defined by what we have, we will never be satisfied because we will never have enough.

That is why the Lord tell us:

The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live...Proverbs 15:27

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs....I Timothy 6:10

Eventually. the love of stuff could become what you serve. Taking the place of God in your heart.

Let me tell you, you don't have to be rich for this word to apply to you. You don't have to be the one living in the "hotel size homes". If you are striving to acquire more stuff, striving to fit into a social status or striving to be perceived as successful because of what you have,this could be you. It has definitely been me.

I don't know about you, but I don't want anything to take the place of my faith.

This year, I really want to check myself. I don't want the holidays to be about stuff.

I want to start by making Thanksgiving, just that. a day to be thankful

That doesn't mean that I won't be out there on Friday, fighting the crowds with the best of them. But, I do know that I am going to be more aware when I give. I don't want my gifts to be given with a spirit of self-serving. I don't need to give a large pile of presents to feel adequate.

The greatest gift I can give is Thanks.

From a very thankful heart,
Shelly