So I have to admit that I’ve gone back and forth for DAYS trying to decide if I wanted to share this post. I guess I knew if I wrote it, I would have no choice but to hold myself accountable and for this particular topic, because I’m a work in progress, I’m not sure if I’ll be 100% successful. Nevertheless, in the spirit of chasing progress and not than perfection, here it goes.

Since the beginning of the year, God has really been speaking to me about being content. In the midst of my one-on-one time with Him, I’ve felt Him put it on my heart to give up spending money on things I don’t need. Now let me say this: I enjoy retail therapy just as much as the next girl. I’m a sucker for a cute dress with pockets, I’m convinced Amazon and Target are out to get me and my bank account and don’t even get me started on how rude Banana Republic can be for sending me emails every other day about the “new” sale they’re having (Seriously…is it just me or does it seem like Banana Republic is ALWAYS having a sale?!?!). -__-  Needless to say, I enjoy retail therapy and I enjoy it even more when I feel like I score a good deal. But as I continued to pray for growth and financial maturity, I found that God was really answering my prayers (Yea…thanks Jesus). Looking back on last month, I must say that I surprisingly did a good  job cutting back on expenses and simplifying. I didn’t purchase anything that wasn’t a necessity and not only am I proud of myself, but I’m amazed at how much I actually saved! But knowing I was only doing it for a month? Psssh…That was easy. But hearing Him telling me to do this permenantly….welllllllllllllllll….that’s ALOT easier said than done.

I’m sure that anyone who enjoys retail therapy can agree that sometimes saying no to shopping for stuff is hard. Whether it’s an emotional buy, an accidental buy or something you were actively seeking, saying no to the can be hard. But saying no to God??? WAAAAAYYYYY harder. Stuff may make me feel great for a moment, but stuff that is disguised in “I need this” clothing or “OMG this is FABULOUS, I MUST have this” accessories aren’t going to get me where I desire to be. Stuff takes my attention away from what really matters and I suppose that’s why God is really working on me in this area. Even though I’ve always known God is more than enough for me, I’d by lying if I said my actions always lined up with that. But Amen for growth.

Because I’m getting to a point in my life where I’m really really craving an even deeper relationship with Christ, I know this is something I have to do. I find that my priorities are shifting and even if I don’t have faith in myself as a human, I have faith in Him and trust that He is telling me to do this for my own good. Who knows? Maybe somehow me not buying that watch or cute dress will be a defining moment in my life or my future children’s life. Maybe Him pushing me away from things and drawing me closer to Him is going to bring forth an incredible blessing. 

So here’s what I’m doing. If you want to join me, great! If not, it’s totally cool! I still love and you and I’m going to count on you to hold me accountable!!!

SHOP LESS!!

• That’s right, I am fasting from buying new clothes, shoes, accessories and anything else that will do nothing but clutter my closet. Chile listen…this is a HUGE deal to me, but I am determined! Of course this doesn’t include necessary purchases for our home or Teddy By not purchasing anything new for myself, I can easily do the next thing God is laying on my heart, which is…

GIVE MORE!!!

• God has blessed me ALOT. Some things that He’s blessed me with I don’t feel 100% deserving of. But I know that He has blessed me to be a blessing, so I really want to focus on being a  blessing to others during this time. I’m trying to give something away every day and I’m not just talking about something materialistic. It can be something as powerful as a prayer or a word of encouragement or something as simple as hug. The goal is to positively impact everyone I come into contact with and decrease within myself to allow God to increase in me, giving Him room to shine.

and finally and probably most importantly,

DIVE DEEPER

• into His word. This was something I actually started in January and while I am reading another book in conjunction right now too called “Thirty One Days of Prayer for the Dreamer and the Doer,” reading the Bible for at least 30 minutes a day has really been helping to me learn more about what God says about money. I mean, how I can really learn to live a life of  gratitude and contentment if I don’t really understand the basics? In order for me to really understand where God is trying to take me, I have to know more about his thoughts on this particular topic. Makes sense right? Right. After all, none of this “stuff” we have doesn’t even really belongs to us. It’s all simply things that God is allowing us to manage. I’m challenging myself and anyone else who decides to do this to really take the time to make yourself truly available to God and His word.
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Before I head off to sleep (it’s almost midnight here), let me finish quoting the incredible Lara Casey: PROGRESS, NOT PERFECTION. Maybe this is something that you’ve been thinking about or wanting to do and you just didn’t know how to start. Maybe the fear of failure kept you from starting at all, even though you knew you had to and this is simply confirmation. Maybe this is something you never even considered, but now you’re feeling inspired. Either way it goes, I completely understand. Like I said, when I first started this blog, I didn’t want to blog this because I knew that putting it in writing would force me to actually do it and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to commit to something that seemed sooooooooooooo uncomfortable. I know there will be times where I will be angry, times where I will be sad, and times I will be frustrated. But waking every morning with a feeling of gratitude and contentment in my heart…that’s what I’m after. I desire a life of simplicity, joy and true contentment. I know I’m going to fail…sometimes miserably. After all, I’m nowhere NEAR perfect. But, I guess that’s what makes me freakishly excited about all this: no matter what comes my way, I know that God will still love me…in spite of my mess, in spite of my fumbles. And I truly believe that He will grow me during this experience. And that is simply something money can’t buy. 🙂