Post by sawdy on Aug 10, 2017 20:24:38 GMT -6
I want to start off by thanking all of you for sharing about your ups and downs. I really appreciate that I now know I am not the only one.
There is a U2 song that is titled All That You CAN'T Leave Behind. This post is about the opposite, all that you will be leaving behind, whether we see the rapture or if we pass on for other reasons.
My specialty (or hobby) is decluttering and organizing. By no means does this mean I have an immaculate, everything in its place home; I still have clutter like everyone else. I also have the clutter of raising two children and a husband that hates to get rid of anything.
I have been working towards living with less and have found it frustrating at times that the mainstream organizers talk about the "magic" or that "you need to thank your possessions". Currently, my children and I are working on a 2000 things decluttering challenge. We are at the 1300 mark since the beginning of 2017. The problem with stuff is as you are able to let go, more keeps on coming in, especially when you have kids. My family is famous for giving my kids stuff as gifts everytime they see my kids which is essentially 3-4 times a month.
One of the big reasons I have to get our home organized is the message I want it to have when I have left. A person is, unfortunately, defined by the items they chose to surround themselves with. Surrounding yourself with excess knickknacks, fictional books, clothing, crafting supplies, is surrounding yourself with items that takes away your ability to have a quality relationship with the Lord. I am not in any way, putting down someone who chooses to surround themselves with possessions, by saying they don't have a relationship with the Lord, but that their relationship can flourish even more when they aren't weighed down by their surroundings.
When I am gone, I want my home to show what is different about my life. I think about this more now as the possibility of the rapture comes closer. Does my home say that I am a Christian? Or would you be hard pressed to locate my Bible amongst all my other possessions?
I stopped by an "Estate Sale" today on my way home from picking my daughter up from camp. I would loosely call it an estate sale, but more of a Garage Sale as there wasn't and items of quality there. The family spent hours and hours putting together, pricing, and organizing a household's worth of dishes, bedding and small knickknacks that really won't bring them the return from having a sale that they would want. They are trying to hold on too deeply to the possessions of their family, by insisting the items have a value to them, when they really should have just donated basically everything to a thrift shop or a "take it or leave it". I don't want my home to be full of items that someone would look at and wonder why I kept it.
My goal for my home is for it to be organized so that it is easy to deal with the items I have left behind, whether I die of natural causes, or if I am to be raptured. In the case of rapture, I pray that I am able to leave behind my organized possessions so that they may be of use to someone else. I am also working on creating overnight supply backpacks for myself and my family if we have to leave our home suddenly because of a fire, etc. I was recently gifted a box of MRE's by a friend that will be awesome in creating my backpacks. 😀
By no means am I a prepper. I believe that the Lord will provide and I am not stockpiling water or excess food. I do, however, believe that a little emergency preparedness can be beneficial to myself or to whomever finds my home and is looking for supplies.
Summer is a great time to get rid of excess possessions. You (will and) CAN leave them behind. Consider working on your own decluttering challenge as we wait for signs.
media.focusonthefamily.com/fotf/pdf/fof_daily_broadcast/2016/ffde20160108-the-2000-things-challenge.pdf#_ga=2.149666806.1959112432.1502416414-678941433.1502416414
There is a U2 song that is titled All That You CAN'T Leave Behind. This post is about the opposite, all that you will be leaving behind, whether we see the rapture or if we pass on for other reasons.
My specialty (or hobby) is decluttering and organizing. By no means does this mean I have an immaculate, everything in its place home; I still have clutter like everyone else. I also have the clutter of raising two children and a husband that hates to get rid of anything.
I have been working towards living with less and have found it frustrating at times that the mainstream organizers talk about the "magic" or that "you need to thank your possessions". Currently, my children and I are working on a 2000 things decluttering challenge. We are at the 1300 mark since the beginning of 2017. The problem with stuff is as you are able to let go, more keeps on coming in, especially when you have kids. My family is famous for giving my kids stuff as gifts everytime they see my kids which is essentially 3-4 times a month.
One of the big reasons I have to get our home organized is the message I want it to have when I have left. A person is, unfortunately, defined by the items they chose to surround themselves with. Surrounding yourself with excess knickknacks, fictional books, clothing, crafting supplies, is surrounding yourself with items that takes away your ability to have a quality relationship with the Lord. I am not in any way, putting down someone who chooses to surround themselves with possessions, by saying they don't have a relationship with the Lord, but that their relationship can flourish even more when they aren't weighed down by their surroundings.
When I am gone, I want my home to show what is different about my life. I think about this more now as the possibility of the rapture comes closer. Does my home say that I am a Christian? Or would you be hard pressed to locate my Bible amongst all my other possessions?
I stopped by an "Estate Sale" today on my way home from picking my daughter up from camp. I would loosely call it an estate sale, but more of a Garage Sale as there wasn't and items of quality there. The family spent hours and hours putting together, pricing, and organizing a household's worth of dishes, bedding and small knickknacks that really won't bring them the return from having a sale that they would want. They are trying to hold on too deeply to the possessions of their family, by insisting the items have a value to them, when they really should have just donated basically everything to a thrift shop or a "take it or leave it". I don't want my home to be full of items that someone would look at and wonder why I kept it.
My goal for my home is for it to be organized so that it is easy to deal with the items I have left behind, whether I die of natural causes, or if I am to be raptured. In the case of rapture, I pray that I am able to leave behind my organized possessions so that they may be of use to someone else. I am also working on creating overnight supply backpacks for myself and my family if we have to leave our home suddenly because of a fire, etc. I was recently gifted a box of MRE's by a friend that will be awesome in creating my backpacks. 😀
By no means am I a prepper. I believe that the Lord will provide and I am not stockpiling water or excess food. I do, however, believe that a little emergency preparedness can be beneficial to myself or to whomever finds my home and is looking for supplies.
Summer is a great time to get rid of excess possessions. You (will and) CAN leave them behind. Consider working on your own decluttering challenge as we wait for signs.
media.focusonthefamily.com/fotf/pdf/fof_daily_broadcast/2016/ffde20160108-the-2000-things-challenge.pdf#_ga=2.149666806.1959112432.1502416414-678941433.1502416414
