Three down, Four to go!

So we have finished 3 out of 7 areas of our simplifying fast.  It's been awesome so far!  The clothing fast ended about a month ago - I wore only 7 items of clothing for two weeks.  And, let me tell you.. it was SO freeing. I loved not putting more than a second of my time each morning into what I would wear.  After all, I only had 3 shirts to choose from!  I realized how much excess I have in my life.  Justin and I are pretty darn good at purging, too.  Clearly not good enough though!  I kept thinking to myself - if I'm constantly getting rid of things because I have so much.. why do I keep buying more??  It's really a crazy, bipolar cycle.  The sad thing is I'm so far removed from need in my comfortable, suburban life that I don't have to think about others' needs when I continue to buy more unneeded junk.  How can I change that?  Praying for wisdom and that the poor and needy wouldn't be quite so far removed.

After clothing, we did possessions.  We got rid of 7 items each day for 14 days... 98 items total.  This was so good for me because as we just recently moved, we got rid of tons of stuff then, too.  So this really stretched me and that was good.  I had two really awesome experiences during possessions month.  First, my friend, who is super involved with the refugee community in Atlanta, told me about a refugee woman she knows who is having a baby girl in June.  She is in need of baby girl clothes.  I was thrilled to go through my baby girl clothes and give her over 40 items.  Such a better use of my stuff that is just sitting in tubs, unused! Secondly, our friends are in the beginning stages of an international adoption.  It was been so exciting to watch as God has unfolded their story.  They are waiting to bring home sweet Noah, a two year old boy who is currently living in an orphanage in China.  He will join their family of four.  We are thrilled for them!  Our small group is helping with a garage sale fundraiser to help them with the cost.  The girls and I have talked a lot about Noah, looked at pictures of him, and prayed for him.  I brought them into the playroom last week and we talked about how it costs a lot of money to bring Noah home. I explained that we are going to sell some of our things to help bring him home.  The girls collected over 20 toys in a matter of minutes to donate to the cause.  All by themselves.  And with willing hearts.  (And if you know Claire, you know she is VERY attached to her things.  If she sees anything in the garbage... even if it looks like garbage to me, she FREAKS out.) We prayed for Noah and I was in tears thinking about how awesome it is that my girls get to experience the feeling of sacrifice, as little as it is, to share God's love with others who desperately need it.  

So overall, this possessions section was really good for our family.  I loved having them participate in this with us.  

Next we move on to media.  *gulp*  I think this one might be hard for me...  I haven't decided exactly what I'll be doing but I'm thinking no Facebook, no Instagram, no TV.  I know this will be hard because, as sad as it is, I waste A LOT of time with those things.  There will be a lot more room for Jesus during this fast.  And that's a good thing!