Contemplating Consumerism...

My closets are full of clothes I seldom wear. My shelves are lined with books I will only read once. My fridge is so crammed with food, that expired sour cream and wilted lettuce is bound to create useless waste. Toys flow over creative (and expensive) storage units that grace my children's rooms in Pottery Barnesque style. Video games, movies, shoes, makeup, coffee mugs, curriculum... endless seas of home school curriculum, hot wheel cars, Lego pieces, dolls, cat toys, dishes, floral arrangements, seasonal decorations, boxed up art, unused scrap booking supplies... or card making.. or quilting..., AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

How much money has been spent on useless crap???????

I'm not against my kids getting toys, or buying myself a cute pair of shoes, but as I look at the grotesque amount of "stuff" we have accumulated, I am ashamed.

Our little church has a $3500.00 deficit. You know, $3500 really isn't all that much, but to them, it is huge. When I look around my house and see the THOUSANDS of dollars we have spent on nothingness, it makes me sick. SICK. While I can't come up with $3500 to give our church, I have somehow found endless $$$ to fill my home with useless junk.

My priorities have been wrong.

Oh, but I did tithe. For years and years I tithed to a big church that spent the money on useless junk too. Fake plants, granite bathrooms, special speakers. My last church spent $100,000 on a fundraising "specialist" who came in and tried to guilt us out of MORE money. Why? So we could build a coffee shop! Oh, and more granite and $400 silk fica trees.

I've had the "give to our church and you will be blessed financially by God" speech shoved down my throat more times than I can stomach. It was all about greed. Greed of the church (sorry folks, but taking credit card payments from it's members to put granite in a bathroom IS greed). Greed of it's members. Yes, I'll give money to the church bathroom beautification fund because I want God to bless me with MORE STUFF!!!

What ever happened to giving to your church because you believe in it's purpose? Because your heart wants to see the word of God spread? Because you know they will use the money wisely to help the body of believers? What happened to giving just for the joy of giving?

You know what I think? I think they can shove the prosperity movement up their ....

Now I stand at the doors of a modest church, and I have nothing left to give. I strongly agree with the principles of sowing and reaping. I have sowed tithes of greed into a corrupt church. I have sowed my finances into consumerism. Now a true place of worship lays crumbling at my feet,
and I feel powerless to do anything about it.

What should we do? We planted seeds of greed, watered it with a love of money, and now we as a nation are harvesting our own nightmare. Where do we go from here?


I look at Acts 4:34-35 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

Is this how we will survive? Is this how my church will keep it's doors open? Who are the apostles? Who can we trust?

I am not hopeless. I sense that God can and WILL work in this situation. He is pulling the weeds out of my life as we speak, I imagine he is doing the same for much of the church. Maybe the church will emerge from this, ready to make an impact. A clear focus on Christ without ladies luncheons, super sound systems and sparkly bathrooms in the way.

25 Random Things about me

I was tagged over at facebook, and I'm too lazy to write two different posts, so here are 25 Random Things about me (most you have already read during a previous tag)


1. Uh, I'm drawing a blank here. This may be harder than I thought.

2. I'm WAY too interested in Politics... it's just not healthy ( :

3. I almost always read non fiction, but have recently been reading "fluffy" novels. What's up with that????

4. I get excited by theology. I can't resist a good conversation about theology... or politics for that matter... or Thai food (see I'm well rounded).

5. I really, REALLY like to shop.

6. Right now I'm on a pilates kick. Sadly I'm also on a mozerella stick kick. Balance.

7. I'm not that worried about the economy because
1. I've got a great garden space in the back
2. I've got a really fat dog. Hey, don't knock it, they eat them in China.

8. OK, I'll admit it. I'm actually a "little" worried about the economy.

9. For the record, Obama is NOT the anti christ. Nancy Pelosi however..... : )

10. I 'm very sarcastic.

11. I'm actually pretty old fashioned. I like to bake my own bread, raise my own children, grow my own vegetables, order take out, buy new socks when I'm too lazy to find the matches... I'm a regualr pioneer woman!

12. I ADORE Hip Hop.

13. The best food on the planet is Indian or Thai. I'd choose Pad Thai or Matteer Paneer with Naan over meat and potatoes ANY DAY.

14. I don't like meat.

15. I do like cookies.

16. God and my family are the most important things to me.

17. Hiking and exploring is my favorite family hobby.

18. My heart's desire is to travel more. We are planning a trip to Greece, but it's 3 years out. Right now, even a weekend at the coast sounds nice.

19. I am not easily offended. It takes a lot to make me angry, but when I do get mad.... I am brilliant at getting even.

20. I pretty much like everyone. Although I'm not that fond of bikers, in there little tight shorts and funny helmets, riding at a leisurely 20 miles an hour in the center of my country roads... when I'm really late for an appointment.

21. The coolest professions: stay at home moms, farmers, authors, non corrupt pastors (there are a few), Sephoria sales girls, bankers, and Oreo cookie makers.

22. I'm going to learn to speak Spanish this summer! Mostly so I can understand what the Hispanic boys at the middleschool are saying about me. Maybe I'd rather NOT know.

23. I like exercise.

24. I'm very girly. Lip gloss, shoes, pink hearts, pretty dresses, jewelry.... cheap beer and toe nail biting.

25. Baseball makes me happy! I can't play worth a darn, and I think the guys on the church league team were secretly lobbying to get me removed, but I don't care. Once out of every hundred pitches, I hit the ball. It makes a little klank noise as the ball rolls a foot or two passed me and I run like crazy. My favorite team is the Royals, and they suck nearly as bad as I do, so it's all good!