One of the very interesting things about this month is trying to talk with my teenage kids about what we are doing. In some ways, they are more into it than me. In others ... well, the friendly word "clueless" comes to mind! :)
For instance, one of my teenage daughters said to me two days ago, "Let's find out what a family of 5 would be given as far as food stamp allotment, and let's try to live on that amount when it comes to groceries this month." Great idea!!! I am proud of my daughter! So, she researches that. Turns out, a family of 5 would be given something like $610 in food stamps each month. She also looked up all the things we couldn't buy with that money and we decided to live within those same guidelines. It will be an interesting practice. After shopping yesterday, I had many thoughts about how difficult this would be over the long haul, but I'll save those for another post.
Back to the kid issue ... Not more than 30 minutes later, this same beautifual daughter was looking through a prom dress catalog that came in the mail (Hello! Can you say JANUARY!!!). I politely suggested she could consider wearing the same dress she wore last year. Wrong suggestion! The same girl who suggested we live on a food stamp budget for a month in order to better understand the plight of the poor, walked away from me in a huff. Sigh ... loser mom, again.
I do think one of the more difficult things as a Christian parent is trying to figure out how to deal with raising kids in this arena of life. How much to spend on them? How do you teach them about the value of a dollar? How do you explain to them that you are not going to purchase something for them they really want? How do you help them see how "rich" they are when they often feel like others have much more than them? How do you help them live into Jesus' hard teachings on money when no one else seems to even try?
I would love to hear what others have experienced with their children in this area.
alice
ps. So far I've spent about $60 on groceries ... but that is only because our cupboards and fridge were overflowing after the holidays ...
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Are we rich?
So ... this little exercise of paying attention to how we deal with money and stuff can potentially cause us to feel a little "poor." Or, maybe just life in the good ol' U S of A makes most of us feel that way. We see all the ads for stuff we can't afford. Other folks seem to be able to spend money carelessly. People seem to have more than we do. Or so it seems.
As a good little exercise (and for a little bit of a spiritual wake-up call) I logged onto www.globalrichlist.com this morning and plugged in the Shirey family annual income. Wow.
Try it and let me know what you think!
alice
As a good little exercise (and for a little bit of a spiritual wake-up call) I logged onto www.globalrichlist.com this morning and plugged in the Shirey family annual income. Wow.
Try it and let me know what you think!
alice
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Tell us a story
A friend of mine from high school always used to say, "Tell me a story." So, that's the post for today. I know we're only 3 days in, but "tell us a story!"
Here's my story. Yesterday, I was driving around town going from one place to another at about 12:30 p.m., getting hungry. I would have normally probably just stopped and grabbed a sub or something, but yesterday, I thought about the fact that I was going to be home by 2 p.m. and I could wait to get something at home. A plan, a little conscious effort, and a community....good things.
Laura
Here's my story. Yesterday, I was driving around town going from one place to another at about 12:30 p.m., getting hungry. I would have normally probably just stopped and grabbed a sub or something, but yesterday, I thought about the fact that I was going to be home by 2 p.m. and I could wait to get something at home. A plan, a little conscious effort, and a community....good things.
Laura
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Simplicity that is in Christ
I am back from our vacation, and a cold has stolen much of my voice through today (really difficult for us yakkers). So, I'm thinking I'll even stay on the simple side of the written word tonight. Fasting from words is an excellent discipline for me sometimes! :) For today's post:
"But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV
I don't believe that "confused" or "complicated" are words that God would care to use for the life that is in Christ but they are words that can at times be found in this follower's vocabulary. When do I find things most clear? When my abiding... my devotion to Christ is most sincere and pure. He then begins to order the rest of me in ways that are simply good and right.
Prayers for all of us this month to spend time alone with Jesus. Love reading your comments and walking together with this group. Thanks and blessings,
Laura
"But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV
I don't believe that "confused" or "complicated" are words that God would care to use for the life that is in Christ but they are words that can at times be found in this follower's vocabulary. When do I find things most clear? When my abiding... my devotion to Christ is most sincere and pure. He then begins to order the rest of me in ways that are simply good and right.
Prayers for all of us this month to spend time alone with Jesus. Love reading your comments and walking together with this group. Thanks and blessings,
Laura
Monday, January 1, 2007
New beginnings
"Whoever is on a journey towards God goes from one beginning to another beginning. Will you be among those who dare to tell themselves: 'Begin again! Leave discouragement behind! Let your soul live!'"
This is a quote I came across today from a guy named Brother Roger of Taize, which I think is a Christian community in France. I like it. I think it describes a bit of what we are doing with this experiment in simplicity. We are "beginning again," trying to "leave discouragement behind," and creating an environment in which "our souls can live."
For those of you just logging on, Laura Hoy and I (and now others!) are engaging in a 30-day experiment in simplicity. Both of us are kind of defining what that will look like for our own families. We are avoiding legalism or judgmentalism ... and any other "isms" that take away from the spirit of this experiment.
The spirit is love. The purpose is love. The end result (we hope) is love -- Love for God, love for neighbor. We hope to find simple ways to fight off the shackles of consumerism and over-consumption in order to free our hearts and lives for love ... for God, and for neighbor.
If you look back at the posts prior to this one, you'll see some of our initial ideas, thoughts, prayers, hopes for this experiment. We'll, of course, be learning as we go. We'll share our thoughts and ideas along the way. We'll share areas of success and failure. We'll share areas where we struggle and areas where we feel free. Others are sharing, too ... and hopefully, we can gain energy, enthusiasm and a sense of community from one another.
Right now, the Shirey family is in a purging stage. We've just had a huge 10-day celebration with family and food ... and we are full; full of food, full of gifts, full of family, full of joy. But, we also feel a bit "over full" and so this is a perfect time to clean out, clear out, pull out and give away! I'd imagine this stage will last for a few days ...
We are also hoping to take complete inventory of our fridge, freezer and pantry ... and will try to eat what we have, as opposed to going out to buy more just because we "feel" like eating something we don't have. Our hope is that we can save signficantly in the grocery arena ... and then use that money to further God's Kingdom in some way.
One of our favorite organizations is called International Justice Mission (www.IJM.org). We give to them on an annual basis. They are a Christian legal organization that operates around the world. Their main purpose is to rescue people from bonded slavery and forced prostitution and then to both prosecute the oppressors AND place the newly freed people into Christian aftercare, where they are introduced to Jesus and offered a new way of life. According to IJM, $500 can free one human being from bonded slavery or forced prostitution! What a thought ... a little intentionality with the way we eat, and we can save one person from a life of slavery, introduce them to Jesus and set them free to help bring about the Kingdom of Jesus. That is probably where our "extra" money will go this month.
Those are my plans for now.
What are others of you planning (hoping?) to do? I'm curious.
alice
This is a quote I came across today from a guy named Brother Roger of Taize, which I think is a Christian community in France. I like it. I think it describes a bit of what we are doing with this experiment in simplicity. We are "beginning again," trying to "leave discouragement behind," and creating an environment in which "our souls can live."
For those of you just logging on, Laura Hoy and I (and now others!) are engaging in a 30-day experiment in simplicity. Both of us are kind of defining what that will look like for our own families. We are avoiding legalism or judgmentalism ... and any other "isms" that take away from the spirit of this experiment.
The spirit is love. The purpose is love. The end result (we hope) is love -- Love for God, love for neighbor. We hope to find simple ways to fight off the shackles of consumerism and over-consumption in order to free our hearts and lives for love ... for God, and for neighbor.
If you look back at the posts prior to this one, you'll see some of our initial ideas, thoughts, prayers, hopes for this experiment. We'll, of course, be learning as we go. We'll share our thoughts and ideas along the way. We'll share areas of success and failure. We'll share areas where we struggle and areas where we feel free. Others are sharing, too ... and hopefully, we can gain energy, enthusiasm and a sense of community from one another.
Right now, the Shirey family is in a purging stage. We've just had a huge 10-day celebration with family and food ... and we are full; full of food, full of gifts, full of family, full of joy. But, we also feel a bit "over full" and so this is a perfect time to clean out, clear out, pull out and give away! I'd imagine this stage will last for a few days ...
We are also hoping to take complete inventory of our fridge, freezer and pantry ... and will try to eat what we have, as opposed to going out to buy more just because we "feel" like eating something we don't have. Our hope is that we can save signficantly in the grocery arena ... and then use that money to further God's Kingdom in some way.
One of our favorite organizations is called International Justice Mission (www.IJM.org). We give to them on an annual basis. They are a Christian legal organization that operates around the world. Their main purpose is to rescue people from bonded slavery and forced prostitution and then to both prosecute the oppressors AND place the newly freed people into Christian aftercare, where they are introduced to Jesus and offered a new way of life. According to IJM, $500 can free one human being from bonded slavery or forced prostitution! What a thought ... a little intentionality with the way we eat, and we can save one person from a life of slavery, introduce them to Jesus and set them free to help bring about the Kingdom of Jesus. That is probably where our "extra" money will go this month.
Those are my plans for now.
What are others of you planning (hoping?) to do? I'm curious.
alice
From Alice
Don't know why but that last post said it was from Laura, but it's not ... It's from me!
So, I'm still working on navigating this whole blog thing. Sorry for any consistent confusion. Just reveals my age, I'm sorry to say!
So, I'm still working on navigating this whole blog thing. Sorry for any consistent confusion. Just reveals my age, I'm sorry to say!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year all! This is alice here. Just a quick note this morning to let you know I'm here! We are just now saying good-bye to many family members and moving into recovery mode after a whirlwind holiday week of eating, laughing, racing around and celebrating Christ and family. Laura and family are flying in today from Phoenix. She'll write more soon, too.
I will post a bit more this afternoon ... but wanted to say "Welcome!" to all who are planning to participate in any way with us.
One thought I had this morning was that the Old Testament models a beautiful picture of both "feasting" and "fasting" that could be really helpful to us. I think God loves it when His people celebrate ... and He advocates doing so with food and music and loud celebration! He is a good God and it is good to honor Him with excitement and celebration! Hopefully, that is what most of us have just done.
But He does not advocate a lifestyle of overconsumption, celebration and partying every day! He advocates concern for others, care of the poor and the lonely, moderation of consumption for the sake of others, etc. In the Old Testament I think we see a beautiful picture of a life of both fasting and feasting to honor God.
So, I see this next month as a beautiful opportunity to move from a time of God-honoring feasting to one of God-honoring fasting. May both of these phases of life bring a smile to the face of our God. And may this next phase bring a smile to our faces, as well. I don't know about you, but I am ready to move out of the feasting mode and into the fasting mode!
I'll write more this afternoon about what this next week might look like at our house. Until then, I'm off to offer a hearty farewell to my sister and her five kids and my brother and his two kids. It's been a great week to be together.
Welcome all. I look forward to the things God will teach us as we experiment together!
alice
ps. Will just came to me to ask me to put some special things on my next grocery list! How funny is that? He wants "celery, dark molasses, clams and canned chili." Says they are good for his new running career. Won't he and I have a good talk about what constitutes a "necessity" this afternoon? I'm smiling as I write this ...
I will post a bit more this afternoon ... but wanted to say "Welcome!" to all who are planning to participate in any way with us.
One thought I had this morning was that the Old Testament models a beautiful picture of both "feasting" and "fasting" that could be really helpful to us. I think God loves it when His people celebrate ... and He advocates doing so with food and music and loud celebration! He is a good God and it is good to honor Him with excitement and celebration! Hopefully, that is what most of us have just done.
But He does not advocate a lifestyle of overconsumption, celebration and partying every day! He advocates concern for others, care of the poor and the lonely, moderation of consumption for the sake of others, etc. In the Old Testament I think we see a beautiful picture of a life of both fasting and feasting to honor God.
So, I see this next month as a beautiful opportunity to move from a time of God-honoring feasting to one of God-honoring fasting. May both of these phases of life bring a smile to the face of our God. And may this next phase bring a smile to our faces, as well. I don't know about you, but I am ready to move out of the feasting mode and into the fasting mode!
I'll write more this afternoon about what this next week might look like at our house. Until then, I'm off to offer a hearty farewell to my sister and her five kids and my brother and his two kids. It's been a great week to be together.
Welcome all. I look forward to the things God will teach us as we experiment together!
alice
ps. Will just came to me to ask me to put some special things on my next grocery list! How funny is that? He wants "celery, dark molasses, clams and canned chili." Says they are good for his new running career. Won't he and I have a good talk about what constitutes a "necessity" this afternoon? I'm smiling as I write this ...
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