Carrying too much Luggage

Ahhh.  Finally another weekend away from work.  Weekends are so refreshing and this weekend I got some work done around the house.  I'm cleaning up the house to put it on the rental market while we're gone as well as sell some of our things to help raise money for our trip.  Which reminds me...if anyone reading this wants to help raise some money by having a garage sale and donating the money or splitting the money 50/50 towards our trip, that would be great help!  I think I mentioned in a previous post that we're trying to raise more than $10,000 initially and maybe a little more for other recurring costs (like insurance and some travel costs) while we're there.

I've already started going through some of our stuff (sold the patio set Friday night!), and realized that we have a lot of stuff.  And some of the stuff we really don't need.  And some stuff you need, like the dresser/shelf thing that stores all the stuff I don't need.  Where would I put that stuff if I didn't have that dresser?  We don't just go buy things whenever we get the chance, but I have to admit there is a fair amount of excess.  I think sometimes we don't feel like we have a lot because of the things that we don't have or the things that others have that we don't.  But that's because we're focussed on what we want instead of appreciating what we have.  I know I can be that way at times.

Before going through a lot of our things, I was reading a book at the bookstore the other weekend.  I think it was called "Travelling Light" by Max Lucado.  Anyways, here are a couple of excerpts:

...the secret of satisfaction.  'The Lord my shepherd; I shall not want.'           David has found the pasture where discontent goes to die.  It's as if he is saying, 'What I have in God is greater than what I don't have in life.'

and

What's true in jogging is true in faith.  God has a great race for to run.  Under His care you will go where you've never been and serve in ways you've never dreamed.  But you have to drop some stuff.  How can you share grace if you are full of guilt?  How can you offer comfort if you are disheartened?  How can you lift someone else's load if your arms are full of your own....There are certain weights in life you simply cannot carry.  Your Lord is asking you to set them down and trust Him.  He is the father at the baggage claim.  When a dad sees his five-year old son trying to drag the family trunk off the carousel, what does he say?  The father will say to his son what God is saying to you.  'Set it down, child.  I'll carry that one.'

and it goes on to talk about how we can't take anything with us when we die either.  It doesn't matter if you don't believe in God, or do or believe in something else, these are applicable to everyone's lives.  Stuff can hold us back.  Don't get me wrong, not all things are bad, and having a lot isn't necessarily bad either.  It's when we look to the stuff for satisfaction.  You might be satisfied for a short while, but I promise it wont last forever.

So, sell all your stuff and donate the proceeds to our trip to Honduras!

Today, you get some of my random thoughts...a peak inside how my head works all day.  :)