Awareness

This 30 Days of Nothing is another step in a journey for us. When we had Lily and I stopped working, we went from two incomes to one. That really changed how we lived. At first, those changes were out of necessity, but slowly God worked on us and now we make changes with God’s direction and with our own free will.

Since I stopped working 6 years ago, we have gotten very good at budgeting and learning how to cut things out that we once thought were necessities. We used to go to movies whenever we wanted, now it is occasional. Meals out used to be on a weekly basis, now they are once or maybe twice a month. I have always loved owning my own books, but now the library is my best friend. The things that used to rank below movies and meals out and books, like giving and saving, are now priorities. It has been amazing to see God work in our lives and change us over the past 6 years.

As many changes as we have made, I know there is still room for improvement. These 30 days are an opportunity for us to not become complacent, but instead look to God for continued awareness about our consumption. What other changes can we make in our lives that will not only affect us for the better, but also others?

Amy

Simple Gifts

Day 3 and we are all doing ok. My kids were whining a little bit yesterday because they wanted to go to Target and spend their allowance and I told them they had to wait until October. We had a great discussion about finding happiness in places other than stuff. Family, friends, God. I don’t know if they were convinced but it’s a start.


I was in town running errands yesterday and really craving a cool iced latte. I was feeling sleepy and wanted to pick-me-up as well as a treat after tedium of errands. I love getting little treats for myself and the when we are out running around and I knew this was going to be one of the hardest things for all of us (except my husband Eric) to give up. I am proud to say that I survived my errands coffee free.

Also, I am on day three eating the same leftovers for lunch. We had a wonderful turkey bolognese sauce for dinner and there was so much leftover. I should have stuck it in the freezer but since I am not eating lunch out for September I thought it would make perfect lunches. Also, Eric usually comes home for lunch and helps out with leftovers. He has been in the field all week and taking his lunch so the bolognese was left to me. I am grumbling a little, but I am also grateful to have such a wonderful meal to eat for lunch. If we were not in 30 Days of Nothing we would eat it until we got bored with it, let it sit in the fridge until it got gross and then feed it to our dog if it was still canine edible or throw it out. What a waste. For this month at least, I am grateful for the meal and shamed by my casual ability to waste good food.

This has been a week filled with simple gifts. My husband unexpectedly brought home three crab that he caught and so we had a wonderful meal of crab melts last night without buying a single thing. I made the bread, Eric caught the crab, we ate tomatoes from our garden and the rest of the meal we had on hand.

On Tuesday I was preparing for my first Sunday wearing clergy robes when Matt told me that I needed a clergy cross to wear with my robes. I don’t have one and we went looking on-line. I saw one that I liked and Matt said – “I have that one and you can have it.” I didn’t have to buy anything, received a cross I love from a dear friend, and recycled a piece of jewelry that was unused!

Finally, a woman at church brought in boxes of ripe produce including avocados, bananas, and cilantro. Eric and I were already planning to use the second half of our crab to make crab quesadillas with avocado lime sauce and I was able to get free avocados. I scored some bananas too which my kids love to munch on. When they get too ripe they will go in the freezer so I can make Sam’s favorite muffin – chocolate banana muffins!

I wonder if I would have recognized these gifts if I were not clearing space in my life by consuming less. Perhaps I would have wanted a new cross instead of one passed on to me. I might have told Eric that I had not planned on crab and begrudgingly rearranged our menu instead of receiving the crab with joy. Maybe over-ripe avocados and bananas would have been passed by as useless to our family. So much already to give thanks for.

Thinking of...Nothing

1.3 billion people live on less than a dollar a day.


The average American lives on $54 per day. A stunning disparity.

I used to hear statistics like that and I would feel guilty. Why do I have so much when they have so little?

Or overwhelmed. How can I possibly make a difference in the lives of 1.3 billion people?

Or indifferent. I have my own problems and there is nothing I can do about that kind of poverty anyway.

Now I feel heartbroken and convicted and strangely empowered. I cannot solve world poverty. I leave that in the hands of God. I can re-evaluate my own life and look at what I have with new eyes. Do I really need all that I have? Can I redistribute part of my wealth (I don’t often think of myself as wealthy until I compare my family with families living on only $1 per day) towards those who are in greater need? And, can I open space in my life for the things that really matter to me by clearing out some of the stuff?

God

My kids

My husband

My job (I am blessed with work that I love)

Nature

Time and space to breathe and to laugh and to love

I have been inspired by 30 Days of Nothing (see 30daysofnothing@blogspot.com for the original blog) to ask these questions . My family and I will spend the 30 days of September trying not to consume. We will buy all the basics – food, utilities, rent- and try to live without the rest. No new clothes (or shoes!). No new books. No going out to dinner or lunch. No ice cream treats from Costco or Starbucks lattes. We are setting our grocery budget at $100 for the entire month. We’re not sure this is feasible, but we’re going to give it a try. We are giving ourselves grace and space through this 30 days. This is not about legalism or following rules (Eric keeps asking – what are the rules and I keep saying, “There are none!) but about trusting God, consuming less, and learning through the process.

My prayer for this 30 Days of Nothing is that I will find more room to move in my life and that I will find a deeper connection with God and uncover my longings for God that have been buried under stuff. I pray that my family and I will learn what we need and what is a luxury and that we will enter into a living gratitude for both. I hope for a connection with the earth as we eat from our garden and do less harm to our planet by consuming less. I hope that we will develop more of a heart for the world’s poor and begin to awaken to the ways in which God might be inviting us to make a difference, however small, in the lives of those who have less than we do.

I also pray for grace. From God for the ways in which I take for granted all that I have already. From myself because I know that this is going to be tough and that I am going to be often tempted to cheat on the goals Eric and I have set for our family. And from others. Please be kind in your comments as we go forward on this adventure. I begin with the humble knowledge that I am human and that this 30 days will be difficult. I am grateful that the Goldsby family and Matt are on this journey with our family. I know that I will need the support of others along the way.

And so tomorrow we begin…