We want MORE

I'd be the first to say I think these AT&T commercials are adorable....after all it's kids being kids and speaking quite authentically from their hearts and expressing what is REAL to them.

It's just that in the last 2 months I've realized this is the repeating mantra in my head, "I want more, I want more" and it's where God has his finger pointed on my heart in this season.

It's been a journey moving to Florida with so many ups and downs and so many changes in the last year to say the least!  I guess I could probably go into that more in depth in future blogs, but specifically I want to talk about this "need for more" that I'm wanting to deal with in my own life.  So allow me to be authentic.

In January, after making a decision to live within our modest one income budget, we moved from Cape Coral to Ft Myers into a one-bedroom condo.  Since the day I saw the place I had ideas of what I wanted to happen...colors of paint on the walls, furnishings, decor, furniture...you name it....I had ideas!  And it was like a snow ball effect....more ideas brought on more ideas and soon when I'd close my eyes to sleep I'd be left with MORE ideas. After all what first time mom doesn't want to provide her baby with everything....the separate bedroom for the nursery with all the furnishings and decor...all the conveniences society makes it appear like WE NEED!  I would go back and forth about how small our place was and how we just couldn't afford my "dream" nursery and space for our baby. Who doesn't want to own a home when they begin a family and create a space for more "stuff"...

When is it that I sit back and am content with the "stuff" I have already? When is it that I stop searching for the next thing I need to collect or obtain?  When does contentment well up in me and gratitude overflow out of me? When does the comparison trap end in our society and why are we always being fed with "more is BETTER?"

I don't mind social and technology advancements...I find myself on Facebook and Pinterest and find these things handy...but how dangerous when we start the comparisons and the condition of the heart of wanting more all of the time.  When we aren't ok with who WE ARE anymore or what we HAVE ALREADY BEEN GIVEN.  

I pull up these photos frequently from our trip to Alvaro's home country of Nicaragua just to remind myself that happiness, contentment, and JOY is not in things, not in the size, space, or details of our homes, and certainly not in what we here in America call "necessities."

       

        

It's interesting that this week my midwife posted an article from a blog Living Well, Spending Less about this same topic.  "Why I took all my kids' toys away & why they won't get them back" is the title of her blog post and its intriguing.  

Since our little miracle is still in my tummy I can't say exactly how Alvaro and I will parent or navigate through all the decisions of raising kids, but I will say that this topic is on my heart more than ever.....less is more and I want to be a woman, a wife, a mom where CONTENTMENT and GRATITUDE define who I am.  To me this means in EVERY season...with little and with plenty. May I pass this on to my baby as well...

JOY IS NOT IN THINGS AND MORE IS NOT BETTER.