Future Craigslist Items?

One of my new favorite websites is Craigslist. It is a good place to both buy and sell things and I have sold quite a few things on there recently. Sometimes I will keep their free page up on my computer, refreshing it occasionally to see what might come up. Now I realize sometimes the items there are listed to be a blessing to someone else, although of course, there is a fair share of junk listed that I would be amazed if anyone wanted it. But I imagine most of the items are on the free list because they are just extra stuff that someone needs to get rid of to move or make room for new stuff.

Over the past few days I've seen on the DFW free page a pool table that is in good shape, a Nintendo wii, a hot tub that is in great condition (hot tubs are popular items in the free section I've noticed, but usually they are broken), lots of furniture that is in good shape, along with many other things.

Seeing all of this stuff listed has gotten me to thinking about how we Americans are with our possessions. We want something, we go buy it. We don't think to pray about it first, we just go buy it. To us it is just more stuff, although it may be a cool new item for a few weeks, or maybe months. And if that item breaks, gets old, or we just get tired of it, well, just throw it away, or list it on Craigslist and we can buy a different one. With this in mind, I've been questioning myself lately with what is really valuable to me.

Most things I could easily give up because it is just stuff. I'd keep some favorite books, a rocking chair that was my great-grandmothers, but pretty much most anything else I could part with because I don't think I appreciate it and I have too much of it. Maybe it is time for me to take a hiatus from buying "things" without really praying about it. Maybe I need to really consider if I need a certain item befor purchasing it. Then maybe that item will become a keepsake vs. something that appears on Craigslist someday.

Oh, the Places You'll Go with Weather.com

I just got back from a recent trip to Colorado. Now those of you who know me are thinking, she didn't go to Colorado! Well, I did, albeit virtually. You see, I have an addiction to weather.com. I really like to follow the weather and look at the radar when we have rain or other weather coming. One of the nifty semi-new features on weather.com's site is to let you be able to move to different parts of the country via radar to see the weather.

I like to go one step further and zoom in on different areas that I enjoy visiting, like my parents, my in-laws, my sister-in-law, although I have been unable to find her exact apartment building, New York City, and today, Estes Park. I have fond childhood memories of visiting my great aunt who lived off of Devil's Gulch road outside of Estes Park. We had several family reunions there and had fun sitting around a campfire and hiking on her property. When she sold her 10 acres a few years ago Kevin and I briefly considered looking into buying it until we saw it cost $600K - about $500K out of our price-range!!

I also have some great memories from visiting Estes Park as an adult. I have gone there with my family, staying in the above cabin, Meeker Peek, which is what I saw today via radar. Kevin and I went alone for a get-away last year when he had business in Boulder, staying in a cabin called Riversong, a quaint little place right by the St. Vrain River. Thanks to modern technology, and a good memory of roads leading to the Meeker Peek cabin, I got to revisit it via satellite today. An easy way to go to Colorado, although seeing the cabins and town from the air isn't nearly the same as being there. I hope to return to Estes Park soon - one of my favorite places to visit.

Missing the Obvious

I had another small revelation while reading Desiring God this week. In one chapter, he is talking about Scripture and has a segment of testimony from George Muller. Muller says, "...the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord." To me, that means I should go away from my quiet times with my soul satisfied in the Lord.
As I said in my last post, I am good at getting through the study, but I realized after reading the above that I am not really taking the time to be "full" in God. I lost the vision I need to take something away and have something to chew on during my day.
Well, that should be obvious, you might say. Yes, sad, isn't it? Going through the motions became one of those habits I suppose I slipped into over time, I guess. But, praise the Lord, He will be patient while we slooowwwllly change to be more like Him.