Aunt Shirley's Wisdom
In case you have been wondering what has happened to me since I posted last, I will fill you in. Not much has happened, yep, typical winter break with no job. My dad built a gigantic slide off of our back deck, 
(in case you can't tell, me and my cousin Josh are sitting at the top of the slide contemplating the best way to go down it. He ended up using a sled, I opted for a cardboard box. Don't ask me why I felt safer in a box...)
Also, I've spent a lot of time catching up with family and friends, one of whom is Aunt Shirley who inspired me to write this blog! She doesn't even know it!
So the other day I went and spent a little bit of time talking with my aunt Shirley and catching up with her. Aunt Shirley, in my opinion, has a lot of wisdom and many times when we are talking she imparts little pieces of wisdom and she probably doesn't even realize that God is using her this way. Well, during this conversation that we were having, I was telling her how very disorganized I am (some would say that when you go to a Bible school, one of the dangers is compartmentalizing the Bible, let me tell you, I am pretty sure that my brain does not know how to compartmentalize ANYTHING, much less my own thoughts!) So, I was telling Aunt Shirley of this flaw of mine and my frustration with it, you see my room had gotten to the point that I couldn't even walk straight to get to my bed. Aunt Shirley was very kind to me and told me that this is a common problem for "creative people" and etc. and while we were talking I told her how I would like to go through my room so I can get rid of the things that I don't need.
Now, this is the part where one of her little pieces of wisdom slipped right out, and as I write this I feel very convicted by it and challenged, so please know, this is something I struggle with. I have a problem getting rid of things, especially if someone once gave it to me, I feel like I would be hurting their feelings if I did not keep it the rest of my life. But Aunt Shirley told me this, she said that "God has called us to be "tent dwellers". This means that we are not to be so attached to the things of this world, we can't carry it all with us. We are called to share our abundance with everyone. That is part of what it means to be a Christian, to give what we have and do not need to those who do need it." So as I cleaned my room (I can now walk to my bed without fearing tripping!) I kept that in mind and dwelled on it, you know, thinking about that makes it a lot easier to say good bye to my clutter that someone else might really appreciate having! I was convicted of this lesson again today when I was reading the novel that I just started "The Brothers Karamazov" and there was a reference in it to Luke 14:33 "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions."
So... that is where I am at today. I hope that you are enjoying the winter, and the snow if you have it! Have a beautiful day!
