Week three: Posessions

So after realizing that I had a problem with clothes I tackled my closet. Last week I showed you the before, so here is the after....











I ended up with three totes and two trash bags to donate and one pile to sell. Then I felt like I was on a roll so I tackled N and K's closets. Two more totes and one trash bag later they were done. I tried really hard to not just give everything to one place. Instead I methodically reviewed each item and distributed to various places. I took some to the freestore where anyone can get anything for free, then I sorted some for Crosslines where they work with families needing a helping hand up. I knew a few girl friends with younger children that I gave too and finally I took some clothes and gave them to Out Of The Ashes for the kids of Korahand then a few reselling. {Now, I have to state for the record. All of these possessions are AFTER I spring cleaned and de-cluttered just about two months ago}.

In the bible study Jen shares Matthew 6:19-21 and states that about 15% of Jesus's teaching were on "treasures".  I have always prided myself on not having a lot of these "treasures" and yet as I look around at these piles of clothes I see an awful lot of stuff. Like, a bunch of it!

 
I wish I could say that this week will forever change the way that I  think about buying things and the way that I spend my money. That I am going to sell my huge house and move into a smaller home and send that money to non profit somewhere to take care of those in poverty. That I would live Radical  {awesome book- read it now} and give up the "American Dream". But, in all honestly, I'm not there yet. I still have so much more to grow and change but I am taking it one step at a time. I am going to make some simple choices that will continue to lead me in the right direction though.

1.  I took back several new outfits that I had gotten for this summer. Lucky I still had the tags and receipts. Instead the funds went to the mission trip our children are headed out on this weekend. 
2. I joined a hand me down group for women's clothes where we can trade or purchase one another's clothes rather than buy brand new. I am doing the same thing with the children's clothes.
3. I'm keeping track of the outfits I wear so I can continue to downsize this crazy closet of mine (and keep it from getting bigger)
4. I am choosing to create a new outfit each week with my existing clothes to help lessen my future purposes. 
 

Now it's your turn. What does your closet say about you?

 

Possessions

 After seeing my problems with clothing I decided to tackle my closet for the week of possessions. As added commentary, I did just "clean out" my closet a few months ago. 

You all most know how much I care about you to show my before pictures of the closet... (Keeping it real) 

These are just my dress shoes -note the lovely super high heels aka "stripper shoes" by my friends-don't be hating just saying! 

The huffington post did a survey and apparently most women own 20 pairs of shoes yet only wear 5 (I have over 20 dress shoes alone-they are my cryptonite)  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/too-many-shoes_n_3779196.html 

My dresses and scarves. (Seriously, dresses are great because you can fluctuate weight and they still fit) 

My shorts and pants...also just went through these this summer. (and I have a good part of this in my laundry this very moment!)

My shirts, there is no excuse for this one. 

And I have a dresser filled with work out clothes, t shirts and pajamas. Excess much??? Now, to my credit, many of here items have been bought used from some lovely ladies in town who take much better care of their clothes then I and therefore I get to shop their closets. Also, I am the lovely recipient of my mothers seconds as well as an avid coupon-er! I am learning how clothes are made and learning how to be a fashionista without utilizing unethical standards. But, my closet is still loaded! 

My task this week-to rid about 80% or so. Check back and see how I do! 

  -Amanda 

Ps-I may need some Marco Negri and some prayer! 

Week two: Clothing

     My first official week of seven I jumped into the clothing section. Now if you have been following my blog (all two of you out there) you already know I am discovering the world of ethical trade and sustainable economic development. These are two really fancy words for -paying people what they deserve to make this in a place that is safe and treats them with the respect they deserve while giving them a job that is more than just a weekend. 

Check me out the Noonday Collection Pieces that provide sustainable income and hope to those in poverty. 

So I thought this clothing week would be really easy. I picked my basics and gave myself an opportunity to even highlight my Noonday Jewelry each day so I could add in the ethical trade components. Well, I learned several things about myself this week.....

1. I hate repetitive things. I had a really hard time wearing the same dang pair of shoes each day. I choose my favorite shoes, my Toms. They started off with a small whole but now have a nice cozy spot for my little pinky toe to poke out off. I love these shoes (as if it's not obvious by the wholes in them) and yet by day 5 I was done. Which leads me to the next lesson. 

                          

2. I like change, I do. The idea of something different or unique is intriguing to me. So, having to wear the same basic three outfits (which really ended up being two because I choose really wrong) was really hard for me. All I could think of on Saturday was how badly I wanted something new. 

3. I have to sit on thinks one a while. Why do I need "new" things all the time? And by new I don't mean brand spanking new because a lot of things I buy used and am perfectly fine with. I WANT something different. I didn't NEED anything. I was able to wash my clothes and they all fit, they worked okay for what I needed them for.  I was just bored.  So what does that say about me and my NEEDS? Am I looking to my clothes and appearance to spice up my life? (As if working full time and 4 kids isn't spice enough!)  This got me thinking.....and looking and guess what...

4. No one ever commented on my same outfits. No one noticed about my t-shirt -that actually got so stained I had to wear my sweater folded over by then end of the week-oh wait...I'm wearing it today with a scarf over the stain..oops! See, things like that make me say to myself I don't really care about what people think and  honestly people don't really care all that much about what I wear. So if that's true, then why did I get an extra 15 minutes each morning when my clothes were chosen for me? Why did I not worry about what my clothes said about me or if I was fashionable. Or (truth be told) skinny and pretty? That's what I'm really about, not how I think I look, but how YOU think I look. 

Jen does a great job at conviction using Gods words. "The plunder from the poor is in your houses" Ouch-my house, yes my house! Slowly I'm unpealing the layers to myself, seeing what really motivates and moves me and if that's okay with me. I think I have this thing in the bag, but the more I dive in the more I realize, this is just the beginning! 

So, this week I dive into possessions....seriously. I think I may hit my closet first!!!! 

                     

55 days of John

Truth-I am not a bible reader. I'm not. One of my goals each year is to read passages from my bible every day and yet every day... I don't.   I read my face book and I read my texts, I read my e-mails and I read my TV guide, but not my bible.

55 days ago, after an inspiring and moving weekend with some lovely ladies at my IF:Local event I choose to follow along with IF:Equip. This was my first time reading through the entire book of John and I learned so much about Jesus and about myself.

If I had to break it down, I would in two simple truths. {warning-I may use a lot of shouty caps-yes, shouty caps people, I was really feeling it!}



 Through out the book of John and the collection of author lead discussion I saw this beautiful tapestry of history woven through out this book. There is this fulfillment of prophecy that I found chapter after chapter. It was fortold that Jesus would come, that John would be there to baptize him. That he would be loved by men and scorn by men. The real penetrating truth is that BECAUSE Jesus is who he says he is, he KNEW. He knew what was to happen and what he was to go through.  He knew which disciple would give him over and who would deny him. Yet, he loved them, he forgave them and he died for them. If so then what does that say about how he loves me?

I think the whole idea of redemption really hit home with me.  I was able to see Jesus as a real person living a real life through the book of John. I read the words that he spoke and imagined the images that must have surrounded him. I was able to focus on key areas and really appreciate the depth of what was written. I am not a bible scholar and so the added commentary of the speakers from IF:Gathering was so key to me. I was able to get a deeper understanding of the verses and then read other womens comments on those same verses.

The second simple truth is this: Jesus says- FOLLOW ME



He does say -If you read your bible every day or if you have it all together. He doesn't make it a caveat to join him ONLY if you do this or that.   We are are mess. We are sinful and broken and pitiful....but he still chooses US!!! He wants us to FOLLOW HIM! This last part of John hit it on the head for me. Jesus is talking to the disciples and one of them asks him about someone else. He says, don't focus on what others are doing, FOCUS ON ME!

I often times get so stuck in the comparison trap the "I'm not good enough" trap. When I do that I'm actually killing grace.  I am taking away the fact that Jesus died for my sins because I'm saying, "I know you did that, but I'm still not good enough because....(fill in with any mantra you tell yourself)

 Well, its not about me! Its about what HE did. What HE did on that cross and what HE did for the world. News flash- I'm never going to be good enough. I can never compare because there is no comparison. I have to stop looking at others and instead seeing what HE says about me. And this can only be done by...you guest it...reading his word and FOLLOWING HIM.

I may just become a bit of a daily bible reader after all.
    So join me!
         Let's do this thing together.
                     Help me to not look to others and to not define myself by the World,
                          but by who he says I am.



Ready to do this thing?    Here it is Monday May 5th....   IF: Equip


    -Amanda
 

7...again....my own personal journal

About a year ago this time I had some awesome women in my life who were going through the 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess study by Jen Hatmaker.  You all know I love me some Hatmaker so I jumped on the band wagon and tried to do it with them. Well, about week #5 I was an emotional wreck. We were preparing and waiting for our court date for N's adoption and I just couldn't deal with all the internal struggle. I gave up and put it back on the shelf. 
                                                                                  
 Fast forward a year, and here I am joining the same dang band wagon, getting ready to wreck myself again. Why do I do this you ask- well, other than my need to be part of the group, you just gotta love growth! I want to eliminate things from my life that get in the way of loving my family and loving others. I want to be a better person and I want to know my God more. For those of you that don't know what the heck seven is, sit and read this section if you do-go ahead and scroll on down to week 2!

Jen Hatmaker decided her life was too full of "stuff" and decided to take seven months to eliminate 7  things from her life where she found were struggles for her family and probably for yours too!  Each month she chose an area to reduced down to the basics-7 foods, 7 articles of clothing. She gave away possessions and instead focus on simplicity and generosity while using that cleansing to grow closer to God. The book follows her journey to fight back the modern greed and materialize of America today. From there she created a 7 week bible study leads you through the key areas she identified on your own journey to fight the excess. The first week is on food and I kinda missed that one already, so I am on to week two. I hope that I can blog about each week for these 7 weeks, share what I am learning and encourage you to fight back as well!

Week 2: Clothing

Now, if you all know me, you know that I am a bit of a modifier-rebel-rule bender kinda girl. I'm sorry, God just made me want to rebel!  Following a set plan is hard for me (hence my tendency for yo-yo dieting) . So for some accountability, here is my wardrobe from now until Tuesday:

                                1. Pair of black dress pants
                                2. White T-shirt
                                   ( & Cami- still keep it covered ladies!)
                                3. Black leggings
                                    (they make look like tights but they really 
                                    are leggings-you can hash out the "are 
                                    leggings pants" debate on your own blog)
                               4. Flowy grey dress shirt
                               5. Grey professor style sweater
                               6. Pair of skinny jeans
                               7. Orange Ethiopia mission trip shirt 
                                     (I realized all I had was black and white!)

                    Insert disclaimer- here is my rule breaker part!
                                Yes-you see #8 

                               8. Only Noonday Accessories

   Soooo...I am a Noonday Collection Ambassador and therefore feel I can not go a week with out wearing my hand made pretties made by artisans around the world. Well, this week coincided       with the launch of our new Impact Tab. So, I decided to only wear one countries accessories each day. Every day I will represent a different country (even if I only have one piece) and then  share a photo and a link about those artisans and the work they do on my Instagram.

 

Wish me luck and I will update this page at the end of the week

with what I have learned about  myself !

             -Amanda

Fashionable

"Fashion is not something that exists in dressed only. Fashion is in the sky,in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening"    -CoCo Chanel

Fashion- it can dictate what we where and where we wear it too. I wonder often how much accountability we have with out clothes. Do we have the ability to wear what we want as long as we can afford it and it meets the "fashion standards"? What if all the "fashionable" clothes that make us feel beautiful are made in the most worst way? Can we wear them still? 

Tomorrow-Thursday April 24th- is the first ever Fashion Revolution Day. This coincides with the one year anniversary of the tragic Rana Plaza clothing factory collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, when 1133 people were killed and 2500 were injured.Many of these deaths occurred because of poor working conditions for workers whom were already paid poorly for their work. 

Image Credit: rijans via Flickr

 Pope Francis spoke out against the working conditions in the factory: 

 "A headline that really struck me on the day of the tragedy in Bangladesh was 'Living on 38 euros a month'. That is what the people who died were being paid. This is called slave labor. Today in the world this slavery is being committed against something beautiful that God has given us – the capacity to create, to work, to have dignity. ."

Fashion Revolution Day will hopefully start making people question where their clothes are made. To encourage others to initiative the conversation about ethical trade and open our eyes to the world around us. The Rana Plaza Collapse is just one small example of the issues surrounding the clothing industry.

We can no longer be just blind consumers. Trust me, I am just as guilty as the next person for buying items made under these labor conditions and with little dignified income. I thought I was being a good steward with my money.  Justifying buying cheaper clothes so that we could stick to our budget more and then be able to give more freely and save more towards our adoption costs, fighting the "Orphan Crisis". But in the end I was just contributing to is!!!

http://fashionrevolution.org/

 The topic of fair trade is still fairly new to me. So, I have a lovely fellow Noonday Collection Ambassador that is going to be blogging tomorrow on this very topic. I just recently discovered their blog and all I can say is- I'm in Love! I will definitely be adding their blog to my collection of must reads! 

  I can't wait for you to jump over and check out her blog at: 
                Shannon and Brandi: Fair Trade Fashionista


  -Blessings, 

      Amanda 

'Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.' - Coco Chanel
Read more at http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/blogs/542820/the-40-best-style-quotes-of-all-time.html#LsaGxYw8TQY1IqLe.99

'Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.' - Coco Chanel

Read more at http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/blogs/542820/the-40-best-style-quotes-of-all-time.html#LsaGxYw8TQY1IqLe.99

Life takes it's toll on Marriage

I am an avid subscriber to #staymarried and love the posts of hope, stories and resources for couples to stay married. A few weeks ago it was on understanding your spouse as time goes on. I love how they wrote in relation to time and our spouses: "...What you may not realize is that they have changed. They’ve grown, just like you have, and they have new thoughts and interests..."

In our own personal marriage life has certainly taken its toll. One of the aspects not always talked about when you add a child to your family is the change and energy that it will take for your marriage. So much energy is now going from the marriage to the relationships of your children and the bonding that needs to happen in the new family.
 

One of the main focuses my hubby and I have always placed is the time together. Because we are a blended family, we have never had a time that we have not been parents. We missed the time that couples have to learn and discover who they are as a couple, instead we discovered who we were as a family. I love our big family and that we were able to jump in head first into being a family. However, I also realize that in about 12 years, Gene and I will be empty nesters! I will be barely over 45 and have all of my children graduates from high school. That means both Gene and I will have another (hopefully) 40 years or so together. 

That is why it is so very important that Gene and I have a healthy marriage now so that we WANT to look at each other for the next 40 years! I also want to model to our children what a healthy marriage is. I want them to know that their parents love each other dearly and look for that same type of marriage when they grow up.

But, life has taken it's toll and we have not put in the time and energy into our relationship. With the new stressors of life these days, we were not reconnecting. To be perfect honest, our marriage was lacking big time. WE forgot how to communicate with one another, and I forgot how to love my husband. I was a bitter wife and struggled to show kindness and respect to Gene.


We knew we needed to be different and so we chose to take a break from our world here and take 6 days to rekindle our marriage, to dedicate time to learning and spending time together and to make a plan for our future. It was the best decision and we learned so much about each other again. Was it a life changer? No, but it was a time where we saw one another as partners and as equals, doing this thing called LIFE together.

I challenge you, take a break from the monotony of life and get to re-learn your spouse again. Take an hour or take a week and find each other again. Remember why you married them in the first place and why you choose them!