The Compact Revisited

When I committed to The Compact in October of 2006, I had no idea how radically it would change my life. I set out on a mission to simply stop buying new stuff...but instead the experiment changed my entire view of our consumerism-obsessed culture, marketing, wants vs. needs, giving vs. selling, the poor...the list goes on and on. While I did not complete the entire year of Compacting by my "rules"... I will be forever changed by this experience. I have blogged in the past about my journey, but here are some effects of The Compact that are still with me today:

• I LOVE buying used. It's almost physically painful for me to buy things new/full retail cost. I could spend hours and hours at Goodwill...especially if I have a list of things I've been looking for. The thrill of the hunt is so fun. Whenever we need something, whether it be RV related, clothing, kitchen gadgets...we always turn to eBay, Craigslist, or Goodwill first before ever looking for it new. I would have to say that this ONE THING has been the biggest change for us.
• I've become appalled at the price of things...and have started to realize the crazy profit companies make on our purchases because we are just too lazy to search out the alternative. My current pair of jeans (yes I only have one pair) were 99 cents at Goodwill. Matt found them for me in the men's section and said "here honey...these will be cute on you". I LOVE them! And now, when I go in and I'm browsing the jeans, a tag for $3.99 seems ludicrous! Ha ha! How dare they think they can charge $3.99! :) This also happens when I've been to too many garage sales...I get used to the LOW prices and it's hard to go back to eBay or consignment stores after that!
• I started to give a lot more stuff away. I think that when you come to the realization that it's the STUFF that is bogging you down emotionally, mentally, and physically...you just want to get rid of it! So I got very good at filling boxes and going to Goodwill. Is there anything that feels better than handing over boxes of stuff that has been cluttering your home to the Goodwill attendant in the back of the store? I love it...a natural high!
• Handmade gifts are where it's at...if it's a handmade/recycled/found object art gift, even better! I think it was during my Compacting days that I discovered Etsy. Oh my goodness. How can you not love Etsy?!
• I am so much more sensitive to the marketing teams whose main goal is to make me feel like my current state of being is not good enough. They want me to want something. They scheme all day long on the by putting "want creators" on TV, internet, billboards, junk mail...it's rampant.
• Because I am more sensitive to these things...I can hardly stand to set foot in a mall. The bright lights, the busyness, the insane amounts of money being exchanged. It's overload.
• I can now walk into a Target or any other store and actually only buy what I went in for. Prior to The Compact, I almost felt like a zombie as I walked out of Target...wondering what just happened in there! Last night, we went as a family to buy a few items that we've had on our list for weeks. And it felt so good to come out with just a few things on the receipt.
• Now that Bella is at the age where she can understand purchasing, money, wants, etc...it has become more time consuming to go into stores because I need to discuss everything with her as we go. She amazes me with her self-control though. When we walk by the $1 section in Target, she likes to stop and look, but is not thrown into a frenzy if we decide not to get something there. We talk through it and it becomes a teaching moment about consumerism, money, and priorities. We talk about whether or not we need it...does she already have something similar in the RV? And if we were to get that item, would she be willing to give something else in her toy box away to make room for it? Young minds are hungry for teaching...I try as hard as I can to teach her things that aren't in a normal school syllabus! :) Of course, it's pretty rare that we even go to Target, so I think this is the key to success. Keep children focused on the abundance they DO have...not what they don't have. Gratitude breeds contentment.
• And oh what JOY will come if we can learn contentment! Pray for it...Christ wants to give it to you!

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:11-13 (New Living Translation)

I would LOVE to hear from all of you who have committed to The Compact at any time (and for any length of time). Let us know how you felt about it and how it has stuck with you even after you were officially "done".

Photo credit: Flickr/Creative Commons: ATIS547

Happy Foody Raw Challenge!

For those of you who don't read actively over at Happy Foody, I wanted to make sure you knew about our One Week Raw Challenge...with prizes! I have also just begun to offer "Raw Life Coaching" for those foodies wanting to take it up to the next level...there are so many exciting things happening over there. Be sure to check it out!

Pride vs. Brokenness

Pride. There are lots of different kinds of pride. Pride in your children. Pride in your country or your alma mater. All of these kinds of pride can be healthy...in moderation. But the kind of pride that God speaks against in his word is nothing like those "feel good" types of pride. Pride is one of those sins that we tend to just gloss over and not fret too much about. In our minds, it's not quite the same as murdering someone or committing adultery. But the thing is...it IS in the same group. A "sin is a sin is a sin" in the mind of God. All sins separate us from Christ and require repentance. In the following passage from Mark, Jesus is speaking about what is inside of you...and how it can defile you. He lists all of these horrible sounding sins...and then WHOA! He throws pride in there...along with envy, slander (gossip), and foolishness. I think that we tend to trivialize these other sins...and yet they are so completely destructive if we don't stop them in their tracks.

And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

Mark 7:20-22

Right now, I'd like to focus specifically on pride. I was recently given a wonderful resource from Revive our Hearts/Nancy Leigh DeMoss...it's a study on pride vs. brokenness (or humbleness) and it details the many differences between the two. It's been such a life changing study for me and I wanted to pass it on to you.

Here are just a few of the comparisons:

Proud people focus on the failures of others...broken people are overwhelmed with the sense of their OWN spiritual need.

Proud people have to prove that they are right...broken people are willing to yield the right to be right.

Proud people claim "rights" and have a demanding spirit...broken people yield their rights and have a meek spirit.

Proud people have a drive to be recognized and appreciated...broken people have a sense of their own unworthiness; thrilled that God would use them at all.

Proud people feel confident in how much they know...broken people are humbled by how very much they have to learn.

Questions to ask yourself...evidences of pride:

• Do you look down on those who are less educated, less affluent, less refined, or less successful than yourself?
• Do you think of yourself as "more spiritual" than your mate or others in your church?
• Are you quick to find fault with others and to verbalize those thoughts to others? Do you have a sharp, critical tongue?
• Are you driven to receive approval, praise, or acceptance from others?
• Are you uncomfortable inviting people into your home because you don't think it's nice enough or you can't afford to do lavish entertaining?
• Do you become defensive when you are criticized or corrected?

I have been so convicted by this study...it completely brings my focus back to Christ. Jesus Christ is the only reason I am not condemned by my failures. He has saved me and I owe everything to Him. With that in mind...how could I ever think that I have any "rights" in my life? How could I ever look down upon someone else...knowing that I am nothing without Christ?

Now...all of this may sound so "defeated" and not "empowered" in the sense of the word that our world uses it. If you watch TV or listen to any sort of media, you will hear that it's ALL about you and that YOU have control over everything in your life. You pretty much ARE GOD. This is the ultimate in pride.

But God desires for you to be confident and beautiful and amazing...but He wants you to be confident in HIM, beautifully made by HIM, and live an amazing life with HIM and for HIM.

In studying "brokenness", I have migrated into studying what the Bible says about love and mercy. When your focus is on loving others and showing mercies to others, it's much harder to be full of pride.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6

He has showed you, O Man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

And my very favorite...you have to read this 3-4 times to really get it into your heart:

Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand it's own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record or when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. ... There are three things that will endure -- faith, hope, and love -- and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7,13

Wow. To live a life of love...that's what I want! To show mercy and to be broken in Christ. How I long to be those things! It is ONLY by the Holy Spirit's power in my life that I could even dream of grasping at them. I am so thankful that God uses circumstances in my life, the people I am surrounded with, and His word to gently teach me in these areas.

This is my prayer today...

LORD! I desire a broken spirit...a spirit of love. Clean out my critical spirit. I don't want it anymore. Let me look for love and peace in every situation. Make me overwhelmed at every moment with a sense of my own spiritual need...not anyone else's. Let me see all others as better than myself. Help me to deny my selfish desires and be motivated to serve others. I have nothing to offer except a life that flows through Jesus. I have so much to learn. I am not concerned with being "right". Help me to be humble and slow to correct others. Give me a teachable spirit...one that longs for your Word and your truth. I love you Jesus...and it's in your name I pray. Amen.