Book Club // Contentment, Part 1

We are starting the chapter on contentment this week in The Finishing School. (If you haven’t joined our FB book club already, join here!)

I just started going through the Contentment Challenge that I mentioned in the book again this month. Nancy wrote a devotional to go with it and I am loving the added accountability and encouragement.

Here are two thoughts that I keep thinking:

1. I am in the process of finding freedom and filling my life up with better things which turn out to not be things at all. It’s not simply cutting things out and leaving my life bare. When I say “no” to shopping for things that won’t satisfy, I am not left with an emptiness. Or I don’t have to be because that’s not the goal. What things would make your life more vibrant? Is it adventure with your families? Serving together? Simply resting?

Fill your life up with what is important first. Shopping and spending money on things can fill in the gaps so it does not take it’s place higher than it needs to be. Let’s not make an idol of our possessions but instead give God the first fruits of our life (Proverbs 3:9).

2. Shopping can be a complete waste of time. How often have you spent 45 minutes online shopping (or longer!) and didn’t even purchase anything? Or how often have you spent all day looking for the perfect outfit for an occasion and left empty-handed? I’m not saying to NEVER shop but even in these moments we might feel good that we didn’t spend a dime but what it did cost us what time.

I hope I don’t step on toes, but y’all, retail therapy? There are so many better ways to refresh ourselves. We pretend that it’s refreshing to go spend money or even just look but it normally just makes us hungry for more stuff and more frustrated and in need of more refreshment. Especially with two kids at home, if I’m leaving the house without either of them or even with one of them, I want it to be for more than toting them around to shop. (I’m sooo guilty of this one by the way! When you have an easy kid that likes going to stores it’s easy to take advantage of this.)

I’d love to hear from you! What’s the most time you’ve wasted shopping on something? A whole day looking for a dress for a wedding? 5 nights in a row looking for patio furniture?