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Saturday, July 13, 2013

Getting rid of it!

Clutter. We have so much of it in our lives, don't we?

In preparation for creating a mobile family lifestyle, my wife and I are de-cluttering. Really we do not have a lot of stuff, but even so it is amazing how many things we do have! (-: Does that sound conflicted?

God is glorified more the less value we place on material things. This is one reason we are excited to live out of an RV beginning in 2015 and travel the country again selling books while I speak wherever the opportunity is presented. In preparation for that we are starting to get rid of things we do not need. I sold a couple of PC games for $10 and that modest amount is the start of our "RV Fund." I also have a violin to sell and a loveseat. We are going to digitize my very large movie collection, so I will sell the DVDs, too. I am even going to make a valiant attempt to get rid of a large number of my books, but we'll see how that goes.

I am excited about this. I place a lot more value in my possessions than I like to admit. Some of these things are gods in my life, and God will only bless as we seek to follow His will in our lives. We want to turn away from the material to better focus on connecting to God and the world around us.

BTW, we watched the movie "RV" last night (Robin Williams). Yep, that was a funny movie!

3 comments:

Jake said...

My family sold most everything of ours to go to Africa back in 2011, so I know the feeling! It's amazing how much clutter hides in the corners of American homes. You don't realize how much you have till you get rid of it.

Author Scott Appleton said...

Wow! All the way to Africa. Jake, that must have been a major move for your family. Isn't it amazing that most of that clutter sits around unused and then when you start looking through all the stuff you question "Should I really get rid of this? I might need it or want it later."

Yep, materialism is a taskmaster. I want to be rid of it.

Jake said...

I've learned, like the famous quote goes, that the best things in life are not things. I used to have a more emotional attachment with my stuff - I couldn't stand getting rid of books, for instance. But now the situation is reversed. After living with basically nothing for a year and a half, it gives me perspective on the stuff that I still have in America. The past lives on in my memory, not in my stuff.

WELCOME TO THE WRITING SITE OF SCOTT APPLETON

"Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." -Proverbs 16:24

In a world where morality is forsaken and Christ neglected, wholesome books are uncommon. The themes of my writing are love, self-sacrifice, and honor.

I see my generation turning from God to the gods of this world. I see homes torn apart in the pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification. Children are murdered by the millions every year . . . without ever seeing the world outside their mothers' wombs. Through fiction I strive to encourage those who are willing, to stand against these things and be heroes and heroines; chivalrous, gentle, full of righteous indignation, and the fear and love of their Creator.