ADVENTURE AWAITS

As I finish up this school year and wrap up many things it also includes writing report cards. It's a busy time of year, especially when 2 weeks after school is done I will be moving. Yesterday I spent some time at my friend's house - we were both plowing away at eport cards and we drank her famous high cocoa - reminding us of the days we lived together. Ah, and then she gave it to me in this mug - ADVENTURE AWAITS.

BUT FIRST, get rid of stuff. Stuff. It can be so burdensome to have so many things. Over the last 6 years I have moved many times, twice a year usually. The house I live in now has been 'home' for the last 16 months, the longest home in years. When you move so frequently you just start holding on to less stuff. Still there are those knickknacks, the little gifts from students, mail you receive, things to keep. I think I kind of inherited the 'save it for a rainy day' mentality which is handy when you never move. Not when you always move, not when your life has to fit into 2 suitcases to take along and a couple of totes to put in storage. So purging it is. 

As ENGLISH student in university you can expect to collect books, a lot of books over the years. Even after university I kept collecting books. I love books! I didn't start enjoying reading until fourth grade or so; since then I have not stopped reading (except during the summer after graduating university!). When I moved to this house I had 3 apple boxes full. For about two years I haven't opened most of the books I already owned, so do I keep them? Toss them? Donate them?

If you're interested in a book, I may just have it on a shelf, on a stack, or in a box. Just ask!
My plan: limit my collection one small box.

I don't want a U-HAUL for my stuff. It's gonna be whatever I can manage and haul, after that no more. No U-HAUL with extra storage space in the granny's attic above the cab but I-HAUL with limited storage. And really, why not? I have been following this family on social media - they sold everything they owned and except for 2 suitcases total - and they now travel the world. They are an inspiration because of their minimalism lifestyle. I see that and think "why am I so attached to that piece of ribbon or that book, that t-shirt or that pencil?" I have been trying to apply Peter Walsh's saying "Love what you have. Have what you need. Be happier with less." It is amazing how freeing it is to get rid off things that are in your life, that sometimes go unnoticed, and sometimes are just in the way. Often I share my things with others around me. An item that once was a staple in my closet or cupboard becomes someone else's - for them to enjoy. An itchy tag in a shirt is annoying or always tugging a sweater this way or that, is it really worth keeping? A pair of jeans that has been on the bottom of the stack for months, why does it just sit there?

All this earthly stuff, I don't want to hold on to it. God recommends we "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.…"  (Matthew 6:19)

This whole DECLUTTER thing is an adventure in itself. A trip down memory lane each time... An item that brings you back to years gone by... A reminder of laughter and tears... An adventure as you decide what stays and what goes, what is important and what isn't...

Ah isn't every day in life an adventure? Just take it as it comes and dive in.
Take opportunities as they come. Go on adventures. Just don't take extra luggage. It weighs you down. 

"Put every hindrance aside and run..." (Hebrews 12:1)