Good enough

Every couple months I get this inkling that I need to make sure my priorities and my family priorities are right. Specifically in the material realm. I really desire to be minimalistic, and I think in some ways we do pretty well with that. But sometimes I look around and think, I am surrounded by stuff that doesn't matter. Any little thing my heart desires, I could get if I really wanted to (or really wanted to go into debt for), but do I really NEED any of it?

Do I want my kids to grow up looking for and collecting things, possessions? No, I want them to know what really matters. We try to keep it in check, we limit their toys, don't buy new clothes all the time, stuff like that, but is that enough? I don' think there is anything wrong with toys and things, but I think that my kids get stuff so often that they think that is what special occasions are all about, getting presents. I know that is normal, and natural, but I also want them to learn to appreciate family and friends, people and occasions, even when they don't come baring gifts.

We didn't get Isabella anything for her birthday. Faron and I decided that we would try to give her experiences in stead of presents. So we did lots of fun things, we ate at the Rainforest Cafe (and didn't buy any keepsakes), we went to the gymnastics thing, we made a birthday cake together, she had a fun party with lots of activities, etc. I always get to the edge of making a decision like that and then I start second guessing it. Will she grow up feeling deprived if she doesn't get a lot of stuff? Will they think, we don't have many toys like every body else does? Faron assures me that this is not the case, but you know moms, we are sure every decision we make will ruin our kids lives.

Anyway, I am on this kick again right now. I heard some statistics at church Sunday, you know the ones, we've all heard them before. America is rich, we have a very small percentage of the world's population, but we consume a much larger percentage of the world resources. Only 8% of the world's population owns cars... Like I said, I've heard it before, I know we are rich compared to the rest of the world, but it is like Rob Bell said, we get so caught up in our own world, that we start thinking that it is the whole world, but it is not.

So yes, we give money, we donate things, but could I do more? Do we need to spend the extra money to get organic food? Would regular, healthy, food be good enough? Could that extra money go to an orphanage in Haiti? I think we could eat regular food if it meant that a child in a third world country was going to get to eat, period.

Then that mom thing rises up again, thinking organic food would be so much better for my kids, you know, pesticides, and hormones, those are real things that are not good for you.

But when is good enough, good enough?