Even though I desire to lead a simple life with few possessions and tread lightly on the earth...I am still hear a the evil voices whenever I go near a mall (which I like to refer to as the "Giant Shrine of Manufactered Wants). It whispers to me...

"You need me.." "Your life would be so different if you would just buy me..." "You would look so cute if you wore me..."

The first step is realizing that the mall DOES truly try to suck you in like the sirens...the second step is resisting, the third step is going to Starbucks and buying an inanely overpriced cup of muddy water and sugar flavoring to "reward" yourself for not getting sucked into the mall.

Here is the post that got me thinking about this today...Stuff Lust. Photo by Charlie Brewer/Flickr

Ok. I'm back. I haven't been blogging for quite awhile, but I really missed being able to spit all my thoughts out and having people sass me. So, here we go again. I have been obsessed with simplicity, downsizing, and such for about a year now. We have made great strides in getting rid of our "extra" possessions. It's so freeing and wonderful to get rid of the STUFF.

I have a few books that are a constant reminder to pursue the simple life. First, my Bible. John the Baptist had this to say in Luke 3:11:

"John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."

This verse has helped me when I thought I needed to have more of this or more of that, and has also reminded me that others have nothing when I have 2, 3, 4 of something. We really need so little to be content. Get rid of your duplicates!

Also, the books Material World and Women of the Material World have inspired me beyond measure. They are on my coffee table so I can reference them often.

"The Irresistable Revolution" by Shane Claiborne is a must read. Go get it today.

I am a constant work in progress, but I believe God has called me to lead a quiet, simple life. I just keep working at it little by little...with so many joys along the way.