Target and the rest of the World

My friend Tiff used to say "Target has a 'cover charge'. . .you basically HAVE to spend at least $20 everytime you are there." Truer words were never spoken as evidenced by my 2nd Target spree of the week. Tonight it mostly centered around stuff for Bubs and his upcoming Fall Festival extravangza at school; however, it ended up costing me over $200. Ugh. Schmoops is not going to be happy at all. Double ugh. I try to remind myself that this is why I work. . .so I can go buy what I want when I want and not have to really answer for it (as long as it is within reason). This might be the case except as I said this is my 2nd trip this week. The previous trip also involved stuff for Bubs, but I also threw in a super cute cardigan, tights and two books for myself.

Looking back over my $400 week of nothing. . .I am faced once again with something I have been contemplating, and, yes, praying about recently and that is partaking in a challenge called 30 Days of Nothing. It goes something like this. . .stolen shamelessly from Tonia.

For 30 days, my family will buy nothing except our basic necessities. No clothes or books. No movies, no trips to the ice cream parlor. No paper, or pictures, or magazines. No fancy hair gel or take-and-bake pizza. Lattes? Nope. Nothing except what it takes to live. . .I'd like to try and identify with some of the "least" (economically) of the world. We will try and live without electricity for a day; eat only rice for a day. Perhaps the family will sleep together in one room for a night - on the floor; or walk six miles one day - the distance some African women walk daily to get clean water. The goal of this month-long fast is to break the grip of materialism in our hearts and minds. We want to live in gratitude, not discontent; and we want to live with awareness of the great responsibility our affluence has laid on our shoulders.

Schmoops and I are currently in the phase of setting our personal parameters -- we both work afterall, so I am not sure the no electricity is going to fly, but who knows if we could go without TV for even a couple of nights or turn off these blessed computers once a week that would be progress! We need to decide what our necessities are and what we will give up. I am not sure if this is a religious thing for us, a financial test, or just plain stupidity. But we have so much and I know that I for one take it for granted most of the time. . .like tomorrow when I will probably have to stop by Target for something else!

~KW

"...happy is he who is gracious to the poor." Prov. 14:21