Day 1 of 366... No more shopping for me!

"We must want for others, not ourselves alone."

Eleanor Roosevelt

Shopping. Just when I say the word I get excited. There is just something so relaxing about it for me. In my opinion, clothes are pieces of art, a form of expression, and something I love. And what am I doing for the next 366 days (yes, of course I would choose a year that has a leap year in it)? I am not buying any clothes or shoes for myself, starting today, September 1, 2011. I'm sure this is probably baffling to some because as all of my friends know, I absolutely love shopping. It amazes me too that I am doing this! But in reality, this is not something I HAVE to do, but something I NEED to do.

Most are probably assuming right now that I am like that girl from the movie, "Confessions of a Shopaholic" who has a ton of debt on credit cards and clothes pouring out of her closets, but that is not the case at all (ok, maybe the clothes pouring out of my closet part is true for me). I am in good financial standing and still manage to save money each month. What prompted my decision to do this started a few months ago when I was actually cleaning up my room and sorting through my clothes. As the pile for Goodwill grew taller and taller, the pile of clothes I was keeping didn't seem to be shrinking at all. Long story short, I had to buy another dresser for my room. I instantly felt convicted because I probably have more clothes in my dirty laundry than most have in their entire wardrobe. The Lord really laid it on my heart that I don't NEED half of the clothes I own, yet it has become such a huge WANT in my life. I started thinking about all of the many people out there who actually NEED clothes, who NEED shoes, and do not have the luxuries I have of getting to stroll into my closets and "decide" what to wear that day. It also made me really think, "Why do I love shopping so much?!" when I looked at it from the perspective that God really never intended us to wear clothes and we wear clothes now because of a sin that was committed long ago when Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden.

So where does that lead me? It leads me to a year (366 days) of not buying clothes or shoes. To a year of finding joy in helping others get the clothes they NEED, instead of the clothes I WANT. This is not going to be easy for me at all and the selfish side is already thinking, "Well, I can just cut back a little on what I buy myself and I'll still have money to help others." That, however, is not what I was called to do.

To say I am not going to miss buying clothes is the understatement of the decade, but I know I am doing the right thing. Now that they day is here, I am actually getting kind of excited about going "shopping" in my own closet, about being creative with what I already have, and to make things work that I wouldn't normally want to wear. The Lord has given me more than I deserve and I need to learn to appreciate that a little more.

So check back because I will definitely be blogging about this crazy, yet exciting journey in my life! Pray for me! I'm going to need it