Monday, August 3, 2015

What's worth it to you?

I somewhat feel like I have forgotten how to "blog"....ideas run through my head, but nothing comes together like it used to when I started this adventure FIVE years ago....how crazy is it that it has been that long.......my motivation for this blog was because in September of 2010 we had a miscarriage and this was my voice to my feelings and emotions through that time.....and look where we are today.....my Britan Rae turned 4 years old just the other day!!

However, I still feel like there are things I want to say....I just can't compose them the right way. I am not sure if it is because I am out of the habit or is there just no meaning to all the thoughts floating in my head.....every couple of months I get this feeling, like I NEED to blog about something and it weighs on me till I do it (goes on my endless to-do list).....I have had this feeling for about a week and I just haven't been able to put my finger on what I am suppose to be blogging about....

Take a look and see what you think:

One of my last posts was about trying to keep up with what others have....this still bugs me! People are always wanting to be like others, always wanting what others have....yesterday Brit and I went to church while the boys were out of town and I knew that if there was something I needed to blog about, I would find it at church....SO there towards the end of the service it became obvious, he began to focus on it more: materialistic and idolizing "things and others"!! Which is kind of funny b/c I had already composed 1/2 of this post before church yesterday, just couldn't put the "final" stamp on it.....

Here is something to ponder: Is it really going to matter in 20 years if you had those cool $120 pair of shoes in the summer of 2015? Are you really going to be remembered by the car you drove that cost you a fortune? Are the places you shop, now, really going to matter when you are 53? Who are you truly living for, yourself or to be like others? Are you giving in to every want and need your child(ern) have to make them "happy"? Do you do whatever it takes to make sure they (children) "fit in"???

I watched a video the other day about how money can't buy happiness. Do you realize how true this is? People that have tons of money still have problems. The problems are different in magnitude to problems of people that don't have money, but at the end of the day PROBLEMS are still there! Money and things don't truly make you HAPPY.....yes, they may satisfy a need at the moment, but that moment will pass and the supposed "happiness" is gone!

At church he made a great point that I feel like was PROBABLY me years back when I had the secret debt issue (I am sure you remember that post)......he said, "do you drive down the road and say, oh I wish I had that car, I wish my house looked like that, I wish I could go there, I wish I had her clothes, I wish, I wish, I wish, I wish".....yes, I probably used to do that and don't think that there are not times that I don't say that b/c there are times that I do, BUT those times and WISHES have diminished greatly since I learning the (somewhat hard) lesson of living within our means!!

There are so many people that want to have what others have, want to be like others, want their kids to have the "best" of everything (which brings up another thought, what is the "best"? the best to me may be different from your view of the best, so is that battle really worth it? I may think Nike is the best and you think Nike is cheap that Adidas is the best, I am not going to be able to convince you that I am right and you are wrong nor am I going to waste time trying to do so!!) (sorry that was a lonnng ( ) and for the record I could care less about Nike or Adidas).....people often think that if only I had "this (you fill in the blank)" THEY will like me, THEY will want to be my friend, THEY will think I am part of "them".......if "THEY" (whoever they may be) don't accept you for you, "they" aren't worth it!

When looking at the "big" picture of life, you have to ask yourself what is worth it!?!?! Is seeing your kids happy and preparing them for real life, knowing they know how to earn and work for what they have, worth it? OR Is giving them every, every, everything they could possibly "want" and not teaching them how to work hard and earn things, worth it? AND you can ask yourself the same questions....Is running up every credit card for every want you have and not being able to pay the electric bill, worth it? OR Is figuring out how much you actually have in the bank account and figuring out how to make it work within your means, worth it!?!?!? I promise b/c I have lived it, I (and we, the dertings) are MUCH happier, content and more focused than we have ever been!!!

Phew.....glad this is done, I knew there was something I was needing to say!!...I think I could go on, but you are probably done listening to me ramble on!! I do want to thank each of you reading and supporting this little blog of mine....

Much Love, Alysha

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