Monday, September 29, 2008

I Can't Get No Satisfaction

Ok, so I'm not really a Rolling Stones fan. I'm more of a Beatles girl. Early Beatles, before they got influenced by whatever influenced them to write Sargent Pepper's. Which, by the way, I like. But, c'mon...it's out there.

But I digress...

Have you ever had that feeling that if you just had that one more thing, be it something tangible or intangible, that then you would finally be satisfied?

I've had that a lot lately. Since the move, I've been so focused on what I've had to give up from our life back home. Stupid things really, like curtains I like (which I didn't have to start with - I had all blinds!!!), a dryer, cute dishtowels, etc.

I have to keep reminding myself that all those things are unimportant. I have a loving husband, two wonderful kids, a beautiful home, a great church. But even more importantly, I have a God who loves me much more than I could ever imagine.

To be completely honest, I had a picture in my head that when we moved here we would be rolling in the dough. I thought I'd be able to buy whatever I wanted without even thinking about it. After all, Hubby would be making three times the amount of money that he did in the US.

However, the housing market hit us pretty hard. We had planned on paying off all our debt with the selling of our rental properties. You can imagine how that went. Nothing sold, and that debt is still there. We are working on paying it off, and, yes, I've ordered that Dave Ramsay book to pick up while I'm back home. But in the meanwhile, it's cutting into my spending.

Now back home, we just would have continued to live on credit cards, still feeding my every whim. But Hubby and I are committed to not going deeper into debt. We are struggling to live within our means and that means learning to not just run to Target (ah, Target...sigh!), every time I'm bored and spend "just a little bit." It means opting to shop for a bargain.

It means learning to be content.

And that's the bottom line.

I'm working on it, but it will take time and plenty of training this ol' brain to adapt. Yes, I may want to have fall-themed dish towels, but no, they aren't going to bring me long-lasting joy.

So, yes, I may not have every little thing I want. But what I lose in those little, daily, dying-to-self moments, I will gain in having a better perspective on what really matters.

10 comments:

Karen said...

girl, you are preaching to the choir! (although I did find really cute fall towels at WalMart for 1.00...)

blessings,
karen

tammi said...

Ugh, this is such a struggle for me, too. I choose to believe it's a common problem in our society, but that doesn't really make it any easier! It's a daily battle ~ focusing on being thankful for what we have rather wishing for things we don't.

Sandy said...

Excellent post - thank you for being real and sharing your heart.

Sandy

Anonymous said...

I think everyone struggles with this to some degree. Thanks so much for sharing this so transparently and for the reminder of Who should be our daily contentment.

Tracy said...

You said it! This is something I struggle with to. Thank you for the reminder we should be content and who we should put our focus on!

Unknown said...

Ditto to all the others!

You're so real, open and honest, and I love that about you.

And I love Dave Ramsey. We have the Total Money Makeover, and it's awesome. I listen to him in the afternoons sometimes. Listen to his radio shows, if you have time. I think you can over the internet. It really helps you stay on track, and get re-focused.

Leeann said...

Lori,

Dave Ramsey has been such a tremendous blessing to our family.

You and Ib are on the right track already!

Blessings,
Leeann

Stacey said...

i hear ya!!

Traci said...

Dave Ramsey is one of my heroes! I love his teachings. You can check his website for info until you get the book.

Ivy Vega from www.ivysmind.com said...

And so I thought I was the only one.... I mean the runs to target. A little bit today, another bit tommorrow..... You know, it makes sense that to some degree we are "most of the time" disatisfied but isn't that what happens when we live this side of heaven? If we were completely satisfied then why search for something so much greater than the fall leaves towels,,,,,,God.
And I am so totally guilty of that...

You brought it to light, and I thank you!

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