9 Steps to third world living

I'm not sure where I picked this up. It was awhile back after returning from a trip to Brazil. But in a western culture where our stressful decisions often revolve around whether to get a Mocha, Chia, or triple skinny no foam decaf sugar free caramel latte. It is a good reminder to be thankful AND to pay God's goodness in our lives forward.

9 Steps to Third World Living

First, take out the furniture: leave a few old blankets, a kitchen table, maybe a wooden chair. You've never had a bed, remember?

Second, throw out your clothes. Each person in the family may keep the oldest suit or dress, a shirt or blouse. The head of the family has the only pair of shoes.

Third, all kitchen appliances have vanished. Keep a box of matches, a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a handful of onions, a dish of dried beans. Rescue the moldy potatoes from the garbage can: those are tonight's meal.

Fourth, dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, take out the wiring and the lights and everything that runs by electricity.

Fifth, take away the house and move the family into the tool shed.

Sixth, no more postman, fireman, government services. The two-classroom school is three miles away, but only two of your seven children attend anyway, and they walk.

Seventh, throw out your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, insurance policies. You now have a cash hoard of $5.

Eighth, get out and start cultivating your three acres. Try hard to raise $300 in cash crops because your landlord wants one third and your moneylender 10 percent.

Ninth, find some way for your children to bring in a little extra money so you have something to eat most days. But it won't be enough to keep bodies healthy--so lop off 25 to 30 years of life.

Geez... I can't even get my kid's to bring me the remote...

Finish what you've started

I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me and we all could use more calm in our lives. By following the simple advice I heard on a Dr. Phil show or Dr. Laura or Dr. Ruth... I can't remember whose show now. Anyway, I have finally found inner peace.

The Dr. proclaimed that the way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started. I didn't finish watching the show, but decided to follow such profound advice. I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished. So, before leaving the house this morning I finished off a bottle of Merlot, and a bottle of Bailey's, a package of Oreos, the remainder of a Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some saltines and a box of twinkies.

You have no idea how freaking good I feel. ;-) Hmmm... maybe the Master I should be following is Jesus.

Tsunami observations

Has anyone noticed a marked difference in the amount of "spiritual" coverage of the tsunami tragedy than there was after 9/11? It seems that much of America was asking questions of faith and trying to find spiritual answers after the 9/11 attacks (at least as the news covered it), but I have seen very little in comparison after the much larger tragic events of the tsunami.

Just got me pondering why that may be. I'd love to hear your insights or just to have you tell me I've been watching the wrong stations...

In the meantime, don't fall into sloppy Christian rhetoric when the discussions come up in your circles of influence. Wisdom is right there beside you.