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...
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
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2 comments:
I think reminders of this are so important. Let us be grateful and with the grace of God go meet the needs of an unjust world.
P.S. You may have better luck training the dog to bring you the remote, at least dogs are loyal (:
Eric
My name is Brian Orme -I write for a few online zines and would like to do an email interview with you about your book. If you have the time just contact me at mjorme@aol.com and we can talk further...Thanks.
(brianorme.com)
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