My sweet Aunt Barbara died a few months ago. She was sick a long time and died at Carlene's house under hospice care. Barbara Lou had made all the necessary arrangements so when that fateful day came all Mom had to do was make one phone call. The funeral home came and got her, cremated her and then mailed her "cremains" to her daughter in Alabama. Done!
Well except for one thing, all the crap she left behind. They emptied her storage unit and now it fills the room at Mom's house that Barbara use to live in.
So preparing for heaven to me means throwing away my crap today. If you begin thinking like this you will see that your house is filled with STUFF that just takes up space. George Carlin has a great perspective on how we place such importance on our "STUFF". (For all you 20 somethings reading this, George Carlin was a famous comedian in the late 60's and early 70's. You can see him on www.youtube.com)
When Glory came to visit in November she noted that I was a project starter but not a finisher. I know that. But in preparing for heaven in 2007 I feel I need to finish the projects I have started around the house.
I need to make lists of what needs to be done with my left overs after I am gone. I think the term for that is Last Will and Testement. I need to squander my money so that I have nothing to leave my family and friends but my house. Who wants my house, it comes with a dog and 11 cats?
Don't worry, I'm not dying soon but I think about it a lot. My current goal is to out live my pets.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Ps. 139
7 comments:
Okay, that means no more pet collecting, and NO MORE fabric collecting!!!!!!
Hi, I was doing a little blog surfing when I came across your page. I completely understood this post. It reminds me of something I blogged about last month. People collect way too many things in life.
Heaven:
An Amish boy and his father were visiting a nearby mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny silver walls that moved apart and back together again by themselves.
The lad asked, "What is this, father?"
The father (having never seen an elevator) responded, "I have no idea what it is."
While the boy and his father were watching wide-eyed, an old lady in a wheelchair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched as small circles lit up above the walls.
The walls opened up again and a beautiful twenty-four-year-old woman stepped out.
The father looked at his son anxiously and said, "Go get your mother."
Baby Dave
Here's a realists joke about heaven:
If I got rid of all the junk in my house, had a big garage sale (Saturday, Feb. 10th from 8 - 2), and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into heaven?" I asked the children in my Sunday school class.
"NO!" the children all answered.
"If I cleaned my house every day, mowed the yard, and finished all my projects, would that get me into heaven?"
Once more they all answered, "NO!"
"Well, then, if I was kind to animals and loved my family, would that get me into heaven?" I asked them again.
Once more they all answered, "NO!"
Thinking they were a good bit more theologically sophisticated than I had given them credit for I asked, "Well, then how can I get into heaven?"
A five-year-old boy shouted,
"YOU GOTTA BE DEAD!"
P.S. Everyone knows I AM NOT a realist. :)
You have a very funny family Catherine! I like your brothers comment! I don't have anything to put in your garage sale on Saturday. I actually do have tons of "junk", but I am too lazy to go through it. I have been meaning to have a garage sale for 7 years now! I feel the need to get rid of stuff too. So I just take it out of my house and put it in my garage and never step foot in the garage. Scary! Meghan has a raffle ticket for you to buy for $1.00. You can afford it if you skip Starbucks for one day! The raffle is for a quilt. More stuff for you to add to your stuff collection....
Catherine,
I just blogged about 89 lines of text and somehow managed to "lose" it to the blogosphere! :( Oh well, keep it simple, right? I agree with you whole-heartedly. I understand that you are not morbidly doing this, but with joy, knowing that you will bless yourself with less to take care of and you will be blessing others who will squeal with delight when they receive it! It is a win win.
Whenever someone says "Hmm... it's a small world, isn't it??" Ron, one of my 6 brothers always says this: "yeah, but I'd sure hate to paint it." I love that and never grow tired of him saying it! He understands and lives by "less is more" and counts the cost of doing things, pragmatically. (Plus, he has been my favorite brother all of my life...I know you're not supposed to have favorites, but it's okay with everyone in the family. They know I love them too!)
To wrap it up, I love to live with less and not buy a single thing I don't need. There is a freedom in it. Last year at this time, I bought a book called, SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE. I highly recommend it.
Can't wait to see you,
Laurel
Oh, Cathern. I love this blog. Prepare in 07 and it'll be great to still have you around in 08. I am impressed that you are trying to simplify. Baby Dave sucked me into his joke..HA!! I laighed out loud. Girl, it'll be years and years before I have to change your 100 pound fat ass pampers. Yes, Lord, grant her prayer to outlive those damn cats. Just hang on to some fabric to wrap them up and send them on. Actually, I want to see all of those critters and hope to avoid asthmania. Here's the deal.....while Lori is there, ya'll pick dates on the calendar for me to come for a trip. I think I need to fly and face my fear of flying in one of those smaller planes.
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