The irony of pregnancy

You have headaches often but can’t take aspirin.

You feel like a zombie but can only have 200 mg of caffeine. And coffee sounds disgusting anyway.

You’re overwhelmed by monthly checklists, diaper options and product reviews, but can’t have a drink.

You’re actually supposed to gain weight by eating more, but nothing sounds appealing.

You need new clothes but have no idea what size you are and 80% of stores that sell maternity clothes only have them online.

That last one is the one I’m struggling with.

Buying maternity clothes has been one of the things I’ve looked forward to most about pregnancy. A valid reason to buy more clothes? Heck yes!

But the frugal side of me wants to find good deals, make sure I love the things I buy and try my best to not duplicate things I already have (pre-pregnancy or otherwise). Needless to say, it made my head spin a bit yesterday.

So I decided that I needed to plan a wardrobe and not just buy random pieces that I happened to like (yes, I do overthink things). I pasted screenshots into a Publisher file and finally narrowed it down to the things that I want to buy (at least for now).

 

Most of the pieces are from Old Navy, some are from Target and a few from Kohl’s (but I plan on buying pants in person, with the exception of those adorable green ones!).

But since I don’t have $360 to spend all at once, I narrowed my list down to $150 (which is my Blow Money amount) for this month. Pants are my most urgently needed item so I bought the green pants from Old Navy and will look for a pair of black and tan dress pants this week or weekend (planning to spend about $35 on each). After much deliberation, I decided to also buy the black maternity tank, camel sweater, and taupe dress top from Old Navy. And that will probably be it for this month (assuming everything fits well, that is).

I’ve been hesitant to go buy pants because the used maternity store I want to go to is only open Monday – Saturday 10 am – 5:30 pm. I’d really like to see what the prices are like and if it’s even worth shopping there, but I can’t find out until Saturday. But I can probably survive until then.

In other news, our Ford Focus, which we’ve been driving “until it dies” is on its way out. I went to start it on Monday and nothing. It’s working again now but Travis is very skeptical of its reliability. We know we need a new car eventually (the Focus is a 2001 with almost 170,000 miles) and we’re thinking we might as buy it now rather than wait (since the Focus has been sketchy for several months now – it’s not the first time it hasn’t started). So this weekend will probably also involve car shopping in addition to maternity clothes shopping. We’ve pretty much decided that we want a certified pre-owned Ford Escape with a V6. It will definitely be the nicest car either of us has ever owned. I’m pretty excited!

Clothes and Couches.

Clothes

Our care group is having a little BBQ this Saturday and since it’s supposed to be 84 degrees, I’m planning to wear my new dress:

I LOVE this dress. It’s so comfy, casual and for some reason, I’m smitten with the orange/tan color combo.

As for the trendy vs. timeless pants, longevity and comfort are the winners this time.

The skinny jeans fit me well… standing up.

But they’re a little iffy for bending over or sitting down, meaning I’d always have to wear a belt. And since I don’t like being limited like that…

Dress pants it is.

The dress pants are the Aubrey cut from Gap (a quick Google search shows that they’re either only available at Gap outlet or have been renamed). They’re the perfect size in both the waist and hips (hard to find!), perfect length to wear with either heels or flats, and they’re machine washable. Best part, I got them for 50% off. I feel like $30 for nice dress pants is a very reasonable price.

After much contemplating, I mailed my “marathon shirt” back yesterday. I did exchange it for a large and while it fit better, it was still really long and a little tighter than I would prefer:

One of my friends is an amazing seamstress (I was going to write “sewer”, but somehow that didn’t seem right…) and I was thinking about asking her to shorten the shirt 2-3 inches. But the more I thought about it, it’s just not the right shirt. So back it went, much to our wallet’s delight.

Speaking of our wallet, I have not bought and am no longer planning to buy a Garmin just yet. A new pair of running shoes had to come first (somehow, they seemed more essential) and our Alaska trip has pretty much eliminated any wiggle room beyond that in our budget. But it’s a small price to pay for the trip of a lifetime.

So what am I planning to wear for the marathon? Well, after way too much thought and deliberation, I’ve (almost) decided to go with this short-sleeve shirt if it’s a warm day:

 Malibu Half 2010

Or this shirt if it’s chilly:

On the bottom, I’ll wear my pink running skirt over my 2XU compression tights. The other bottom option I’ve been thinking about is my running skirt over my Aspaeris compression shorts (just in case compression tights would be too warm) but then I’d want to wear compression socks and not only would that be more $$ to spend, I’m not sure it would be any cooler than the tights in the first place. I’ll probably change my mind 10 more times before the race and end up bringing along 5 different options anyway. Le sigh. #firstworldproblems

Travis laughs whenever I bring up the majorly important and hard decision of what I’m going to wear during the marathon. “When I ran my marathon {Twin Cities 2006},” he said, “the night before the race, I realized that I didn’t have a drifit shirt. My roommate said he had one I could borrow, and that’s what I wore.”

Boys.

Couches

We are LOVING our new couches that we got from our friends who just sold their house to travel around the country:

You almost can’t even see Charlie on the loveseat… but she’s there. All. the. time. Luckily, besides a minor mishap (looking at you Katy) in the first 36 hours, the couches have remained intact. But the dogs still lick them every chance they get. ?!?!?

School’s out for summer!

I get to leave work at 12:45 today. And because it’s sunny and almost 60 degrees outside, I feel like a kid getting out of school for the summer. I have been looking forward to this all week long – it’s the little things in life.

I am so excited to go on a run in the warm daylight, and still enjoy a full night of relaxation afterward. This week has been crazy and this afternoon will be Glorious.

I just have to make it through a call about life insurance with our financial planner…

You might know that I don’t do anything with money except spend it. All things financial bore me to tears and anger. When I announced last night that I was going to bed, Travis started talking to me about life insurance. Nope, not talking about this now. See ya.

Travis asked me again this morning when would be a good time to have our phone call. I couldn’t keep my eyes from rolling. The last thing I want to do on my glorious day of freedom is talk about money. 

But, in an effort to be grateful for a husband that cares about things like life insurance and kindly doesn’t ask me to be involved unless legally necessary, I will allow the phone call to infringe. I realize it’s not necessarily a good thing that I don’t want to be involved in our financial situation, but I don’t think you’d want to be involved in something that made you want to poke out your eyes with sharp objects either. (And no, I am not being overly dramatic at all.)

After the call of gloom, I will skip happily and merrily into my free afternoon of running and reading! I might even paint my toenails with the fun purple color I bought a couple weeks ago…

What are you up to this fine Friday? Do you like talking about finances and future planning?

New Running Gear!

Even though my family is wonderfully generous and I got lots of great presents for Christmas, I didn’t get any running stuff (which was secretly what I wanted the most, but it’s also the hardest to buy for someone else so I totally understand why they bought other things).

So after thinking long and hard about the running gear that I would most like right now, and shopping around for the most reasonable prices (I think I can only handle spending $100 on running tights once in my life), I bought the following:

Underarmour Coldgear Compression Tights – $49.99

For every run I’ve gone on that’s been colder than 40 degrees, I’ve worn Smartwool long underwear under my regular running pants. It works but the long underwear doesn’t stretch at all and I don’t like having to wear 2 layers. So hopefully these will solve my dilemma.

I bought a medium because that’s almost always what my size is, but according to my waist/hip measurements and their size chart, I would be an XXL. So I’m crossing my fingers that they’re the ones on crack, not me.

Nike Windproof 1/2 Zip Jacket – on sale for $29.23!

I’ve been wanting a running jacket for a while but am so cheap that I almost pass out every time I look at their price tags. {Side note: What happened to me?!?!} This jacket is cute, on sale, windproof and water resistant (which is all I need because I don’t usually run when it’s pouring outside). I also bought a medium in this.

I’ll let you know how I like them after they come and I have a chance to try them out.

I haven’t tried out my new shoes yet because I was a big lazy butt last night and this morning. I watched Sweet Home Alabama on TV (love that movie!) and then slept in until 7. I’ve just been so tired this week – I don’t know what my deal is. Usually, I’m wide awake once I get up but this week, I get up late after getting 8+ hours of sleep and still want to go straight back to bed.

Anyway, I’m going for my run after work today. And I’m actually excited because it’s supposed to be about 45 degrees and almost all of the snow we had has melted, which means no more slipping, sliding and accidentally stepping in ankle deep puddles.

What is the most important thing for you to have/wear on cold runs?

The giveaway winner is…

Based on the order of comments and random.org’s selection, the winner of my 400th blog post giveaway is…

One Bad Mamma Jamma!

Please email your address to me at specialkkluthe [at] gmail [dot] com and I will send you your prize! Thanks to all of you for commenting!

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A few of you asked me to talk more about what gear I like for running. It’s really not that exciting but since you asked…

Shirts

I’m pretty boring and cheap because I usually wear the tech shirts that I have gotten from either races I worked last year or done myself. My favorite shirts are the ones I got from the Heart and Sole Half Marathon last year, Denver Rock ‘n’ Roll this year, and the Steamboat Springs Oly this year. The main reason I love those is that they’re a women’s size – usually races just offer unisex sizing and the smalls are still too big. But with the women’s sizing, a medium fits perfectly. So if you’re looking for tech shirts, or doing a race that offers women’s sizes, go for the women’s if you like a tighter fit.

Of the few shirts I have actually bought for running, I really like the Under Armour shirt that I bought last year when training for the Malibu half marathon:

It’s so cute that I wear it around even when I’m not exercising and the length is perfect so that it never rides up. It’s also a wicking fabric and dries really fast, which is good when you’re hiking in the Smoky Mountains and look like this at the top:

(I was dry by the time we got back to the car.)

I also have three long-sleeve tech shirts (yes, only three) – one is Nike (and has taken a beating!), one is Alpine Design from Sports Authority (I’m wearing it in the Denver RnR picture below, along with a fleece vest that is literally falling apart), and another is from a race we put on last year (and it’s bigger, so it’s my least favorite but it still works).

Something I will be intentional about looking for on running clothes in the future is reflective detailing. My New Balance Capris (below) and Alpine Design shirt both have reflective elements and when I was wearing them on a little-too-late run with Travis the other night, it was nice knowing that I was more visible to cars.

Shorts/Pants

The bottoms that I wear most often for running are spandex shorts and pants – like the Adidas shorts I wore for the half marathon above (similar to these) or the 2XU compression tights I wore for the Denver Rock ‘n’ Roll.

There are a few things that I’m not thrilled about with the shorts and tights – the shorts don’t stay completely down (they would need to either be tighter like tri shorts or have elastic at the bottom of each leg) and the 2XU compression tights, while amazing and worth the money, are a little short. Instead of being full-length pants, they’re about 5 inches above my ankle. Not a huge deal, just a little annoying. But both options beat the feeling of shorts riding up! And there’s much less chance of chafing when you’re wearing form-fitting clothing for long workouts – always a good thing.

My latest obsession is the pair of New Balance capris I got for my birthday.

I love those capris. They’re perfect for fall runs in the 40s and 50s where you want something more than shorts but don’t quite need pants either. There is a pocket on the inside front, as well as the back outside. I stored my car key in the back pocket for a run once and it actually worked really well.

I also have a pair of Nike DriFit pants that I found on clearance when I first started running in 2006 (they’re still good!) and a pair of Puma running pants that I got out of lost and found last year (hey, no one had claimed them!).

Shoes

My mantra with shoes is “Don’t mess with a good thing.” So for the past 3 years, I’ve worn the Nike Zoom Structure Triax. These were the blue ones I had before I got pink ones:

Now the shoes are all fancy.

Sports Bras

As far as sports bras go, I am still in search of one that actually impresses me with how well it holds the girls down. I’ve heard raving reviews of Moving Comfort bras – to the order of “They don’t bounce at all!” Well, I beg to differ. The Juno bra that I bought did do more than an average bra, and I did wear it for an Olympic triathlon and do fine but still, there was bounce-age. I tried on the Fiona bra as well and it was laughable how much it didn’t do. For $52, you think they could do a little better than that. One day, I might check out the granny bras from Enell. But that day is not today.

Heart Rate Monitor

The heart rate monitor I have is the Polar F6 Green Tea.

I’ve been very pleased with it – my only regret is that I can’t record splits. If/when I get a new heart rate monitor, I will make sure to get one with that capability.

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Anyway, if you haven’t noticed, I don’t spend a ton of money on running gear… I would like to because Nike and Under Armour have some seriously cute stuff. But I only have so much money to divide between race fees, racing equipment, and athletic apparel so I have to look at my running wardrobe as something I accumulate over time. The next thing I would like to get is a jacket for running in the fall, winter and rain.

So now you’re up to date on my running gear. Did I mention Body Glide is a runner’s best friend ever? That stuff is awesome. Buy it. Use it. You’ll thank me later.

What’s your favorite piece of running gear? 

Nifty Thrifty

For some reason, when we returned from our Labor Day trip to North Carolina, I had the wild hair to go to the thrift store and found some great deals. I kept forgetting to take pictures until last night. Here for your viewing pleasure:

2 pairs of pants, 2 skirts, a dress plus a couple of Christmas decorations = $40.

I wore this to my cousin’s wedding at the beginning of October with a black sequined sleeveless shirt, a 3/4 sleeve sweater that matched the blue/purple color, black tights and black boots.

This I wore to my sister-in-law’s baby shower with brown leggings, brown boots and a brown belt.

These pants are from J. Crew and are my best find of all. They fit me well, they’re comfy and they’re very fall-y.

I also really like these jeans from Banana Republic. They’re wide leg so very roomy and comfy. The only drawback is that they’re a size bigger than I would normally buy so I have to wash them often or else they’re a little too big.

I didn’t take an individual pic of the gray skirt but it’s from Old Navy and hits right above the knee. Nice and modest for work (and who am I kidding, I feel exposed with anything shorter that I wear without tights… I’m getting so old and stuffy!) The dress and other skirt were no-name brands.

Unfortunately, I don’t really have any trick or tips to finding good deals. Except maybe find a thrift or discount store that consistently has good stuff? That’s been my secret. Also, be prepared to comb the racks. Patience is golden.

And my latest find…

Skinny jeans. (worn with a top I also found at the thrift store)

I wore them to work today with my calf-high brown boots – on the outside! First time I’ve ever been able to do that. I don’t feel quite as poser-ish as I had initially thought I would. But I do feel slightly poser-ish. I think, for me, it’s because I would never have bought skinny jeans, except that they practically allow me to tuck my jeans into my boots. Not that I have anything against them – clearly. I’m just not a person who really wears trends unless I really like them. I do like these jeans though – they’re like 18% spandex so they’re very comfy. And good to have for holiday season.

Do you shop at thrift stores? What’s the best thing you’ve found?

In a nutshell… Boots!

This is a strange feeling – being rested on a Monday.

How did that happen? By following my plan of relaxing Friday night, doing (7 loads of) laundry Saturday and cleaning Sunday. It worked beautifully.

The weekend in a nutshell:

Friday

“Cooked” a frozen pizza for dinner.

Researched boots online for 2 hours.

Gave up finding cute, warm boots.

Watched Parenthood.

 

Saturday

Had coffee with Cathy.

Scored cute winter boots (detailed below).

Started laundry (insert between each of the following).

Returned overdue books.

Bought groceries.

Read.

Napped.

Read.

Walked the dogs.

Enjoyed girls’ night (we watched a Bollywood movie – love it!).

 

Sunday

Went to church.

Cleaned and tidied house.

Vacuum-sealed the last of the elk meat.

Read.

Napped.

Spend time with God in prayer.

Went to the church potluck and meeting.

Watched Desperate Housewives.

 

There were other things I was tempted to do – clean this, put away that, weed out this drawer, organize that closet. But I didn’t. Instead, I intentionally stuck to my plan and while laundry was being laundered, I laid on the couch and read my book (right now, it’s We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates). And I am so glad that I gave myself that permission. I feel refreshed and rejuvenated today – but probably also because of my great time with God yesterday and today. I’ll blog about that later this week.

First things first – I am way more exciting about my new winter boots than I am about the details of elk hunting so I’m pushing hunting pics out until tomorrow.

So the story behind these boots is that the only pair of real winter boots I own are too small for me (and I won’t wear them in public). I got them a LONG time ago (high school?). The boots I have been wearing for the past 7 years are a pair of fashion boots that I bought while working at a department store in college. They don’t have any insulation and they are only kinda-sorta waterproof. So while I have worn them for snowshoeing, tromping around in the snow, and they have been very loyal to me, I’m not going to lie – my feet get pretty cold wearing them. As in, very cold. No insulation = no warmth.

Travis’ cousin emailed us to say that he could get a great discount on new Columbia gear through the store he works at, but only through the end of the month. So I started looking at Columbia boots, and quickly discovered all of the cute ones only had 200 g of Thinsulate! (Travis said that 400 g would be a bare minimum.) Don’t these people know that a lot of women want to be warm and cute? (And actually, Columbia only carries one boot with more than 200 g of Thinsulate that I could see). As I looked at other brands, those too were only 200 g. The only warm boots I could find looked so… booty. Do cute, warm boots exist anywhere? 

I didn’t want to spend $150, or even $100, or heck even $50 on boots I wouldn’t want to wear in public. I mean, how often do I go elk hunting or snowshoeing – twice a year, combined? I needed boots I could wear casually around town and not look like a goober. Anyway, after 2 hours of unfruitful searching (although I did really love these, but they didn’t have my size – single tear), I decided to just go to Dick’s Sporting Goods to try on boots in person.

And wouldn’t you know, on the 75% off clearance table, like a beacon of light, I saw these gems:

So comfy. So cute. So warm. So CHEAP.

Originally $149. I got them for $40.76. 

Since they were on clearance, I couldn’t find out how much insulation they had. I tried to look it up on Travis’ phone while we were in the store but to no avail, since they are no longer being made by Sorel (why, I don’t know because I have read nothing but rave reviews of them online). I tried on a bunch of other boots and felt “eh” about them. Plus, these were so cheap. And Sorel has a reputation for making a very high-quality, long-lasting boot. (In fact, that’s what brand my old-boots-that-I-won’t-wear are.)

We decided it was too sweet of a deal to pass up. Plus, their clearance items are returnable so I figured I could do a little more research on them and if I found a bunch of bad reviews, I could just return them. But the reviews are all good so I think they’re keepers.

I heart finding clearance deals, especially for things I would have paid full price for.

So if you have any questions about winter boots, I am now your expert.

What do you wear on your feet during the winter?

Fashionistas Sweat Too…

Hi friends!  While Kathy’s away in Minnesota (which I am so excited about because it means I get to see her in person!), I am stopping by to say hi from B. in the Know.

Now, I am a huge fan of fashion.  Hence the whole writing about fashion daily.  But just because one enjoys fashion, does not mean giving up being active.  And with that, being active does not mean having to give up looking stylish.  We mustn’t be afraid of the sweat – that extra glow can add to the look.  Plus, doesn’t every fashionista want to stay healthy?!  Well, that means it is time to break a sweat.

I am personally a huge fan of yoga.  I like to include Sculpt (yoga with weights), Vinyasa, and then a little dance mixed in (have you tried Zumba yet? It is one of my favorite classes – an hour to shake your hips and dance?!  Yes, please).  It is a good combination that works well for my body since I do not have the world’s greatest knees (thank you stunting and tumbling…aka competitive cheerleading) for running, and let’s be completely honest – I’ve never loved to run.  It was not an instant discovery of what was best for me, but I am so glad that I kept looking for that form of working out that was great for me – because now I go because I want to be there, not out of obligation. I get the workout my body needs, but also leave feeling oddly rested and refueled because it is something I love.

One thing that has also been a bonus to doing yoga is discovering all of these wonderful yoga clothes – workout clothes that are cute – who knew?!  There is the obvious brand that sticks out (Lululemon), but my personal favorite would have to be Prana.  A couple other great places I always look for clothes are REI, Midwest Mountaineering (a local Minneapolis store), Victoria’s Secret (love their yoga pants – and they’re way better priced than some alternatives), Lucy, and even GAP.  I have found that having cute clothes to wear while working out helps me enjoy it more.  I used to do the whole baggy t-shirt look but it made me feel frumpy, and honestly, it got in the way of the poses.  So, slowly (which was important, in order to not blow the budget), I started weeding out t-shirts and replacing them with cute workout tops – and now, I would never go back.  The movement is easier, better, and all around more enjoyable.

Do you invest in any of your workout clothes?  What sport or activity do you like to do?  Is there a specific style for that?

Thanks for letting me say hi!  You’re welcome anytime over at my normal home!

Much love,

B

Photo credits 1, 2, & 3

Thwarted again.

Yesterday, I finally biked to work for the first time ever. I had forgotten to bring my clothes to work the day before so I had to bring a big backpack with my clothes, toiletries and makeup, bike lock, lunch, and towel (I wasn’t sure the locker room had ones that contractors could use – we kind of get the shaft around here – but they do). So my backpack was a little on the heavy side but it has the straps that go around the waist and across the chest so it didn’t move around too much.

I only took 2 wrong turns, which were quickly corrected. I’m sure that I would’ve been very lost if I hadn’t driven the route beforehand so that I knew generally where I was supposed to be going. The part that was the most confusing was being on the bike trails (though it was also the most enjoyable because there were no cars to worry about).

The most notable part of the ride? The hills. Holy crap. I got dominated. It was sheer grit and stubbornness that got me up those hills. (For those of you who are intense bikers, you probably think I’m a wuss to whine about a 3% grade that lasts for 1.5 miles but for me, it was hard! It probably didn’t help that I had done squats and lunges for the first time in 5-6 months the day before and woke up very sore.) According to MapMyRun, there are two main climbs on this route: on Carr Street (above) and then on Simms Street (below).

Carr Street was the shorter, but steeper of the two. I was huffing and puffing and seriously considered walking my bike. But I didn’t. This is when doing endurance sports is purely mental. Your entire body is saying STOP but you keep pushing. It was nice to have a bike lane on this hill, just in case I was a swerving spaz.

 The hill on Simms was not so kind to me though. Giant hill, no shoulder (see pic – though it doesn’t do the hill justice). As cars were whizzing by at 50 mph and I was trying to not swerve either in front of one or into the gravel shoulder, I was repeating Jerry Seinfeld’s bit on scuba diving to myself: “Just don’t die… don’t die, don’t die, don’t die… there’s a rock, there’s a fish, who cares… just don’t die…” 

I didn’t die. And I made it to work on time, though it took me 1:13:25 to go 13.8 miles.

But when it came time to bike home, this was the sky:

I was still going to bike home, even after Travis told me it was raining in Golden. It wasn’t raining in Broomfield at that very moment so my stubbornness kicked in and I decided it would be an adventure.

I had just gotten my sweaty bike gear back on (note to self: don’t forget to bring an extra sports bra to work next time! EW!) when Travis called back and told me about tree limbs being ripped off, flash flood warnings, 40 mph gusts, and rain everywhere. “I’d feel a lot better coming to pick you up,” he said. “FINE!” I raged.

Let me explain my horrid reaction: My sensible self appreciated my husband’s concern and willingness to drive 30 minutes one way to come pick me and my little ole bike up. My nonsensical self wanted to bike home at all costs. I had been thwarting in my first attempt at biking to work and now this? I would not allow it. Sensibility (and my husband) won the day. And I will say that I was very happy (later) that I did not bike home. It would’ve been miserable and probably deterred me from ever riding my bike in to work again.

While we were up in that neighborhood with the car, I suggested we get Chick-Fil-A for dinner. So we did. It was delicious (though I’ll warn you to not get their Chicken Caesar wrap if you don’t like massive amounts of Parmesan cheese – I like it but not that much so I ended up eating only 3/4 of it).

After tidying up the house in preparation for cleaning it tonight for our BBQ tomorrow, I went to DSW and finally bought my new sandals!

After trying on something like 15 different pairs and styles, I decided these would work well with both black and brown tones, they have a slight heel and some good cushioning (advice from my friend B), and they’re freaking cute. They do feel very different than flip flops, since there’s nothing to hold the front of my foot in, but I’m sure I’ll get used to them.

I saw a few of the different options I had been looking at online in the store but after trying them on, realized that they either didn’t fit my foot well or I didn’t like how they “wore”. So I’m glad I went to the store instead of buying online! That’s generally the way I operate. I usually only buy stuff online after trying it on in a store. But I do make exceptions if it means I get a good deal and free shipping.

Here’s a pic of my feet in my new sandals:

LOVE!

Keeping an Eternal Perspective: Clothing

{This is the second installment of this weekly series.}

For the past several years, I’ve been wrestling through the practical implications of my faith in Christ. If I say I desire to glorify God and that He’s my greatest treasure, what effect will those declarations have on what I buy, how I spend my time, and what my goals are? While God has given me a lot of insight and I am more at peace about these things that I was before, I still struggle with feeling guilty for buying new clothes, spending 6 hours a week training instead of volunteering, and doing things I enjoy just for pleasure’s sake.

Last weekend while we were backpacking {sorry that I haven’t posted pics yet – last night was busy!}, I had some time Sunday morning to sit alone with my Bible. The passage in Matthew 6 caught my eye:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! ”No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

These verses showed me the following:

1. God gave me these convictions – I didn’t come up with them on my own.

Ever since I started to analyze my motives and why I do certain things and don’t do other things, God has been changing the way I look at the world. It started out as guilt from buying another $25 t-shirt that I didn’t need when that same money would buy food for a month for a kid over in Africa. It morphed into guilt from doing anything with my time that I alone enjoyed – I was convinced that that was the epitome of selfishness. I couldn’t escape the guilt. It was everywhere. A caramel macchiato from Starbuck’s. A pedicure. A good book. A nap.

But looking at these convictions a different way, I see them as God’s way of inviting me into a life of infinite joy (to quote C.S. Lewis again) – a life of love, selflessness, freed from the snares of material possessions and keeping up with the joneses. He has given me a desire for a simple life:

• to wear the clothes I own
• to make wise purchases (after researching options nonetheless!)
• to fully use everything I do spend money on (and make sure I’ll fully use it before buying it)
• to treat my possessions well so that they last
• to only replace things when they need replacing
• to make the effort to be creative in making things last longer

Anyone who knew me in college would not recognize the girl writing this post today. I am that different in my approach toward money. And God has shown me that this is His work in my life, refocusing my attention on things that are unseen and eternal, rather than things that are seen and transient.

Oswald Chambers’ devotional yesterday said it perfectly:

God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have patience. Just think of the enormous amount of free time God has! He is never in a hurry. Yet we are always in such a frantic hurry. While still in the light of the glory of the vision, we go right out to do things, but the vision is not yet real in us. God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision. Ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work. He is getting us into the shape of the goal He has for us, and yet over and over again we try to escape from the Sculptor’s hand in an effort to batter ourselves into the shape of our own goal.The vision that God gives is not some unattainable castle in the sky, but a vision of what God wants you to be down here. Allow the Potter to put you on His wheel and whirl you around as He desires. Then as surely as God is God, and you are you, you will turn out as an exact likeness of the vision. But don’t lose heart in the process. If you have ever had a vision from God, you may try as you will to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never allow it.

It has been a long, hard struggle to get to where I am in accepting that God is in this. That God is calling me to a simple lifestyle and to give up caring about fashion, money, beauty, decorating, etc.

That said…

2. Sanctification looks differently for everyone.

I have just recently realized this on an even deeper level. For so long, I had been frustrated with feeling guilty for shopping “just because” because I had a list of reasons why I believed I could shop in faith. We tithed every month, I wasn’t spending an extravagant amount of money, and the biggest one, I saw other Christian women doing it. If they could do it, why couldn’t I?

A recent situation opened my eyes. There is a young married couple at our church whose wedding I attended. The toasts given by their families and friends all praised this couple for being very godly and strong in their faith. The time I had spent around them in a group setting seemed to agree with those assessments. I viewed this couple as two people who “had it together,” especially in their approach to money (which moved them up a notch in my book). Then I spent some time one-on-one with the woman and heard about their marital struggles, ones very common to young married couples. I realized that they were just human too.

And that got me thinking… those women with the latest fashions at church – I don’t know what’s going on in their hearts. They very well might be able to buy new clothes in faith, but that also could be an area of their lives that God hasn’t yet refined and sanctified.

All that to say, I can’t judge which of the Spirit’s promptings I’m going to follow or not based on what other people are doing. Oswald Chambers’ devotion for June 28 says, “At first, Jesus Christ through His Spirit has to restrain you from doing a great many things that may be perfectly right for everyone else but not right for you.” These things that I have been fighting may be perfectly right for others to do, but not me. I have to pay attention to my personal convictions.

All this time, I had wanted to go back to the way things were before. I was rejecting this new way to live. Instead of viewing it as God’s invitation to me into greater, deeper joy resulting from letting go of materialism and my own assessment of What I Should Be Able to Do With Christian Freedom, I had been fighting it and thinking there was something wrong with me, since I was struggling with this and no one else was. But as I drove to work yesterday, I realized that in doing that, I was assuming that I should be “above that.” I should be above materialism and selfishly using my time for myself. Well guess what? I’m not. God wasn’t fooled for one moment either. He knew all along what I’m really like on the inside. The joke’s on me.

3. For me, buying new things should be the exception and not the rule.

You remember my sandal post from a while back? I still haven’t bought any. I can’t decide which ones I want. Actually, I had decided which ones I wanted but then they were out of my size. Boo. I just don’t want to buy the wrong ones and then regret my decision. So I’m at a standstill on that one.

But I don’t feel guilty about wanting those sandals. The difference between this purchase and other past purchases that have given me guilt is that: 1) I’ve been wanting these sandals since I started my new job 2 months ago and 2) They wouldn’t be just another version of something I already have 10 of. So those are my new guidelines for purchases (notice that I said guidelines, not rules): Wait until I know of something I would really like and would be very useful to me. Research the options and pray for the Spirit to convict me if I shouldn’t buy them. Go purchase said item sans guilt. My other strategy is to mention all of the things I would like to Travis “just in case someone asks what I’d like for my birthday.”

My cousin is getting married on July 30th and I’ve been thinking about buying a new dress for the occasion. I might go peruse a thrift store to see if there’s anything good but otherwise, I feel like the best decision would be to wear a dress I already own – I have one that is great for summer weddings and I’ve only worn once or twice.

Oh and I’ll wear my new sandals. (I’m going to go look at some tonight.)

What does all of this have to do with keeping an eternal perspective?

For me, the question underlying all of this is: Where does my happiness lie? Is my happiness wrapped up in having cute clothes? Or is it in knowing that Christ died for me and I’m going to heaven someday? Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? When I see a chunk of my paycheck every month going to our church, Campus Outreach, and our Compassion child, am I thankful to God for allowing me to participate in growing His kingdom? Or do I wish I could use that money to go on a trip to Hawaii?

Christ didn’t say to store up treasures in heaven instead of on earth just because that’s a good thing to do, or because they really need more treasures up there. Instead, He said this: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” God knows our humanity. He knows that we focus on what we treasure. So He says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” He wants us to keep an eternal perspective.