Wants and needs

Hello blog family,
I read this quote a couple of days ago and it has really stayed with me and impacted my thoughts in a positive way. So many times throughout my day I find myself wishing and wanting for things I don't have, things that we could survive just fine without. There is always something we "need." Do we really "need" it? I've been thinking about people who have no clean water and wonder where their next meal will come from. People who in different nations who will never have a fraction of what we have. It is then that I realize how blessed we actually are.

My kids are so fortunate! They have never known to need, only to want. As they get older we explain that the things they have should not be taken for granted. I remind them that there are some kids who have nothing. (Not to make them feel guilty, but to make them aware and make them feel compassion for those who have less.) When my kids get new toys we collect the old toys and we give them to church or we find families we can give them to. It's my goal to raise children who don't have an entitlement complex and seek to help others.

My goal is not to get wrapped up in worldly things, like money and possessions. These things rule our lives. You have to have money to live, you use the money to by stuff, that stuff is never enough so you buy more stuff. It's a constant chase to have better stuff than the stuff you had originally. Breaking this chain, of course, is no easy obstacle. "I myself am completely flawed stitched together with good intentions."

Bye for now,
Sante