Thou shall not....PINTEREST?!

Ok....I took a break from using my pinterest for about 2 weeks! I'll be honest, my pinterest wouldn't work for 2 weeks. It was a forced 'break' in the relationship, one which proved to be worthwhile! DO NOT EVER GET ME WRONG.....I LOVE PINTEREST but I felt a lot happier being away from it. WTHECK? I usually use it for party ideas, recipes, you know, the normal stuffs. However, I'm guilty of having 2 boards that are my 'I wish/want' and 'dream house'. As I got back on pinterest, I started to look at things differently again. What do I mean? All of a sudden, I wanted this or I wanted that. I'm looking forward to my 'one day house' and all that that includes! My house all of the sudden didn't seem as 'wow' as it was when we bought it and I felt like I appreciated it less b/c I was focused on the 'one day' and what somebody else has.

More importantly, what was that telling God? Thanks for my blessings but I'd rather have this...Really? I grew up in a single wide mobile home, (looked like this but all brown and no American flag)

then moved to a 2 bedroom apt, then a 3 until finally moving into a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,500 sq ft. home...modest beginnings. Before Zach and I were married, we bought a 4 bedroom, 2 bath room, almost 2200 sq ft, amazing home in a desired neighborhood. Over the years, I have loved this house and decorating it, painting, etc. I have noticed, the more I'm on pinterest, the more I want to keep changing my house. I'm all about pinning things that will help me better organize my home and things along those lines but when I'm pinning things like this:

DUH!! of course I'm going to be unhappy with my much smaller, needs new paint cabinets, messy kitchen! Who are we kidding....there is NO WAY this kitchen is ever used, look at it, PERFECT! and...who gets white chairs where food is being handled? Get real! :/ It was the most amazing time away from pinterest...my house was back to being perfect for me, everything about it, even the window sills my dog Kota chewed the corners off of (all of them). The Lord blessed me with an amazing husband, 2 perfect and happy kids, 2 sweet dogs, a roof over my head, a car that is reliable and safe, a supportive family and friends that are always there....what do I ever have to be less than appreciative of? Stop and think/look at how perfect your life actually is....I love looking at things from a higher more Godly (the best I can) perspective. 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. -James 1:17

 The Lord has given me all of these things and has led my life to this point, who am I to say, I'd rather have this or that? To me, my life is perfect, maybe not to other people but I'm refusing to be unhappy or always wanting to change something b/c of something I saw on a website/etc. 

Isn't the 10th commandment all about this?

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

Ok...maybe not about an ox or donkey...but you get the point? God wants us to be happy with the things we have and appreciate them all, we can't do that if we are constantly comparing and wanting. I'm guilty as can be and that's why it was so nice to free myself from that sin (the best I can). It was seriously like a weight was lifted off and I saw how amazing everything was again, just as it was before I discovered pinterest. I'm counting my blessings every day and even though I may not have what others have, I have exactly what I need, exactly what God wants me to have. 

Living in an area that was recently ranked in the top 10 of richest places in the nation, it is so very easy to get caught up in possessions. How big your house is, what you drive, what you wear, etc....it's sooo easy to get caught up. I occasionally picture myself in the BMW or Benz and then realize, those people could be completely miserable, a car can't bring happiness. DUH, I know, but it's so easy to forget that when focused on the wrong things, the worldly things. Truly, in the end, it's the people and the relationships, it's not about the tangible and keeping up with the Joneses (which stinks b/c my maiden name is Jones). 

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.- Psalm 37:4

I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live- Ecclesiastes 3:12

As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. -2 Corinthians 4:18

Moral of the story: I've been on a mission to declutter my life and home so I'm spending less time on things that don't actually matter in the long run and instead, focusing on where my heart is.  I'm choosing to be happy EVERYDAY with  EVERYTHING and body I have in my life. God blessed me with it and I am forever grateful b/c I know I don't deserve it but am appreciative of it all! Of all the sin I commit, this is one easy one that I'm saying 'no' to. I want to be the example of the happiness that God brings in life not the jealous, grump that is without the light. We are happy, healthy and all together....what more could I ask for? 

Thank you Lord for blessing me and I pray that you will help others see over the tangible world and know you are the bigger picture and you have blessed us all, if with nothing else, your love!