For tech heads like me, this week is one of those times when I am better off not looking at Facebook, Twitter or my news feed.  Out in the mystical land of California two major tech events are happening…WWDC and E3.  Not a tech person?  Well, both of these events are where everything new and shiny that will be coming to a store near you is being displayed for the first time.  Having children and better goals for my money has forced me to get off the upgrade treadmill that most technology companies perpetuate.

This post isn’t all about tech though, it is about consumerism and materialism.  There is nothing wrong with having stuff.  I love my stuff!  But at some point your stuff can switch from being helpful, productive, and enjoyable to owning you.  That’s why I love this quote from Maurice Sendak, “There must be more to life than having everything.”

Think about it for a moment.  Has a lot of the technology that was supposed to make life awesome really made it any better?  Are you having to work so hard to pay for all your stuff that you barely even get to enjoy it? The quote comes from Sendak’s book Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or, There Must Be More To Life.  The book is a reminder that chasing after the next material object can sometimes get us in trouble.  We live in a country where so many have gotten into trouble chasing after the “American Dream.”

My wife and I have been in our home since 2007.  When we moved into our 2000+ square foot home from our 700 square foot apartment we thought it would take forever to fill it up.  Those first few years we rattled around in the house but now, with children, we are looking for ways to create more storage space.  We have been selling items on Craigslist and eBay but stuff seems to rule our lives right now.  In the greater context of the world we live in, we have everything, but we also realize there is more to life than the abundance of stuff that we have been blessed with.

We have been working to purge excess items from our life so we have more resources to help others and the time and ability to do good things.  What about you?  Are you the master of your stuff or is it mastering you?  We are all abundantly blessed to live in one of the greatest countries in the world.  It’s worth pausing every now and then to evaluate what we are doing with this great blessing we enjoy.  If you’d like to explore this thought a bit more I would suggest one of my favorite sites – Unclutterer.com

Today in the family worship guide I kick off a new series of study for the summer.  We will be walking through the life of David.  This 12 part series will take us all the way through the end of August.  There are some amazing lessons for families in the life of David, so I hope you will make time for the study.  I have even included a coloring sheet with each lesson for the little kids.  Week 24 – Samuel Anoints David