My Earthly Treasures

I've had a really bad cause of the "I needs" lately. I need a camera,  I need a new car, I need some new home decor, I need a new coat, I need new clothes, it's rather embarrassing to admit actually. For as much as I tell my children to be thankful for what they have, I haven't remembered to "practice what I preach" much the past few months. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you can't ever want anything or you're bad if you do, just that sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in the material things we think we "need". We forget that none of it really lasts; cars run down, cameras break, clothes tear, our tastes change, etc... I started thinking about the material things I really treasure here on earth, are any of them in the category of items I've listed above? No. Why are the things I treasure actually treasures? It's certainly not because they make me look good, make grocery shopping more convenient, or my house look like it belongs in a magazine. These things are treasured because they remind me of people I love, memories with family & friends; they remind me that I am loved, and teach me the truth about God, who I truly am and the world I live in. So I thought I would share a few of those items I truly treasure...

A flannel that belonged to my grandpa, the clothes my boys wore home from the hospital, the crazy shorts my grandmother wore to my wedding & lots of cards from my boys

The first picture Isaiah ever drew of me when he was 3 yrs old

TONS of photo albums full of my favorite photos. These are just the printed ones, I literally have thousands of digital ones saved on flash drives & cds.

Isaiah's "dinosaur with eggs, volcano & palm tree" picture he drew at 3.5

A ford truck that once held the flowers my dad brought me at the hospital when my oldest was born, a vase signed by many family & friends at my surprise 30th birthday party.

A picture Isaiah drew last summer that shows how his "A"s used to look like little spaceships

The bible my parents bought me right after I got married, to replace the one my puppy had torn up & the journal I use to keep track of all the things the Lord has shown me, spoken to me or words given me through others. 

There are other items; a blanket my grandmother made for me when I graduated college, a tea set my mom gave me, a picture my niece won first prize with, a scarf my dear friend made, the shoes I wore at my wedding, a lacy table cloth made for us when David & I got married with a hole in it from our old cat...most items I couldn't sell at a yard for much if anything, but to me they are priceless. I know that things of this earth will pass away, it's really not the item I am so attached to as the sentiment behind it. I love pulling them out and remembering lost family, old times, dear friends, they remind me of the things that really matter to me. I am so blessed. 

These handsome guys (one of my favorite pictures taken 2 yrs ago) are not material or mine to keep, they belong to the Father.  I have been blessed to have them for a time though & they truly are treasures.