Opening my Eyes

Where does my junk come from?

Such a simple question.

Seems like there should be simple answers.

Well...there aren't.

So much "big business" is hidden and difficult to trace as a consumer.

I have very little faith that we will ever be able to buy all the things we need in this country without contributing to the exploitation of other human beings.

Will I ever be able to look over my receipts and feel 100% confident that every purchase I made was pleasing to God, not only in the amount of money I spent, but in the way I cared for the people creating those products?

I'm struggling with doubt that could ever happen.

At one point, I would have let that doubt paralyze me into doing nothing.

If I can't do this all the way, why do it at all? If I can't win, why play?

I think we "play" because life matters. Each. Life. Matters. Every person, made in the image of God matters. Which means each purchase can matter.

Although I fear how difficult this will be to become educated about where our money is going, I will say that for the first time I'm willing to let God open my eyes to these things.

That's the first step, right?

The second step looks like education. Becoming aware.

I'm a busy mother of four, juggling more life than I know what to do with, but I'm asking the Lord to help me find time, to help us as a community to work together to figure this stuff out.

Although we are on this journey as a couple, I will say as the wife, as a woman, as the mother in this home I am the primary purchaser. I believe this issue is a big one for women as we attempt to honor God by how we care for our families. A lot of the way I care for my family is making sure there is food in the refrigerator, school supplies in their cubbies and new undies when they need them. Loving my family in this way has been right and good, it's just been very one sided when I think of the first and second commandments.

To make things easy for us Jesus breaks life down into two simple, overwhelming ideas.

Love God and love others the way that we love ourselves.

One of the ways I love and care for my family is by purchasing food for them and meeting their needs with the purchases I make.

I love them by buying "stuff" to meet their needs. We could definitely argue that I buy too much stupid stuff that we don't really need, but that's not the point of this post. God's working on that issue too, but a family has to eat, arm pits need deodorant and socks get holes in them. We can't run from the fact that no matter how simplified our spending becomes we are never going to be immune from the need to buy something. All I'm saying is, I want to live out the first and second commandment when I shop.

In regards to purchasing food and clothing, I have to admit that as the purchaser for our household I have loved my family at the expense of not loving my neighbor. I have filled our refrigerator with food and our closets with clothes, caring for my family, while probably harming my neighbor in the process.

For the first time I want to love my neighbor as myself. I want to love the people creating the products we buy.

It's incredibly fantastic to think about how the love of God is so strong, it's so ravaging that it desires to consume every crevice of our lives.

It's exciting to me to think of God's love saturating my spending...to think of a grocery list or a trip to the store as worship...as loving God and loving others like I love myself.

For the next few days, I'd like to share some resources I'm reading/watching to educate myself about being a responsible consumer. Feel free to offer suggestions! I'm on a hunt for great books, websites, blogs and documentaries to help us as we baby step our way down this new path.

The Better World Shopping Guide

I saw this book on the Trade as One Blog. I bought it. Can't wait for it to come in so I can read it.

Here's the description of the book....

"The only comprehensive guide for socially and environmentally responsible consumers available, this book ranks every product on the shelf from A to F so you can quickly tell the “good guys” from the “bad guys”—turning your grocery list into a powerful tool to change the world. Representing over seventeen years of distilled research, data is organized into the most common product categories including coffee, energy bars, computers, gasoline, clothing, banks, cars, water, and more. Also included is a summary of the essential information about particular product categories, profiles of the best and worst companies, practical buying tips, and the most useful online resources available. Whether you believe in environmental sustainability, human rights, animal protection, community involvement, or social justice, this book is for you!"



The other "biggie" for us was watching the documentary, Food Inc.

Although helpful for knowing what's in your food, the truth is I walked away from this documentary appalled at how immigrants are recruited to come to the US to work for these food companies and then exploited because they have no voice.

I can't recommend Food Inc. enough. Will you do me a favor and watch it? Even if you're not a health freak, if you are on this journey with us to find out where the products you buy come from, this is a great documentary for getting some of those questions answered.

Charlie told me last week about this new documentary coming out...



Asking God to open our eyes and help us love our neighbors like we love ourselves.

Becoming educated.

Figuring out how to spend our money differently.

That's where we are right now.

I didn't buy Dole bananas yesterday at the grocery store. I bought some weird named organic ones. Hopefully that's a good step?