An Open Letter to Graduating High School Seniors

Dear High School Class of 2013,
    I am not going to lie here, there is a piece of me that is sad to see you graduating. You haven been transformed over your years at school much like the classes before you and the classes that are following you. You have grown up a ton (thanks be to God). You are fine people (despite what the world wants to tell you). You will make a difference in the world, you aren't just the future of the world but rather you are the world now, your role is very important. While at times it may seem like we adults don't want to acknowledge your presence and often think less of you than we should, we know you are gift and talented and we expect you to use those gifts and talents.
    Do what you love. Love what you do. Serve the world. Serve others. Dare to dream and dare to think you could be wrong. Go on great adventures to far off places and come back home, to where ever that may be, share your story with the world, and learn from the world. YOU ARE IMPORTANT, YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
   It has been an honor to watch you transform from just young kids into awkward middle schoolers (really who wasn't a strange middle schooler at some point), it has been quite the ride watching you go through breakups and athletic success, seeing you care for one another and your passions for the world. While your greatest concern once was what color crayon to use next, now you are on to conquer the world, you can do it. Your career may change once or twice or ten or twenty times, go where God calls you.
   Thank you for the ways in which you have taught me about the world, thank you for the ways in which you have reminded me of the joy in the simple things, and thank you for being you. Thank you for being bold enough to step out in faith to trust that God has made you wonderful.
     Welcome to the world of adulthood. Welcome to the world as crazy as it may seem. Welcome to life after high school. You will do awesome.
   A blessing for you, one that I hold dear, from the summer camp that helped to form me into who I am today:
          As you go on your way may Christ go with you, may he go:
                                                            before you to show you the way
                                                            behind you to encourage you
                                                            above you to watch over you
                                                            beside you to befriend you
                                                            and within you to give you peace.

Peace & Love-
   an adult who values you highly

GIVE 500 update

I have not forgotten about this project and I am seriously LOVING this project. While at moments it is hard to think about going through another box or another closet of crap I am loving the space that it is opening up. I wonder WHY on God's green earth did I have all this stuff sitting around in boxes and in my closet aimlessly. I don't need this much stuff. I don't need a different outfit for every day. I don't need to hold on to everything I have ever been given.

This project has been liberating. This may seem strange but seriously somehow it has given me the permission I needed to be able to give stuff, that is perfectly usable, away. Now I am not counting socks with holes in them or stuff that is broken and needs to be recycled or thrown away, I am counting stuff that I seriously just don't need. This has been a wonderful project. This project has set me free.

I am not certain what my count is at and I am fairly certain I have long surpassed the 500 mark, I have hauled a couple loads of books to the library, a couple loads to the good will, and a couple loads to the church rummage sale pile. Somehow I had bought into the world, I had bought into the idea that I need to have more, I need to have a different outfit for weeks upon weeks and I couldn't repeat them in a couple weeks. (No one notices what I wear unless it is horrible - I have a bunch of clothes still don't worry but now the difference is I actually wear them all - and they get rotated between each other and have many combinations.) I don't have totes of crap just sitting upstairs in my attic "in case I need this stuff" - seriously I haven't missed it - I do still have boxes of holiday decorations but those are different, it is the crap I had been hauling around for years, for no reason.

I got rid of stacks of books and movies (I love both of these things) and I have kept some of my favorites and the ones that I like to re-read and re-watch but the ones I have no intent of watching again any time soon are gone, I just don't need them, if I want to watch or read them I can check them out of the library or get it off netflix. There is freedom in no longer being bound to stuff and needing more stuff. I have realized that I am not justified by what I own or don't own. I am not justified by what stuff I have or don't have. (deep down I have always known this but.... my actions had me held to another standard)

By no means am I promoting getting rid of everything you own and living in a tent - more I promote evaluating what you have, using up the excess stuff that you have been storing (I apparently was a hoarder of reams of paper and shampoo) I have more than I need still and have less to dust and less stuff sitting around and I couldn't be happier.

• Anyone else have this type of experience when getting rid of stuff? 
• Anyone else have tips on how to keep my stuff to a minimum so I don't just revert back to acquiring tons of stuff?
• Do you like to have stuff around?
• I must confess there is a piece of me that still says... what if I need ___________ - How do you sort out what to keep and what to get rid of without going crazy on either end of the spectrum?