1st and 10. Mike is kicking off his "Give It Away" journey

Every once in a while, I hear someone talk about something that just makes sense to me.  A couple years ago a coworker mentioned that our body's pH levels are negatively impacted by our acidic diets.  I thought about it and decided to reduce my acid intake.  I stopped drinking soda and coffee.  I'm not sure about my pH level, but I did notice that my need for coffee stopped when I stopped drinking it.  I often drank coffee to get going once I arrived at work and again in the early afternoon.  When I stopped drinking it, I found that I didn't need it to get going and stopped feeling tired in the afternoon.  Amazing!

Not long after that, my wife told me about a guy who had spent years researching how the body works in relation to weight gain and loss.  I read his book and it made a lot of sense. He explained how our bodies regulate the amount of fat they store with hormones.  This helped me understand why some people can eat whatever they want and not gain weight while I have to pay attention to what I eat.  I used the principles of his research to lose 50lbs.  If interested, you can read more at thesmarterscienceofslim.com.

Just a couple weeks ago, a couple friends, Shane & Doug, started talking about minimalism.  My wife is on the board of a non-profit called They Are One that supports an orphanage in South Sudan.  One of the main fundraisers is a huge rummage sale that many in the community donate to.  Last spring and again this spring we have been going through our house asking ourselves what we can donate. Giving stuff away is not new to us, although one of the ideas of minimalism was.  Shane and Doug pointed out that one way to get started down the road of having less "stuff" was to give something away every day.  That way, you create a habit of giving and at the same time, you end up with less "stuff" to take care of and manage.  I started last week and have done pretty well.  I've missed a couple days because I was out of town on a camping trip, etc.  The picture above shows what I've given away so far.  I don't anticipate it will be hard to find things to give away for a while.  I have a lot of "stuff" I don't use.

I could give away everything at one time, like a Hail Mary pass but I think the better game plan for me is to run the ball each time for 3 yards.  You never know, someday God may ask me to go for a long pass but until then, I'll eat up yardage one thing at a time.

If you are wondering why I'm using football language, see this post by my friend Doug.

Join me in this journey of growing, giving and going.