Mike's Give It Away Journal - Taking a Break

Taking a Break



After 19 weeks of giving stuff away, I've decided to take a break.

I still have plenty of stuff to give away but I noticed that I was starting to do it for the wrong reason. It became about keeping the string alive and being able to say that I've given stuff away for x number of weeks.

Therefore, I'm taking a break. When my motives are pure again, I'll start back up.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 6.30.14

Week 19 of my Give It Away journey



Monday 6/30
Here is another Christmas gift that I never gave. Instead of giving my daughter more stuff to take care of, I'm giving it away.





Tuesday 7/1
Here is a pair of corduroy paints that never fit well so I'm giving them away instead leaving them in my closet.







Wednesday 7/2
Here is some memory I pulled from my wife's laptop a couple years ago. I always have a hard time getting rid of stuff like this because I think that someday I'll needed it. That someday rarely comes.

Thursday 7/3
I've heard Jeff Manion speak a few times. First at the Global Leadership Summit then a couple more times at our church in Monterey. I enjoyed Jeff's talk on The Land Between but don't need the book as well.







Friday 7/4
Another long sleeve shirt from my closet. I don't wear long sleeve shirts often and therefore decided to give away about 1/3 of them.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 6.23.14

Week 18 of my Give It Away journey




Monday 6/23
Still working through the items I pulled from my closet. I like all the shirts I'm now giving away but had to admit that I rarely wear them.





Tuesday 6/24
Here is another book I came across and decided to give it away.







Wednesday 6/25
Over the year, I've collected several shirts from work. This one is from the 2009 PMA show in LA.  TRUETRAC was only a few days old when we drove to LA and manned the booth. Johnny, James, the stuff for the booth and I packed into my car and made the six hour drive.


Thursday 6/26
Today, I'm giving away one of my favorite hoodies. Last year, I happened into an Under Armour outlet store when they were having a one-day sale on hoodies. All hoodies were $20 so I bought three. I don't need three hoodies so I'm giving away this one. For now, I'm keeping the bright orange one and the one that repels water.




Friday 6/27
I used this Motorola Bluetooth headset for a year but could never get it to fit in my ear comfortably. I bought a new one over a year ago. I think I kept hold of it because I thought I might need a backup headset. This is true for a lot of the stuff I keep around.

Saturday 6/28
How many white dress shirts does one guy need? This guy only needs one.







Sunday 6/29
Back on 6/21 I gave away a Christmas present that I never ended up giving to my daughter. Today, I'm giving away another one of those Christmas items.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 6.16.14

Week 17 of my Give It Away journey




Monday 6/16
When I was first married, I wanted a leather jacket and assumed I would wear it all the time. That jacket was stolen and I bought this one to replace it. I didn't wear either one often and so I'm giving this one away. Don't worry, I still have two other jacket in case it gets cold.


Tuesday 6/17
I recently went through my closet and found this t-shirt that I rarely wear. I'm giving to They Are One for their rummage sale.



Wednesday 6/18
Our friends have a house on a lake. I bought this to keep my sunglasses from falling off on the boat. It works but I ended up buying another one that also floats just in case the glasses and strap fall off.







Thursday 6/19
My oldest played for his 6th grade school soccer team a couple years ago. I bought this shirt to match their team colors. Haven't worn it for a since. Time to give it away.




Friday 6/20
I wore this dress shirt on special occasions for many years. When I was looking through my dress shirts, I realized that I hadn't worn this for quit a while now.



Saturday 6/21
I bought this for my daughter this past Christmas, not realizing that my wife had already bought her stuff. I stuffed it under my bed to keep it out of sight and came across it a couple days ago. No need to hang onto it till next Christmas.






Sunday 6/22
I like this shirt but rarely wear it because it is too warm for indoor use.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 6.9.14

Week 16 of my Give It Away journey


Monday 6/9
I started going through a pile of books and found several that I plan to give away. I don't remember reading this one but it looks like it has been read a few times.






Tuesday 6/10
Today, I'm giving away another item from our kitchen. This skillet has been sitting at the bottom of a drawer for 10 years. About time to give it away.

Wednesday 6/11
Giving away a couple more books today. I think I read the Steve Martini book but don't remember any details.






Thursday 6/12
Here is something I'm sure everyone will want. A cell phone belt holster for a flip phone.








Friday 6/13
Here are three more books that I've either already read or never plan too.





Saturday 6/14
I went through my closet this week, so you will see several shirts like this one being given away. I only wore this shirt a couple times a year.







Sunday 6/15
I went through a phase where I made pancakes and waffles several times a week. That was years ago. This waffle iron was just the right size when the kids were small, but now I have to make batch after batch to keep up with them.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 6.2.14

Week 15 of my Give It Away journey


Monday 6/2
I bought several copies of this book a couple years ago. I thought I would have given this away by now but since I haven't, I'm giving it to anyone who wants it.  Let me know if you would like this copy.







Tuesday 6/3
Same situation with this book. If you want a copy, let me know.  It is going into my give away pile.







Wednesday 6/4
I've had this shirt for a few years and decided today to give it away. I like it but I have a lot of short sleeve polos.







Thursday 6/5
I bought several copies of this book that I planned to give away. Now is the time to give this one away.








Friday 6/6
I bought several copies of this book also. I think I gave away another copy a couple weeks ago.








Saturday 6/7
I used this lamp on my bedside table for a while but a some point the lampshade was lost. Here is a short lamp with a lampshade for whoever wants it.

Sunday 6/8
I discovered this metal pizza pan in the bottom of a kitchen drawer. I bought this the first year I was married, which makes it 17 years old.

Mike's Give It Away Journal - Week of 5.26.14

Week 14 of my Give It Away journey

I skipped a week for the first time. I've taken my son to Treasure Island for lacrosse tournaments the past two weekends plus our family spent the Memorial Day weekend in Oakland. I also traveled to Los Angeles for a couple days last week. My goal was to not skip a day, but life got in the way. 

Monday 5/26
Here is another Costco purchase that we don't need. At Costco, it is cheaper to buy six and only use three then it is to buy three somewhere else.




Tuesday 5/27
At one time, I used several of these in my garage to hang cords, etc. I took these all down when we converted our garage into a room for our church's middle school group to use on Wednesday nights.






Wednesday 5/28
I stopped reading fiction novels a few years ago. I decided to spend my reading time reading books that would help me be a better person.








Thursday 5/29
I have several pairs of pliers. I've never liked these so it is time I give them away.







Friday 5/30
Here is another fiction novel that I don't need.









Saturday 5/31
A third novel I don't need any longer. I don't recall if I read this one or not.







Sunday 6/1
I've had this pair of cargo pants for a few years. They are too short and finally decided to give them away.

Six Months, One Book, A New Appreciation

Six Months: October 22, 2013 to April 9, 2014 

NLT

One Book: New Living Translation (NLT) of the Christian Bible
New Appreciation: God has a plan and it has happened and will happen!

It all started at the end of 2011 when I gained a deep desire to know God. Our family had just started attending Shoreline Community Church, where they continually encourage people to read the Bible.

Many times before, I had started to read the Bible with the goal of reading the whole thing. Every time, I made it through Genesis, but stopped before finishing Numbers. This time, my motivation was different. I wasn't reading because I thought it was a good idea, I was reading because I wanted to know God. It took me eight months to read The Message version of the Bible that time. 


I read the Bible again in 2013. Both times, I read using my cell phone with the YouVersion Bible application.

This year, I switched to the NLT, but instead of reading, I listened to it with the same app. Three days a week, I commute to work, which takes anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours. I was able to listen to several day's worth of reading each trip.

I found that listening allowed me to think more about what was being said and ponder how it fit into the bigger picture.

In the end, I came away from the experience with a much better appreciation for the plan God has for the world, and how He has caused it to work out the way He wants. In the Old Testament, everywhere you look, you see God setting the stage for Jesus to appear. In Revelation, I was struck by how much detail is given and how God will cause it to happen no matter what we do.

Do I know God more? You bet, but I still have so much more to learn.

Recommendation: If you are considering reading through the Bible, I'd highly suggest finding a reading plan that will take you through the Bible chronologically. It will make so much more sense when read in the order it happened.