Jesus Fix It with Jess & Steph!
Life is beautiful, crazy, messy and ever-changing. Thank the Lord, Jesus can handle it all! Jesus Fix It with Jess & Steph is about finding your way through the clutter; and perhaps having some laughs along the way. The Christian walk doesn’t always come wrapped in nice pretty packaging, so count on us to keep it real.
You can listen to Jesus Fix It on the Spirit FM website, the Spirit FM APP, and wherever you enjoy your podcasts.
The Jesus Fix It podcast with Jess & Steph, brought to you by Your Encouraging Spirit FM.
Jesus Fix It with Jess & Steph!
Letting Go: Sentimental Clutter and Spiritual Growth with Jess & Steph
Could your closet be the key to understanding your deeper emotional ties? Join Jess and Steph as we humorously unpack the sentimental attachments that make parting with personal belongings so challenging. From cherished band memorabilia to well-worn book collections, our conversation turns clutter into a canvas for storytelling and self-reflection. We'll share creative solutions like turning old t-shirts into quilts, offering a heartfelt way to preserve memories. Together, we confront the struggle of letting go and explore why our identities often get tangled in the fabric of our possessions.
What does the Bible say about balancing life's indulgences with spiritual priorities? As we shift our perspective toward materialism, we discuss the impact of our upbringing and financial circumstances on our attitudes toward accumulating stuff. Through candid stories, we reflect on the joys of a splurge-worthy dinner, all while pondering the difference between wants and needs. By challenging the notion of hoarding and trusting in God's provisions, we aim to inspire a mindset that prioritizes what truly matters. Join our heartfelt conversation, and discover the freedom that comes with focusing on eternal values over material goods.
Hey, welcome back, or welcome to the Jesus Fix it podcast, the show where we talk about life, the ups, the downs, a little pop culture and everything in between.
Steph:I'm Jess and I'm Steph, every other week we dive into the things we're asking Jesus to fix. And let's be real, there's a lot. You can always count on us to keep it real.
Jess:Share some laughs with us and maybe a few tears, as we tackle the big and small stuff with faith and honesty. So grab your coffee and let's get into it. Not that anybody cares, but right now in the middle of my floor is a pile of things I have pulled out of my closet because it is a mess. The pile is just about as tall as me I'm 5'3". I just went on this frenzy that I'm just going to clean, I'm going to get rid of stuff, and that's as far as I've gotten, because after I got everything pulled out, now I'm overwhelmed and it's like, not that I don't know where to put stuff which is part of the reason why it's still there is because now I don't know how to organize it. It's everything I pick up. I don't want to get rid of it. Oh, I understand. This is so emotional for me.
Steph:Emotional purging.
Jess:I am an emotional purger and I am an emotional shopper Like this is really a thing.
Steph:Don't you think? Well, I'm so understanding and I am so completely with you. My first thought, when you were telling me about this pile of clothing or stuff Everything Clothes, shoes, purses I know where you live.
Jess:And.
Steph:I'm happy to take it home If I can get rid of it, Right, but that's the struggle. You're like oh, this is a gorgeous jacket that I have from. This is how I think it's from eight years ago and no, I don't fit in that anymore, but maybe one day I will. But I remember wearing it to this specific event and I had a great time because I was with these specific friends and it was just oh yeah, I can't get rid of it.
Jess:I have jeans that still have the price tag on them, that I can't even fit one leg into, that I won't take to the goodwill that I won't get rid of, and I'm like, why, jess, they're just things. Why can't I get rid of things? Why do we hold on to things so tightly?
Steph:Oh, man, are you talking my language? They're just things I was going through from just starting to unpack at our new house. I was going through this box of posters, unrolled the posters and there wasn't the sticky, tacky stuff on the back of them. There were no pinholes in them and they wouldn't stay unrolled because I've had them since 1995 or 96 and never put them up, and yet I can't get rid of them. One of them is even signed by one of my favorite bands, small town poets.
Jess:nobody knows who they are okay, but see, I think that's kind of sentimental signed posters and things like that that's kind of sentimental. Well, okay.
Steph:So I had a bunch of t-shirts from being in high school different variety of things and my mom made it into a quilt that I can use. They're not just sitting collecting dust in a drawer or in a bin. I like that, but it's like the poster. I don't even think small town poets is together anymore, let alone like why, I don't know, but I still can't get rid of it.
Jess:Yeah, but some things like that. Like I have this T-shirt from when I went to Dollywood on a band trip in 1995. Dolly Parton signed it. Who else was there? I think I have a shirt that Lauryn Hill signed. I can't fit it. It has holes in it. If I turn it a certain way I'm sure it's going to fall apart. But those type of things are sentimental. I would never be able to wear this shirt ever.
Jess:Because, like I said, if I even try to put it on, I'm sure it's just going to rip to shreds. But something like that, I think that's worth keeping.
Steph:And that's why my mom turned a bunch of my t-shirts into quilts. A lot of them are signed by like I have one signed by DC Talk Like hello, like I love that, like that's what those are. But it's like other stuff though, not even just the posters, but good grief, like I am a book collector, for no good reason, I don't love to read books. I like listening to them, I don't love to read them, and I struggled getting rid of a bunch of books just because, like I have the whole set of Anne of Green Gables that my mom gave me. Anne with an E, anne Shirley, yes, anne Shirley with an E. Could you call me Cordelia? Yeah, cordelia Bedelia, I have all of them. I've never once read them. I've had them since.
Jess:I was 15. But I can't get rid of them. I am a book travert, so the book thing. I can't be on your side.
Steph:Book travert, so the book thing I can't be on your side. If you have books, you have to read them. I like listening to them. I remember when that box came to our house. I remember the house we lived in this was in East Tennessee. I remember the you know, just brown box that came in and I'm like dang, this is heavy and the certain size that it was, and it was a Christmas gift and I wasn't allowed to open it. It was addressed to mom and then I got them for christmas and I just like I love it. I love that it was from my mom, that she she's a book travert too, like oh my gosh, and so it's so sentimental. So I can understand that, but then it's why do I have like five journals that are blank? I think?
Jess:there's a name for something that we have. It's called oh hoarding. Oh, oh my gosh.
Steph:But you can walk around my house. There are not paths, okay, except for in my closet to get through to different things.
Jess:We're just at the beginner stage, I guess. No, but seriously, like this, I'm not trying to make light of hoarding by any means, okay, but I'm just saying sometimes I wonder, like, what is the issue with me? Like this is an emotional thing and I don't want it to, like, be a big problem, because I know there are some people who really do have emotional shopping issues. There are some people who have issues with, you know, detaching themselves from things.
Jess:And I noticed, like some, if I'm having a bad day Sometimes I'll just go. I'm going to go treat myself to something. I even had to sit down one day and I read a devotional about treating myself, because I needed to see that treating myself doesn't always mean spending money on myself. You can treat yourself in other ways, but there are some days that I actually want to go treat myself and I'll go buy a handbag or I'll go buy a bottle of perfume and that gets out of hand.
Steph:Okay, jess, a bottle of perfume, a bottle, a singular bottle of perfume.
Jess:Okay, I don't appreciate how you're calling me out right now Just because I told you how many bottles of perfume did you purchase this past weekend?
Steph:Six?
Jess:Okay, but they were under $100.
Steph:See, this is called justification Each for total Total, okay, okay, I can understand the justification on that Under $150.
Jess:I take it back Under $150. Under $150. See, this is how I justify too. I give myself a budget, a play money budget, after.
Steph:I've paid all my bills.
Jess:I've done all the things A treat yourself budget. I have a treat myself budget, but this is the thing. In this economy I don't have to use all that budget Right. And so that's what I'm trying to tell myself. There is no way I needed six bottles of perfume.
Steph:I will look back at my January budget as I was going through different things and I'm like, oh, my clothing budget was out of control and like, well, exactly why? Like again after Christmas there's all these sales and all this stuff's on clearance and like I mean, clarence is my best friend. Whenever I go shopping, clarence is just exactly where I'm at, but still I try to implement. If I wouldn't pay full price for it, why should I buy it just because it's on clearance?
Jess:See, that's my problem, because I never pay full price for anything.
Steph:I just don't.
Jess:I don't buy myself anything unless it's on sale or unless it's clearance. But again, that's how I justify them.
Steph:I did this personality thing when I was back in college and one of those many personality tests and it said who are you most like in the Bible? And it came up with Stephen and it said because I always live by ends, justifies the means. Ooh, and I still do that to this day. I mean 20 something years later. And that is tough. That is really tough to think about. That that's how my personality is considered. Is I live by ends, justify the means? And I see it in everything, like my husband and I have been working on this fireplace mantle and like doing a fireplace surround and he's the one doing a lot of the work and I appreciate it so much. And he looked at me and was asking about something. I'm like you know, measure five times, cut 12. You know I'm like it'll be fine in the end, like the end justifies the means. You got to cut it and measure it, but it'll be fine.
Jess:Oh, my goodness I would love to do one of those.
Steph:No, I don't, because here I am thinking I'm gonna be Martha nope, yeah, no, I just, I really want to Marie Kondo, my house, is that her last name?
Jess:yeah, but you can't even be her now because you know she backtracked. Oh so if you remember Marie Kondo, you know years ago she said you know, if it doesn't bring you joy, if you're not using it, get rid of it.
Steph:Yeah, let it go. Literally pick an item up, put it on her forehead. Does this bring me joy? Let it go. Okay, no, you're not sure, or yeah, okay.
Jess:So what was it? Probably, I think it was in 2022, 2023, after she had had a baby. I think she had a kid. Maybe she didn't have kids before, I don't know, but she backtracked. She was like what was I thinking? She was like I was so out of it. Oh my goodness. She basically said yeah, it's not as easy as you think.
Steph:Well, no kidding, it is not, especially when you're you and me and you are sentimentally tied to a shoelace.
Jess:Yes, she did say you know I'm not hoarding. She did say you know I'm by no means like having a lot of junk or anything like that. But I will admit I was a little out of touch when I said all of that. It is not as easy as I thought it was and I'm like okay, girl, yeah, after you shamed the rest of us made all of us feel like you know, Uh-huh yeah.
Steph:Yeah, so I don't know, but there's got to be some still some truth to that, like when you're going through your huge pile of stuff that's as tall as you and me because we're both the same height.
Steph:Sometimes your shoes are a little taller than mine, but I try your shoes are a little taller than mine, but I try, yeah, I try, but yeah. So when you're going through that huge pile of stuff it's like, okay, I already have this is me talking to myself eight flannels. Four of them are in the purple maroon family. Do I really need four that are in that same family? Which one fits the best? Which one? You know, my husband and I are very dorky and we like to dress alike. To the fact that even the flannel I'm wearing today he has the exact same one and bought them for us.
Jess:yeah I know that's kind of corny. I know I said I did yes we are.
Steph:We are extremely corny that way but we like it.
Jess:It's fun. We're very honest with each other here okay, and just knows, mike type of friendship we can have. Okay, you know but it.
Steph:But it's like okay. So for me, okay, because he specifically picked this out and we have the matching ones. This would not be the one that I would get rid of. But I need to do better about that whole. You know, you purchase a new item, new to you. You purchase a new to you item. It comes in your house. Then two things need to go out.
Jess:Okay.
Steph:And I need to work on that.
Jess:I think I'm going to work on that too. I was looking up some things about what the Bible says about hoarding, which is basically oh, that sounds so I'm a hoarder. Okay, but the Bible teaches us well, jesus teaches us that investing in eternal things is more important than hoarding material goods.
Steph:I mean, my pastor was talking yesterday Wow, that hits it.
Jess:Does that really hits?
Steph:It does. And he was talking yesterday about when was the last time that you specifically evangelized to someone very specifically? And he was like I'm not talking about. Like you know, you were a youth pastor and obviously that's how you're going to bring you know, you have an easier time bringing souls to Christ as youth pastor, as a pastor of the church. He's like I'm not talking about. He's like I am talking very specifically you one-on-one. What is it? You can't store it here on earth. And I was like, oh, and now here we're talking about all the stuff that we hoard.
Jess:But you know a lot of it, I think and I'm not really trying to justify this, I'm just trying to tell you where I think a lot of my materialism comes from is. You know, growing up my parents they really did give us, you know, not every single thing we wanted, but they always seemed to make a way. Oh yeah, I don't know how they did it. Looking back, I'm like, oh my gosh, we were kind of poor. How did I get all of that stuff? How did I get a computer? How did I? And I'm like, gosh, they probably didn't eat because they gave us these things. And I know we didn't have a lot of money. And then, after I got divorced, I didn't have a lot of money.
Jess:And now that I've raised some babies and I do have a little bit of extra money saved and I can treat myself, I do. And so sometimes I feel like it is a mental thing with me oh, I couldn't get this back then, or I couldn't do this after I got divorced, I couldn't afford it. Oh, but I can afford it now. So I'm going to treat myself. So I feel like sometimes it's a mental thing and I do it because I can and I need to get out of that mindset. You know it's, I don't know, I just need to. Yeah, because I can doesn't mean I should.
Steph:Oh, that is yeah. Just because I can eat an entire sleeve of Girl Scout cookies doesn't mean I should.
Jess:Our grandparents were the opposite. I know my grandmother was when she was growing up and didn't have a lot of money. You know how they had to eat scraps. She was growing up and didn't have a lot of money. You know how they had to eat. You know scraps. And so when she was able, she didn't go out and splurge. She still ate like she. She still saved and penny pinched. And I actually had to tell her you know what? You ain't gotta eat like that no more. And she's like, I know, but I, the way I was raised, you didn't go and splurge. And here I am, I do the opposite yeah, I, I'm with you, like I.
Steph:I don't. I don't get why I'm that way. Like I. I just I genuinely like I'm. I am usually the more penny pincher of the family between my husband and myself, but I grew up in, you know, if our ketchup bottle was empty, we were at McDonald's. Well then, the ketchup bottle wasn't so empty at home. You know, that was how we grew up and it was just. You know you're using the means that are around you. For us, sometimes, dessert was a piece of bread, toasted butter, your cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top of it.
Jess:That was dessert.
Steph:And that was dessert and that was how my parents grew up like, so they just passed it on and there's nothing wrong with that. It's being frugal in a good way, because it's like, yeah, again we, we don't know when our last day is going to be right. We want to be wise with what we have. We want to think and plan for a future being retirement, going on trips. My parents, because they were so frugal, they have a bunch of trips planned this year. They're going to Machu Picchu. My parents are in their 70s and it's like they've got that opportunity to do it because they planned in the past in order to do that and they didn't hoard everything. My mom's favorite place to shop is a thrift store that she works at and that's fantastic. I need to have that better mentality.
Jess:Yeah, at the rate I'm going, I'm wearing my trips Right.
Steph:And I love to travel and every time that I go to spend money on something I think about that. Like, my husband and I just splurged for a dinner out the other night. It was fantastic, we had a great time. I felt so just cherished and that was amazing that my husband and those times are okay, they are okay, they don't happen all that much.
Steph:But after we got our bill I thought about it and I was like that's like, that's like a nice couple of days on a trip somewhere, because I like to travel very frugally, and so, yeah, it's just putting things into perspective. You're right, you're wearing your trips Right.
Jess:Yeah, one last thing. I'm really taking this to heart, I'm trying to. The Bible doesn't say it's wrong to save or to be prepared. Because I'm that person. You mentioned ketchup. I'm that person always have to have two of everything. I have to have two bottles of ketchup. Oh, if I have one thing of pepper and it's halfway done, I have to have two. I always have to be able to pull another, whatever it is, when I'm out. I don't want to have to wait. But the Bible doesn't say it's wrong to save or be prepared, but it does warn against hoarding when it stems from greed, comes from a lack of trust in God, ignores the needs of others. That really hits home. Man, does that ever?
Jess:That really hits home. Man does that ever. So maybe our Jesus fix it. For this time is to fix our need to have material things.
Steph:Fix our need for needs. Needs don't need to be needs.
Jess:They can be wants, and you don't always get what you want. Find hope and inspiration with Jess's Daily Devotion. Check out jessdailydevocom or search Jess's Daily Devotion wherever you listen to podcasts.
