Motivation

For a few years people have hinted here and there that I should start a blog, usually after I've told a funny kid story. Though flattered by these suggestions, the last thing the world needs is another mommy blogger. And I've never felt like I had anything else worth writing about or the desire to do so.

Recently though, I have felt compelled to blog as a way of sharing some things I've been doing and learning and interests of mine. One of my interests that I've already begun to catalog on Facebook is that of finding bargains at yard sales or thrift shops and showing how I incorporate them into my home and life. I often refer to my excursions as "treasure hunts". I'll admit materialism is one of my biggest temptations. I really like things and I love to look at home design catalogs and decorating/collecting magazines. However, I have an even stronger desire for treasures of an eternal nature that I cannot see or touch. Lately I've been discovering so many of these that I cannot help but want to share. So combine these two interests and the idea for my blog, Hailey's Treasures, is born.

From the moment this blog desire sparked, I've consistently questioned my motivation and the goal I'm trying to accomplish. I've been studying the book of Isaiah from the Bible and one consistent theme God has been hitting me over the head with is humility.  Before the holidays this study brought me to the book of Genesis 11, the story of the tower of Babel. Verse 4 shows the Babylonians' motivation at the time, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves..." 

After reading study questions and hearing a lecture on this same topic, I was presented with some pretty convicting questions. When and where in my life do I have to look out for this attitude the Babylonians displayed? Are there any characteristics of Babylon in my heart? Who do I credit for my gifts and talents? I, too, am tempted to make a name for myself. I also desire control, independence, self-fulfillment and to display my success and my talent. My tendency is to credit myself, the created, instead of pointing to my Creator, who made me in his image (according to Genesis 1:26-27).

2 Corinthians 4:7 says "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." Eugene Peterson, who loosely paraphrased some of the Bible in The Message, puts that verse in his own words: "If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us." I am just a person, a simple, ordinary, easily-breakable vessel, yet by the grace of God I'm able to hold, carry and pour out his treasure.

So I am moving forward cautiously, knowing that I must continually question and set straight my motivation for blogging - to praise God, not myself. And I invite my readers to keep me accountable. Follow me as I hunt for, find and share treasures!

(P.S. If anyone has HTML and/or graphic design skills and wants to help me dramatically improve and customize my blog design, please let me know!)