I wants and I gots to Have....

America, the most wonderful country on the planet, we have so many freedoms that most American's take for granted, we can practice our faith without fear of prosecution, we can have as many children as we want without having to worry about the government forcing an abortion on us.

America, the most consumer driven country on our planet, with the introduction of "Credit" in the late 1950's, the way we purchase and distribute goods has never been the same, fast forward to today and you can hardly walk 10 feet without seeing an ad for some sort of designer item, brand names we "MUST"' have.

Somewhere along the lines we have been taught that if we don't have what everyone else has we are not as good as them, if we don't have a new wardrobe every 6 weeks we are inadequate as a human being. I would venture to say anyone who lives in this country has experienced this feeling at one point or another, some more frequently than others.

Latest and greatest, new and in style- I'm not so sure if and when we reach the pearly gates we will be rejected paradise based on whether our shirt was bought at the "Gap" vs the local thrift store. When and where exactly did wearing second hand clothing become a stigma, why as society are we so ungrateful for what we have?

There was once a time where making your own clothes from fabric provided something more than what was bought at the store, crafty and innovative, these women would create their own wears - sometimes out of *GASP* Second hand items- this is a lost art I feel that only a select few may have kept up.

These "MUST HAVE" items, will not make our journey to eternal life any easier and as The Man himself said - " Its easier for a Camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven"

Lord let my reward not be in this world, but in the next with you.