Recently, I had the shocking realization that Marshall and I are living a lifestyle we cant afford.

It's taken us this long to realize it, because we aren't the ones shouldering the debt we owe (spiritually or practically). From the little bit of research we've done so far, it's clear that there are people around the world and in the US who are oppressed, and they are the ones providing the cheap materials for products we buy and use every day. That's something I've heard my whole life, but I'm just now "getting" what that means and that I can do something about it.

Here's what we're doing, for a start:

• Learning about our role in oppressing others at http://slaveryfootprint.org/ , and becoming more educated about what Fair Trade products exist.
• Chosing, for now, two products that we will only buy Fair Trade: Coffee and Bananas--and adding products to our list as we become more educated.  
• Committing to spending more money to buy Fair Trade items instead of what we're used to buying
• Raise awareness for this issue among the people we know, as well as in the businesses we support

But here's WHY we're doing it:

God started laying this on my heart a few weeks ago while I ran across Isaiah 58:5-6 while reading Tim Keller's The Reason for God. Here's God, speaking to Israel through the prophet Isaiah:

"Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

"Is this not the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?"

Strangely, though, this conviction hasn't come to me as the guilt-ridden burden it could seem like (which is how I've always perceived stuff like this before). Here's why: I have a lot of issues. First-world-problem stuff: Insecurities, based on what our culture values and based on wanting the approval of people around me. I've learned this principle recently: Those issues seem like a HUGE DEAL to me when I focus on them. But they seem a lot less huge when I seek to know who God is and when I reach out to care for others.

God also says in Isaiah 58 that when I obey his command to care for the needy, my "healing shall spring up speedily"; I will "call, and the Lord will answer" and also that "The Lord will guide [me] continually and satisfy my desire in scorched places." Summarizing an idea from these things and the rest of the chapter, God's saying to me that in caring for the poor and oppressed, he will also care for me and set me free from the things I desire that can never satisfy. I'm seeing that whatever "sacrifices" we'll make out of obedience to the Lord's call aren't sacrifices at all because we will gain Him. Basically, I want to  make this change in a desperate attempt to get rid of the things that enslave me and gain more of God Himself.

With all of this in mind, we've begun praying about what God is calling us to change in this coming year. Because it will  be a year of change, as Marshall starts law school who-knows-where, next fall. It will definitely be an adventure!!