I am envious of the "traveling jones's" I always wonder how so many of our friends seem to be able to travel so much, skiing in the winter, 10 day vacations in the summer, lots of weekend getaways. I want that!

Me toooooo!!!!

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My hubby has always been the one that says, "Who cares what they think, have, do, say, etc.." He has really helped me to overcome this, I was always the one who doesn't want anyone mad at me, to talk about me, etc. I am getting better and now I think we are to the point where we compliment each other.

We do not keep up with any Joneses, we just have never been able to financially, but we have learned that is okay. We are happy, healthy, and I think have normal dreams/wants. If we feel the urge to keep up, reality and knowing where we don' t want to end up has always killed that urge. We have a number of friends that have "everything" and the debt to go with it! That really helps keep us grounded.

I to envy that "perfect mom" but like someone else said maybe all of us appear "perfect" to someone else in public.

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"God determines who walks into your life…
it’s up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay and who you refuse to let go." - Anonymous

I try really hard to be thankful for what we have. One of my friends, Mrs. Jones, tries to entice me into "keeping up" with her. I know she is in debt up to her eyeballs, but it gets so annoying. She wants to compete about exercise, weight loss, children's activities, cars, diet, everything! So my goal is to ignore 99% of what she says, and maybe she will realize she doesn't have a rival with me!

I had a friend/neighbor like that. I got tired of the conversations being shallow and full of what new Coach bag she was buying next or what new thing she was going to do to the house. I finally disconnected from her and happy I did. She added nothing to my life and was so full of herself.

This was sent to me via email. It really struck a chord with me, especially since participating in FJP.

COFFEE

A group of alumni, all highly established in their
respective careers, got together for a visit with
their old university professor. The conversation soon
turned to complaints about the endless stress of work
and life in general.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into
the kitchen and soon returned with a large pot of
coffee and an eclectic assortment of cups: porcelain,
plastic, glass, crystal - some plain, some expensive,
some quite exquisite.

Quietly he told them to help themselves to some fresh
coffee.

When each of his former students had a cup of coffee
in hand, the old professor quietly cleared his throat
and began to patiently address the small gathering. .
.
"You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking
cups were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer
and cheaper ones. While it is only natural for you to
want only the best for yourselves, that is actually
the source of much of your stress-related problems."

He continued. . ."Be assured that the cup itself adds
no quality to the coffee. In fact, the cup merely
disguises or dresses up what we drink. What each of
you really wanted was coffee, not a cup, but you
instinctively went for the best cups. . . Then you
began eyeing each other's cups. . ."

"Now consider this: Life is coffee. Jobs, money, and
position in society are merely cups. They are just
tools to shape and contain Life, and the type of cup
we have does not truly define nor change the quality
of the Life we live. Often, by concentrating only on
the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee that God has
provided us. . . God brews the coffee, but he does not
supply the cups. Enjoy your coffee !''

The happiest people don't have the best of everything,
they just make the best of everything they have. . .
So please remember:
Live simply,
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God!
And remember - The richest person is not the one who
has the most, but the one who needs the least.

WOW!!! That really struck me too! I read it to DH and he wants me to email it to him. It had a big impact on us. THANK YOU FOR SHARING IT!!

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That's a great analogy! Thanks for sharing it.

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Thanks for sharing that! I am going to print it and keep it in my journal

I love the coffee analogy...