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When Shiny Bags Can't Fill the Heart · The Call to Women in Faith Podcast

• 0:00
  Hello there. I had a silly quote
• 0:02
  from the book Confessions of a Shopaholic pop up in my head recently.
• 0:07
  Quote, and a store always smells good. A store can awaken a lust for things
• 0:13
  you never even knew you needed.
• 0:16
  And when your fingers first grasp those shiny new bags.
• 0:21
  End quote. While we're talking about confessions, I must say that I understand
• 0:25
  the protagonist's love of shopping.
• 0:27
  The smell that envelops you when you enter Bloomingdale still has some residual effect on me.
• 0:34
  Many moons ago, I used retail therapy to fill the God-sized hole in my heart.
• 0:39
  Thankfully, he tapped on my shoulder
• 0:42
  and guided me away from the mall and towards the safety of the word.
• 0:47
  I got reminded of this because I happened to be in a big city and walked into
• 0:51
  a store that grabbed me and tried to draw me back into memory lane.
• 0:55
  A memory that appears sweet on the surface. What happened? Where did that feeling go?
• 1:02
  Why was it not as satisfying as I used to think it was?
• 1:06
  If memory serves me right, it was never a permanent feeling.
• 1:11
  Things can make you feel good temporarily and are not a solution to the problem.
• 1:16
  I used shopping to escape reality. In case you are curious, I did buy some pretty
• 1:22
  good stuff in that store that day, but I did not succumb to the feeling.
• 1:26
  The draw was gone. It was replaced by a functional need.
• 1:31
  It was never going to replace the
• 1:33
  joy of reading the Bible. The intangible replaced the shiny new object.
• 1:39
  Quote, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
• 1:44
  destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
• 1:46
  But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys
• 1:51
  and where thieves do not break in and steal.
• 1:54
  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. End quote.
• 2:00
  Matthew chapter 6 verse 19. Back in the day, this statement would have been a real buzzkill.
• 2:06
  But now I can say with confidence that it is clearer to me than it was before.
• 2:12
  When I was floundering, I was trying to feel the way we are meant to feel,
• 2:16
  the way God intended for us to feel, loved, protected, and safe.
• 2:22
  When we think we are in control, we look for ways that are in our power.
• 2:27
  Unfortunately, nothing was in my power. Without Jesus in me,
• 2:31
  I will be defeated by this world, prone to bad judgment and down a path of darkness.
• 2:38
  Quote, And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is
• 2:43
  made perfect in weakness.
• 2:45
  Therefore, most gladly, I would rather boast in my infirmities,
• 2:49
  that the power of Christ may rest upon me. End quote.
• 2:54
  2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 9.
• 2:58
  Quote, I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
• 3:04
  Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well. End quote.
• 3:10
  Psalm 139, verse 14. Shopping has its place, but it cannot replace God's love
• 3:17
  that fills every fiber of our existence.
• 3:20
  All I needed to do was be open to seeing how much I am loved.
• 3:25
  God loves you and me. What a blessing.
• 3:29
  Dear Jesus, you picked me up from darkness and set me up in truth and light.
• 3:34
  Teach me to never take your sacrifice for granted. Your blood cleansed me and made me whole.
• 3:41
  May I show gratitude in every thought that enters my mind and every word that leaves my lips today.
• 3:48
  All glory be yours now and always. Amen.