Eric Offstage

USA Today; Christian Radio; X Rated Videos, Witchcraft books & More

Wow! This SHED thing has been creating powerful ripples in our community and around the country. 

First, USA Today called this morning and did an interview with me about our SHED series, materialism and The Crossing taking up a 100 things challenge.  It is so cool that people are noticing what we are doing.  I hope that many more churches and organizations pick up on this series and give it a shot. 

Secondly, I am being interviewed by a local Christian radio station about SHED tonight and last week the Star News did a piece on The Crossing and SHED.  How cool is that? 

In all of this publicity we are just praying that God moves people one step closer to Jesus and we hope that we represent Him well in everything we do and say.   

The Crossing has really given away so much stuff.  I know of 3 cars being given away, boats, and all sorts of valuables and family heirlooms being SHED so our lives are less controlled by materialism.

I happened to stop over on Monday at the Faith in action garage sale.  Their staff were so complimentary of the Crossing and overwhelmed by the massive amount of stuff we gave them.  Their warehouse was stuffed to the gills with dining room tables and chairs, snow blowers, books, mountains of clothing, movies, electronics, outdoor equipment, kitchen stuff and millions of other odds and ends. 

It is like a mini Wal-Mart in there.  Way to go, Crossing!! 

Some of the funniest things donated were several books on witchcraft and a number of X-rated movies.  The Faith in Action crew said that is what they love about us.  "People are turning away from that stuff and turning to the truth."  YEAH GOD!! 

The garage sale people decided they should just throw the off-color stuff out.  (Good call.)

Anyway Crossing, thanks for working so hard to remove the clutter from your homes and be more than just consumers controlled by your stuff.  Thanks for thinking about spiritual things instead of just earthly things. 

I am so proud to be your pastor. 

Eric

I AM DONE!! I HAVE SHED! CHECK OUT MY 100 THINGS LIST

So my shed list is done.  Kelly and I are giving away a ton of stuff and this was a really fun good challenge for us.  Hopefully you will be giving away a bunch of crap too. 

 

Below are my 100 personal items.  I am going to try to keep myself at 100 things for as long as I can though I am not going to put a time limit on it like one year or something.  If I get anything new I will be giving something away off this list.     

1. NIV Bible 
2. ESV Study bible
3. Life Journal
4. The Message Bible
5. Various books I use for work.  (I gave away over 400 books) 
6. Fishing equipment.  (I am giving away a ton of stuff that I no longer use but is perfectly good.)
7. Camping equipment.  (I am giving away a ton of this stuff too, as I never use most of it and it just takes up space.)
8.  jeans.
9.  jeans
10.  jeans
11.  jeans
12.  jeans
13.  jeans
14. hoodie sweatshirt
15. sweatshirt
16. sweatshirt
17. sweatshirt
18. sweatshirt
19. sweatshirt
20.  t-shirt
21. t-shirt
22. t-shirt
23. t-shirt
24. t-shirt
25. t-shirt
26. t-shirt
27. long sleeve t-shirt
28. long sleeve t-shirt
29. long sleeve t-shirt
30. long sleeve t-shirt
31. long sleeve t-shirt
32. underwear (Aren't you glad I am not giving that stuff away?  Gross)
33. socks
34. biker boots brown
35. biker boots black
36. cons tennis shoes black
37. cons tennis shoes blue
38. running shoes
39. snow boots
40. brown tennis shoes
41. flip-flops
42. khakis
43. khakis. 
44. 1 marrying and burying suit
45. tie
46. tie
47. dress shirt 
48. dress shirt 
49. dress shirt 
50. dress shirt 
51. dress shirt 
52. dress shirt 
53. dress shirt 
54. dress shirt 
55. 3 Frisbee golf disks.  (I had 4 but someone threw one in a lake.)
56. watch
57. wedding ring
58. wallet
59. cross necklace
60. bike
61. boat
62. canoe
63. 3 paddles
64. .12 gauge shotgun
65.  .22 rifle
66.  pellet gun
67. various ammunition (don't mess with us.) 
68. gun cleaning kit
69. toothbrush
70. razor
71. deodorant (aren’t you glad?)
72. allergy medication
73. swimsuit
74. pajama pants
75. shorts
76. shorts
77. shorts
78. cabela’s hat
79. baseball cap
80. pocket knife
81. Leatherman
82. 8 DVD’s (rest I am getting rid off)

-          We were soldiers

-          Last of the Mohicans

-          Open Range 

-          Saving Private Ryan

-          Braveheart

-          The Eagles live in Melbourne

-          Gladiator  

-     Troy

83.  5 – 10 Cd’s.  all the rest we are shedding.

***still unsure which ones but mostly keeping just instrumental stuff, Hillsong United, Collective Soul and Queen.

84. laptop
85. hand and power tools (gave a bunch away)
86. lawn mower
87. weed eater
88. snow blower
89. 2 snow shovels
90. garden tools (including the hoses I kept)
91. picture of a man preaching with Jesus by his side.  (I love this picture)
92. wedding pictures
93. family pictures
94. wedding video
95. beer mug
96. beer mug
97. bible degree diploma
98. college diploma
99. Master’s degree diploma
100. licenses and ordination certificate

 

SHED Day 7

9:29 am.  Eric's typing furiously on his laptop, getting ready for SHED part 2.  I'm working in my pajamas.  Fridays are like this for us. The frantic pace of the work week stops as he sits before God alone and prepares his talk.  I'm a low-energy person, so I'm wiped out by now and need a chill-out day to survive the weekend.  Of course, today I'm getting ready to host Pastor Bruce's birthday party.  Come if you can!

SHED thoughts: 

1.  EXCESS!  As we SHED, we find out just how many things we have in particular categories.  Examples: We have about 800 books.  We're gearing up to SHED a bunch.
I had 7 pairs of boots (and none were snow boots).  I'm down to 4 now.
I had a drawer full of scented lotions that I don't like the smell, body spray & perfume I never use.  I'm dumping bottles & recycling them.
I'm a sucker for linens/fabrics, and I love to thrift shop. So I've been shedding tablecloths, sheets, curtains, bed skirts, pillowcases, blankets, antique scarves, and random fabric I thought I'd make something with.

2.  Sentimental stuff.  I'm being more intentional about what we keep: our kids' baby blankets, my old journals, and Braden's Winnie the Pooh pacifier (he's 12 now).  I ditched Eric's graduation gown, the box from my engagement ring, and the first bottle of perfume Eric bought me.  Seriously.  It's 15 years old.  If I haven't used it by now...

3.  Garbage vs. Give-ables.  The point of SHEDding really isn't about helping someone else.  That's a happy by-product.  Therefore, you must get rid of it, whether or not someone else can use it.  Someone told me the other day, "I have this stack of old T-shirts.  No one else will want them, so I'm keeping them."  Then they should go in the garbage.  Or the rag bag. 
BE OK WITH THROWING THINGS AWAY.  Don't force your local charity to throw your garbage away for you.  No-one wants 1/3 bottle of Bath & Body Works lavender body smoothing cream. 
Only give what's good to give.

Kelly

SHED Day 3

Hi folks, Kelly here.  Eric is on a lake somewhere, the kids are at school, and I'm enjoying my Sabbath at home alone.  Since I can't sit still very well (ever seen me sit through a whole service at church?) especially when I'm on the phone, I've been SHEDding this morning, just for the fun of it.  I'm taking a break to report what we've shed so far.

By the way, I'm starting by getting rid of everything I can, before I even bother to start counting what I'm keeping.

Saturday we did our closet.  We now each have 2 hoodies sitting all alone on the upper closet shelf.  It is weird.  I also did the bathroom cupboard and medicine cabinets.  It's pretty easy to get rid of expired toiletries and medications.  I sat and sorted the "junk drawer" while I listened to Eric practice his talk on Saturday morning (did I mention I don't sit still well?).

Yesterday we were wiped out from church, but added some more from our dressers to the pile in the corner of our bedroom.  As I get laundry done, I'm sure we'll find more clothes to shed.

Today I got rid of:

Extra measuring spoons

All sharp knives but the ones I love/use (which means I no longer need the knife block)

Tupperware items without lids (& vice versa)

Plastic plates and bowls (I hate eating off plastic anyway)

Serving trays except the one I love and use all the time

Coffee filters that don't fit our pot (WHY did I have those?)

Kids cups that don't stack
Pots & pans, lids, vases, jars
A SnackMaster (anyone remember those infomercials?)
Cowboy boots that don't fit well (I inherited a pair that does)
Christmas dishes, saucers & cups that don't match anything

Cookbooks (Hello? We have the internet!)

... and much more...

Two things I'm noticing:

1. SHEDding helps me get rid of things I don't really like (that I keep thinking "I'll use/wear sometime") and only keep what I really enjoy using/wearing.

2. I'm naturally a get-rid-of-stuff person, but keep sentimental things.  SHEDding frees me up to get rid of those old cheerleading t-shirts and my grandma's sugar dish (it's ugly...shh...don't tell my mom). 

However, I'm not quite ready to SHED my Ronald McDonald plate from my 4th birthday party.  I'll keep you posted on that.

Post SHED (Now it is time to go down to 100 things)

The Crossing had awesome services this past weekend.  Jesus really showed up and I know a ton of people who are already shedding tons of their stuff. 

Just a reminder, the point is really to see Jesus and experience the joy of Christ.  As we love him, order our lives around his Word, and love people we will experience joy and peace like never before. 

I will be posting my first shed list on Tuesday.  Stay tuned.  100 things here I come. 

S.H.E.D. Series

Our new S.H.E.D.starts this weekend.  I am so pumped.  I have been doing research and reading on this subject for about nine months now, so I am really ready to share this stuff.  You don't want to miss it. 

One of the interesting places my research took me this past year is to a website called the storyofstuff.com  There is a fascinating 20 minute movie on this site that brings up some great questions about Americans and our connection to stuff and materialism.  I would encourage every person that reads this blog to go watch this movie.  It is very thought provoking.

Hope to see you this weekend for church.  It is going to be off the chain!! 

*****Addendum to this post.
Several people have been freaking out over the storyofstuff.com video and trying to say I am being political.  I am not being political.  I don't really care about the people's politics on the video.  I care about church people being less of consumers and less materialistic. 

If you are liberal, be a liberal--good for you.  
If you are a conservative, be conservative--good for you. 

I am a Jesus follower.  That is the only label I will ever wear. 
Politics are for someone else to fight about. 

Just don't be so dang materialistic.