Long story, short:

Hi, I'm Marybeth, the main voice behind At What Cost. I tend to be long winded, so I'll just stick to the facts:

  • Hopeless Sinner, Redeemed by the Grace of the One True God

  • Wife to Brian

  • Mom to 3 Boys (We adopted from foster care in 2016)

  • Graduate of Western Michigan University with a degree in Family Studies.

  • Full-Time Working Mom in the Early Childhood Education Industry

  • Bible Study Facilitator

  • YouTuber

  • Blogger

  • All around extrovert with an introvert soul.

  • The kind of mom that loves essential oils and the occasional Cheeto.

Long story…..long…

Here's the detailed, long-winded, story of our journey to reclaiming abundant living.

Family heirlooms, decorative items, Christmas decorations, items from our childhoods, furniture that we loved, good deals that we scored, projects we wanted to complete, and items that were difficult to part with for any number of reasons. You name, we had it.

In 2016 our square footage per person shrunk significantly! We added three sweet little boys to our family through adoption, and suddenly the amount of stuff we had seemed to double. So in 2017 we moved to a much larger house, packed up most of our stuff into a moving truck and two storage units, and doubled our square footage.

But, as it always does, history repeated itself. We were again in a state of abundance, but it had become clear that it is the wrong kind of abundance. The cost of our stuff has been great. I am on a mission to reclaim what abundant living really looks like, by simplifying our home and household schedule.

Jesus tells us in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

I can't help but think that when Jesus said “life abundantly,” he didn't mean jammed pack schedules, boxes of high school yearbooks and trinkets from 5th grade. I want to live a life that brings glory and honor to God. I want to shepherd my kids hearts and be a helper to my husband. But I can't do that living in the wrong kind of abundance.

If you're like me, it may have taken a while to figure out the cost of all this stuff, in which case you are in good company. I hope you'll join me and I look forward to taking this journey with you!

 
 

Why “At What Cost”?

Sometime toward the end of 2018/beginning of 2019 we discussed a number of topics between the women's bible study I facilitate, Sunday school, the sermon series in our church, and our home group study topics. They all lead to a giant light bulb moment.

We had way too much stuff, and money was not the only thing that was spent maintaining it all.

When the Israelites made atonement, they chose THE best sacrifice. The cost at which their atonement came was significant.

These days, we have overnight shipping, 24 hour stores, online everything, an absence of delayed gratification, and an attitude that most things are disposable.

That's when it hit me! "At what cost?"

What is all of this abundance costing me, and what does a true Biblical abundant life look like for every day mom's like me?

That has been the soul motivation behind At What Cost. My aim is to reclaim abundant living through the one that paid the cost for me. I hope you’ll join me as we work to get our homes to reflect the transformation that Jesus begins inside of each of us.