Some Concluding Thoughts

In the start of her book "Living Simply" Joanne Heim creates a wonderful mental image of simplifying our life in a comparison to how Michelangelo once commented about his work. He said simply that he saw the angel in the marble and carved until he set him free. She suggests that if we are searching for quality of life we have to chisel at the chunks of marble..our life weighted down with stuff...paring away at the sharp edges, corners, flaws.

Let’s think about this...we can try alone to chisel.. to figure it out, to make it better, to refocus and pare away the stress and excess. To simplify and feel free. But the fact is:God-- the maker of the universe-- is offering a simple way designed for freedom. The road God wants to lead us on is narrow and simple, not broad and complicated to follow.

God invites and urges us to walk with Him on the narrow and simple road--to abide with Him, to remain in Him. DAY BY DAY. MOMENT BY MOMENT. To grow in our knowledge and understanding and reflection of Him and find life...real life...life to the full.

Life is hard. I am not telling you otherwise. God himself said in this world there will be trouble. I am in no way downplaying that life and its externals are often downright less than simple. But the fact of it is in the midst of it all He has come to give us peace and freedom. Both in the calm and in the storm, we can find the hope for freedom in the footprints of Jesus who directs us to God’s footprints.

Can you hear Him saying this to you? Each line is taken from the bible.

"My child ,

Come away with me by yourself

And get some rest

Be still and know that I am God

I will satisfy you with good things

And restore your strength

I will waken you morning by morning

And I myself will teach you

I will direct you in the way you should go

My compassion never fails

Great is my faithfulness

Wait for me

Put your hope in me

And you will not be disappointed

You are mine and I love you

Your Abba Father" (Joanne Heim 2009)



What will we say to His invitation each day? He is waiting. Let's seek Him... Let's walk with Him... Abide with Him and find life. Not a crazy busy full life but abundant life overflowing with an abundance of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness. And let’s give Him glory for what wonderous things He has done.

Let’s go away with a song in our heart. Because ultimately it is all by Him and Through Him and to Him. To Him Be the Glory.
(click on the link below to hear the song and watch video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH6QbH7wXgs

Ultimately We are Never at Y and Z

Ultimately we are never at y or z!! So here we end with a few thoughts. I love the way Joane Heim sums it up. She writes: “Living Simply is not so much about the particulars of our lives as it is about the principles that govern them. Knowing what God has called us to do and doing it. That is living simply.”



Know God. Know His love. Know His plan. Dig deeper in a relationship with Him.

X is for the X Factor

Well, here we are almost at the end of the alphabet. Is the list comprehensive? Does it take into consideration everything? Hmmmm ...in everything there is often an unknown... an X... a variable. Our life, background, interests and emotional make up are all different. We have to take that into account. And the fact of it also is that once we think we’ve simplified things and..

we think well now we are at y or z… things are bound to change like we discussed at T. New responsibilities, a heartache, a change in our life. But lets keep in mind that the goal is to do everything in a way that fulfills our purpose to love God and love others regardless or our differences or X factors. It will look different because the externals of our lives are all very different but the principles are the same. Know God… Know His love. Know His plan… Dig deeper in a relationship with Him. Because ultimately we are never at y and z!

W is for Welcome Others

Ah...simple hospitality. How can we not say this is part of living simply? Are we to be hospitable? YES! Our homes are a gift. A refuge for our families. But not to keep just to ourselves. We are to open our hearts and our homes to others.

We can share...just a pot of coffee or some fruit and a seat outside .. it can be simple. We can share with others in need.. a listening ear...some outgrown clothes... A shoulder to cry on.

And this isn’t just in a little circle of our regular comfortable friends.You see--who was Jesus hospitable to? Who did he welcome? Jesus befriended the poor, the helpless, the beggar, the tax collector, the fishermen...the list goes on and it was a colourful list at that. He went into very varied social circles.

If we are walking with Him, then I think we will want to reach out beyond our comfort zone--outside our age, our status, our regular groups. Let's not hedge ourselves into a small circle of comfortable friends. Let's reach out... way out. Look for someone God might want you to befriend and ask for His strength and love. Look for someone who needs a friend. Let's welcome others.

V is for Value Story

Joanne reminds us to “celebrate the story, not the stuff." “Stories have power. They draw us in, engage our imaginations, and keep our attention. Stories link us to others, to events, to things. They help us remember. Jesus taught with stories. Nothing was too ordinary or common for him to use to teach a lesson.” (Living Simply ABC)

We need to look for opportunites-- teachable moments to remind us and our children of God’s promises, truths and commands. Stories are simple. We can tell stories when we are walking, sitting, laying down and getting up. Birthdays, Christmas, Easter---all too often they become filled with stress and center around what needs to be done. And we miss out. Simply: let’s remember to make our celebrations a celebration of what happened. To watch our attitude and to focus on what is important. The story and meaning in all these things will leave a bigger impression than any present, any decoration or any meal we can strive to give.

U is for Use What You Have

Joanne Heim reminds us in her book "Living Simply" that we need to use our stash… we have things we keep adding to without using it up or making room for more!!! We can often make do with what we have and we need to think about whether we REALLY need more. A good reminder, isn’t it? Shirley told me last week she googled sweet potatoes and ham because that was all she had… and she found a great casserole! So here is the question… are we using what we have???

As I think about this concept it makes me think of a very rough tumultuous time just a few years ago when I kept going to God and saying “I am not equipped for this.” Just between you and me it had to do with teenagers. But this was my tear filled mantra unfortunately. I kept going to God prayerfully but always ended up saying "God I need tools to deal with this. I am not equipped. I am not equipped for this." So here is the thing. Did I google Him with what I had on hand.. the promises he gives us? Did I seek to listen really listen?

God promises to supply our need… that there is nothing impossible… that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

So here I ask… are we using what we know about God in faith to handle life? Are we googling the bible for answers? Simply...am I doing it on my own or trusting Him and the resources He supplies to be sufficient; looking and seeking Him for what He has?

I have also been thinking of the story of the talents lately, and I want to add... am I or are we using all that we have been given or trusted to us in our lives--our talents, our money, our homes, our children, our families, our time, and our faith? Are we really really using it,or are we burying our head in the sand in all our busyness? Am I and are you really using what we have, or frittering it away? I am convicted. Are you?

Let’s really really use what God has trusted us with. Simple concept, eh? Use what we have.

T is for Try Something Different...and Trust Him

So here we are coming to the end of the alphabet!! The ABCs of living simply. We have come from A looking at our Attitude… B Being Realistic, Being Content and Being Real… C Choosing Wisely and Creating Memories, D.. Do Focus on the Moment (Living Today) and last week we ended with Seek Him First. Sooooo...have any of you mastered all of the ideas we’ve talked about? It’s a continual process, isn’t it? Or....am I the only one still working at most of the ideas on a day to day basis? It sure is a day to day waking and walking with God, isn’t it?

Today we continue with T… T is for Try Something Different... and Trust Him

The externals of our life often change… they are not constant. Life has a way of changing. Just when it seems things are working out; we think we have it all running smoothly and life as we see it seems as close as it gets to simple and free-- things change. You know… the outside pieces of life may be a bit like our kids…just when we we have them figured out… there comes something new to deal with!

The one constant, unchanging thing in all of life is God.

So when life changes,or our life “seasons” change, we need to be able to try something new. You know… being flexible? Finding a different way to deal with or work with our kids… a different way to fit things in our day. A new home... new job...new difficulties or stress... a new heartache... Things can sneak up, surprise us, maybe even feel like they bite us! And we have to roll a bit with the change... adapt and find alternative ways to deal with the new situation.

But regardless of anything new we do, trusting God and not leaning on our own understanding can make all the difference! He is faithful... when others are not. He is filled with love and compassion... when others are not. He promises that all things work together for good for those who love Him... not some things but ALL. I didn’t choose my difficult circumstances in my life,but they have shown me so vividly that God is trustworthy. AMEN? I love him, don’t you?? Trust Him.

Jacqueline's Photo Verse Ideas!

Here are some samples of Jacqueline's awesome photo verse idea!!!

S is for Seek Him First

S Seek God First and Everything Else will Fall in Line

Worrying and rushing around can become the norm. I have seen it in my life. It becomes a habit. But I am reminded that God says to seek Him first… His purposes, His opinion, His will and that everything else will fall in line. Isn’t that an awesome promise? Does it sound too good to be true… too simple? God has promised it. It is true. The times I seek Him first it falls in line. The times I keep trying to make things work I have learned the hard way… going to Him after getting worn out and exhausted and trying to struggle through. In parenting, in working with my spouse, in joy, in doubt, in need, in relationships, in sorrow, in confusion and in everything. Seek Him first and He promises to provide everything we need.

R is for Rest and Refuge

Ah… rest… Do you feel guilty when you rest? I know I do… and even more as a stay at home mom… I don’t want to look lazy! Honestly… I am realizing like a two year old that refuses to nap...that rest is not laziness.. that it has a purpose… to replenish us. God wants us to rest. Psalm 23:2-3 reminds us that God makes us to lie down in green pastures and leads us beside quiet waters and restores our soul. I agree with Joanne… probably the reason he makes us lie down is because otherwise we would keep running to get something done! God wants us to rest in Him. Remember our verse we started with? God wants to show us how to take a real rest… He encourages us that He is there waiting for us to spend time with Him and rest. We can run around like fugitives going from person to person telling our troubles and never quite feeling like we have found rest and answers...but God is offering us rest and refuge! Let's go to Him!

Q is for Questions and Quiet

Asking a lot of questions is the way to find out what living simply is about. We have to ask questions about what is important, what we want as goals, what is going well, what needs to change and what God wants for us. I am thinking or rather knowing that there have been times I am simply living… or surviving… instead of living simply… how about you? Questions are how we learn and in asking questions we will make better choices. And remember…James reminds us… “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask of God who gives generously and it will be given.” Essentially I am learning to ask more questions of God… instead of just doing all the talking. And seeking answers. ASK Seek Knock.. I hear God reminding us. Ask and listen.

We need to ask and we need some quiet and still times to listen… which leads us to R.

P is for Perfection isn't the goal... Praise the Perfect One

Let’s face it. Noone is perfect. We just aren’t. We can strive for order. I am not telling you to give up. But I can honestly say in striving it just sometimes doesn’t work out in any order I want!! Don’t you?? Sometimes we need to let go…I am finding that living simply for me involves less striving and more being still. God reminds us a lot of times to be still and I find that is not the easiest task… I am learning!!!. And here is another hard one: to be thankful even when things are getting me overwhelmed and nothing is working out. Here is what I am finding… that turning on praise music… even blaring my kids bible or praise cds (actually I highly recommend Hermie and Wormie’s scripture in song!) makes everything fade as I rest in God’s perfection. 2 Samuel 22:31-32 says “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God.” Amen?

O is for Overwhelmed? Organize something?? OR (simply) OBEY

Do you ever feel overwhelmed??? I know I do. Joanne Heim reminds us to start small in her book “Living Simply”… and to organize one thing when things are overwhelming. But honestly… I am finding that that alone isn’t enough for me at certain times in my life. Often my feelings of stress and overwhelmedness are only stilled when I remember to be like a child. Here is the cool part. God really WANTS to simplify our lives. He says that we should have childlike faith. That there is nothing to worry about. That we should trust him and run to him… like a child. And I find that when I run obediently to Him throughout my day..even when lifes events, my husband, my teenagers, my preschooler, my toddler or myself is causing life to be less than simple… obeying and being real-- just as I am, spilling it all to him.. the good bad and ugly of what I am feeling--that is what turns it around. Simply obeying Him even when life is overwhelming. Anyone agree?

N is for NO

Ah… saying no. I probably don’t need to elaborate, do I? We know we SHOULD.. but I think this is something I think most of us struggle with. Do we jump to say yes… or Do we take time to respond to someone when they ask about a commitment? Do we call them back? Do we pray about it? Sometimes we need to say no. Saying no about some things means you can say yes to others and focus on what is important. Sometimes we need to evaluate what is important... focus on what is needed ... prayerfully consider it and...say no.

More on Managing Your Time: Brainstorm Session on Quiet Time in Busy Lives

FINDING TIME/MAKING TIME FOR ABIDING WITH GOD
Some seasons of our life are sooo busy... it seems impossible to find quiet time, let alone time alone!! Perhaps part of the secret of this season is realizing that we WALK with God.... Abide with Him in our day to day life, siezing moments to commune with God amidst chaos in our life!
Here are some ideas our grop shared for balancing time and keeping time for God in our day.

1)Use the Computer: email /facebook devotions, bible study resources
Girlfriends in God, GirlTalk, Crosswalk, Focus on Family, etc... checking your email daily is a habit... you can make your devotion part of that habit! Send it to your inbox!

2) Ipod/CDs/little books: music, downloads, studies --make use of time- cleaning, walking/exercising, making dinner, in car, bathroom .. bundle the kids up in the stroller and go for a walk with the "WALKMAN"!

3)Post its: verses on the fridge, mirror, window, car visor or added to the background of family pictures! A verse to learn or a key verse we need as reminders for us through the day!

4)Making use of pockets or background time! You can multitask ..blow drying hair, shower, driving, cleaning, nursing .. can pray...listen to a CD...think and listen to God

5)Saying no to something.... TV..computer....

6) Look at small chunk... a verse.. names of God.. A book of the bible Psalms, Proverbs... John.. Corinthians...even the devotions for kids can be for me!

7) Be flexible!! Quiet time may not be perfectly quiet in all seasons of life! You may be interupted... you may be reading or praying and have to come back to it....persevere!

8)Pray... Just like you breathe.. we can talk to Him anytime just talking to Him ... a short prayer breath as you look for help.. think of someone's need... praise Him for answers.. He is there.

9)Ask God for help! Look for Him....The awesome part is that He meets us right where we are at.. tell Him where you are at... That you want to make time and can't figure out how to make it work... or that you aren't even sure he is real.... ask Him to show Him Himself. He will! With His help you will get creative answers.. resources...people!

Back to the ABC s... M is for Managing Your Time

So the last couple of weeks we have been taking a look at what the center of living simply is about… We have spent some time in the middle.. focusing on what the simple freedom God offers us in our relationship with Him... and we have been looking at the Wisdom in hot chocolate .. a great metaphor about our lives being filled by God!

… Today I want to talk some more about ideas that will simplify our lives and help the middle center of it all to be filled with abundance. Lets start with another M the one I meant to last week but umm. .. ironically time kinda got away… .. Managing our Time.

M Manage your time

I don’t know about you, but my life pretty much runs on a schedule… Don't you just wish you could just toss the schedule out some days… but alas… we are all bound by time. As parents we have the responsibility to guard our families time and to teach our children to use time wisely. Ultimately... this life is temporary. The bible says our life is like a mist, a wilting flower, or a shadow. Sorry to make you think about it…but it is true: our life will end. We all think we will live forever.. but ultimately we do not know our number of days. The sad thing is often people simplify their lives when they feel it is about to end. It is at this point that they realize what is important and stop frittering away their time. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live my LAST days focused on what is important… I want to do IT now, without looking back and regretting. I want to think about what I am doing and whether it really has lasting value. I want to think before I add more commitments or activities. Moses.. a man of wisdom writes in Psalm 90:12 “Teach me to number my days aright, Lord, that I may gain a heart of wisdom.” Don’t you love that verse… asking God for help with our busy schedules… help to simplify them wisely if you will. Let's echo Moses request to number, schedule, plan and organize our days well.. like Moses lets ask God to “establish the work of our hands”… to order, arrange and prepare our day.

More Thoughts on Hot Chocolate... Tapping Into the Hot Chocolate Maker

I don’t know about you.. but this metaphor of hot chocolate is just reallllllllly working for me!! (If you haven't seen it, check the previous post:(Slideshow)The Wisdom in Hot Chocolate)

The center of it all.. our life… filled up and overflowing with that which comes straight from the hot chocolate maker!!

This is abundant life...abundance coming from HIM… flowing in… warming our cup… smelling so good… Tasting so good… so satisfying!!! HOT CHOCOLATE... or LIVING WATER!

You know what else? It is making me think about what it is like if we aren’t tapped into the hot chocolate brewer, God. Our cup may be empty and we may never have tasted how good the living water-- the hot chocolate--the life IS that God pours in. Our cup may be filled with other stuff, but something is missing. OR… if we have been tapped into the hot chocolate maker but then sort of misplaced Him (God)and haven’t been so tapped in because we've been busy---well then our hot chocolate can get cold. It may start to smell funny. It may no longer warm our cup so much. It doesn't even taste so good. Our cup may get emptier. Honestly… that second one fits for me.

Let me tell you-- I have before--I don’t have it all together. But I can tell you this:

I came to love God when I was about six… and loved growing in knowing him. And when hard times hit in my twenties, God made me very thirsty for more of Him. I drank deep of the hot chocolate. He filled me up and I totally overflowed. I had sooooo much time for reading, praying, drinking and being filled. He was my comforter, my rock, my healer, lifter of my head. My cup overflowed.

And then after I got married in my thirties... I didn’t mean for it to happen but to quote Crystal Dupay from Main Street Mom "Raising children, taking care of a home and a husband...overwhelmed us (me) to the point that we (I) began to sacrifice our (my)most important relationship. The one with God." I kept thinking.. it is just a season, God... I will have more time to study and grow later. But in sleep deprivation, stress and managing responsibilities what jostled out of my cup didn’t always smell or taste so good. My hot chocolate was getting emptier and colder. I prayed a lot… and I felt urgings to read my bible to keep growing...to really tap in. I tasted the yucky growing colder chocolate… and missed the good one. I realized my relationship was coasting... and that isn't good for any relationship,is it? And when I started to get back .. finding new and more flexible ways to spend time throughout the day reading, playing CDs.. enjoying God… I realized how much I MISSED GOD. It isn’t an obligation to be close to Him… It is the best thing ever.. My cup is full and warm again. God wants our cup to be full... to have life and life to the full.

This is life and life to the full.. filled up and overflowing in the inside. Make time… find time… enjoy Him. If you never have… find Him. His hot chocolate is the best! Ask Him to make you thirsty. You know how a couple who has been married a long time become like each other in how they act or look? That is how it is with time with God. When we walk with Him, day by day, little by little His will becomes ours, we become like Him. We become filled up with joy,… patience… goodness.. kindness.. abundance that comes from Him. I urge you...drink deep… get full.

Thoughts on the Middle of it All: The Wisom In Hot Chocolate

Thanks to Laura who sent this in! As she says... everything makes sense with hot chocolate! Thinking of being filled up to overflowing!!! And thinking that I want God to help choose my cup, too!

The Wisdom in Hot Chocolate

View more presentations from Ellelle852.

The Middle

The Middle
The Meat (The center or core or heart of it all)
And How It Involves ME

Hmmm.. so here we are smack dab in the middle of the alphabet.. 13 letters in. We are at the center of it all. So what does the center of living simply in our day to day life look like?

It is funny, because when I started out I had written "And it is not about Me". Generally speaking we need that reminder...because we can be selfish. We focus on ourselves, our needs,our wants, our fears, our insecurities and we want to do things our way. But as I have been thinking, I am realizing that perhaps we need a different reminder. That it is about me. It is about you. But maybe not the way you think. It is about me. It is about you. But listen and let me explain how.

To start off… let me ask YOU a question. Are you free? Deep down inside in the core or center of your innermost being...are you free to pursue the life God designed for you?

In the book "5 Little Questions" by DannahGresh, the author paints a vivid picture as she explains how baby circus elephants are trained for self-bondage. Trainers wrap heavy chains around the elephants chubby young legs and attach them to immovable steel stakes and as they grow, they never realize that they could walk off with little effort. By the time they weigh five or six tons a simple little rope and a wooden stake will enslave them to the circus tent for their lifetime. And Dannah suggests that we can be like that--deep down inside--shackled to stuff or fears--doing what we have always known, doing what we have always done or believing what we have always believed; loosing hope; afraid that we can’t get over our past or that it disqualifies us; thinking that there is not time to make changes to our life; searching, rushing, hurrying.. being busy ...perhaps looking for satisfaction but feeling that nothing will EVER completely satisfy us; worrying that we aren’t good enough or that we will fail. These things hold us down and we keep running in the rat race… or going around in circles in the circus tent. And we keep going.

So where do we find hope? The bible says that hope for freedom is not found in human wisdom, but that The great exciting, blessed riches of God’s purpose for our life is “hidden in God” (Eph 3:8-9). The greek word is anexichniaston—and this essentially means “that which cannot be traced by human footprints”. So basically in this rat race with our eyes looking at ourself, trying to figure it out, we are not going to find the great exciting, blessed riches of God’s freedom. These are found in the footprints of God. And how do we see those?

Ephesians 1:18 reads I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you. So how do we open the eyes of our heart?

Let me start by telling you about something. God has a battle plan for freedom. He wants to open our eyes. He tells us to fight the good fight. To run the race. And he wants what is best for us. He loves us. He is our maker. He knows how we function best. He knows what works for us. He wants good for us. So what keeps us from the best?

Do you know that what sin is? What would you say it is? I know I am always saying to my kids… it is the wrong things you do that aren’t what God wants for us. But I have to share what I just learned. I need to add to what I say. The Greek word for sin is Hamartano and that means to miss the mark so not to share the prize. Here is how Danah Gresh draws this out… life is like a target board ..the center or heart of it is God’s best for us. Being selfish.. being untruthful... addictions...holding onto things... these are like arrows that go outside of that middle space.. God's best for me. Sin is wrong and separates us from God .. and ultimately it makes us miss out on what was best!!! We loose out!! God doesn’t want us to. He wants us to find the prize in Him--the indescribable blessings that living in Him pours into our life. You may be a girlie girl like me… but it is time to raise our bows and look for help in aiming for the heart of the mark. The center… God’s best for ME.

So how do we see that mark? Let me go back to the idea of opening the eyes of our heart so that we would see the footprints of God. How do we do that? Remember the verse that we started with?

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?
Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life.
I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me-watch how I do it. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely
and lightly."
Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus says..hey... are you tired? Worn out? Walk with Me. You see, the way tha God made it is that we get to see His prints of where to walk to find hope for freedom by walking with Jesus. Jesus is the way to see God. He says it IS simple. He says just walk with me.

So in our day to day life where do we find Him and get walking?

Let me ask you an odd sort of question here…Do you like to hide? Maybe there are days you feel like hiding, eh? In a closet just to get away?

I loved to hide when I was little. Finding a spot and keeping sooo quiet.. Waiting. Will someone find me? Was my spot super tricky?? I have to laugh as I remember our little Joseph at around 18-20 months. He loved to hide, too. He would say "hide" and then go to a spot behind something in the room. But it was so funny. He didn’t want to be hidden. He wanted to be found. He jumped out at me before I even count past 2 or 3.

When I think of God, I know He doesn’t play hide and seek with us. The bible tells us that God makes Himself known to us in creation (Romans 1:20). And that He is near to all those who call on Him. Sometimes all we need to do to see him is to look up and open our eyes… see him in the beautiful world he created, the intricacies of nature, the eyes of a friend whose heart radiates his love. Sometimes all we need to do is expect to see Him and look for Him. He promises that “When We seek Him we will find Him. When we seek Him with all our heart.” He wants to be found and known. Honestly… he is right there waiting… maybe even jumping out, right in plain sight, saying hey.. I am here. Walk with me.
And what is more… he says walk with me and you will get some rest… you will recover your life!!! What do you say to that? I say YES PLEASE!!

So here is the thing. The core or center of living simply and freely is about ME because it involves me… personally. But listen and let me clarify. It is not about me alone. It is about ME walking with Jesus. This is where everything hinges, because knowing God-- expecting God-- looking for God-- is what makes all the difference between hope and despair, feeling like a fugitive or finding a refuge, living abundantly or feeling defeated. And this walk he is talking about--it isn’t a one time deal, either. Jesus doesn’t just take a small walk with us and then send us on our own. Jesus is offering His company to us… He says keep company with me. He is saying that He will journey WITH us every step of the way. When you walk with someone you talk with them… asking questions, listening…you get to know them. When you keep walk often with someone you develop a relationship, right? Jesus asks.. are you tired, worn out burned out on religion? On the list of all the things to do… are you walking or doing religion…following instructions for how to do things exactly right? Are you just checking things off … doing things you think you should? Or are you walking… really taking time to develop a relationship listening and talking and following?

See here it is. God is offering an invitation to you… an invitation to me. He says walk with me… let me into the center. He isn’t hiding. We may have buried Him or His voice in our busyness… BUT He is waiting. Walking with Him… having a personal relationship with Him that grows deeper isn’t an obligation. You see, walking, listening and talking with Him throughout the day-- saying no to some things and setting time aside and to read the bible to hear and know his truths and hear how they are for you personally-- it isn’t something we HAVE to do. It is something we GET to do. And God isn’t waiting for us to get it all together. He is saying come from where you are at… I know it all already. Be honest. Tell him you don’t have it together. That you want to make time with him a priority and don’t have a clue where to begin or how to do it. That you think he can improve your life and want to live each day in step with him. Ask for help.

If right now God is at the bottom of your to do list… you are thinking about Him at the end of the busy day.. or wedged between things in your busy schedule… Know He is waiting for you to RSVP and respond. HE wants to know you and for you to know HIM.. He says YOU are worth it… I love you with an immeasurable love . He wants to walk with you day by day minute by minute…. Because the center of living simply is not about what is going on on the outside of our life… It comes from what is in the center of our being.. and that is about me personally…my relationship with God. He alone will satisfy and fill up our center. Knowing Him. Enjoying Him. Walking with Him. Ask to know Him deeper… reach out and look for HIM. His design is in us and in enjoying Him-- coming to Him seeking to be filled and satisfied as we know Him--we find God’s best. And that truth is simple and will make us free.

L is for Let Go of Stuff

Does our stuff add value to our lives? Are we looking to it to find happiness and satisfaction? Do we hold it with open hands? We need to be ready to share it and to let go of it.

My mom used to remind me…If we are holding on tight, our hands aren’t open to receive something else that God may have for us. God says where our treasure is our heart is.(Matthew 6:21) Stuff here may be special to us, but ultimately it will break or be gone. Our stuff is really his stuff he has trusted to us. Are we using our stuff for his purposes or ours? Maybe we need to do a slo mo throw and let go of some of the things we are holding on to. Our house, our toys, our clothes, our gardens, … maybe we need to do a little inventory on what we are holding tight to and whether we need to let go.

But you know what else?? Some of the things we are holding onto aren’t even things others can visibly see. What may be keeping our life from being simple and free may be other stuff. Anger, resentment, bitterness, frustrations, disappointments, hurt, control.. when we hold onto these things we are not free. We are trapped by these feelings.

Honestly… I just recently had a situation where God helped me let go of disappointment and bitterness towards someone. I could feel my anger and disappointment wrapping around my heart. Have you ever felt that? It seriously kept a hold on my ability to be open and loving. I kept going to the person and trying to fix the situation and telling God about it. But when I let go of the feelings and really asked God for HIS help.. He worked on my behalf. Let the stuff go!AND here I go back to letter G… give it up… literally!

What do you need to let go of?

K is for Kindred Spirits (Keep Kind Friends)

Are you an Anne of Green Gables fan? I am… and Joanne Heim is too. She and I agree that finding kindred spirits and true friends--cultivating friendships where we can bear each others burdens and encourage each other-- is a huge part of living simply. A good friend can also help you in your choices to live simply… to keep you accountable with your time, money and decisions!! God tells us to “bear each others burdens” and I have seen in my life how this is a huge part of making things simplified! Be a friend to someone… God knows we need it!

J is Just Focus or Just ADJUST your Focus

This idea is really connected to the last one. Living simply involves changing our focus. Are we looking at quality or quantity? Are we looking at making things good for ourself or at things that are good for everyone? Are we looking at material things and getting ahead or at things that really matter in the end? Simplifying our focus is something God is interested in. In Jeremiah 32:39 God says, “I will give them singleness of heart and action so they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.” Singleness of heart and action… that sounds like focus, eh? And Jesus reminds us, “Give your entire attention (focus) to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.” (Matthew 6:33)

If things are out of focus, we don’t see well, do we? Things are distorted… unclear. We don’t get a good picture when the camera is out of focus, right photo group? And I know when my camera decides to focus on one thing and I haven’t clicked the right button… that ONE thing is all that is clear. The rest of my picture is fuzzy. Here is the key… we need to look at what we are focusing on and determine if that is best. And the awesome news is this … God is interested in our focus. He wants to help focus our life. Are we looking through his lens or our own fuzzy lens?

I is for It includes the Bigger Picture

Like I said before,there are things we can do and start on our own to simplify. We can clean out closets. We can say no. But living simply involves others...it involves a bigger picture… people and things that sometimes we don’t even know or see. Our life is touched and touches those around us. God says we can build on rock through Him or build on sand. He says it is just that simple. He is the rock and the foundation on Him withstands trouble. Patterning our life or family on other people and what they are doing isn’t building on the rock. Making life simpler for my own gain isn’t building on rock. Seeking God’s wisdom for all my decisions IS building on the rock. And God reminds us to work together in life as a family and as a group , to be a team… that there is to be “None of this going off and doing your own thing.” (Colossians 3:15) Essentially… as much as we would like it to be true… this life thing simply doesn’t revolve around just us…There is a bigger picture of what we are to be doing and who our life affects. AND only God sees that picture!

H is for Have FUN!

This may seem simple… but often we wrestle with it… is there time to have fun??? We are sometimes all work and no play.. I know I can be… just hurrying along getting it all done! But I have missed out!!!

God created the world and saw everything was good. Are we looking at all the good? Are we seeing blessings and celebrating??? Are we finding joy in the work of our hands? Find simple pleasures. Enjoy God’s amazing creation and marvel in wide open wonder at what he has done. Look up instead of down at everything you are busy with. Fly a kite, dance, sing loud, play tag, go for a hike! Have a jelly bean party to celebrate answers to prayers! Celebrate life, celebrate your family. We need to stop and smell the roses instead of hurrying past! I want to urge you…go outside and really look up at the changing leaves… the array of colour against the darkening sky…our creative awesome God did that! It didn’t just happen. God planned it … for us to see everything beautiful in its time. Look at the carpet of colour falling down on the deadening grass…And enjoy it!

G is for Get Going and Give It UP

Those two seem odd together, don’t they? Let me explain my thinking.

First of all we need to get going!! Start today! Sieze the day. Quit putting things off! You don’t know what tomorrow will bring! Decide what is important in life! Read to the kids, find a devotion for the family, get up early to spend time praying, clean out the closet, ask the questions you want to know the answers to. Start some of the things you have been thinking about!

There are a lot of things we can do to get things going ourselves. And in honesty-- we like that, don’t we? I don’t know about you but I find that I feel as a mom and wife like I HAVE to be the command central; like I am ultimately responsible for everything and everyone!! I think essentially women are often like the hub of the family, really…

But ironically--as I keep journeying on I am learning that there is a lot I cannot control OR figure out OR change OR fix. And here is what I am learning: that I have to give it up. Not give up, as much as I’d like to, but to give it up… that way "UP"! To stop going horizontally here to people when things aren’t working out and to go vertically… often with tears in my eyes and take it to God who promises that when we are weak, powerless, defenseless, and hopeless he is our strength, our hope, our defender and that we are to “Wait upon the Lord”. And do you know what? When I give it up, that is when those things get going! AND I am slowly learning to “Give it up” before I fall in the heap of frustration and exhaustion. HMMMM.. Give it up! God actually wants it to be simpler, eh?

F is for Flexibility

Have you heard the saying “If you don’t bend, you’ll break?” I don't know about you, but I feel that in my life. I am learning that I need to hold on more loosely to be open to what God has planned… as Joanne Heim has written..that means both for my day and for my life. Everything just doesn’t go as planned as much as we’d like it. Does it? Things go directions we don’t intend. AAND We need to follow where God leads.

Here is the good news...when things aren’t going well and we feel crazy, we need to remember what God says to us in Matthew, “You are blessed when you are at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of me and my rule.” (Matthew 5:3) Ah… I don’t know about you but I feel I am at that blessed end of my rope most days!!! Instead of trying and trying to make things work (adding more rope)… let’s look up for help from God and bend.

E is for Eat Dinner Together

Joanne Heim comments in her book… “If home is where the family is centred, then the kitchen is the heart of the home” (page 127). It is true, isn’t it? The kitchen is often where everything gets piled on the counter in my house! It is where we eat, meet and do most of our talking. People are making larger and larger kitchens these days… realizing that things often center around the kitchen. Ultimately the size doesn’t matter, though, does it? It is the sharing of life over the meal… and that can be and is done on dirt floors!

Statistics are constantly being published showing that how much a family eats dinner together is a good indicator of whether teens are likely to smoke, use drugs and how well they perform academically. Media even comments on the importance of eating together. Mealtime is an opportunity to be together, to connect and share. It shows our kids that we value time together. Are we intentional and focused during this detail of day to day life? Are we rushing through dinner or taking that small opportunity and making the most of it? God reminds us that we are to impress his commands upon our children and talk about them when we sit at home. What do we do with our dinner time in the heart of our home?

D is for Do One Thing at a Time OR Do Focus on this Moment

Joanne Heim says not to multitask in her book… and we usually don’t do it well anyhow, right? I know I don't. I usually put oddities in the fridge and forget boiling pots! BUT I honestly have to say that I NEED to multitask to SURVIVE in our family at this point in life. Anyone agree with that ??

But here is what I think the idea is.. we have to live in each MOMENT. Annie Dilliard once wrote, "How we spend our day is, of course, how we spend our life." And really when you think about it... how we spend our moments is how we spend our day… right? Living simply instead of simply living… involves intention and focus and purpose. I can be scattered in different directions sometimes… trying to hustle and thinking of my to do list. Just getting things done to get on to something else and then in the midst of it all looking to a time when I will do something else… something perhaps more exciting or enjoyable. Are you like that, too?

Solomon, greatly gifted with wisdom wrotein Ecclesiastes, that whatever our hand finds to do, we should do it with all our might. I need to remind myself to pay attention to the moment I am in. Whatever I am doing right now is what I am to give my all to… Am I giving my all in how I look after my kids, my house, and whatever else my hands are doing?

I don’t know about you, but I honestly have many times that I look very little like Snow White cleaning and smiling or rushing to get 4 lunches ready while making supper and trying to keep the kids from fighting. But I have to make a choice about my attitude (there is that word again!!), to be joyful at each moment and to not always be looking ahead, thinking it will be better in the next moment or worrying about what else has to be done. I am reminded as it says in Matthew 6. “Don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble on it’s own.” Ultimately we don’t know what tomorrow will bring either, right??

I laugh when I think of Mary and Martha in the Bible… two sisters arguing about getting dinner ready. Martha the older sister is upset… she seems to be the one doing all the work, trying to get things just so, while Mary is JUST SITTING THERE!!! I used to side with Martha and think it was so unfair… But now it makes me laugh because I see myself in Martha. She is lost in the details… getting dinner and the house and everything just so. BUT what is she missing??? She is missing the moment… JESUS is in her house!!!! Lost, scattered and fussing in the details she is missing out. I hear Jesus voice to me, when he says “Martha ..Martha… You are worried and upset about many things. There is only 1 thing needed.” Simply put… _______________, ___________________, Stop getting lost in the details. Live right now and see what is important.

C is for Choose Wisely and Create Memories

Robert Benson has said.. “Some of the things that regulate our lives are things that we can choose or change. Some are not. What is important is that we look at them from time to time and recognize which things are which, and which things can or should or might be adjusted in ways that help us balance our lives.”

Hmmm This makes me think of the serenity prayer my husband's mom handstitched for us when we were married. Have you heard of it?

"God grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change

The courage to change the things I can

And the wisdom to know the difference."


Funny. I always looked at that prayer as a marriage prayer.. after all, it was a marriage present! And then when I looked at it I thought about my husband… "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change"… you know... like having a million projects on the go, doing or seeing things much differently than me. And then my thoughts continued.. "the courage to change the things I can". Um...please don’t laugh… I really did think that! I still am just figuring it out that you can’t change your husband! But BAM It hit me quite a while later. This is REALLY REALLY about life and MY life. Not about accepting my husband but about details in day to day living.

Living a simpler life involves making choices about what is important and looking for wisdom to know what we can change and can’t. The bible says “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives freely..” (James 1:5) We need to make wise choices about what is and isn't important in our life.

And in choosing we need to look for balance… we need to remember that we are making memories... what we choose will be remembered! We need to be conscious of the fact that the kids and our family aren’t going to remember our weed free gardens or our house that smelt pinesol fresh! They are going to remember that we took the time and that we love them.

So here is that question again: What are we choosing to fill our time with? Choose wisely.

I honestly made a choice and gave up on gardening this summer. I got a little obsessed and EVERY time we went outside I got distracted and started gardening… making it look good for me and really also for visitors… Really it became a bit of a pride issue. Time was slipping by and I was not focused on what was important or being balanced. The day I made the choice and gave up and focused on playing in the tree fort my 5 year old said I like you mom. This is fun. And my heart said....Yes...THESE are Memories.

B is For Be Realistic, Be Content and Be Real

The fact is… we have to BE REALISTIC. A simple life has to take place within our own life...—not our friends, our neighbours, and not in a monastery or on an island… as tranquil and simple as that may sound!!

It’s easy to look and compare. To think it will be simpler if ONLY _________________!!
I know it! I would love to rant about shiftwork and juggling big boys and little boys and never having time without kids and allergies and juvenile diabetes and a blended family with two households and parents who live way out of town. In fact, I honestly used to watch John and Kate because their crazy life with 8 kids made mine feel simpler. But the fact of it is…the particulars are different in ALL of our lives and besides...there would probably be things about living someone else’s life you and I wouldn’t like, too!

So really--being realistic also means BEING CONTENT. Not having what we want but wanting what we have. I am in awe as I realize that God, who orders the universe, choose the exact places and times in which we should live as it says in Acts. Our lives are unique, like everything in creation and God chose the place we are in for us to be so we would influence others. You and I need to remind ourselves…I am in the right place (unless we feel him telling us differently!) and start doing our job from right there… not looking to be elsewhere!

But I think B is also for BE REAL… because does it honestly make our life simpler to try to look like we have it all together? In hiding what we are dealing with we can really loose out… it can be a very heavy weight and while it keeps others out it can keep us trapped in. Being real allows us to be touched and to touch others lives.

A is for Attitude... It IS a choice! We NEED a mindset!

Attitude is HUGE!! Let's start there. I am reminded of the words by Charles Swindoll...
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes."

We can't choose others attitudes.. as much as we would like! But OUR attitude is OUR choice. And our mood influences our husband, children and the people around us. Isn't that expression true in your house "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"?? As I get up each morning, I totally need to think about my attitude. Will it be good or bad? Will I choose to complain about what I don't have or be thankful for what I do? Will I complain about lack of sleep or be thankful for my wonderful family and children? I need to make up my mind as the day begins. As Beth Moore has said "Often we don't just need to change our mood. We need a mindset."

I totally need to look to God to help me with my attitude in the day. As I tackle crisis between the children, attitude from others, stress or disagreements... watching MY attitude makes the difference. Looking for help with my attitude helps me to be" the gentle answer that turns away wrath" instead of "the harsh words that stir up anger" (Proverbs 15:1). Proverbs 14:1 reminds us that "A wise woman builds her house but with her own hands the foolish woman tears her house down." I can see how I am able to do that and have done that with a bad attitude. I want to build my house, don't you?

Simpler and Freer or Calm in the Chaos

Well... Does simple and free sound like a stretch for you? Does the title "Calm in the Chaos" or "Simpler and Freer, Finding God's Design for Me(er) work more realistically for you in the state of life for you right now??

At last "Break Away" we talked about what makes life complicated. (EASY QUESTION, eh?) Some mentioned expectations, schedules, kids. I am sure we all have a list ... errands, pressure to please, dinner planning, overcommitment, clutter, juggling responsibilities...

So how do we live simply? What does this mean in our day to day life?

First of all... the truth is that some of us are thinking... "Man. If you knew my life. My life is way past simple. It is so complicated that day to day life just pales in comparison to the mountain or pit or dessert I face." I totally get that. Life IS hard. Often heart wrenching and painful. But I want to encourage you.. I've seen God move mountains... and not necessarily the ones I thought he'd move. I can see many situations in life where God has moved on my behalf... Godinstances where he set up and orchestrated details to take care of me. Sometimes he changes our circumstances and sometimes he fixes our heart.

God took me through a difficult relationship and instead of fixing the circumstances, he took the mountain of pain and hurt in my early twenties and carried me beyond it. In my thirties, he took me through my fears when our baby was ill and brought me to a place of peace and trust... trully delivering me from my fears. Cancer, illness, health problems, relationship problems, financial problems,loss of loved ones, grief....there can be a lot to deal with. I honestly understand if you are saying the place you are in is not simple. Life honestly isn't easy. But I want to tell you that if your heart is breaking.. go to God. He is the heart healer. Tell Him what you are thinking. He is real and He really does awesome stuff. And remember... if you need to talk any of us are here to talk.. just send us an email or give us a nudge or a note.

But here is the fact.. even in the storms we have to live with the details of day to day life, so here is where we will begin. But this is another fact...sometimes our mountain or pit or desert is EXACTLY there in day to day life... just the drudgery or rushing or hormones or PMS or menopause or seasons of life. I honestly have to tell you... I do not have it all together..my life is just not plain simple and free every minute of every day. It kind of ultimately goes against our nature as we want to be in control and it goes against what life is like here on this earth!

But check this out! Simplicity and Freedom are gifts God wants to give us amidst what is going on! Here is a paraphrase of Jesus words in Matthew 11:28-30... It is on the right side of this page... READ IT! Is that not good news? God wants to show us how to live freely and lightly!!!

So how do we live more simply and freely and lightly? How do we find calm in the chaos of our life?

Over the next few weeks we will be looking at an adapted and simplified version of the ideas from Joanne Heim's book "Living Simply" and her ABC's of Living Simply. See--- we are simplifying things already!! So let's begin Simpler and Freer.. Lets Begin with ABC er!

Living "Life to the Full"... or Just a Full Life?

Do you long for life to be simpler and for you to feel freer? Do you wish there was less to do and more time to be? Our lives often feel full to overflowing with responsibilities, commitments, extra curricular activities, our various roles, all the toys and equipment, etc. As Joanne Heim writes in "Living Simply", our lives, schedules, closets, homes, cars and to do lists are full! We long for a day when we won't be so busy and feel overwhelmed and pressed for time.

As we read excerpts from Joanne's book, the question she raises is this, "Is this the kind of abundant life Jesus really meant when He said "I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full?" (John 10:10). She comments on the Message's paraphrase of Jesus words,that he came to bring "More and better life than they ever dreamed of", saying "We have the more, we're full to the top--but is all this crazy busyness what we dreamed of as little girls? Did our Barbies rush around their Dream Houses worried about getting Skipper to soccer practice on time, burning dinner for Ken, and wishing for life to slow down?"

Cleaning a few closets doesn't quite do the trick..."our calendars, commitments, activities and to-do lists" leave us feeling "stuffed" like too much Thanksgiving dinner! She reminds us that we are conditioned to be consumers and need to remind ourselves to be thankful, commenting with a quote from Robert Benson that "Some have so much, in fact, that if we are not embarassed about what we have compared to what others do not, we ought to be." Choosing less is a daily challenge wherever we are. It is like going against the flow.

But how simplicity? And why simplicity? Joanne discusses the idea of looking at quality of life instead of quantity. A life more focussed on family than getting things completed and making memories rather than being perfect. Filled with more meaning and less stuff. Joanne asks the question "Does abundant/overflowing mean full to the brim with not enough room for more? Or does it mean filled with open space...filled with joy and things that make it worth living?"

In concluding she writes about how she has lots of stuff and it isn't doing the trick. A life with God's abundance, with "His love, presence, and grace... overflowing from her life into the life of others" is what she is looking for. She writes "Our culture has determined that abundance has to be material stuff, and we have bought into it. We've chased after quantity instead of quality, never stopping to see that abundance of nothing is still nothing." In ending her chapter, Joanne reminds us that God has a way of turning things upside down..."The last will be first. The rich will be poor. The least will be greatest." And she encourages us that the more she cuts out, the more she simplifies her focus, the greater the abundance becomes".

So here is the question ..are we living life to the full... or just a full life?

AND here is something to think about, "Our lives can hold just so much. If they're filled with one thing, they can't be filled with another. We ought to do a lot of thinking about what we want to fill them with." Maud Hart Lovelace

(excerpts from "Simple Abundance" in Joanne Heim's book "Living Simply")

Simple & Free

Well here we go!! Our blog is up and running! I am excited about this opportunity for us to share together! Can't wait to pool our ideas!