Simplicity

OK, so we have tried unsuccessfully twice over the past 2 weeks to live for 5 straight days without spending any money on anything but gas. It seems like it shouldn't be that hard. I mean, buy the groceries in advance and go for it.

Ohhh, the reason we are doing this is to experiment with habits that build deeper spirituality for Christ-followers. We have practiced prayer in a couple of ways, fasting, solitude and silence, scripture, and simplicity. We have not had time for many others in our efforts, but this is a great start.

Well, back to simplicity. We were challenged (by me - the teacher of the class) to eliminate all of the little money spending luxuries we encounter on a daily basis, to clear out more room for God in our days. Well, last week I tried to start out and after 2 days failed because of our preparation for Molly's birthday party and a graduation celebration for our good friend Darin Parson. (Congratulations to Darin on acheiving your Masters in educational administration... I'm not sure what the technical name of the degree is. Sorry if I botched it up somehow.) So, after the party, I thought I would start up again on Monday, soon realizing that in our focus on Molly's party, we were not ready for Rhonda's mom's birthday on tuesday. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law cmae to town for the celebration, so there was not only gift and card buying, but restaurant dining as well.

So, it's Friday of the second week since the assignment and I have completed 3 days which will be interupted this evening by another graduation party being held at a restaurant. So, 3 days it will be.

Here is what happened during my 3 days. I exercized each day. I had quiet time with God each day. I had productive work, time with the kids, and home cooked food. Sounds like a good life.

Since simplicity helps us keep our priorities in tact, our relationship with God grows because He is our priority. The problem is that the complications in life are in and of themselves good things. Sometimes godly things. And our meaningful relationships with others bring complexity into our lives as well.

What does simplicity mean in our culture of multi-tasking, multi-media, multi-vitimins, multi-multi...?

It means keeping the main thing, the main thing... and letting other things go unattended if necessary. It means not letting the complexities of other people's lives complicate ours. It means giving the gift of friendship instead of useless trinkets. It means letting parties be gatherings instead of productions (Dang!!! I like the production parties A LOT.)

In my head, I'm justifying my penchant for big parties! I'll let you know how I do with that!