Simplicity

A busy life can be an empty life. Full schedules demand our attention day in and day out. The calendar is packed with commitments and we scarcely have room to breathe.

Our homes are equipped with the latest modern conveniences and yet life can still become a fury of hamster wheel activity .... if we let it. That is key! If we let it....

To accept that we don't need the latest electronic gadget, clothing style, vehicle, vacation takes courage in the midst of a world gone mad pursuing material stuff and drowning in debt. It takes one small step at a time to make a change. Why do we crave material goods when so many in the world live in abject poverty? Satan has a way to distract us from thankfulness and on to greed.

Living mindfully...becoming in tune with our wants and needs. And then an amazing transformation takes place. You find out that you really need very little and you experience freedom because less becomes more. The Christian focus on giving and asking God to help us live more meaningfully becomes priority.

I guess a good question to ask, when we think back to our childhood, "Do we remember the latest gadgets or the time spent with those you loved...experiences." Purposely living with less gives more time and freedom to spend on what is truly important.

Another Christmas season has come and gone. People can get caught up in Christmas decorations, meals, gifts and forget what Christmas is all about - the gift of Christ to a lost world. We desperately need to follow Jesus teachings and not what the world teaches, realizing that there has to be a better way to live rather than stockpile possessions here on earth.

I just pray that God gives us the courage to live for Him, to find more joy in living with less, resulting in a more meaningful and abundant life.

Locked out

Wow, it sure is handy having a son studying Autobody Collision and Repair. Our van's driver door was jammed shut since Christmas break and, without the proper tools, we had to live with the problem for a bit.  Couldn't get in or out through that door, so I've been getting some strange looks while jumping in and out through the slider door on the other side.

This morning K took the van to school and his teacher and students figured out what the problem was. Apparently this was a 'first' for the teacher too.  It's wonderful when ones vehicle can be used as a teaching tool and getting fixed in the process without costing anything :-) I may have to bake some muffins for the UFV crew that solved the problem!