What is simplicity?
Jesus told us not to entangle ourselves in the affairs of this world so that we can focus on our mission from/with God.
Loving God and loving others can get complicated: how do I walk all of my ideas and passions out? How to “do” love can get complicated? But is that what is meant my simplicity?
Is it rather that our focus on Christ alone be simple? As we say “loving God, loving others” is simple although not always easy. Simple in focus although not simple is carrying it out.
Also, simplicity can refer to our daily practices. Do we complicate how we worship? How we spend our money? What we need to be satisfied?
Simplicity is creating movements within design, economics, marketing, etc. Less is more is the philosophy. But is that true? When is more…more? Why is less more? Basically, it means that the less junk you put into something the easier it is to get more from it. The less we junk up our food the more nutrition we get. The less you junk up a page, the more it conveys (pictures, design). We need to cleanse our palates: do we need something to cleanse our spiritual palate?
Spirituality, even Christianity specifically, is really junked up right now. Books, cds, marketing, slogans, events, foci, etc are junking up our minds so much that we can’t even think. At what point do we simply talk to Jesus, maybe sing, maybe take communion, and just rest in that.
Simplicity is almost directly related to focus. Focus is saying NO to a lot of things so that we can say a clear and strong YES to one or a few things. Saying NO clearly and often is hard. Simplifying is hard b/c it means saying no, throwing things out, and in America we think we can have it all and right now and extreme. When what our heart really wants is freedom. Simplicity is freedom – freedom from clutter that drains us unnecessarily, freedom from all those unnecessary decisions that give us headaches, freedom to embrace something with some real gusto and not just go through life dipping our toes in the water.
Filed under: rhythm
One REQUIREMENT for church leaders listed in the Bible is to be hospitable. In our day of fast food and isolated homes this is almost a lost art. I grew up in a household that regularly had people over. We had “leaves” for our table that could extend the seating from 6 to 10 or even 14. And it was a regular thing. Not just a Christmas dinner or birthday either. Janna and I are getting back to this rhythm. One of the things you (we) need to get over is the notion that we have to put on a spread or be some sort of Martha Stewart to have people over. We don’t have to have white table cloths and polished silverware (although they are nice). I’ve found that people today are just so honored or thankful that ANYONE asks them over to do ANYTHING. Asking someone to sit at your table or in your living room is a high honor. How can you practice hospitality in your context? (home, apartment, dorm?, church)
Filed under: rhythm
this is a paragraph from a website called www.sacredspace.ie…i visit it almost every day
This the week of the equinox, when night and day are equally balanced. From now on, darkness is pushing down the daylight on half the Earth – to an extreme degree in northern Norway, to a minimal degree in the tropics. The nights are now longer than the days. Some of us find it hard to endure the lengthening nights. As the year moves towards its end, we feel our own mortality. The changing seasons affect our mood, and we have to remind ourselves that winter will not last for ever. Jesus spoke of the night coming when no one can work. That pulls us up sharply in the post-Edison era. Electricity, and the light and power that it brings, has taken some of the sting ou
t of darkness. The inborn rhythms of our humanity have a place for both light and darkness. In my own life, do I respect what opportunities each presents, the day for action, the night for lying fallow and recouping my strength?
I’m always looking for new places to be hubs. Hubs are central places where people come through on the way to somewhere else…like Atlanta. I’ve lived in GA my whole life and have taught GA history. The other day I was thinking on Savannah vs Atlanta. Why did Atlanta grow to be so much larger and influential than Savannah, which was established first? One major reason is that it’s a hub…used to be for railroads and now it is for airplanes. Atlanta is a thru-way for people all over the world and some of those people stick or others set up shop there to cater to the passers-thru. Israel was/is a hub. Its strategic location is in the intersection of 3 continents – Promised Land? God’s not stupid. I have several hubs in town where I go at least once a week, maybe more, to meet people and such. Here’s a pic of a new one I think will stick. It’s “Chicago Dog and Deli” on Hodgson-Memorial Dr. in Savannah. Good food and service. Their number is 691.1420. 
Filed under: focus
Just saw another good movie last night called “Freedom Writers.” On one hand it’s yet another “teacher-against-all-odds-but-reaches-the-under-privileged-urban-youth” movie. On the other hand it was a real story so that gives it some validity. The premise was an upper-crust lady decides to teach at one of the toughest high schools in Long Beach, CA – full of wide-eyed optimism and such. She evens wears June Cleaver pearls to class. During the course of the movie she begins to “reach” them and finds her focus in life – namely a class of kids. The saddest part of the movie was not the arrests, the drugs, or the violence but rather the fact that her husband – while watching his wife find her focus in life – was neither finding his nor really searching for one. He had hoped they would make some money and just coast along through life. She encouraged him to go for his dreams but it seemed he didn’t want to. Spoiler Alert He leaves her. So…Find your focus. Find someone you can search, dream, and do it together – whether it’s a spouse or a group of friends or coworkers.
Filed under: focus
I just watched a movie that had a lot to do with “focus.” *Peaceful Warrior* was a great movie that is based on true events from gymnast Dan Millman. Basically, through a mentor, he begins to find focus to do what he loves, gymnastics, and drown out a lot of other “noise” that was crowding his head. Now…let me be clear…the general idea/beliefs espoused in the movie were not necessarily Christian and more akin to Buddhism or something like that. I do not think that the answers lie in us but rather in the Holy Spirit that dwells in us if we are Christ-followers. But…it was a good movie, and the idea of saying “NO” to many things to say a bigger, fatter, more complete “YES” to one thing was clear and powerful.
I’m in the process of forming a new rhythm. I’ve recently begun to help manage a cafe part time, 3 days a week. Over the past 2 years I’ve developed a rhythm to my week that will now have to be altered. Making decisions, any decision, requires a certain level of energy and major decisions can drain you. That’s why moving, picking a new home, especially building one, finding your way around the neighborhood, etc is SOOOOO draining. Having a baby is also draining. The commercials are right – a baby changes EVERYTHING. Well we didn’t have another baby or move but I am aware that this shift will drain some energy and I need to compensate for that somehow so I can do what I need to do. This should be fun. 
Filed under: rhythm
Taking breaks is a good part of anyone’s rhythm. God built a sabbath rest into the ancient Jewish rhythm and we continue that today by resting at various times. I take breaks from speaking on Sundays…which is both hard for me and a nice change. This past Sunday I taught the 5-10 year olds instead of speaking to the grown-folks. Yay. It’s good for me and I actually had a good time. The lesson was on “patience” – what a great topic for 5-10 yr olds. By taking a break from your daily routine you are able to get a different perspective, get some needed rest, recharge, or let someone else take a chance. By taking a break you are saying “the world doesn’t need me every blessed minute and God is bigger than my effort.” That’s a HUGE statement.
