Simplicity Says No

Kajiji Girls,
I’m hoping that this week will be nice for our outing on Friday as we’re hoping to make it to the beach! This may be one of the last times we can visit the beach so we’ll be heading over to Newcastle again. We’ll be on the beach around 10-10:30am and stick around until, at least, Noon. So bring the kids and join in on our discussion about Fall Schedules. Now that the school year is well underway, most of your schedules have become busier, maybe more routine and probably a bit more chaotic. Before you delve into a schedule worthy of any female superhero, ask yourself if you were meant to become Wonder Woman or does God have something else in mind for you. Are there commitments that maybe shouldn’t be committed to? Are there times when you should be saying no to others and yes to God? Are your commitments affecting your husband, your children or yourself? In Overcoming Overload by Steve & Mary Farrar, the authors write:

“Simplicity is a mindset that leads to some very hard choices. It is the cutting away, or trimming off, of the good in order to have the best. It is an elimination of the cholesterol that slowly but surely clogs the arteries of the soul. Simplicity is painful because it is the greatest step of trust yet. And few are those who venture to go this deep or this far. The tragedy is that if you walk away from biblical simplicity, you have really missed the very thing that overcomes overload. You’ve lost the very thing that changes the course of your life from that of being momentarily at rest to that of being continually at rest.

…We are good implementers. Simplicity, on the other hand, is a walking away. It is a conscious choice not to act, not to do. Sanctuary says yes to God. Sustenance recognizes the need for soul nourishment. Supplication understands the power of beseeching the throne of heaven. But simplicity says no.
No to overspending or overcommitting. No to opportunities that tear apart families and marriages. No to the pace. No to the world’s expectations.
And we do not like to say no. We enjoy our addictions to the pace. We love the rush of the pursuit of success. We perish at the thought of a missed opportunity or a lesser sense of accomplishment in the eyes of the world. But when we choose simplicity, we are making the hard choices that change the very core of the way we live life. Simplicity reforms our lives. Simplicity resists 24/7 at every turn and puts us on a different path, a path of clear focus and biblical living.”

What kind of path are you on this season? Is it a path you look forward to with hopeful anticipation? A path with just enough joy, peace and solitude to refresh you along the way? Or is it a path that fills you with a sense of dread every time you check your weekly schedule? Are you merely in “survival mode” or are you truly living? We’ll talk about some of these questions on Friday. Also please forward me your ideas and suggestions for topics of discussion. Thank you – hope to see you on Friday!

Love,
Crystal