My Journey To Minimalism – Week 2

After a BIG downsize, clean and truck bed full in our Master Bedroom we were blessed enough to be able to take a couple of days and go stay at a respite for full-time ministry workers.  While we were there we had time to relax and reflect.  I’ve got to say after week 1 I am already feeling a little lighter and I can’t wait to give all my clothes away to people in our neighborhood in need.  I think a lot about those that we serve in this inner city ministry; the ones in jail and the ones in our back yard.  Three years of being on this mission field we have learned so many lessons and have grown closer and more connected to God.  I’ve prayed for the last two of the three years to be able to see the people through Jesus’ eyes and love them with a compassion that He has for them.

No matter if you are the C.E.O. of a major corporation, a ditch digger, a mega-church pastor or a homeless addict we are all God’s creation and people that Jesus died for and each individual life carries equal value and worth.  Through my prayers I have been able to see the needs around me.  During this journey I’ve been able to slow down enough to notice my community.  I’ve realized that my money and my stuff do not belong to me.  I am only the steward over the resources that God has allowed me to have.  I must admit as I’ve been clearing out the clutter I am ashamed at all of the “stuff” that I have.  When I think about all of the clothing and perfumes, nail polishes and even extra linens that I keep in my closet I realize that they add up to quite a lot of money that I invested in things.  How selfish of me to spend God’s money so unwisely.

Each day I pull into our cafe I am reminded of the condition of the battleground we are on.  We have so many broken people that we come into contact with each day and the deeper and longer we are in this community the more I want to be a voice for the homeless.  I want to remind people of the forgotten and fight for those who cannot.

You see, this journey that I’m on is not only about cutting the clutter out of my life but it is about living the life that I was created to live.  I believe that when Jesus saves us  He calls us to be His imagine bearers to a lost and dying world.  I have been asking myself if my savior didn’t even have a place to lay His head why do I deserve to have all this excess.  Honestly, for me, I am not able to live a life of excess; excess clothing, excess possessions, excess housing when my brothers and sisters are hungry and dying in the streets.

Please friends get this, I am not being dramatic I’m being real.  This year alone I can testify to several deaths resulting from drug, alcohol and poverty.  The time and money that God gives us each day is not to be squandered away.  We are His light in this dark world and perhaps instead of building bigger buildings to meet in our buying the newest fashion we could put shoes on some of our neighbors that don’t have any.  Yes, I have neighbors that do not have any shoes.  I’m working on that by the way.

If we would stop for just 15 minutes and go to God in prayer and ask Him, “How have I done with the time and money you have given me?  Have I spent the money the way you want me to?  Have I spent the last 24 hours doing what you would have me do? ”   Have we even slowed down long enough to realize that the only reason we are here right now is that God is allowing us to be.

I want you to be encouraged.  I hope that you are picking up what I am laying down here.  I am going through several life-changing lessons that I believe I am supposed to share.  There is someone God wants to be impacted by this other than myself.  I believe God is revealing himself to me more and more throughout this process.  I am earnestly seeking the simplicity that minimalism offers.  We are living in a culture that encourages selfishness and excessive consumerism.  I don’t want to drown in all of my possessions and I certainly don’t want to spend the time it takes to maintain them.  I want to live a life of passion and purpose that is bigger than me.

So for today, I have managed to clear out the excess in my bathroom closet and vanity area.  Be encourage friends.  God is all we need.  His values and His plans are all we need.  Praise Him!

My Journey To Minimalism – Week One

 

 

 

 

Before Pictures

 

I began my search last year into a simpler, quieter, more peaceful life. I was determined to clear the clutter not only out of my house but out of my mind and life. I’ve read many books and blogs on this topic and as my search continued I knew I wanted . . . no, needed to become minimalist.

As I researched, I realized that I needed to slow down so

that first and foremost I could hear God’s voice. I was realizing that I lived a very busy life always running around trying to fit everything in and make it there on time. Well, that’s enough to wear a person out. As I went about my every day over commitment I began to notice all the clutter around me and all the noise going on in my head.

As I dug deeper I began realizing that minimalism goes against our consumer driven hectic lifestyles that living the American Dream encompasses. We are bombarded with advertisements and infomercials telling us we need to purchase the latest and greatest products to make us happy. So in an effort t

o accumulate more we work more hours to make more money because, after all, that is where happiness can be found; right. WRONG!

Now, you may be thinking, “does this mean that you will be living only out of what you can fit in a suit case?” For some, perhaps but for me it means that I am in pursuit of a much simpler, quieter and clutter free life.

I would love for you to join me on my journey whether in reading about it or finding a way that min

imalism will work for you. I can tell you I am excited about where this path will lead. So, with that said I’m jumping in with both feet . . . Here I go.

The first area in my physical living space I have decided to de-clutter

is my bedroom. My bedroom is my sanctuary, my peaceful private place. However, these days it’s been so crammed full of stuff that my closets are busting at the seams and my dresser drawers are overflowing. My first area that I tackled was my closet and boy oh boy did I have a crammed packed mess. During this week when all was said and done I had boxed up a total of 13 totes full of clothes that I had not even worn in years but, hey, it may come back in style or I may get back down to that size. Um Nah. I can tell you that I am looking forward to mornings free of the stress of trying to figure out what to wear.

This particular part of the process took me exactly one week and several passes through to get it to where I feel ligh

ter. The first phase was pulling out the obviously outdated and just plain ugly clothes. You know, the ones you got for a bargain and couldn’t pass up but never wore. For me, this was the easiest phase. A couple days later, I looked again and really took stock in what actually still fits me. I decided that it does me no good to have smaller sizes for my weight loss journeys and the larger sizes for when I eat too many gobstoppers and coca-cola. So, I toss aside all the clothes that did not fit me right now today. The last phase I must say was the most difficult for me and that was to narrow down my clothing choices just because I have too man

y clothes. The end result, I have so many totes for women’s clothes in a plethora of sizes that I am giving away to the local commun

ity that we serve. That my friends makes it all worthwhile.

Now, for the nightstands, over the years I have managed to turn a total of four drawers into junk drawers. If I was reading a book, I would shove it in the drawer. If I was keeping a journal or three or four it would go in the drawers. Oh, and let’s not forget all the lotions. I think I had a different bottle for everyday of the week. And the pens that I discovered, needless to say I will keep the café in supply for at least the next year.

Last but not least I decided that I needed to part with some of my much loved knick knacks t

hat I have sitting all over the place. Even though they match my furniture and are just too stinkin’ cute the only role they play is dust collector. So, I picked a couple of my favorites and I am goin

g to donate the rest.

A week, a good dusting and vacuum later I have a clutter free oasis. A quiet place where I can come to at the end of the day, snuggle tightly under the covers and let out a nice comfortable sigh.

Next week I will be moving on to the second area of the house where I spend most of my time, the living room.

Before you leave make sure you check out my before and after pictures then leave me a comment to keep me going on my journey of minimalism. Friends, good night and God Bless.

After Pictures

All to Jesus

Over the last few months my hubby and I have been feeling another season of growth in our walk with Christ.  It’s funny how easy it is that we can study, meditate on God’s word, prepare sermons and lessons and still so easily take our eyes off of Jesus.  I guess it is another season where God is teaching us that we have not “arrived” to where we need to be.  We are still human, living in a broken sick world and we have got to keep our focus on His kingdom.  When we take our eyes off of Jesus and focus on our issues all kinds of worry and stress creep in.

For us it seems that we can’t shake this issue of money.  Sometimes, I believe we have been without money so that we both will dislike money and we are there.  We both detest money.  The important issue here is not to keep our focus on ourselves but on those that we are serving.  We had a wonderful first back lot service last week and lo and behold the devil steps up his game and what do we do, we fall for it.  We take our focus off of our Savior and place it on our problems.

What does all of this on earth really matter if our focus is not on serving and loving those that God has placed on our path and in our lives?  During these times of growth and refocus it is hard.  It is hard to be put in the fire with the heat being turned up but ah when you get all the dross lifted to the top and allow God to scrape it off it takes you to a new level of love for Him.

God takes care of the lilies and the sparrows; he is going to take care of us.  We do not need to allow our situation or our circumstances to control our feelings.  We do not need it to incite fear and worry.  Our job is to keep on loving our neighbors, keep on preaching the good news and bringing up disciples to go out and make more disciples.  Amen.

What have I learned from this season?  I’ve learned that no matter how far you’ve come you still have more to learn and further to go.  God is providing for us, He always has and He always will.  Sometimes, it will not be in the way we think we need but that is where our trust in Him comes into play.  There is absolutely nothing this world has for me – only Jesus.  Jesus and the love and compassion and the mission He has us on.

Here’s my thought for the day I hope it blesses you like it has me.  Jesus is worth it all.  Jesus is worth losing it all for after all He gave up heaven to come down here to earth, put on human flesh, to suffer at the hands of people that HE created for His good pleasure, to become a servant and ultimately lay down His life so that we can be united with God.  I’ve got to allow this to move me into deeper action and love for Him.  God is worth giving it all up for to follow Him.  These are not words that provoke just tears these are realities that provoke action.

This walk with Christ is going to be rough – following Jesus is going to be rough, He said it would be.  I know His kingdom is NOW.  Thy kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.  Proclaim the name of Jesus!  Clothe someone in His name today!  Feed someone in His name today!  Be NICE to someone in HIS name today!  Thank God that He has allowed this season in my life so that my spiritual eyes can be open a little wider to see and love people the way Jesus did.  To live as Christ is, for me, to deny myself to give to someone else.  After all that is what Jesus did for me.

Praise God that He has my life in His hands, my needs, my wants, my finances, my family.  God has it all now all I have to do is TRUST Him with it.

Wow!  It’s a shouting kind of day for me.  Praise Him!  Praise Him!  Praise Him! 

Fence Walking

 

 

I mentor several women as well as do prison ministry, I’m constantly being asked, “why do I keep winding up here?” “Why can’t I seem to make the right choices?”  These are legitimate questions am I asked almost every week.  These ladies are trying to kick addictions and destructive behaviors and find themselves defeated.  I ask them, “How are you and Jesus?”  They respond, “Well, I try to go to church or I’m trying to read the Bible.”

 

Friends, are you facing the same burdens, the same situations in your life?  It may not be drug addiction but the same applies to excessive shopping, gossip, weight issues, over scheduling, worry and fear.  I’m asking you sweet sisters do you really want to break free from the bondage of sin?  Let’s expose Satan’s lies and shine the truth of God’s word on these questions.

 

In Hosea 4:6 you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.  Basically stated My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me.  Ask yourself this very important question, do you really KNOW God.  I’m talking a close personal relationship.  Do you know His voice my friend?

 

John 1:5 This is the message we heard from Jesus^[c] and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. ⁶ So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. ⁷ But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

 

John 1:5 has the answer to those questions that I keep getting asked.  We cannot go on living with even part of our old man.  There is no room for fence walking in God’s kingdom.  We must must must not walk in darkness.  Check this out John 1:6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

 

Is this you?  Are you living life as Jesus did.  Have you humbly submitted yourself to the master that you claim to have accepted as your personal savior?  Are you walking this out daily?

 

God commands us Do Not Love This World John 1:15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. ¹⁶ For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.

 

This is powerful stuff and it is true.  Our God expects us to follow these commands.  I challenge you to live as Jesus did.  Listen, this is not a trial run, there is only one life we have to live and if we call Jesus Savior then we have to make Him our Master and follow him and his commands.  Give Him your life and allow Him to work in you and out in you as He wills.  Amen.

 

Praise Him!

 

Ramblings of a Jesus Follower

You cannot serve two masters. You must walk as Jesus walked. You must stop believing the lies of Satan the ones he tells you that you are hopeless why get up, you are helpless why stop, you are fat, you are too skinny and on and on he goes. You MUST believe Jesus!! Suit up every single morning with the Full armor of God – do not look back – do not give the devil a foothold. If he sees a crack in your life, in your walk he will slide in and before you know it your mind is thinking the same old hopeless and helpless lies. If you take your focus even just for a moment off of your savior it can be a dangerous situation to place yourself in. It is time to truly surrender to God and His will for your life. You cannot keep walking down the middle of the road, it does not work, and it is not lasting. Listen, God is not surprised by your sins no matter what they are or how bad you think they are. God knew you would be exactly where you are now and feeling exactly how you feel now. Jesus Christ came to set us free from the bondage we have allowed the enemy to persuade us to place ourselves in.

Mark 8:34-35 (NLT) Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

Galatians 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. If we belong to Jesus Christ we will crucify or put to death our self-indulgent passions and desires.

Is this completely hard to do; you bet. It is painful and hard but it is the only way to life and freedom.

Colossians 3: 2-10 (NLT) Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

The above scripture speaks volumes of what we are required and commanded to do. Listen, friends as quoted earlier we cannot serve two masters. We either love the world and the things of it or we love God and the things of heaven. Dying to this life is having little desire for its pleasures our home is in heaven with Jesus Christ. We need to start looking at things and life from God’s perspective. We are denying our human fleshly desires to seek what Jesus desires and because of the Holy Spirit living inside of us we have the POWER to put away all of these destructive behaviors and desires. God will judge these destructive behaviors and one day we WILL stand before God and answer for them.

The Apostle Paul was telling the early believers to remain true to their confession of faith and we still need to heed Paul’s urging today. Have you made a profession of faith; have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior? If so, then you MUST walk away from your old ways, behaviors and desires and commit to remaining true to Jesus Christ by changing your ways, behaviors and desires and putting on the “new man” and focus on the ways, behaviors and desires of our Savior. Amen! There is absolutely no place in our community of believers for the old ways, behaviors and desires; the SIN, as outlined in the scripture above. God is not tolerant of them in our personal walk or in our church community there is absolutely NO place in His kingdom for these type of self serving attributes.

We are the LIGHT in this dark dark world and we must display love, faith and hope. Listen if your walk, your conduct is not lining up with Jesus Christ’s then it is to time for you to get serious and hit your knees. Intentions are not good enough we have got to take the first step and by the Power of the Holy Spirit we have got to pick up our cross and become a true follower of Jesus Christ. Now, this does not mean that we are always going to get it right. We are going to stumble and fall at times but we need to keep moving forward. All for His Honor and Glory!!! He is worthy of everything we have. Praise Him!

On The Emmaus Road

Is it possible to know Jesus Christ and not know His presence?

For the last three years my husband and I have been studying  the early church, Jesus’ followers from back in the day and His disciples. As I sit here I am longing for my relationship with Jesus Christ to be so close I can smell his sweet presence, to have every thought in my mind only be on God’s will and my actions to be only as I see my Father doing.
In Luke 24:13-32 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.” “What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago. Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. They said his body was missing they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.” Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, but they begged him, “Stay the night with us since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. The he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:16 But God kept them from recognizing him. Why did God choose to keep the two believers from recognizing Jesus? Scripture really doesn’t tell us why but I’m sure we all wonder and speculate as to why. It definitely makes me ponder how many “strangers” have appeared to us and talked with us only for us to not recognize the truth as He walks next to us. Wow! Blows my mind to think about encounters we may be having.
So these two disciples were walking along and talking about Jesus and here comes Jesus walking right up next to them but they were unaware of His presence. I think it sounds like so many of our churches and gatherings today – Jesus is being missed. Christians today know the facts just as these two disciples did, they can quote scripture and be full of theology but are our eyes blinded to where we don’t even see or know Jesus.
As Christians our first responsibility is to follow Jesus. John 12:26 Are we truly a follower of Jesus Christ today, do we know him and follow Him so closely that we are covered in His dust? Before you answer yes to this statement, I ask that you stop for a moment and pray; ask God to reveal to you as He knows you to be. Are our hearts set on Jesus; are we seeking to KNOW him and walk with Him. He knows us by our fruit. (Matthew 7:20) OR are we the Christians that go to church once or twice a week, or maybe a small group but we don’t seek Him daily, we don’t commune with Him each day because if we do our fruit juice will be overflowing from our time spent with Jesus.

I pray that we learn from the scriptures as we are on our Emmaus Road.  Let’s not get so consumed with our life and our pleasures that we are blinded and don’t know Jesus.

Praise Him!

Warriors Arise

Reblogged from cupofblessing:

As I pause to notice the community around me I hear the pimp banging on his girl's door while I imagine the lonely prostitute behind that door as her heart breaks while she prepares for the night ahead of her.  I see the alcoholic on the street corner that has been drinking since waking up early in the morning and begging for food.  

Read more… 286 more words