Photo by psilver

Simple and Faithful

That has been my theme for the year.

I’ve simplified our stuff. I’ve simplified my time. I’ve simplified my responsibilites.

And I have a long way to go.

But even the little progress I’ve made has been so sweet.

It’s almost as if God has taken the role of an archeologist; whittling away at the dirt, dust and crud until He gets down to who I really am.

Who I’m supposed to be.

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. -Hans Hofmann

And that person is much simpler than I ever thought. I used to rail off a “Who’s Who Among American High School Students” sized list of activities and achievements. As if each additional responsibility increased my value in other people’s eyes.

Because I definitely didn’t want other people to think I was a boring, dull, lifeless person.

So I spent a lot of time doing stuff. I stayed up late. I woke up early. I did stuff on my computer while my kids watched TV and played.

And, sure enough, three people said I was cool.

….and none of them were my kids. I wasn’t doing half the job I knew I could do as a parent because I was spending that energy elsewhere.

So this year, my goal has been to simplify and be faithful to the few things that I choose to do.

Blogging Break

These last two weeks have been a good break from blogging, an opportunity to refocus, get my priorities in line and then allow blogging to fill in the spaces – instead of the other way around.

I spent the evenings laughing with Jimmy while watching old episodes of The Cosby Show, rocking my little boy to sleep and reading Anne of Green Gables to my girls.

I’ve been going to bed early and waking up early. Exercising and spending some time with God before I start my day.

So, now I’m ready to get back to blogging…when I’m not playing dress up or baking things in the Easy Bake oven.

And I have at least one fun and helpful idea for you all. Stay tuned for that bit tomorrow.

Your Turn

And you? Do you do too much? Do you need to simplify?

I can say from experience that, while it hurts a bit in the process, it’s very worth it.