The Simple Life?

From June 18, 2009

The simple life...what come's to your mind when you hear this term? For some, we think of just laying around doing nothing at all, or we think of green meadows, crops in the fields; the whole pastoral scene. A life of ease, or is it?...
Do you remember how simple life was when we were kids? Our days were carefree and planned for us, our meals and transportation provided, our needs paid for; it didn't get much better. The problem is that as we got older and more "responsible", we've become conditioned to think that it's all up to us to make it happen and we can lose that sense of resting in someone else to take care of us. "Pull up your bootstraps, etc", "early bird gets the worm". We work ourselves into oblivion looking for that rest, but thinking if we don't stay "busy", we're bad people!
The simple life starts with simple obedience and reliance on someone bigger than us. As we enter into adulthood, that reliance becomes fully transferred to God if we are to enjoy the simple life. Man, I need to be reminded of that so many times!
God has called YOU to enter the simple life. If you don't know him yet, he stands at your heart's door and knocks. If you know him, he invites you to a place of calm (even in the middle of life's storms) to hear from him and to let you know he is there for you - whatever you need.
The simple life is not without it's struggles. When Kim and I were faced with problems with her 2nd preganancy and not knowing what to expect; we had to lean even more on God to face the unknown. When Valerie was born with multiple birth defects, it was his mercy that allowed us to hold her, feed her, LOVE her for her short 3 1/2 weeks on this earth and it was his AMAZING Grace that held onto us when we laid her in the ground. But we would never trade this struggle for anything as we learned more about the goodness of God in that September than ever before!
The simple life is one of Obedience; believe me, it was one of the hardest things to walk away from 15 years of ministry as a worship leader. God was telling me that I needed to focus on letting him truly capture my heart for him and for my family and to learn that ministry is not only on the stage. Wow, has my perspective ever changed to view everyone in the church as vital! And I've loved seeing my kids learn what it means to worship (whether by song or obedience).
So, are you ready for the simple life? It's waiting and it will blow your mind! It is not ordinary, but adventurous, epic, and yet Restful! What are you waiting for?