In the United States, there is a wide range of acceptable price ranges for goods and services. For example, I live in Manhattan in New York City, which is the second-most expensive city in the U.S. When you live, work, and play in New York City, you know that– for
Real riches are the riches possessed inside. B.C. Forbes, founder of Forbes magazine When people gauge success in consumer society, it’s typically based on salary and the accumulation of wealth/material possessions. As you make more money, and amass more money and possessions, you continue to be more and more “successful.”
Note: This is a guest post by Johanna Rehbaum, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Pittsford, NY. She enjoys pine-covered mountains, perfectly ripe avocados, writing theological reflections, and jam sessions with her husband and two young children. She can often be caught mindlessly harmonizing. Joy: Our Natural State I had
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” St. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions One of the things I love about being part of the human race is that God has created each of us to be uniquely different. We each have
Benjamin Franklin once wrote a famous quotation about money that still haunts us today: Remember that time is money. He that can earn ten shillings a day by his labour, and goes abroad, or sits idle one half of that day, though he spends but sixpence during his diversion or
When I first started the Christian minimalism journey in 2018, I started with minimizing my stuff. We had moved from a 3,000 square-foot house to a 1,200 square-foot apartment, and stuff was, well, stuffed everywhere. We had a storage unit outside of town that was “high and tight”– stuff packed
Over the last few years, like many people, I’ve been in the job market searching for openings and applying to jobs. One phrase in particular kept standing out to me in many job postings– employers frequently wrote that they were looking for someone who went “above and beyond.” This struck
Note: This is a guest post by Loretta Rigney, who just recently embraced a Christian minimalist lifestyle after losing over 100 lbs in 2020. She works in the public sector as Deputy Commission of the Schenectady County Board of Elections, and she and her husband Tom host a weekly Praise and Worship
This week, after a whirlwind weekend of celebrations and travel, I hit an energy wall. I was exhausted– mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. In the past, I would have pushed through, ignoring my body, brain, and soul’s exhaustion. But since becoming a Christian minimalist, I am much more aware of
Recently, my husband Will and I moved to New York City. This was more than just a move of possessions and residential address, it was a move to a completely different lifestyle– new city, downsized living space (and selling our current house!), intentional community, and a new job for me