People can make a lot of assumptions when they find out that you live a different type of lifestyle. Whether positive or negative, these assumptions can offer a great learning moment. For example, every time I tell someone I’m a Christian minimalist, chances are good that their immediate assumption is
There is a lot of uncertainty in our world right now. We have no idea how or when this global pandemic will end, or how many times lockdowns will happen. We also don’t know what any of this means for our loved ones, our jobs, or the state of our
A few years ago, former Manhattanite and 30-something journalist Noelle Hancock wrote an article that ended up going viral: “Why I Gave Up a $95,000 Job to Move to an Island and Scoop Ice Cream.” The article caused such a pop culture and social media frenzy that she was interviewed
A few years ago, I discovered a song by Janis Joplin called “Mercedes Benz.” The lyrics go something like this (and you can listen along here): Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amendsWorked hard all my lifetime, no help from
If there is a movie out there that shows the consequences of putting celebrity, wealth, and material possessions above all else, it’s Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring. Based on Nancy Jo Sales’ article in Vanity Fair, “The Subjects Wore Louboutins,” The Bling Ring attempts to tell the real-life story of
Most of us would agree that simplicity is a good thing. Even if we aren’t familiar with minimalism, we are all aware that culling our lives down to what matters most will only improve our mood and the quality of our lives. For Christians, this culling down also helps us
As we begin to think about what life may look like after a global pandemic (even while we are still dealing with the pandemic, at least in the U.S.), it can be very tempting to fall into “going back to normal.” This is especially true for those of us who
During this global COVID-19 pandemic, many people have turned to a practice called comfort buying. A close sister to retail therapy (and some people have used the terms interchangeably), comfort buying is when consumers buy things solely to bring comfort to themselves in difficult times. Comfort buying is not always
Note: This is a guest post written by Matt Kendziera. When Jesus Walked After beginning his ministry with the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” Jesus walked down the mountain and didn’t stop walking for the better part of two chapters. He strolled
On March 7, we left to go on an 8-day cruise to the Caribbean for a planned family vacation. At that point, the coronavirus (COVID-19) had been spreading in other countries and there were a few cases on the West Coast of the U.S. Since there were no travel recommendations