We are now into the Christmas and holiday season– and for better or for worse, gift giving is often a part of celebrations. Simple gift giving can be, well, a gift. When consumables, experiences, charitable giving, or limited material gifts that have been mentioned as wanted or needed are given,
Note: This is a guest post written by Cassandra Roberts, self-proclaimed hype girl, recovering perfectionist, and kindred spirit of curious people. Growing up impoverished with wishes granted by March of Dimes and Angel Trees, I dreamed of having “enough” stuff. Then, my problem became the collection of stuff. I’d said no
Stories are a part of the human experience. Jesus often used parables, or stories, to teach us deep theological concepts that would have been hard to grasp otherwise. Below is a modern-day parable that touches on the minimalist lifestyle. This story is a folk story found in many places, and
For those of us who live in North America, a big event last month was the total solar eclipse on April 8th. Folks who lived in areas in which the partial eclipse (or the full eclipse, called the path of totality) could be viewed– or could travel to an area
Every year as a child and teen, my extended family got together on Christmas Day. We would eat, laugh, play games, open presents, and spend time together as a family on the holiday. Plans and preparations for this event started months in advance, with each family unit contributing food, drinks,
Consumer culture regularly tells us lies about who we are. You are not: Your workplace. Your car. Your paycheck. Your job title. Your house. Your leadership role in church/an organization. Your success. Your failure. Your family members’ success. Your family members’ failure. Your clothes. Your material possessions. Your social media
Recently, we went to visit my parents with Baby Theo (and his bottles and diaper bag) in tow– a regular occurrence now that we live much closer to them. When it was time to feed Theo, my Mom took the bottle out of the fridge and pulled out the same
A few months ago, I was playing with my son Theo. Only a few months old at the time, one of his favorite things to do was staring at himself in a mirror (a typical past-time for infants who are a few months old). This particular playtime, Theo was propped
Like many of us, I’ve struggled over the years with simplifying my wardrobe. I’ve managed to gradually get my wardrobe down to 1/3 the size it was previously, but I still revisit my wardrobe periodically to see if I can simplify more. While experimenting with wardrobe simplification, I even wore
When I was a kid, we would often have family game nights. Bingo was a particular favorite. When playing Bingo, one person calls out the letters and numbers as they popped out of the Bingo cage spinner, and the rest would scramble to put their chips on the respective spaces