All of us go through transitions at some point in our lives. Sometimes the transition is big: graduation, changing jobs, a major loss, moving, retirement. Sometimes the transition is smaller: a friendship that runs its course, a small shift in lifestyle, a gradual change in how we understand ourselves or
Before I discovered minimalism and connected it to my faith life, I would often make purchases based on who I wanted to be in the future. I wanted to get outdoors more, so I bought hiking boots, a tent, and camping gear. I wanted to present myself as more put-together,
My life is not what I thought it would be. I don’t mean that my life is bad, or that I’m extremely unhappy—far from it. I love my family and friends. I get to interact with a wide range of people in my jobs, and the work is interesting. I
It’s no secret that marketing and advertising folks use psychological strategies to get us to buy more stuff. One of the ways they do this is something called price anchoring. What is Price Anchoring? Price anchoring is when a price for a product is shown with higher prices around it,
Note: This is a guest post written by Tim Brown, pastor in the ELCA serving parishes in Chicago, IL and Raleigh, NC. He currently serves in the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop as Director for Congregational Stewardship Support where he creates and curates relationships and resources to help Synods
Time is a weird thing. Sometimes it flies by, and we don’t know where it went. Other times, it drags on, and it feels like a few minutes last a whole hour. But most of the time, we just kind of take time for granted. It’s just… there. Ticking away.
When I was speaking about Christian Minimalism for a gathered group recently, one of the attendees made this comment: “I have a hard time getting rid of stuff, even if it’s stuff I’m not using, because I spent money on it.” This is a common problem– and it has a
I have recently incorporated a new spiritual practice into my daily routine. When the weather permits, I spend 10-20 minutes standing barefoot on the grass in my backyard. This type of practice is often called grounding or earthing– the connecting of our bare skin with the earth. There have been
I was scrolling through social media recently, and I came across a method of cleaning called “Pile Cleaning.” If you’re wondering what Pile Cleaning is, it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. When a room is overwhelmingly messy and needs tidying, you basically just throw everything into a big
The Italians have a saying: dolce far niente. It means the “sweetness of doing nothing.” Basically, it encourages people to spend time not doing much, just enjoying themselves. This concept may seem completely foreign to those of us who live in the United States. Consumer culture and productivity culture are