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 you’re anything like me, you’re a time traveler. Not a literal time traveler (sorry to disappoint!), but a time traveler in our brains. We are almost always thinking about the past or the future. Which means… we are almost never thinking about or focusing on the present. For example,
Elijah was running for his life. The corrupt rulers Ahab and Jezebel wanted him dead. The prophet fled to the wilderness, and God provided food and drink to strengthen him on his journey. He traveled for 40 days and 40 nights, and he was told to stand on Mt Horeb
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
For the last month or so, my husband Will and I have spent some time doing what everyone who has lost a close loved one can relate to—cleaning out my Father-in-Law Norm’s house. Norm was a relatively modest man; except for his collection of illustrator artwork and specimens/lab equipment on
Note: This is a guest post written by Zach Labagh, Pastor at Allegheny Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mohnton, PA. In the last few months, due to the pandemic, I found myself and my family changing how we function completely. Our calendar that was full has now diminished to online and
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
Here on the Christian Minimalism blog, we’ve looked at minimalism in The Greatest Showman and A Christmas Carol. This time, we are looking minimalism in the movie Yesterday. In Yesterday, Jack Malick is a struggling singer-songwriter who plays gigs that are barely attended and booked by teacher-by-day, manager-by-night Ellie Appleton.