Quick Before I Get Sidetrack'd

I’m wondering…

Who came up with the term happy medium?  And did they ever find one?  If so, can they give me some pointers?

Yesterday I was reading Steph’s post titled Thanks for Sharing and it reminded me of something I heard Sunday evening at our Life Group meeting.

At the beginning of our meeting time we include the children as we sing worship songs and ask a couple of questions. This week’s question was, “What is your favorite tradition this time of year?” One of the girls raised her hand and answered something to this effect (I really wish I could quote her exactly, but the phrasing has slipped my mind):

“My favorite thing is gifts and wrapping the gifts, but even if there are no gifts the most important thing to remember is the real gift, the reason we have Christmas, that baby Jesus came, and that is the most important gift.”

Advent perspective from the mouth of a 6 year old; a reminder we can all use this time of year.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about simplicity and living a simple life. Over the past few days and weeks, the idea seems to be everywhere I look – on blogs I read, in my Bible class at church – pervading my thoughts. My ideas aren’t cohesive enough at this time to write about my perspective on the topic, but I wanted to share a couple of links to blog posts that I’ve enjoyed recently.

Last week Meredith at Like Merchant Ships did a series entitled “How to Live Well on Less”; links to each post in the series can be found here. She writes about budgeting, purchasing, decorating, and finding beauty in what you own.

Then I read a post by Brant at Letters from Kamp Krusty titled “Here’s to Nothing!” in which he writes about how his family’s approach to life has impacted others in their neighborhood.

I would enjoy hearing your thoughts on simplicity as well – what “simple living” means, how it can be accomplished, things you’ve done to simplify your life or household. Leave a comment and let’s see what where this discussion might lead.

Sheryl at Peanut Butter and Jelly Boats is challenging herself to 21 days of prayer and fasting to help her overcome some issues with what comes out of her mouth (see post here). She invited her fellow bloggers to join in the challenge, and I’ve decided to come alongside both in praying for her and challenging myself.

Although I’m not planning to share whether or not I’m fasting (I’ve decided that this is best left between God and me), I will write about the specific things I’m praying about and through and how God is at work in those things.

Now, since that last sentence was clear as mud, let’s get started.

~~ I will be praying, along with Sheryl, about the words that come out of my mouth; this is a constant struggle. I want the words that I speak to be edifying, gentle, and kind whether I’m speaking to a stranger, a friend, or Matt and Little. I will focus specifically on praying the following verses:

~~ I will be praying about the sale of our house and our impending move; that everything we do will be to the glory of God.

~~ I will be praying about finding a new church home in Nashville. It took us a year and a half to find a church here (that’s a long story for another time), and I’m hopeful that the lessons God taught us in that time only have to be learned once.

Today is actually day two of the challenge (yep, that’s me – a day late and a dollar short), so for the next 20 days I will be praying with and for Sheryl about the words of our mouths and also about these other things.

In other (but somewhat related) news, I’m also challenging myself to get back in the habit of exercising; I’ve always heard that it takes 21 days to create a habit, so the timing is just right. For the next 21 days I will walk or do some other form of exercise (like load and unload boxes) for 30 minutes each day. As a kind of accountability, I will add to the bottom of my posts a note about whether or not I’ve had my walk for the day. So far, so good – Little and I walked for at least 30 minutes both yesterday and today.

A few days ago I was tagged by my wonderful SIL Lu to play along in a meme. I know you have all been anxiously awaiting my great and insightful answers, and you shall wait no longer…

1. Last year I experienced the miracle that is life for the first time – pregnancy and childbirth – what amazing and beautiful experiences.

2. In 2004-2005 I experienced buying and then selling (11 months later) a house for the first time. I learned that when you offer your life, your marriage, your home to God and truly mean it, He sometimes takes you up on the offer.

3. In the last four years I’ve learned how very difficult it is to leave a group of friends who are like family and that the work involved in maintaining a strong friendship across the distance of hundreds of miles is worth it.

4. Over the last four years I’ve grown in my understanding of God, His will, and His church and learned to trust and believe in new and increasing ways.

1. I want to have more children if it is the pleasure of God to bless us in that way.

2. I would like to experience the freedom of living a debt free life (we’re almost there!).

3. I want to teach Little to read.

4. I would like to learn at least one new skill or hobby.

I honestly can’t remember who all has already participated in this one, so I’m not going to tag anyone. If you would like to play along, let me know in the comments so I can read your responses.