Ode to Richard J. Foster

It was when I read Richard J. Foster's Celebration of Discipline that I first was introduced to the discipline of simplicity. The ideas are so counter-cultural, and yet, make so much sense in my heart of hearts. It is our greed, lust, and insatiable thirst for "stuff" that can kill our capacity for joy and to live life to the full.

Living life to the full does not mean living life with our arms full of stuff. Though I prefer to live life with my arms full of Ashley!

Here are a few of my favorite quotes and my musings from that book:

"Simplicity is the only thing that can sufficiently reorient our lives so that possessions can be genuinely enjoyed without destroying us." (p. 74)

"...if what we have we believe we have gotten [for ourselves], and if what we have we believe we must hold onto, and if what we have is not available to others, then we will live in anxiety." (p. 77)

• This is such a vivid and descriptive idea: that our possessions have the power to destroy us. Rather, it is our perceived need to possess that gives our stuff power over us.




• If we put to great a value on our possessions, then we spend time worrying how to keep, preserve, and sometimes showcase our possessions because we don't know who we are without them.

• Giving our possessions the power to define who we are (an inanimate object giving meaning to our very purpose and the design of our souls) will ultimately fail us at our search for meaning, security, love, and purpose.
  

"We cling to our possessions rather than sharing them because we are anxious about tomorrow" (p. 78)

• This is the very idea of hoarding. It reminds me of Ebenezer Scrooge, who couldn't begin to spend all the money he had hoarded, but fear of the unknown caused him to sit on top of his wealth. Scrooge was bound, imprisoned, by his wealth.




• Didn't we all see that Scrooge was finally living a full life when he was able to let go of his wealth and possessions? His possessions no longer controlled or defined him.




• Clinging to stuff is opposite in nature of how we are to live. Cling to healthy relationships, to our loved ones, not to stuff.



• It is true, those who are able to share with others live with a lighter spirit because they are not consumed with wasting energy on figuring out how to hold onto possessions.

"Simplicity is freedom...Simplicity brings joy and balance." (pg. 9)

"To attempt to arrange and outward life-style of simplicity without the inward reality leads to deadly legalism." (pg. 70)

• I would go as far as to say that trying to arrange an outward life-style of simplicity without the inward can feed into an addiction for control.



• The need for control exists in most of us, and living by a strict set of lifestyle guidelines is a great way to feed, and temporarily satisfy that need for control, but it only makes the need for control greater in our life, and that is what will destroy us.

The inward reality, as Richard J. Foster describes, "is to seek the kingdom of God and the righteousness of His kingdom first--and then everything necessary will come in its proper order" (p. 75). It's like Stephen Covey's idea of putting first things first.

It is not fixing our outer environment in order to achieve inner peace and simplicity. It is letting our outward attitudes and surroundings to be a reflection of what exists inside of us.

To seek God first is to live simply. He is consistent in character, unwavering in His love, and wills what is good in my life.

To seek control first is to live in the oppression of our spirits of our own devising. I am inconsistent in character, my loyalties and love are moslty conditional, and I often cannot see what is good or bad until after the fact.

Foster, R.J. (1978). Celebration of Discipline: The path to spiritual growth. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.

Cha-Ching with Change

I realized pretty quickly that when I started working in all cash (instead of cards), that I ended up with a lot of change by the end of the day.
Time to bring back the piggy bank! At the end of every day, I empty the wallet, pockets, and car consul and throw all the change in a tin.



I consider change as money spent or unusable, even when it is still in my wallet. So, it just builds through the day and through the weeks!



If you want to take it a step further, you can put a little post it on the "bank" that could indicate something specific you are saving for, like "shoes" or "Disneyland."


I, however, am not that good and tend to let the change build up for 2 months, and usually find there was an unplanned expense of some sort (like a recent parking ticket I received) and use the money to pay for that.


I'm a fan of the Coinstar machines at the grocery store. I just dump all my coins in the machine, take my receipt to customer service, and get cash. However, it does take around an 8% cut for doing the counting for you, so if you are wanting to keep that 8% then use that mindless television-watching time to roll those coins.


The biggest treat is seeing how that change builds up, and all of a sudden I have extra money that would have easily been spent if I used my debit card rather than cash.

Shopping with a Social Conscience

Shopping with a social conscience means to me:

1. Reducing or halting oppression of human beings around the world
   
2. Supporting the fellow American and the American economy

I don't think any of us want to support a sweatshop; we don't want to contribute to or continue the oppression of human beings. And given the opportunity, we would choose to help stop the oppression of our fellow brothers and sister in humanity.

However, much clothing is manufactured outside of the U.S., and the truth is, I do not know how other countries, namely second- or third-world countries, treat their employees. Mostly, I hear its bad. I took a peek at the tags of the clothes in my closet, and found a veritable who's who of countries known to have problems with poverty: Indonesia, India, Honduras, Vietnam, El Salvador, etc.

I'm pretty sure I have contributed to the oppression of the poor without a thought. I don't want to continue that trend in my life: thoughtless spending with possible anti-humanitarian consequences.

I am trying to change my shopping habits. What's my method?

1. Buy American (look for the "Made in U.S.A." label)



2. Buy used



3. Borrow (not buy) items from friends that I will only need for one or two uses

With the American economy in the dumps, it is even more important to put our American dollars back into America. I want to support our home town businesses, factories, and manufacturers. Do a little homework, and look for American-made products.

Some of my favorite brands that are made in the U.S.A. are

• Byena Clothing



• American Apparel



• Vera Bradley
  
  

Buying used also puts money back into the local economy as most thrift stores are putting money back into the local community and local aid for those in need. Buying used also reduces waste, helping out our environment.

Plus, some stores will give you cash or store credit for items that you bring in, which is a great money-saver. If shopping is about wasting time, socializing with friends, and the thrill of the hunt, there is no better adventure than diving into a thrift store. A couple of my favorites are:

• Plato's Closet



• Buffalo Exchange



• Saver's

It's true, I probably won't ever be a fashionista, but I can change the world one outfit at a time. I can't help what I already own. Those are dollars already spent and goods owned. However, I can change my shopping habits starting today.

Simply Joyful

1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Be joyful always"

In this day and age, we have the the right to pursue happiness, and boy do we. Except that happiness is a temporary and fleeting feeling. Joy, however, is a state of life. Joy changes who we are. Finding our simplest joys opens the heart and makes room for living life, not spending our life hunting for happiness.
Where do I find joy?

1. Laughing with my sister


2. Feeling the sun shine down on me the first time I step out of the house each morning



3. Falling asleep next to my husband



4. The smell of the asphalt after a summer rainstorm
   
   
5. Seeing my sister in a luchardor mask
   


6. The Tucson Celtic Festival and the ability to buy Haggis in the desert
   


7. A nephew that dressed himself



8. The adventures teenagers bring to my life



9. Dublin on St. Patrick's Day



10. Driving without the radio on



11. Someone else doing the dishes
    
    
12. Going to camp...still



13. Communicating everything without a word
    
    
14. Thirty-minute pool noodle fights with middle school girls



15. Christmas Avenue



16. Kisses on the cheek



17. Crawling into a bed with freshly cleaned sheets



18. A day at the zoo



19. A parade



20. Receiving mail in the mailbox (not inbox)



21. Memorable adventures when everything seems to go wrong


22. Sitting outside and reading a book



23. People-watching at a coffee shop
    
    
24. Pin-trading at Disneyland


25. Saturdays

Debit or Credit? Neither.

I don't think about what I am spending when I am using a card, and I'm often surprised how $3 here and $5 there add up quickly, and I've spent $50 or $100 without thinking.

Proverbs 23:5
"Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle."

Ain't that the truth.

I had to change the way I was spending money and made the switch to cash.

I use my budget to figure out how much money you have for: groceries, gas, entertainment, and other monthly expenses aside from bills, tithe, savings, and charitable donations. Then, I made little envelope pouches for each category. Each paycheck, I withdraw cash and separate the cash into the respective envelopes.

There are a number of advantages to this method:

• It prevents identity theft: We hear so much about how using our debit cards and credit cards open us up to identity theft. Using cash prevents your account number from being mishandled by a business.


• It saves money in bank charges for accidental overdraft and other charges: When the cash is spent, that's it.


• It prevents credit card debt: Again, when the cash is spent, that's it.


• It forces you to deal with the most important budget items first, not last: You have to pay bills, put money into a savings account, etc. before withdrawing cash, so you become more intentional about financial responsibility.

Declutter Your Brain

I go through our day making a list in my head; I think we all do.


Take a shower, try to get the squeeze the remaining shampoo out of the bottle. Pick up Shampoo.


Brush my teeth with my electric toothbrush, which is loosing its vigor. Get AA batteries.


Put on my makeup for the day, routing around old eyeshadow containers, mascara tubes, etc. Clean out makeup bag.


This happens all day with burned out light bulbs, needed groceries, piles of mail, and on and on and on. However, most likely, we don't simply take care of the list, so we relive it the next day, and the next, and the next. I just stick an "oh yeah" on the front of my list items.

I learned from a co worker that every time I thought those thoughts in my mental "to do" list, I was expending unnecessary energy and stress. My brain became cluttered by "to dos" that never go done.


Declutter the brain:

1. Grab a pen and paper and stick it by your night stand
   
   
2. The next day, keep this pad with you and write down every "to do" you think on that pad throughout the day (Now the list has become tangible!)


3. Maybe repeat this for a couple days.


4. Now, put a date next to each item. What can be taken care of tomorrow? this weekend? next week? next month?


5. Use your original list and create a list for every date you wrote down. I love the 4x6 post-its for these!


6. Stick these post-its on your calendar or bulletin board and cross items off as you accomplish the task. It will feel so good!

Ultimately, this will help the environment and the wallet because it will help you group your tasks and errands so you do less daily driving around. Instead, you can get into the car with a plan of attack!

Saving the Planet, One Load of Laundry at a Time

I try to keep laundry a once a week event in our house. We were trying to figure out how to cut corners and save the planet, and reducing water usage seemed a practical way to do that. The goal was to limit our household to doing three loads per week:

• One load of laundry for me


• One load of laundry for my husband


• One load of household (sheets, towels, rags, etc.)

One load of laundry per person, per week.

This is an average, and the general rule is that all clothes are washed on cold (another money-saving tip), and households are washed on warm.

The surprise result of doing laundry this way was that I noticed my closet was still bursting with clothes on laundry day. However, my favorite pieces were always in the laundry, leaving clothes I had lukewarm feelings toward hanging in my closet, untouched, unworn, unused.

I concluded that I have more clothes than I need or wear (which I'm sure most of us do), and it was time for the purging of the closet!

Less clothes = less laundry!

How it all started

I would go to bed with the closet door open and look inside as I would fall asleep. I was trying to figure out what I was going to wear tomorrow. And then, when I woke up, I would turn and look into my closet to continue the process of figuring out what to wear.

If I was going to be late, it was because I tried on at least three outfits before finding an ensemble that I was satisfied with. It started to become a running joke between my husband and me as he would often find me standing in towel, just staring into my closet.

It's so silly. Something as trivial as getting dressed in the morning took up so much time, energy, and unneeded stress.

Matthew 6:28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin."

I would finger through my clothes over and over again trying not to forget what I had seen in there.

And then I figured out the problem.

It's not that I didn't have anything to wear, it's that I had too much to wear. Sometimes too many choices is what can clutter my brain.

So it started with my closet. I needed to simplify. Get back to basics, and get rid of unnecessary clutter and stress that can crowd around me in a million small ways.

It was time to start living the daisy life!