The Dignity of Simplicity

 

The DIGNITY of SIMPLICITY. 

The dictionary defines simplicity as such:

sim·plic·i·ty

/simˈplisədē/

noun

noun: simplicity

1. the quality or condition of being easy to understand or do.

   "for the sake of simplicity, this chapter will concentrate on one theory"

       

        the quality or condition of being plain or natural.

"the grandeur and simplicity of Roman architecture"

         a thing that is plain, natural, or easy to understand.

plural noun: simplicities

"the simplicities of pastoral living"

The dictionary defines dignity as such:

dig·ni·ty

/ˈdiɡnədē/

noun

1. the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect.

   "a man of dignity and unbending principle"

   • a composed or serious manner or style.

     "he bowed with great dignity
   • a sense of pride in oneself; self-respect.

     "it was beneath his dignity to shout"
   • 
     
   • In other ways of saying it: the respect or pride of natural or easy things.

I've been trying to keep things simple lately. Doing tasks, I break them down into an easy plan. Working my job, I manage my time doing work tasks. Even relaxing gives me a chance to focus on one thing at a time. 

I think sometimes we complicate things in life by overthinking about them. The more that we think about our problems, the more we can't see the simple solutions. 

Yet, we are complex beings. We have moods and bad days. 

How we approach those days matters. 

I want to be able to look at my situations I'm a way that I can handle them with ease. 

Jesus Wept

​

Let’s get real. 

Jesus is fully human and fully God. 

It blows my mind. 

He has emotions. Human emotions. Emotions that He expresses freely. 

He also has self control. Which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit by the way. 

He lets His emotions show but doesn’t let them rule over himself. 

I want to be like Jesus.

EDIT: I started writing this post and posted it not realizing I still had a few things to share. 

Today has been a good day. A Better than average day actually. Yet I’m laying in my bed with tears rolling down my face for who knows what reason. I don’t feel sad or depressed. I’m not angry or moody. The tears just started coming. And it’s ok. 

I used to think crying was for babies and weak people. So I rarely cried. 

But these days I have moments of tears. 

I lost a friend to suicide a few years ago. That hurts. 

I lost another friend to illness a few years ago. That hurts.

And for some reason the past few days the pain of those losses has been in the forefront. It makes me wonder at the process of grieving. It makes me question whether I grieved properly for my friends. Then I remember that there is no time line for grief. It’s a process. Often a lifelong process. And there’s no right or wrong way to go about it. 

Jesus grieved Lazarus. He grieved. Knowing that He was going to see Lazarus again, Jesus wept. 

People often joke that “Jesus wept” (John 11:5)is the shortest verse in the Bible. I know I used to joke about it. But now, I see and understand the profound truth in that simple sentence. 

How human of Him to weep! 

And the Word of God promises that one day God will wipe away every tear! (Isaiah 25:8) and that He also collects every tear in a bottle. (Psalm 56:8) (some versions say “recorded on a scroll”)

This means that there is a bottle or scroll with Jesus’ tears kept safely in heaven. Jesus’ tears have meaning to the Father God.

And I want to leave you with this. 

YOUR TEARS MATTER TOO. 

Every. Single. Tear. 

Please don’t give up on life. So far I’ve written about TIME and PERSEVERANCE. That’s what it’s going to take until that day that God wipes your tears away. And until that day, He is collecting each one as a precious treasure. Because HE loves YOU so much that He gave up His life so you can live with Him forever. 

You may hate Him. Or be indifferent. Or simply just don’t want to face the possibility of eternity. But you have a choice. Accept Jesus. Or reject Jesus. You may have already accepted Jesus.

The bottom line is that no matter what happens, you are loved with an everlasting love that even death cannot change that fact. It’s your choice whether to accept that or not. 

Jesus wept because He loves Lazarus. I bet He weeps for us too.

the need of perseverance

​

ROMANS 5:3-5

Perseverance. It builds character which produces hope. And we all need hope. Every last one of us. 

Suffering. We all suffer in some way. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. It all comes down to how we handle it. It builds our character. What we go thru shapes us. It forces us to change for the better or worse. 

What is character? It is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. It’s what motivates your choices. You act out on what you believe. Where your character comes from depends on your upbringing and circumstances. Good or bad, your life experiences change your character for the good or bad. 

So how are you letting your suffering shape your character? 

Define your character. Figure out who you are. What you stand for. What you believe. 

This is what will motivate hope in your life. And hope does not disappoint. What does that mean? It means that hope is persistent. Hope is needed. Hope is something we all desire. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get everything you are hoping for. It’s the act of hoping that gives us hope. What do you hope for? 

the value of time

​

The value of time. 

is important to you? What brings meaning to the way you spend your life? 

Honestly, my mind is foggy this morning. Woke up early to let the dog out and can’t seem to wake up fully. But I like this time I have in the quiet before my husband gets up. 

I have my coffee and my field notes journal. I’m contemplating. 

There are times when I wish the day would go faster and sometimes I wish it would go slower. It usually causes anxiety. Figures. 

The trick is to learn to be patient and realize every moment is an experience to live fully. 

Do I live fully? 

I would say no. I waste time. 

But you know what? The value of time isn’t always about staying busy. Sometimes doing nothing in the moment is exactly what is needed. Our bodies and minds and souls need rest. So the next time you feel guilty for not doing anything, remember that it’s ok to sit still and appreciate life. 

We live in the fast lane most of the time. Society says that we have to do stuff to be accomplished. Society is often wrong. 

I don’t believe that we’re to be lazy, but to accept moments when we have a break from the to do list and jobs. 

So what value do you put in your time? Those minutes waiting in the grocery store check out lane? Those moments at the stop lights? Those moments when you are so busy? 

Here’s a few ways to make your time meaningful during those moments: 

Pray. It’s just talking to Jesus. You can pray about anything you want! 

Reflect. Reflect on a memory or emotion that you have. 

Observe. Look around. Don’t just let your surroundings be blurry. 

Ask questions of yourself or others. You may or may not get the answers but it doesn’t hurt to ask! 

Research. Learn something new. We live in a world of technology and information. Use it! 

Finally, 

Embrace. Accept the reality that your time on earth is fleeting. Make every moment count! 

I have some errands to run and some chores to do today. I’m believing that it will be a great day! 

changes

​I’ve lived the last twenty years in a series of spiritual seasons. Each unique and yet entwined with each other. 

When one season would begin, another ended. Just like how God created the four seasons to change. 

What do I mean by a spiritual season? 

It’s a non specific time frame where you learn one or two or three life lessons at a time and it seems like everything in your life points to those lessons for a “season”. 

For a while there I was living a new learning season every three months. But now it varies a little longer. 

I look back at the last 8 years and see growth. Physically and mentally and emotionally and spiritually, the life lessons are all are meshed together. 

One in particular that sticks out to me right now is lessons in grace. 

Extending grace to others and receiving grace. Both equally difficult. 

A lot has been going thru my mind today. Some good. Some bad. 

Like how we all have to face each day and choose what our attitude is going to be. 

Like how we all have responsibilities and the choice to fulfill them or not. 

Like how we often pretend to be something we are not just to get thru the day. 

Like how we tend to blame others for our problems. 

Like how we have a choice to be kind or not. 

It’s not easy being human. It’s not easy being kind. It’s not easy to keep our responsibilities straight. 

With the wedding coming up, I’ve been putting a lot of thought into how my life is going  to change. Pastor Steve made a good point in our meeting with him this week. He said, “Marriage is about putting the other person before yourself.” So simple yet profound. 

I have a lot of thoughts about this concept that I’m not going to bore you with. But I want to end with this: 

Oftentimes the sacrifices you make go unnoticed by all except for Jesus. He sees it all. The responsibilities. The kindness. The times we put on a brave face. And He knows that we struggle. That I struggle. And just like that He gives grace upon grace for every situation. My task is to simply accept that grace every moment that I can and to give grace just as freely.

I’m not good at it but I know that Jesus will be there to help me live this season of grace.

The CHOICE

I was reading thru some of my journals the other day and came across a simple quote that I had copied down. I am not sure where I heard it or if I wrote it myself but either way, the weight of it hit me again as I reread it. 

"No matter the reason WHY bad things happen, I have the CHOICE to believe Jesus or the devil."

Wow. How profound. So many times I can get stuck on the reason behind the WHY of bad things happening. It goes round and round in my head. WHY this? WHY that? WHY would God allow such things to happen. It's a never ending question. One that many people have tried to answer and I have yet come across a good answer to that question. Some have come close, but not quite. 

The idea that we have a CHOICE of what to believe about situations is not exactly a new concept to me, but it is a big one!

Regardless of what your religion is, the question of why bad things happen is in every heart and mind! It haunts us. It can make or break us. 

I have had bad things happen to me, and to those that I love. Not only that but seeing current events play out has got me asking WHY again. 

When you take a look at the thoughts that you have while you ask this question, there are often prevailing thoughts. Some are loud, some are repetitive, some are quiet and yet deserve to be noticed just as much as the others. Our thoughts shape who we are, what we are about, and what our actions will be. Our thoughts can also keep us captive. Stuck. 

The truth is that we have choices of what to do with our thoughts. We can CHOOSE to react or do nothing. A lot of times, I find that it is easier to ignore my thoughts, but they are still there. Waiting to pounce on me in inopportune times. Especially in times of stress. 

I want to first talk about the way that Satan uses our thoughts against us. He is usually the one who is loud, insistent, and annoying. And NEGATIVE. Boy, can he be a Negative Nancy. But he also can come disguised as the "voice of reason" or "the you should, they should, why don't you" thoughts that can make you feel angry, guilty, self righteous, etc. Satan likes to take your own thoughts and turn them just a little bit so that you doubt God, your faith wavers and you start to turn to his way of thinking, Satan is sneaky. 

BUT......

A few things about Satan......

He is not present everywhere. He can't be in more than one place at a time, because he is not GOD. He uses his demons to do his dirty work. He is not able to read your mind, though he can make guesses because he has had time to study human behavior. 

THE BEST PART......

Jesus IS everywhere all the time. His HOLY SPIRIT is able to be in every corner of heaven and earth because he is GOD. GOD uses his angels to do HIS good works. God is able to know your thoughts and know your intentions and loves you no matter what! No matter your doubts, fears, and insecurities. He loves you. GOD also has been around for eternity and knows what has happened and what will happen. He's got plans and will carry them to completion. HE also is speaking to us daily. Whether in the physical world, or in our thoughts, Jesus has the answers and will speak to us. 

So, we have a CHOICE. To believe what Jesus is saying to us, or to believe what Satan is saying to us. 

What do you think Jesus is saying? 

Jesus is all about LOVE. If a thought isn't based on that, you can guarantee that it is not from Jesus. He loves us enough that HE GAVE HIS LIFE for us. 

Back to the reason WHY. There will always be things going on behind the scenes of every event. Things that we don't know about. There are also choices made by us humans that come into factor. 

THE CHOICE IS that we can choose to believe the truth of GOD's WORD. Or we can believe the lies that are masked by half truths. 

WHY do bad things happen? I don't have the answer to that question. But....

We have the CHOICE to believe Jesus' words or Satan schemes. Have you asked Jesus? Have you taken the time to listen? What does the Bible say? What do the convictions of your heart and mind say? Bottom line, make a choice. 

Don't sit there and wonder WHY. 

Now, I am not saying that it is okay to just accept what happened as "oh well". Often we have to go thru things and in hindsight learn from them. But the choice is ours to believe what we want based on our experiences and the convictions that we have.  

Make good choices.