Simplifying

I like to read blogs. As a youth pastor I really enjoy reading blogs about youth ministry. So I subscribe and subscribe and subscribe. And read and read and read. And all this subscribing and reading leads to a whole mess of thinking.

On any random day, I will find myself drawn into blogs to think about calendar planning, how to be a better teacher, purity, running a good event, and many other things. I realized over time, that I was thinking and creating less and less for my own youth ministry, and more and more just jumping from thought to thought.

And so, a week or two ago, I did this:
BEFORE:

AFTER:









I kept 4 youth ministry blogs that are people I know or that I feel like "mentor" me from afar. I kicked the rest to the curb!

And I haven't noticed or missed them at all!

But I have a lot more time to breathe. And pray. And listen. And dream. And create. And that is beautiful.

I think God, in the life of Christ, calls us to live simply because it creates space around us. The space for God to speak to us. The space for people and relationship. The space for silence and meditation on and around the things of God.

But I still have a ways to go, just stop by my office some day!

What places in your life do you need to find simplicity?