New year Less is More

A New year coming. I wonder if it will be new season? It's funny we put a lot of energy by honoring dates, seasons and times. Yet, we really don't know what is ahead of us. New years resolutions usually last about a day. One thing I do know plodding on, plodding on, doing what you know to do often leads to a positive place.

I regress to a post from a few months ago. When Less=More. Think I'll continue to focus on the principle.

Go. Sow. A simple practical Guide into the arena of outreach. Book Link.

Thinking about when less is more, or how less, leads to more. The Minimalist movement is an interesting movement. They understand that more is often discovered in the less. So they adjust their lifestyles. They seek to have less in order focus on having more. More peace, more clarity, more focus, more time, and more being. They've discovered as they have less, and do less, they have more time for relationships, faith, and time to do what they really want to do.

When less is more.

Being less discouraged ='s being more determined.
Being less distracted ='s being more focused.
Being less fearful ='s being more brave.
Being less stressed ='s being more peaceful.
Being less negative ='s being more positive.

Being less confused ='s having more clarity.
Less talking ='s more listening.
Less striving ='s more resting.
Less doing ='s more being.
Less law ='s more grace.

“Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more;
love more, and all good things will be yours.” ~ Swedish proverb
 
Did you know there are over 52,000 self storage places in the USA which is a 22 billion dollar industry, and there are more of these places than there are McDonald restaurants?

One man noted, "Clutter is the cholesterol of an American home."
One thing we have is stuff, and we have a lot of stuff. We build bigger houses to hold all of our stuff, and then we fill our garages with more stuff instead of our cars. Then we rent storage units to store all the important overflow stuff. 

What do we have? We don't really know, but we know it's all important stuff stored away for a rainy day.

Having stuff is ok, unless your stuff has you. 

1 Cor 7:31 NLT
Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.

When is less more?

When we are faithful in the small things…

God is the great Investor.
John 1:17 "From the fullness of His Grace we have all received one blessing after another."

We have all received the gifts of talents, treasures and…time.

According to the parable of the talents we will be commended, if what He has invested in us pays dividends. In other words, what He has given to us is to be invested into the lives of others. If we do, we will receive a well done. 

 Jesus..."Well done good and faithful servant, you have done good. Enter into the joy of your King."

Something happens in our hearts when we give away what we have received. 

A few months ago I was able to help a homeless man. We had a great conversation. I discovered he had HIV and bone cancer. I prayed for him. I also began to speak into who he was. As I prayed for his healing, I told him his health did not define who he was, Jesus defined who he was. We both wept as I hugged him. The hug was one of those healing hugs, where you sense love and health flowing. He told me I had made his day. I replied, "No you have made my day!" I walked away receiving far more than I had given. 

"More blessed are they that give, then those who receive."

  Jesus… "if you are faithful, trusted with a very little, you can also be trusted with more."
 
This is true in all of life. It is especially true concerning spiritual riches like love, power, presence, and peace. When we are faithful to love, heal, and to bring God's presence and peace to others, love, power, presence and peace increases in our own lives.

So faithfulness is the less, that leads to more…
 
Being faithful in the small things, leads us toward our destiny... our purpose.

You cannot change your destination over night. You can change your direction.---Jim Rohn

Our decisions do determine our destiny. 

One decision can lead to enormous blessing, or lead to enormous regret.
 
We base our decisions often on our feelings rather than seeking wisdom. In the flow of life we face numerous decisions daily. Some small, seemingly insignificant decisions can change the course of a persons destiny. It's important to pay attention to our heart.

A few weeks ago I went to Kinko's to have some cards cut for an event. I dropped off the cards, returned, and found the address missing from the back of the card. I realized I should have checked the cards before taking them to Kinko's. I returned to work and had more cards printed correctly. I then took them back to the shop to be cut, and set a time to pick them up.

I returned later that afternoon to pick up the cards. They weren't ready. The cards had been forgotten. Hummm? 

I had a decision. To be upset, or to not be upset. I've been practicing being calm in such situations. When I'm tempted to complain, I think about Heidi Baker and dirt. Most of the time my up-set-ness, especially over bad service, the food not being cooked right etc. pales in view of what she has gone through. I've never fallen backward into a dirt poop filled latrine. 

Decision. Do I wait 45 minutes, or do I return in the morning to pick up the cards? I almost decided to come back in the morning, but felt a slight God check in my heart, so I decided to wait. 

During the wait I visited a couple of shops, got a hair cut, and then returned for the cards. I walked out of the shop toward my car. At that moment a husband and wife pulled up next to me. The husband asked me if I could help them. They had just visited their son at the VA their car had broken down. They had spent all their money getting a new S belt for their car and needed gas money.

I said, "Sure follow me to the filling station." As the man was filling his car I heard the whole story. Their son, 23 years of age, had just passed away at the VA hospital. He had been wounded in Afghanistan and an ensuing infection had claimed his life. 

He was their only son. I listened, loved and prayed for him and his wife. She wept. I told them about a Father who understood their pain and their sense of loss. He too had lost a Son. I prayed for the Comforter to come and to be with them. They were more than grateful and thanked me for caring. I walked away in stunned wonder.

As I pondered what just happened. I thought about how many dots had to be connected for this meeting with the family to happen? 

A trip to Kinko's... back to Kinko's... seeing misprinted cards... reprinted cards... then back to Kinko's... cards forgotten... a forty-five minute wait... then a life encounter with a couple in need. To orchestrate all of this to its conclusion is impossible. It's simply mind blowing to think how many of my decisions were prompted and guided by the Holy Spirit. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to / acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

What you sow is what your reap.  
Think about your decisions. Which of your decisions led to regret, and which decisions led to gratitude?
 
It is clearly evident you and I need wisdom to make right decisions 

Read Andy Stanley's book The Best Question Ever. Well worth the read and the application.
 
Here is a main thought from the book. 
"In view of my past issues; my current state of being; my season of life, and considering my future, is this the best and wisest thing for me to do at this moment?"

In order to hear clearly we must push pause.

In order to gain wisdom we must de-chatter our lives. Chatter: is the consistent ambient noise that crowds our lives. We have to find time to be in a quiet place, to push pause, and to slow down, and focus on the inside of our being. 

Wisdom comes from above. When we ask for wisdom, we can expect to receive the wisdom we need. We simply need to be in a faith place where we can hear His voice. Wisdom also, comes from trusted people. People who we know that love us and have our highest good at heart. Those faithful people who will shoot straight with us and help us see what's ahead.

I had a dream where an important leader was speaking to me. I could not hear him clearly because he was whispering. There was just to much chatter around me. I remember straining to hear what he was saying. I did hear, "You are a creative, and you need to plan personal space to think." 

I realized having created personal God space over time does pay off. I was encouraged to keep creating time zones for reflection.

 Socretes stated, "Beware of the barrenness of a busy life."

I conducted a funeral for a man who was an amazing builder. His family and friends spoke well of his life. One thing was certain he was a man who wanted to make sure things were done correctly and right. One time his sons had to install a water heater three times before he was satisfied. At the end of his life he reviewed his connection with Jesus, his faith. He wanted to be clear, so he made sure he reconnected and was connected to Jesus.

At the end of our life we all will most probably ask ourselves, "What difference did I really make?" I think, Jesus will ask one question, "Did you love well?"


At the end of all our lives our stuff won't matter, only three things will matter. 

Our faith, our family and our friends. 
Our investment into our faith, our family and our friends is all important. We have one opportunity to be who we were created to be.


"Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping…into the future."  Fly Like and Eagle Steve Miller Band. 

When a second is gone, it's gone. When a moment is gone, it's gone. It's important to live life from a point of living in the now, having gratitude, making the most of every moment. 

It's far better than living a fast paced life looking back in regret. If I had only... done, said, loved, served, prayed or decided.

Regret is a trap. Paul the apostle, stated that he forgot the past. He let go in order to take hold of his life's purpose and to press into his future.

 
God invests in us so that we can invest into others. Where we invest our time, energy, talents and resources reveals what really matters to us. 

The time you invest into the people you love always adds up to something that matters. 

It’s where and what you focus upon that matters. 

In order to see less become more, it's important to stay focused… on what really matters.

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5: 15–16)

When does less become more?

When we:

De-clutter.

Are faithful. 

Remove the chatter. 

Invest in others. 

Focus on what really matters.

I'm looking forward to 2015. I'm going to continue creating space for the One who has led me this far. I told Pattie, "We only have one plan, and His name is Jesus."