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Simplify: A Word from the Summit About Cutting the Chaos and Complication of Life

It’s the beginning of a new month.  September has stopped.  October has arrived.  Think for a moment about September.  How did you spend that month?  What was your schedule like?  In his book Freedom of Simplicity Richard Foster urges us to write down all our activities for one month.[i] Imagine recording everything you did in September.  Then, Foster advises us to categorize each activity into one of the following:

Simplify: A Word from the Summit About Cutting the Chaos and Complication of Life

Simplify: A Word from the Steeple About Cutting the Chaos and Complication of Life

The movie “Daddy Day Camp” tells of two dads named Charlie and Phil who take over a summer day-camp for young children. Armed with no knowledge of the outdoors and a dilapidated day-camp facility, the dads soon realize they’ve taken on more than they can handle.  Just the beginning moments of camp are chaotic: Simplify: A Word from the Steeple About Cutting the Chaos and Complication of Life

When God Says No: The Unanswered Prayer of Paul

In March, 1997 Newsweek magazine ran a cover-story on prayer.  The article included three prayer stories.  The first story concerned Mimi Rumpp.  Mimi’s sister Miki needed a kidney transplant.  So Mimi and her family started praying.  Less than a year later, Miki got a new kidney, courtesy of a bank teller who was so moved by Miki’s plight that she had herself tested and discovered she was a perfect match.  Her family prayed.  And a kidney was provided.When God Says No: The Unanswered Prayer of Paul

Simplify: A Word from the Sand About Cutting the Chaos and Complication of Life


Last year results were released from a significant study on simplicity.[i] Father and son Thom and Art Rainer asked more than one thousand Americans about their pace, their schedules, and their quality of life.  The Rainer’s found that a vast majority of us are longing for simpler lives.  We long for more balance and less busyness, for increased flexibility and decreased complexity.  We yearn for time to just enjoy life.  We long for simplicity.Simplify: A Word from the Sand About Cutting the Chaos and Complication of Life