Day 17 - of 30 Days to a Simplier Life

Simply God

Today I'm going to take a break from the simple steps to health for a day to share my daily devotional for today because it was so in line with our 30 days to a Simplier Life.

I believe we make our relationship with God very complicated at times and that like many things in life it really is and needs to be "simple" So much of all our striving, serving in minstry and trying to figure out God's will for our life really comes down to our relationship with Him. spending time in His presence and our love and devotion to Him.

Jan 17: My Utmost for His Highest

The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature. The call of the natural life was stated by the apostle Paul— "When it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him [that is, purely and solemnly express Him] among the Gentiles . . . ."

Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. Therefore, when I receive His nature and hear His call, His divine voice resounds throughout His nature and mine and the two become one in service. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.

Day 16 - of 30 Days to a Simplier Life

Simple Steps to Healthier Eating Part 2

I do not buy "only" organic but I do buy a few things organic. Many items it doesn't even make a difference if it is organic or not and it is way to expensive to do everything but I have researched quite about of information and found that there are a few items that really are worth paying a little extra for and many times you can now find them on sale. Walmart probably has the best prices on most of these items. So just a few more "Simple" ways to eat healthy.

The “Dirty Dozen”: Must-buy organic foods
Fruit

• Apples
• Cherries
• Grapes, imported (Chili)
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Raspberries
• Strawberries

Vegetables

• Bell peppers
• Celery
• Potatoes
• Spinach

The U.S. Department of Agriculture found that even after washing, some fruits and vegetables consistently carry much higher levels of pesticide residue than others. Based on an analysis of more than 100,000 U.S. government pesticide test results, researchers have developed the “dirty dozen” fruits and vegetables, above, that they say you should always buy organic, if possible, because their conventionally grown counterparts tend to be laden with pesticides.

No need to go organic with these foods:
Fruit

• Bananas
• Kiwi
• Mangos
• Papaya
• Pineapples

Vegetables

• Asparagus
• Avocado
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn
• Onions
• Peas

These products generally do not contain pesticide residue.

Seafood
Wild or farmed fish can be labeled organic, despite the presence of contaminants such as mercury. No USDA organic certification standards for seafood — producers are allowed to make their own organic claims.

Cosmetics
Having “organic” or “natural” in its name doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safer. Only 11 percent of ingredients found in personal-care products, organic or not, have ever been screened for safety.

How to save money buying organic food:

• Comparison shop in local grocery stores.
• Take advantage of local farmers' markets: Many farmers do not charge a premium.

Day 15 - of 30 Days to a Simplier Life

Simple Steps to Healthier Eating

Since it is January and most people begin to make new goals toward their eating habits and exercise habits I decided I most write a few posts about food and exercise. Most of this will be basic information but it's good to be reminded of the things we forgot during the holidays as we all, or at least I did, ate way too much sugar, process foods, food in general and didn't exercise.

So I'm probably doing this more for me than anyone:

Never Skip Breakfast - This is the most important meal of the day, try to put some whole grain in it, maybe some protein and some fresh fruit.

Order Smaller Portions - Try to order small portions when going out. A lot of places now have a lite or half serving on the menu. Not only is it better for you but it will cost less too. There are alot of ways you can find out nutrition information about your favorite meal, you may never eat it again once you do. This is a great site that list a lot of restaurants: http://www.calorieking.com/

There is also a great iPhone or iPod Touch app called "Eat this , not That" that give all the information you need about food.

Space out Your Meals - Its very important to eat regular meals. Skipping meals can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in over-eating. Have at least 4-5 meals a day and divide your calorie intake between them. You have to plan this out. I always have a snack bar or piece of fruit with me in my purse, if you work outside the home make a plan on what you need to take with you to keep yourself form either not eating or eating the wrong foods.

Enjoy Your Food - Sounds silly, but this is really important. Science has proved that it takes at least 20 minutes for the brain to register that you have eaten enough and it sends out "I am full" messages. So before eating another serving or that piece of bread wait about 20 min.

Choose Broiled or Grilled over Fried - This option cuts out so much fat and calories with just a little compromise on the taste. Most grilled items are so good that you will not even notice the difference.

Choose Lean Meat and Green Salads - Salads are healthy, but they can become high-calorie because of the dressings and other additions. Load your plate with fresh fruits and vegetables, or healthy lean meats like turkey or chicken. Choose low-fat or fat-free dressings and limit cheese, eggs and croutons. I always order my salads with dressing on the side.

Beware of Sauces and Condiments - You'd be surprised at how many calories are loaded in mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, sauces and condiments, and they have a very high sodium content!. Avoid these or go for lighter options when possible. You can always ask for it on the side or like at Subway tell them to put light or half of the amount.

Choose Lighter Desserts - It's perfectly ok to celebrate an occasion with chocolate and cheesecake, but for most of your sweet-tooth cravings, settle for fresh fruits drizzled with honey or light whip cream. I really like kettle corn and if you get the low fat kind it is a great snack at night. Also, I have seen my niece Chayil mention the little Jello cups and some whipped cream on it - that is a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Switch to Olive Oil - Even when you are sauteing your veggies, use olive oil or canola oil instead of regular vegetable oil. Use nonstick cookware or cooking sprays to eliminate the need for oil or butter.

Eat a Variety of Foods - The last, but not the least, its important that you include different types of nutrient-rich food in your meals. Your daily food selection should include bread and other whole-grain products, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, poultry, fish and other protein foods. Also fill up on fiber as that helps control your cravings. Try to incorporate all the colors: reds, orange, deep green....

Day 14 - of 30 Days to a Simplier Life

Keeping Your Relationships Simple

1. Be patient with the people in your life: * Be a good listener.

One of the major causes of misunderstandings in relationships is impatience. Being impatient keeps you from figuring our why people do what they do. Try to understand or at least consider that they may have some things going on in their life that has nothing to do with you but is affecting their behavior. You can simplify your relationships this way and possibly even help someone.

2. Create ease around you:

Try to treat people you meet in the same manner you do one of your best friends. Be natural and friendly. That is the best first impression you can leave. Be interested in them even if you are meeting them for the first time, let them feel at home with you.

3. Respect individual differences without being judgmental.

People don't deserve to be respected only because they are older than or better placed than you alone, they should be respected because they are people just like you with emotions, vision and hope. Whatever their social status, however they look, from the person in your office to a person on the street keep a level of respect for them as they are loved by God just like you are.

4. Learn to be nice:

I love the saying, "Just be nice." You often hear people say, " I like that person because they are nice". They are the people we all like to be around. How do you do this? Being patient with and interested in people helps us to be nice to them. To be successful with people, you will have to accommodate their shortcomings and focus on the positives they bring into your life.

5. Show that you value the other person and make a commitment to spend time together.

We can lose good relationships because of lack of communication. . Make calls, write, and e-mail. We now have so many ways to keep in touch with facebook, blogs and other social sites but one of the best things you can do is physically spend time with your relationships, have fun together.
It takes a great deal of sacrifice to develop a successful relationship, no matter what type of relationship it is but it is a fact that we need to have good relationships in our life to be healthy and happy. This keeps life simple.

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend". Proverbs 27: 17 (NKJV)

Day 13 - of 30 Days to A Simplier Life

Contentment with your Life is our Topic for today.

This is right in line with perspective because it is your perspective that will keep you content and in the end of day it adds simplicity to our lives.

Does contentment mean we just settle? Does it mean we don't more forward or progress in life? No, it means, that you strive for more with the knowledge that you will be content regardless of the outcome. You remain constant throughout whatever storm comes into your life.

Finding contentment in your life is possible. But sometimes it seems that the more we strive for contentment the harder it is to obtain. Maybe the reason is because the things we look to for contentment and fulfillment are not where contentment will be found.

The Bible says, "Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth" (I Tim 6:6).

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Phil 4:12)

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."(Hebrews 13;5)

• Contentment is not found in money or material possessions.
• Contentment is not found in a perfect job situation, because there IS no perfect job situation. Whatever job a person has, there is always something that you won't like about it.
• Contentment is not found in a relationship. Relationships, no matter how "perfect" they are, will never be enough to make you content. You can not find your contentment in another person as they will never be able to be all you need them to be.
• Contentment can not be found even in your faith, by itself. I know very many discontent Christians. This is certainly where you begin to find contentment and it is with God's help we find contentment but:

As with most things in life if not everything it still comes down to us. We have to seek God to help us - we have to choose to be content and that will come from within ourselves. Don't you just hate that it is always up to us??

Contentment is found in you. It comes when you realize that contentment does not come from any other place but you, your thoughts, your perspective, your outlook on life. There is an amazing freedom that comes when you realize this. . You can look in the mirror and see the person who remains the same regardless of circumstance, financially, job status or social status. When you are able to do this, you gain a new kind control and power over your life...the power and control that you had been giving to everything else.

This is a decision you can make now. You can decide to make a choice to be content with your life, again not meaning that you are continuing to improve and move forward but to be content in the moment by moment as things progress.

Here is an idea to get started:

Start a "complaining jar" in your home and require a donation to the jar with every complaint made. You will quickly see how many times you are complaining in a day (this is a great idea for your kids too) Rather than complain that you don't like your house, you'll be challenged to find ways to improve it. Instead of complaining about your job, you can come up with ways that you can make a difference.

Two other things you can do is to realize that a lot of our discontentment is driven by marketing and advertising, you may need to avoid some of that for awhile. And as always if we cultivate a Grateful and Thankful heart it truly will put it all into perspective, a good perspective.

Believe me I understand as I have been one of the most discontented people I know for most of my life, I only wish I had learned these lessons sooner and not wasted so much time striving for things and expecting people to make me happy and content when really contentment was to be found within myself.

Day 12 - of 30 Days of Happiness

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity,

the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty

Today's post may not seem like a way to simplify life, but it is. Simplifying comes in many forms and one of them is our thoughts and our perspective. When we can get those areas under control we will have a simpler life because our mind will not be creating complications for us. It is definitely something you have to practice and you won't always be able to do but as with everything we do it is having an awareness of it. Once you are aware of your thinking then you can start working on it.

We may take a few posts to complete this:

When Difficulties come into your life - ask yourself whether the sky is Really falling?

We as humans have the gift of perspective, and perspective is about choice. Having the right perspective is a key to achieving simplicity in our thought life. My niece Beverly wrote a great post on this recently on her blog, http://nprfloridagirl.blogspot.com/2010/01/day-7-to-simplier-lifechallenge-and-i.html

When difficulties come our way in life most of us feel as if there is no tomorrow. It's ok initially feel that way but the key is to quickly move beyond that initial thot process and not let it take root in your mind.

The following are some ways to get some perspective on our situations:

• Think of what you have done in similar times in your life: Similar doesn't necessarily mean the same. For example, if you find yourself struggling with bad news or a difficulty has risen in your life..... you might ask yourself, "What did I do when I was going through a hard time last time in life" After all, a crisis is a crisis - if the sky didn't fall last time, it won't this time and in fact if you have lived any time at all you know that we do get through things. In fact, most of the time, our worst fears don't happen and if they do, we manage with God's grace and love to get through it.
• Think of how others (who you admire) have walked through similar situations.
• Think in non-catastrophic terms. Instead of thinking "This is awful, terrible, horrible." say to yourself "This is bad, certainly not something I want to hear or go through but I know I will get through it." First, this is a biblical response because the Word says to take our thoughts captive http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians+10:5&version=NIV plus there is scientific evidence that your brain will react to your thought process, creating anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.

Lastly, I wanted to leave you with these excerpts, from the devotional "My Utmost for His Highest" from

"He (Abraham) went out, not knowing where he was going" Hebrews 11:8

The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to "go out' in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to "go out" building your confidence in God. Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do - He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle working God, and will you "go out" in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised by one iota by anything He does?

Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary worry is. Let the attitude of you life be a continual willingness to "go out" in dependence upon God.

Day 11 - of 30 to a Simplier Life

This post is definitely not one of my favorite, in fact I would rather not do it. I would rather talk more about simplifying relationships and home clutter and things that are easier for me. But and this is a Big But - we do need to also simplify in this area, as much as it hurts and as much as we hate it!

Yes, I'm talking about money. It is the biggest area of complication in most of our lives. Well I am not a financial expert, but my hubby is very good with finances - so I asked him what would simplify a persons life the most in the financial area if they have not been practicing simplicity with their money and need to. So he said to me, "Tell them about the "Envelope System". I actually do know what the envelope system is because hubby has told me often I need to use it for my spending money. Hmmmmm, maybe it will try it...

Anyway, he is a great fan of Dave Ramsey - so that is where I am getting the information for today post... if you are interested in more financial help this is a great site. http://www.daveramsey.com/

So Here is the "Envelope System":

Get on a Simple System

I found out that Grandma's way to handle money still works. People used to always use cash envelopes to control their monthly spending, but very few do in today's card swiping culture. The envelope system is a key component of the Total Money Makeover plan because it works. Here are a few simple basics for starting a cash envelope system:

• Budget each paycheck. Budget is a dirty word to most people, but you must budget down to the last dime if you're going to successfully implement the envelope system.
• Divide and conquer. Of course, there will be budget items that you cannot include in your envelope system, like bills paid by check or automatic withdraw. However, you can create categories like food, gas, clothing and entertainment.
• Fill 'er Up. After you've categorized your cash expenses, fill each envelope with the money allotted for it in your budget. For example, if you allow $100 for clothing, put $100 in cash in your clothing envelope for the month.
• When it's gone, it's gone. Once you've spent all the money in a given envelope, you're done spending for that category. If you go on a shopping spree and spend the $100 in your clothing envelope, you can't spend any more on clothes until you budget for that category again. That means no visits to the ATM to withdraw more money!
• Don't be tempted. While debit cards can't get you directly into debt, if used carelessly, they can cause you to over-spend. There's something psychological about spending cash that hurts more than swiping a piece of plastic. If spending cash whenever possible can become a habit, you'll be less likely to over-spend or buy on impulse.
• Give it time. It will take a few months to perfect your envelope system. Don't give up after a month or two if it's not clicking. You'll get the hang of it and see how beneficial the envelope system is as you dump debt, build wealth, and achieve financial peace! See ... simple!

Certainly, some bills may come in at different times of the month, so you'll need to adjust your written game plan to take it one step further. You need to plan the budget based upon your pay periods.

Say that you get paid twice a month. If you can write down which bills you plan on paying from each paycheck, you will not be left with a surprise bill. Spend each month's income and each individual paycheck on paper before it comes in.

Have Some Fun

I also have no problem with you adding an envelope with money just to have fun with! As long as you and your spouse have agreed on it, you are fine. There should be no lying. Agree on your budget, agree on your fun money, and be open. Fun money can be anything you want it to be. There are no rules on that envelope, unlike money in the "entertainment" envelope that is used specifically for entertainment.

Luke 14:28-30

For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he may have enough to finish it; lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all those seeing begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish.