Proverbs 4:20-23
I have done a word for the year instead of New Year's Resolutions for the last few years. It was December of 2021, and I was starting to panic. Shoot! I hadn’t even thought, let alone prayed, about this. How could I be this bad of a Christian? I was quick to chastise myself. How could I not give God my new year, this intention yet? Honestly, I was so fixated on my to-do lists, my in-the-moment of creating the perfect Christmas for my family of just getting each day checked off and spending my time with Jesus each morning was enough!
Right before Christmas, I started to ponder my word for the new year. God, what do you have for me? What do you want for me in this new year? He had already begun so many amazing, beyond-extreme things in 2021. “Renew” was my word for that year, and he did. He brought it. He healed me. He delivered me from some heavy, heavy trauma. He brought obedience, and with that came unexpected blessings! But then it hit me over the head like a sledgehammer. SIMPLICITY. That was my word for 2022.
Now you may be thinking, wow, that’s…simple. I think so many people, after the holiday festivities, strive for a form of simplicity. We all start decluttering our homes, creating piles of goodwill and food shelves. Check. We make New Year resolutions to lose weight after indulging in decadent rich food and drinks, and of course media knows this because we get bombarded with ad campaigns for Pelaton, gym memberships, and Noom.
Then, we vow to stop shopping and eating out so much. People do detoxes through January. To save money for something big, whether it’s a remodel of our home, retirement, or future college for our children. We vow to change so many things on the surface, but within three months, how many of those changes have stuck?
As I pondered deeper into what Simplicity is supposed to be about, I discovered I was already doing simplicity for about 5 months. I had already started purging some physical things I didn’t need anymore, and there was a reason. God had removed the desire. I had a dramatic shift in my Spiritual walk about 4 months before when I finally obeyed His calling on my life to write. I have been a very creative person by nature, a gift and a curse. A curse? Yes!!
I see potential in broken things
I would constantly take broken things home as projects, and then they would sit there until I had time to do them. So, many projects take up “space,” mentally and physically. All great intentions, but is this the best use of my time? Not necessarily. I get pulled in so many directions by all the projects staring at me, screaming, “FINISH ME!!!” So you see…I’ve been slowly trying to simplify my life to make space for time to write… clear space in my brain and get projects out of the way so my brain can think clearly about what God wants me to say.
As I’ve been preparing for the new year and my journey with Simplicity, I thought about the connection between the heart and the mind and how God longs for us to “de-clutter” them. When they are “de-cluttered” from the world and the junk that it has, we can hear his voice better.
Proverbs 4: 20-23 says,
"My son (and daughter), pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart, for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. "
WHOA!!! EVERYTHING we do FLOWS from it. Back in Biblical times, the heart was used to describe the mind. Today, the heart and the mind are connected, meaning what you put into your mind and through your senses go into your soul and spirit (heart). That is what comes out.
Do you know there are over 800 times in the Bible that discuss the heart or the mind because it is that important to God? He cares for us so much!!!
In 2022, I went on a journey of Simplicity of the heart and the mind. In Tea Talks, I will share what God said to me. I de-cluttered my house, lost weight, and stopped indulging in food I didn’t need. It changed me in so many ways. I studied different people in the Bible. I had a stripping away, not just physically but spiritually. And it was painful. In Tea Talks, I will share some of this journey with you, how the Master Craftsman dug out the impurities from this vessel. There will be heroes of old and their struggles and how they overcame, too. There will also be some life lessons that we all need at times. I am so excited and overwhelmed with all God has done! It’s going to be an adventure!