Friday, September 05, 2008

Simplifying My Heart

Simplifying. This is a word I've heard a lot lately from the camp meeting I attended recently, to blogs I like to read, to conversations with friends. Simplicity - It's a concept that I have a hard time putting into practice, yet God is teaching me so much!

Through a huge turn of events that I may be sharing with you soon, God has brought me back to His Word in a big way. He is teaching me to simplify my heart. He is teaching me two key principles in this process.

#1 - Spending time with God and taking opportunities to have candid conversations with Him is key to simplifying my life. I must serve God, not my schedule or expectations (Matthew 6:24). For me this has meant taking a few extra hours out a few days this week to be with God, even though that meant the house was cluttered most of the week - but oh, how freeing to sit at Jesus' feet!

#2 - Connecting with people and caring about them. How often I fail to connect with God's children because I'm too worried about my house being messy or about the to do list sitting on my counter. Jesus died for people, and they must rise to the top of my priority list. When I take time to really listen to others, it's amazing how my heart opens and my stress level dies. The focus shifts from me and my trials to others. It's a great feeling.

These two discoveries are making all the difference in the world. I feel so free.

Find out how others are simplifying on Living Simply Saturday.