Simple Life

For those who know us and have known us for longer than, say a few years, you might label our lives as simple right now.  For in the past, we both were clock punchers for a long time, like most of you reading this post I'd imagine. And at some times, double and triple clock punchers! Again, like most of you.  And our lives then could be summed up with these labels: paycheck-to-paycheck, trying to find breathing room, struggling to make ends meet, feeling like we'd never get ahead, typical double-income family struggling to get by with kids in daycare, car payments, and jobs just to pay the bills. Free-time, unheard of! Are you kidding me?! It was come home from work, make dinner, do dishes, bath time, kids to bed, make lunches for the next day, wake up and do it all again, early rising, scramble to get the kids ready for daycare/school, just to rush to work to accomplish something for someone else. Weekends were for catching up with sanity and the laundry.

How did this get simple? All is 'gift and grace'. (this is my new favorite truth!)

There was a point in our lives, just a few years ago, where we had a decision to make - it was a definite moment of decision, there was no gray area about it. And it was a test of our faith, and we knew it completely, there was no question; we needed to make a choice to follow and EXPLODE on the faith path we'd been slowly following OR deny it, deny our Creator God, and leave Him in the dust.  This moment was a gift from our Father and how we chose to open and use that gift was the determining factor for the other gifts he had waiting for us.

This moment of decision was not, by any means, SIMPLE. It was surrounded with fear, tears, questioning of sanity, blind faith, the unknown and a giving up of control. 

And this blog should give you a hint of the choice we made ~ together. Speaking of 'together', our marriage today is a direct result of this choice and the gifts our Father bestows on just our marriage alone each day.
All is 'gift and grace'. ALL - EVERYTHING - EV'RY-THING IS A GIFT OF HIS GRACE.

So today our life is Simple.  Because we CHOSE to open the gift of God's grace. When you open a gift, that's just the first part of a gift. You must accept the gift then too. And once you open and accept it, then you decide whether to use the gift or lay it to the side and let it collect dust and be forgotten.

We did not forget this gift of grace, which brings along with it a deeper wisdom, a spiritual discernment that goes so much deeper, a heart transformation where life is not about going through the motions but living it out in actions to show a true romance with our Creator.  Oh, no, no - forget it, are you kidding me?

Our lives are simple, not because, we don't do anything, but because we do the work of the Lord. We are still living paycheck-to-paycheck. Isn't that funny - you think, 'they were working the daily grind for so long and were hard-pressed for money, now they are doing the work of the Father and are still hard-pressed for money'. Goes to show a few things: 1) whether you've got 'secure' income as most call a 'job' or whether you put your 'income' in the hands of God, the outcome is still the same - and that is whatever GOD's plan is for you, not how much you think you earned or the world tells you your worth. 2) Now we know God, in his faithfulness, WILL provide as he ALWAYS does.  3) It shows that 'security' of a job is false security and when you give the control to God, life can become simple, the more you losen your grip on the control, because your life can be secure in God.

Our lives are simple because we trust in him, we dwell with him, we love him and we claim him as ours and name him as our source of everything.  And for this, his love overflows and out of his unfathomable love for us as his children, he provides according to his will for us.

As some of you know, YouFactor (our gym), is at a decision point; sign a lease at a monthly payment we, by way of our own means, can't afford, or, what, move to another place? Is there another place for our gym? We can't really afford any place at the slow place the gym is at currently.  Is the stereotypical moment of panic for most. And most would look at us and say, most businesses make it or break it in the first year. Gyms have never thrived in that location. You have no more money to invest in your gym, how will you keep it going? And that's just it - 'we' will not keep it going. Remember that choice we made way back then .... 

God is in control. We handed over that control to him...remember that choice.

I once was told that God would not ask us to live beyond our means, that he would not lead us in a direction where the means we had currently could not support the direction God was leading us in. What a fatal mistake - can you find a smaller box to put God in? When God leads, anything is possible. Do we have the money, right now, to keep YouFactor going another month let alone a year - absolutely not! Does that mean God can't show up tomorrow with the means for that too happen? Absolutely NOT! And this again, is where life is simple. We know, if it is God's will, he WILL provide for YouFactor. And if it is not his will and YouFactor's doors need to close, then he has a different plan for our lives. It's as simple as that.

Simple = Trust

And this is how it plays out:

Husband lies in comma in hospital - God provides peace for me and rest and restoration for his body
8 months preggo and landlord says after 5 yrs, time to leave - God provides shelter and a way for us to own our own home
Husband has a passion to start a gym - God's house he provided is the perfect set-up for a starter gym
Gym gets too big for the space - God provides a tax return to afford a retail space for us to lease
Deer totals only car - God provides our trusty steed, the 'truck'
Children need godly friends to follow - God provides local church with just that
School kids are just plain yucky to Ashlynn, to the point I'd pray for God to just bring her home where she can feel loved all the time - God provides the closest thing this side of heaven, homeschooling by a family who fears God and lives by love
Mortgage is coming due in 2 or 3 days - God provides a landscaping job or some other means
Relationships need attention - God's Word provides wisdom
Souls needed to be fed and grown - God provided a new venue

The world, human tradition , would label us as lazy, maybe moochers, maybe saying we're expecting handouts - I'm sure lots of labels are running through our minds.

But when God leads and we follow life is simple.

Have you all forgotten? We are all part of God's plan. Have you forgotten, you are living on this earth by 'gift and grace' and your purpose is not to serve yourself but to serve God's purpose. He's just waiting for you to unwrap his gift and make that choice for yourselves, sometimes more than just once, too.

Somethings our lives are NOT filled with - not a lot of material things, none of our closets are even halfway full, we do not have possessions boxed up in storage,  we do not have tons of 'extra' space in our house, no clutter, no duplicates of items or clothing or shoes or toys and for me personally, I do not have a space filled with things I'd love to do if I had the time. I did stamping for a while and had a good collection of supplies - but after kids, there is not time for that. I had scrapbooking stuff and lots of art supplies and paper goods, etc. for those - 'what if I want to do that sometime?' moments. What I learned after letting all that go, letting go of the control of my time, is that my time is not spent thinking, oh, I should be doing this project now instead of sitting here with my kids, I should be using those stamps I have sitting in the closet instead of spending time talking to God or seeking wisdom in his Word, I should be crafting instead of spending time next to my husband enjoying just him. My time is now spent on what truly matters, the truth of why I'm here, for those relationships God has place in my life -my husband, my kids, my friends and Him.  It's not a struggle to know where to spend my time now.

Our lives are simply filled with lots of love, lots of mystery (ie. faith) in how bills will get met, lots of excitement in waiting in expectation, lots of time to sit and read scripture, lots of time to memorize scripture, lots of time to spend focused on our kids, lots of time to spend focused on our health and fitness, lots of time to spend focused on our relationships - not because we have no jobs (do you forget we own two business, volunteer at many different locations, serve the local Fire Dept and community?) - and certainly not because we're lazy...

Because WE CHOSE to accept 'gift and grace'. We name it and give it the praise it deserves, DAILY. We've simplified life (through God's gift of grace).

Really, it IS SIMPLE.  MAKE TIME FOR THE ONE WHO MAKES TIME.