The Case for Christian Minimalism

I've been on a minimalist journey. I am not really a minimalist... I don't have interest in a home with no furniture or anything. I AM a minimalist to the extent of wanting less mess, less clutter and less STUFF everywhere. I want peace. I was simple. I want comfort.

I am, above all else, a creature of comfort.

So as I cleaned the other day, it became abundantly clear to me that in this day and age, we are, whether we admit it or not, addicted to stuff. We can, with one click of smart phone, purchase basically anything. It's easy to acquire credit to purchase whatever we'd like, and even things we can't even think we'd ever need, we are suddenly convinced to buy from an ad that comes across our newsfeed.

"Well, it's on sale!" we say.

We are covered in stuff.

I believe that Satan is in the clutter of our lives. When we allow junk, unused and unneeded to pile up around us, it demands our time. It demands our attention. It eats up our good intentions to serve, to act. It distracts and depresses us. So we buy more.

We build ourselves alters of amazon prime boxes to worship the gods of stuff.

It is, in it's truest form idolatry.

"Thou shalt have no other go before me." (Exodus 20:3)

 We usually take that commandment totally literally, that we not pray to gods other than the One True God.

But we give our treasures our love, our time, our attention, our affection, our money... the same things we are asked to give to God. Having too much stuff is absolutely idolatry.

In fact, we are told in 2 Nephi 9, that when we care too much about stuff, "wherefore their treasure is their god..." (vs 30).

Don't get me wrong, having possessions isn't, I don't think, inherently evil. We must have things. We can't escape the need for things. It's part of life. We can even have things we love, things we spend a great deal of money on, things we love and are fond of. However, when we are completely surrounded by things we don't need, we are forced to deal with them. Either by stacking them on top of each other, shoving them out of the way, or buying more containers with which to hold them. Eventually we rent a storage unit to hold the rest of the treasures we can't contain in our houses.

It is a cycle.

To me, after spending months creating a simpler home, with less STUFF, it is clear: healthy minimalism is a gospel principle.

Go with me here:

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, says Joshua. (Joshua 24:15)

At no time does he suggest that as for me and my house, we shall buy all the things.

Is our home the heart of Christ-centered service? Or is it storage unit? Are we engaged in just maintaining our things, or are we creating a stronghold for our Savior?

We can both serve the Lord, and have a nice home. Yes, surely, but it requires that we lay up treasures in Heaven, more than on earth.

When our homes are not in order, it feels uncomfortable. We can become blind to it, sure. Like anything we can subject ourselves to the anxiety that clutter affords enough to stop feeling it fully. We can pile things up and not look directly at them.

That is not how God would have us be. He wants us to live, full abundant lives. He does not want us to fill our homes with junk in the name of assuaging our natural man.

Satan tells us to buy things for comfort, entertainment, convenience, or status. He lies to us that those things with which we surround ourselves define us for good and for ill.

Indeed, he believes that you can buy happiness. Or at the very least, he wants us to believe it.

We know better! We know that the recipe for joy does not require the newest or best or most of anything physically material. Instead, we know that the Lord simply blesses us with joy in our eternal destiny. He grants us comfort and love and mercy, regardless of how cluttered our home are or are not.

When we have less junk distracting us, we can give Him more time.

What can you rid yourself of? What can you say goodbye to that will free your chains of idolatry?

For me? I'm still going room by room... donating, saying "no" to things, throwing things away, each week, I spend a chunk of time ridding our home of our idols.

It's not easy task. I fear it will *never* be done. But! These days, when we need to pick up the living room, it takes less time than it used to, I consider that a win. My heart is on my living jewels, trying to point them to Christ in both my words and my deeds.  I want my legacy to my children to have nothing to do with things, but with testimony. I want them to know that Mom loved Jesus, not that Mom loved her dishes.

A home built on the Rock does not need to be full to the ceilings with stuff to anchor it down in the storm. Instead, it stands firm upon the salvation of Christ. Things become meaningless when we focus on our Savior. We love and serve only Him, not the gods of retail.

Everyone's home is different, and everyone's alters and idols are different, but I submit that we can all rid ourselves of some stuff. When we do, we'll feel much more able to do other things outside of maintaining our mess of stuff.

We can worship the God who gives. That's all we'll need.

My First Experience with HIIT

So.

I download Fitness Blender. GO ME.

I pass the baby off to the biggest child, and declare to all, "I am going to go exercise. Watch TV and don't bug me!"

They all agree with varying levels of enthusiasm.

I head upstairs and realize, oh. First, Ima need some support. It's been a month or more since I exercised. I had been treadmilling, but then got pneumonia, and then I was lazy. Digging through drawers and laundry baskets was necessary to find the proper clothing *aka, sports bra*.

Ok, so five minutes have passed since I declared I was "GOING TO GO EXERCISE."

At this point, three children have already come upstairs to goggle.

"Are you going on your treadmill?"
"Are you going to wear your pajamas?"
"What kind of exercise?"

I answered each of them with the compassion and love any angel mother would, "No, go away, I'm going to exercise!"

Finally, I pulled out the big guns and LOCKED MY DOOR.

All right, so this cute little thin, super fit lady is on my phone screen. I briefly debated downloading the app to my iPad, but ultimately decided not to take the time to go down the rabbit hole of forgotten passwords, and the app store.

Anyway back to the tiny woman on my tiny phone screen. I hit play and we GET TO WERK.

Thirty second later, I'm kinda sweaty and there is a gentle, but constant tapping on my door.

"ARG! WHAT?" I snap pausing the workout and angrily unlocking my door.

"Um," says a contrite Spencer. "Henry was wondering if he could have your computer." Ah, the eldest, in all his wisdom sent his brother into the beast's lair.

"No! He is supposed to be keeping Beatrice happy. Go watch TV. I'm TRYING TO EXERCISE!"

Snap goes the door. Click goes the lock.

I hit play again, and the little woman continues bouncing and doing all the things. I do them with her, grateful that the HIIT aspect means that like every 30 seconds I get a "break" meaning I can walk in place instead of jumping about. Walking is good.

Two minutes pass, and a hysterical Freddy is at my door. I don't even ask, I just unlock the door and he sobs his way to my bed, where he stops crying and watches me with fascination.

Three minutes later, the tiny woman on my tiny screen on my tiny phone goes, "PHEW! You know it's going to be a good workout when the WARM UP is making me winded."

Wait. What?

THIS IS JUST THE WARM UP?

Oh no. No. H-E-C-K (I'm trying to be good and not swear) NO.

I am going to DIE, and this is just the WARM UP.

DOES SHE NOT KNOW THAT I AM DYING? CAN SHE NOT SEE THAT I HAVE SEVEN CHILDREN WHO ALL BUG ME CONSTANTLY?

I AM TRYING TO EXERCISE!

WARM UP BE DARNED! (See, I'm being good!)

So, I fast-forward her skinny butt until I get to the REAL DEAL.

The REAL DEAL was MORE jumping, lunging, squatting, kicking, side-steping, cycle crunches and I don't even know what else.

Ezra comes crying to me, "OLIVER STOLE THE NERF DART AND..."

"NO!" I cry, after angrily pausing my super awesome workout AGAIN!

(It must be sidenoted that we have MANY Nerf guns and exactly ONE dart. You can imagine how well this works.)

"GO WATCH TV! I'M TRYING TO EXERCISE!"

He begrudgingly complies. Well, he went away, so who knows what happened after that?

Back at it. We're doing some sort of hop-step thing now. The girl in charge on my phone is like, totally out of breath. I quit breathing entirely, I'm pretty sure.

At some point in my haze, Miriam came upstairs screaming and crying because SOMEONE hit some part of her body.

"NO!" I cry, not bothering to pause Miss Skinny Workout girl. It's ride or die time people. RIDE or DIE.

"Just lay in my bed Miriam. I am TRYING TO EXERCISE."

She demurely complies and proceeds to watch me shuffle around like a dying T-Rex, trying to reach her toes. THEY ARE SO FAR AWAY.

Finally, my enthusiasm has waned, and I can't even pretend. I've gone from the "high impact" to the "low-impact modifications" that Miss Workout Queen has suggested to just straight up trudging in place. Ya'll I can't even call it walking in place. I was sort of sliding my feet from one spot to another.

I'm sweaty.

EVERY child of mine has come complaining at some point.

I can hear Beatrice hollering in protest. I'm done. I'm beat, I'm spent.

Surely, I have burned ALL THE CALORIES. My six-pack is well underway. I am AMAZING.

I HAVE EXERCISED.

I pause little Miss Tiny Tushie, and see the truth. Subtracting the WARM-UP *curse you warm up* that I skipped, I have managed to work out for twelve minutes.

Twelve.

Which is two more than I was expecting.

Go.Me.

Until tomorrow Miss Tiny Arms. Until tomorrow.

When God is Silent

Psalm 143:1 Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.

Have you ever felt that your prayers were literally going unanswered? Despite your pleas, despite your faith, and righteous desire, you still do not hear or feel the inspiration, the answer that you feel you need? That you deserve?

I have been wrestling with this exact issue in my life of late.

I wanted an answer gosh darn it. Frankly, with the current trial, I wanted a bunch of answers.

And so I turned to scriptures, to prayer, to music, to all sorts of gospel mediums to try and seek the pathway we (as in myself, my husband and our family) should go.

As I turned my gaze heavenward over and over, it was very quiet.

Much quieter than I wanted.

I wanted some overwhelming conviction of what we were supposed to do.

And yet, the crickets chirped.

Nothing.

For weeks this went on.

WEEKS.

Until, one day, something shifted in my own heart and mind.

It occurred to me that despite study, prayer, etc, I wasn't actually doing my part. I wasn't acting.

"TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" wasn't going to get me anywhere.

Think of the Brother of Jared, when he went to the Lord with very legitimate and big problems, the Lord provided SOME of the answers but He also required the Brother of Jared to do some leg-work too.

 Ether 2:25 And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?

What WILL YE that I should prepare...

In other words, "What are you going to do about, Mahonri?"

In this case, God expected His child to use the intellect he had to figure it out.

God can do anything, anything that we ask. Sometimes He says no, and sometimes He says yes.

Sometimes, He says nothing.

Crickets. Nothing.

Richard G. Scott said, "When he withholds an answer, it is to have grow through faith in Him, obedience to His commandments, and a willingness to act on truth. We are expected to assume accountability by acting on a decision that is consistent with His teachings without prior confirmation. We are not to sit passively waiting or to murmur because the Lord has not spoken. We are to act."

This simple, profound truth can be TERRIFYING.

Just act.

Just do it.

Do what is right, let the consequence follow.

Use prior knowledge, insight, gospel truths and your own intellect to make a choice and move forward.

Scariest thing in the world.

Yet, it is also incredibly freeing, to say, "Lord, I am trying to have faith. I'm going to go ahead with this. Help it all be okay. Help ME be okay with whatever comes."

"Come what may and love it." 

So, maybe God is choosing to be silent.

Isn't it amazing?

His silence is proof to you of HIS ultimate faith in YOU. He knows you well enough to know that you will not fail Him.

He trusts in YOU as you trust in Him.

God's silence is His faith in His child.

So have faith in Him as He has faith in you.

You'll find the quiet a lot less terrifying.

Joy when Life Stinks

What if you're doing the things you're supposed to be doing, prayers, scriptures, tithing, church, callings, parenting, dishes, laundry, carpool, cooking, fun times as a family, etc etc etc and things still aren't perfect? Or even close to it?

It's hard when you feel like you're earning the GOOD stuff but the BAD stuff is overwhelming you.

I've been in that exact spot.

I've said to my Father in Heaven, "Uh, excuse me, I'm a decent enough person, I work super hard, I feel like my desires are pretty dang righteous, and yet, xyz happened and frankly, I'm offended."

Or perhaps it's not even bad STUFF but maybe you just aren't feeling the radiating joy that everyone is always kind of pushing for in the gospel. You know what I mean, like, "If you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, you'll be happy no matter what."

That idea?  It's like a THING in LDS culture.

Yeah, what if that is just kind of not working for you? What if you're just kind of surviving?

Then what?

I've got a few different posts in store addressing exactly this issue. Today's mini-solution is gratitude.

Perhaps one of my most favorite quotes of all time is this one by Gordon B. Hinckley,

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey…delays…sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling burst of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.”

Why do I love this quote so? Because it basically says that the joy is in the little things.

Every minute of every day is NOT going to be some glee-filled-smile-until-your-face-falls-off kind of minute.

No, most minutes are normal, some quiet, some loud, some messy, some VERY messy, some simple, some complex, some scary, some serene, but MOST of them are just normal.

And within the normal, there are ways to find joy.

President Hinckley says the trick is to thank the Lord for the letting you have the ride. YES YES YES!

An "attitude of gratitude" is essential to finding joy in life. I submit that the most happy people on the planet are those who are grateful to the Lord for the blessings they've been given; the big blessings, sure, but most essentially, the little.

Every single day is a lesson in gratefulness. Today perhaps you can find five things to be thank God for that you've previously overlooked or kind of taken for granted.

What are those things?

Maybe today they are: peanut butter and jelly, anti-depressants, a friend who sends a witty text, matching socks, kids who play nicely for a few minutes, a pizza delivery man, a loaf of homemade bread...

If you can, in the moment, when you realize you're grateful for something, send up a quick prayer heavenward, thanking God for that thing, whatever it may be, big or small, you'll find your heart a little lighter, life a little less heavy. No, it won't make your problems go away. No, it won't make you delirious with joy or anything, but it will allow you, in the times of regular old hard life, to push through, and to recognize the moments of true and deep joy when they come. They are almost always small and simple moments that are the most joyful. And with a grateful heart, you'll see them more often.

Colossians 2:7 says, "Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." Be built up in Christ, be faithful and be grateful.

There, in the quiet, in the difficult, in the painful, you'll find the light.

How To Draw Nearer To Christ-- Putting it All Together

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There are as many ways to have a relationship with Jesus Christ as their are people. Everyone experiences spiritual promptings differently. Everyone approaches the Savior differently. However, there are some eternal, simple truths.

1. Christ stands at the door, knocking. All YOU have to do is answer. 
    "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)

2. Christ in your life brings peace and joy. 
    "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:14)

3. Jesus is in and can be invited into every good thing in our lives. 
    "But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God." (Moroni 7:12)

4. Let the Savior be a part of your everyday life, through the Holy Ghost's influence. 
   "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14:26)

If you are reading, praying and allowing Christ into every aspect of your life, your relationship with Him will be strengthened. You'll be nearer to Him, and in turn, you'll allow His presence and influence to be more fully experienced every single day. Turn to Him. Talk to Him. Thank Him and recommit yourself each week to be more like Him. Then, when you screw up, repent, and be ever grateful for His grace and atonement through which, you are slowly being refined into the version of yourself that Christ already, always sees.

Instead of Expecting Perfection, Let's Love One Another

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I am not perfect.

I have a propensity to swear, I drink Diet Coke, and I get impatient with my children.

There. See?

I'm not glorying in my sins either. Oh no, the opposite. I do try each day to be better. I've cut back on all of the above.

But, still not perfect.

I'm not confessing these things because I'm proud of them, quite the opposite in fact. I've been known to make sure the Diet Coke is hiding when church members are coming over.

The reality is, I'm not good enough.

So often we try oh so very hard to prove to each other that we are indeed perfect, or at the least, better than we are actually. And we expect, if we're being honest with ourselves, others to do the same.

I believe that we do each other as the body of Christ, a huge disservice when we allow those we love, know and serve with, to think we're perfect and when we in turn, think others are more perfect than we are.

Look, I'm not suggesting that we wear our issues, sins or weaknesses on our t-shirts, but perhaps, if we were a bit more vulnerable with one another, we'd have more compassion, more love, more service and even more patience with one another.

James 5:16 reads, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Oh how I love this verse! When we share our trials with one another, we are inviting the prayers of one another to heal us. Think of the prayer roll in the temple. What an amazing gift it is to have our friends praying for our weakness, rather than judging.

What if, when we are tempted to click our mental tongues disapprovingly when we notice someone's imperfection, we instead, offered a prayer for them to be strengthened, and for us to be better too.

And when we let go of our desires to see others as perfect and for those others to see us as perfect, we are allowing Christ's grace to be sufficient.

At the end of The Book of Mormon, Moroni pleads with us to become perfected in Christ, through (and only through) His grace. He never says, "Be better, but you're the only one who needs this verse." We ALLLLLL need it. We all need to be perfected through Christ. Let us cut one another some slack. Forgive imperfections you see in people. Remember they desperately don't want you to notice them.

Be kind.

Love each other.

Don't worry about anyone else's imperfections. Just work on your own.

And remember the words of Moroni. " Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God." (Moroni 10:32)

In Everything Give Thanks

I have been working on a chapter for the book, and keep coming back to the idea of happiness through trials, through difficulties and through, well, imperfection.

I don't know why it's on my mind so much lately, but my brain wanders back to the topic over and over throughout the day.

How do we remain happy and joyful even when things are hard? How do we remain happy when things can be so very bad?

Everything in the scriptures leads us to know that we are to be happy in this life. Men are to have joy. At the same time, warning after warning appear to remind us that choosing the wrong will lead to unhappiness and enslavement to sin.

Since we all sin all the time, how do we remain joyful and happy while we fail?

I think this is a case of PRACTICE makes PROGRESS. We simply choose to be happy. We simply give heartfelt sincere thanks for what we do have. We do not deny the blessing given us by loving Heavenly Parents. Instead, we express earnest thanks for them.

Gratitude equates happiness.

I invite you to do an experiment. You  may have tried it before. In your prayers tonight, don't ask for a single thing. Simply give thanks. List everything you can think of that is a blessing. I bet that you won't be able to list them all. You'll have to give up praying before you get to the end of your blessings. But name them one by one. Then, throughout the next few days, anytime you recognize a blessing, give a quick prayer of thanks.

I promise you'll find it easier to smile and be happy even when your toddler chooses to flush a racquetball down the toilet.