SIMPLIFY!

 

by Peggy Still

Simplify, simplify, simplify is a major goal for me this year. The world is complex and our lives are fractured into many directions. There are almost unlimited choices available to us today in business and leisure. Because of those choices we fill our every waking moment with long to-do lists. When is the last time you took a vacation without an itinerary with the intent of resting instead of filling action packed days? We all long for more leisure and rest, I’m just not sure we know what that means any longer.

Reading through history, spiritually minded people have discovered that times of rest with no agenda have helped them discover the purpose of knowing God. “Our life is frittered away by detail,” wrote Thoreau. “Simplify, simplify, simplify!” Further he writes, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life…and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

Of course most of us cannot escape to the woods. But we can rid ourselves of the clutter that keeps us from the real business of living. We can actually schedule leisure time onto our calendar and live deliberately.

As I move ahead to simplify, I begin and end each day in prayer, drawing closer to God with the intent of confirming my purpose and the real business of living. Getting quiet before Him I find that I can think at maximum efficiency. He guides me with his counsel (Psalm 73:24). He clears my mind so that I see through the eyes of Christ (Philippians 2:5). He helps me to make decisions in accordance with his will for me, not by my own emotions. It takes His power living in me to make effective change (Hebrews 13:3).

Peggy Still: Peggy currently serves as the Director of Administrative and Client Services for The Fuller Foundation in Pasadena, California. Peggy is a featured speaker in a variety of areas for women including finance, social issues and leadership. She also serves as a consultant to churches and other non-profit organizations in the areas of administration and fund-raising. Married to Mark for 33 years they have one daughter and raised two foster children. Peggy and Mark make their home in southern California.