I couldn’t have said it better, so I’m going to let Jeff Herron say if for me.
“Perhaps my capacity is too small and my capabilities too few and weak, but I do not seem to be the only individual sometimes overwhelmed by the rush and push of 21st-century Western living. Between social media, the ease of acquiring things, and the accelerating pace of change on all fronts (technological, political, societal, etc.), it can feel as if a great wave is crashing on me with unrelenting force, pinning me to the ocean floor and crushing the life out of me. In the days when I worked as an IT professional, it seemed I was right in the worst part of the storm — 200 emails before lunch! dozens of client phone calls! constant technology glitches! another round of computer updates! — and sometimes I had to lie down on the floor and focus on my breathing until the feeling that I might literally explode passed.
I’m not sure why I am this way, but I have found a ready solution for it in simplifying. The spiritual rationale for the practice is to remove non-essentials from blocking the two-way communication between myself and God. And when it comes to interrupting the flow of that life — the only life there is! — nearly everything is a non-essential. Simplicity facilitates prioritizing, because there are fewer items about which a decision of any kind needs to be made. It has impacts in many facets of life: housing, maintenance of stuff, food, education, child-rearing, communication, and on and on.
Today, there is almost no area of my life that does not bear the marks of simplification. From our house to our budget to my one drawer of clothing to the kitchen cupboards to the (usual) serenity of my mind, I have reaped from the practice of simplicity a hundred-fold from what I have sown. This is how we were meant to live! This is a part of what life in the Kingdom of God is like.”
How can you downsize your life to better hear from and follow Jesus?
Set Free Now“W”w

“I love the view from the top of the mountain,” said a man laying on a grassy hilltop with a deep look of serenity on his face. This didn’t last too long as you see him running down that same hill, “I can’t handle all the problems that come with seeing that far!”
Seeing tomorrow comes with its pitfalls and waterfalls. Ephesians 3:20 tells us that our God is able to do “immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine;” and yet the Psalmist writes, “I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul.” (31:1-2)
Contradiction? Nope, they go hand it hand. God wants us to see down the road about the possibilities of who He is and what He can do; thus, our prayer life should reflect this kind of faith.
Our daily focus, however, must be on walking with Him in the moment. You can’t take tomorrow’s steps toward Jesus today. You can only choose to walk with Him right now. Focusing on tomorrow will land you in every pothole along the journey. Focus on walking with Jesus today allows you to be refreshed under the falls of God’s Spirit.
“S”et Free Nowww

Christianity is not about obedience, but about who we are obeying. Following a set of rules, no matter how “good” they appear to be, leaves me in charge. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will obey Me.” By reducing Christianity to a list of behaviors we must follow, we simply end up listening to someone else other than Jesus, which ends up in frustration at best and quite possibly hell at worst.
If Christianity is reduced to what we do for Jesus rather than obeying Jesus, who did it all for us (He did say, “It is finished!” on the cross), we simply end up with another religion that leaves one separated from God.
Scripture tells us that many will say after leaving this planet, “Lord didn’t I do great things and build empires in Your Name?” His response will be, “Sorry, exit stage left as I don’t know who you are.”
Secure child of God, please keep life about listening to and following Jesus, not yourself, some pastor or denomination. Jesus is the head of His Church. He is the author and finisher of your faith; thus, listen and follow/obey Him and you’ll enjoy the ride to eternity rather than white knuckle it.
“S”et Free Nowww

“You gotta jump!” is the comment a comedian made to his studio audience off air. He was talking about the difference between living and existing. His point was that people were given “a good work” prepared for them by the Father at the point of salvation. It’s as we discover and live out that “good work” that we’ll feel alive.
Scripture says we only have so many years before we exit this planet. Feeling alive or merely existing is our choice. Jesus gave us eternal life the moment we put our faith in what He did for us (See Ephesians 2:8-10). And that eternity starts today, not when we die. We can feel more alive with each passing day as we get better at listening to and following Him.
As a secure child of God, there is no reason to merely exist. Don’t wait another day to discover why you’re here! Then take the leap of faith and actually do the good work your Father has for you. As you do, you’ll not only feel alive today, but touch others as well for eternity.
“S”et Free Nowww

I wrote on January 6, “Well the 16 month waiting period has come and gone without God acting in the way I thought I heard. Thus, I was wrong. Am I bummed? Yes.” So I took a few weeks off from writing to figure out how I could have been so wrong. Does God speak to His children? Yes He does. Throughout Scripture God is repeatedly talking directly with His children. Thus, I was not wrong in believing He would speak to me. Jesus did say His sheep listen to His voice.
Where I went wrong, then, had to be in what I heard; and thus, I had to double down on listening better…or so I thought. No, I discovered I heard correctly. It was my half-baked obedience to what I knew He was asking of me that kept Him from acting.
As one brother wrote, “Ours and others’ free will often impacts on what God wants to do or not do. He works WITH us if we are yielded to Him to fulfill His will but if we are not yielded to Him…His will and desire cannot be fulfilled.”
Scripture records where God says He will do A, if we do B. For instance, He “A” gives us the right to become children of God if we “B” believe in what Jesus did for us (Jn. 1:2). There are other times, however, where God says He will do A regardless if anyone does anything at all. The Jewish people brought home to Israel is one such example (Ezek. 36).
In this case, I heard correctly what God would do. In being completely transparent, though, so we all can learn how to better listen and follow Jesus, I was less than wholeheartedly, and in some cases completely ignoring, the part God had me play.
The God I love, listen and attempt to follow, however, is a Redeemer, a God of second chances. I now I have a choice. I can keep swallowing the bitter pill of defeat or choose the sweet one of success. I’m choosing the later, how about you?
“S”et Free Nowww