One of the great things we have discovered through the recent months is what we can live without, and having to make our lives more simple. Simplicity leads us to less clutter of things that really don’t matter. Simplicity can help us to gain control of other areas of our schedule and lifestyle. When we are living with less, it can free us up to focus more on our relationships, our faith and other things that really matter the most. Keeping it simple leads us to more contentment. It keeps us from being in a deficit financially and emotionally as well as not overbooked in our schedules and other responsibilities.

S.I.M.P.L.E. means for us to…

SEEK GOD’S PRESENCE AND GUIDANCE DAILY.

This should be a regular habit for us. As in the Bible, Psalm 63:1challenges us…”O God, You are my God; early will I seek You, my soul thirsts for You.” By taking this approach, it puts us in the right frame of mind as we go through our day.

INVEST YOUR TIME AND ENERGY WISELY.

Steve Jobs, who helped to design and create the Apple computer and the iPhone said this about focus and simplicity: “Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it is worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

MAINTAIN GOOD DAILY HABITS. Doing things that enhance our spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional well being are key things to keep doing on a regular basis. Dr. E. Stanley Jones was right when he said “Since habit becomes power, make them work with you and not against you.”

PROCESS WHAT NEEDS TO NEEDS TO GO AND WHAT NEEDS TO GROW.

It is important to consider what adjustments or changes you may need to make right now. These may be in your priorities and commitments, habits and schedule.

LIVE EACH DAY TO THE FULLEST.

Embrace the present day, don’t let the past or the future keep you from enjoying and making the most of today. Max Lucado wisely says that..”Since I know God’s provison is timely, I can enjoy the present. The key is this: meet today’s problems with today’s strength. Don’t start tackling tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow. You do not have tomorrow’s strength yet. You simply have enough for today.”

ENCOURAGE OTHERS ALONG THE WAY.

Living simple is not selfish, it actually frees us up to be unselfish and have more compassion for others. Because we are less distracted by things that don’t really matter, it can allow us to think about and notice people that we can encourage in some way.

Keep it Simple is not stupid…it is the right approach right now.

Coping, surviving and recovering from extended difficult times in our lives is a process. It can last longer than we anticipated. We need to learn how to survive and also eventually thrive afterwards. But, how do we do that?

Here are a few things to think about and remember:

REALIZE THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE, GOD IS WITH YOU.

Genesis 8:1 states that in the midst of the turmoil that Noah was experiencing…”But God remembered Noah”. No matter how long a crisis may linger, God has not not forgotten you and me. It is an awesome thought to realize and acknowledge that God remembers us in the difficulties we go through! Other people may forget us, but God never does!

RELEASE YOUR REGRETS.

There is a power in releasing your regrets. You don’t need to rewind them constantly in your mind. That really doesn’t help you in the long run to go around and around in the circles of shoulda – coulda- woulda type of thinking. Get off that repeat button in your thoughts. We are to learn from the past but not live in the land of past regrets and failures and missed opportunities. We need to trust and follow God, where we are now.

TAKE PROPER CARE OF YOURSELF.

When we are dealing with prolonged stressful situations, it is essential that we take care of our health. This includes…physical, mental, emotional, as well as spiritually. Maintaining these areas will allow us to continue to be at our best over the long haul. We must take mini breaks along the way too. The Ancient Greek warriors had a saying “The Bow that is always bent ( under stress) will break.” Stopping to rest and unwind for even short periods of time will help release the tension we experience. Don’t be afraid to call a personal “time out”, when necessary. Go for a short walk. This can clear your mind and recoup your energy level.

REFOCUS and RENEW YOUR STRENGTH.

“It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.” – Psalm 18:32 (NIV)

Sometimes it takes longer to recover emotionally from these situations. Take one step at a time. Do what you can each day. Talk to a trusted friend or counselor if needed. Then discover some new things or activities that can recharge your energy. Be proactive and intentional, and have specific priorities and time set aside in your schedule to help you recover and regain your strength. Remember, The Lord is our perpetual source of strength. We may grow weak and weary…but He is always there. His mercy, grace, and strength never, ever runs out!

If you are like me, the past few months dealing with the pandemic and other major issues has been difficult …we have worried some, prayed a lot more, adapt and adjusted to changing schedules and daily routines, being concerned about all the hurting people in our country and the world, doing the right thing, helping where we can etc..It is easy to become overwhelmed by it all and become exhausted emotionally and spiritually. We need to regain and continue to maintain our spiritual stamina, so we won’t give into doubt and discouragement.

Just like Moses and the Israelites, we are wandering in the wilderness of not knowing what is going to happen next. Just as they needed manna from God each day to survive and stay strong, we also need a daily dose of reading the manna of God’s Word. I really like how Carolyn Naoroji stresses the importance of this in our lives…”God’s Word is a living water that detoxifies our soul. The more we drink it, the more it cleanses, refreshes, and renews us.”

I have found the more I read and study God’s Word it increases my appetite for it, but if I spend less time in it will actually lessen my desire to focus on the right things spiritually. We must consistently cultivate this healthy habit in order to continually be transformed by God’s grace into the kind of people God created us to be. Billy Graham noted that “The Bible is the constant fountain for faith, conduct, and inspiration from which we drink daily.”

There is no excuse for us, with the amount of resources available at our fingertips to study and apply God’s Word in our daily lives. We have printed books and materials available, apps (a very good app is from http://www.OnePlace.com ) for our smart phones and iPads. You can go online and participate in a Bible study or at your local church. Why should we continue to struggle in our faith by ignoring what will help it grow? I am currently doing several things, I read several free devotional emails I get everyday from Christian writers and Bible teachers, (my favorites right now are Daily Hope by Rick Warren at PastorRick.com and New Life Daily Devotional at http://www.newlife.com. ) As far as daily devotional books, I like to read Sarah Young’s “Jesus Calling” and “ Jesus Always”. I also like to read “Lived Loved” by Max Lucado. Also by Max Lucado is particularly helpful Bible Study during these difficult times that we all are going through is the book “ You Will Get Through This” which is based on the life of Joseph in the Old Testament. He experienced so many set backs, and personal difficulties to eventually become second in command to the Pharaoh in ancient Egypt. I also like to pick a topic such as Faith, Hope, Wisdom, Peace, Love and look up the individual Bible verses that describe that topic, if you have a Study Bible, there is usually topical index in the back. One of my favorite Study Bibles is the “Life Application Study Bible” that is available in several translations. Bible Gateway has an easy to use website for Bible verses topics, it is BibleGateway.com . The key is to search and find out what currently will work best for you to stay spiritually refreshed. My prayer for you and me is that we will continue to grow stronger in our faith now and in the days ahead…When we get through this difficult season in our lives, may be able to look back and say, yes it was a tough time but we got closer to God through it all and He helped us in so many special ways. ..

“The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry, and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.” – Isaiah 58:11

We all face disappointments in our lives. How we respond to those is very important. The Apostle Paul in the Bible shares how he often saw his personal disappointments as opportunities for God to use him to bless others, in a different way when he said…”Pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for Him, as I should.” – Ephesians 6: 19-20 ( NLB).

Paul saw his disappointments as God’s appointments for something better to further God’s purpose and plan in his life. That is a great attitude for us to have as well. What we may consider a detour or inconvenience may be the Lord simply organizing things a different way to do something much more important.

I remember one particular day when I was delayed in traffic while making my rounds visiting people in the hospitals and I was way behind in “my” schedule. As I walked into the hospital lobby, an unknown person approached me crying and said to me : ” You don’t know me but God sent you here. We just got some bad news about my child and I was so upset I left the room asking God to send us someone to pray with us. I recognized you from your church’s TV ministry, can you come pray with our family.?”… Wow, I was overwhelmed at how God placed me there at that precise time to minister to that family because I was running late on “my” schedule. After praying with them that day, I followed up with them later and was thankful to find out that their son had recovered and was home doing much better.

Are your dealing with delays and disappointments today? Don’t give up or give in to discouragement. Look at them as opportunities for God to do something different and special. Don’t limit God to just your personal plan and wishes . As has been in my past experience, I have discovered that often our disappointments can lead us eventually to God’s appointment for something much better, if we will simply continue to trust Him and continue to do and be our best. It may take a while, but in the meantime we can not go wrong by continuing to have faith in the Lord. We can trust in Him, even when we don’t understand everything. God reminds us : ” For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways, My ways declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55: 8-9 ( NIV).

I have always wanted to be outstanding in some field. This is a photo of a field I discovered while taking a morning walk on a local country road (LOL). Seriously though, I think we all have an inborn desire to live a life with purpose, a field of dreams to make a positive difference in the lives of others. The reality is that we already have a field of influence in and through our relationships. It really doesn’t matter how big or small it is, it matters more about what we do with it.

IT STARTS ON THE INSIDE.

It starts with asking the right questions of ourselves, such as…What is our motivation? Is it to help ourselves more than helping others? It is important that it is to be more about being helpful for others than just an opportunity for us to pat ourselves on our backs.

IT STARTS WHERE YOU ARE AT NOW.

Mother Teresa said this “I look at the individual. I can only love one person at a time.” Because of her focus on the individual, her compassion grew to become an incredible outreach that cares for the sick and helpless people around the world today. Start with those people you already know about that may need your help. If everyone did just that, how much better would our world be? Let your acts of kindness grow and develop as you pray specifically about who you can help in some way that is unique to you.

USE WHAT YOU HAVE TO HELP OTHERS.

You have special gifts and God given talents that can be a conduit of kindness, that can be encouraging for others. You may consider doing some simple things like… take a meal, get a gift card, write a text or encouraging email or note to someone you know is having a difficult time. Call them and check on them. What is so exciting is that in the process of praying for people that God will sometimes gives you some specific thoughts and ideas about how to help them. It may be financially, volunteering to help them or connecting them to someone who is knowledgable and has experience in dealing with their current needs and issues. We don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle in someone else’s situation, but we can do our part and roles to be a piece of the bigger picture for their emotional and spiritual health and their overall well being. These are the the kind of investments that we can continue to make that will have a positive and lasting impact in our world by Praying > Caring > and Sharing with others!

Johnny Majors, a Tennessee legend. He was an All-American Football player at UT. I enjoyed hearing him talked about when he went to school at University of Tennessee, he was undersized for a typical college player but made up for it by determination, hard work, toughness and his love for the game. He was also a successful college football coach at Iowa State, the University of Pittsburg, and at the University of Tennessee. He made a difference wherever he went, turning around those football programs that had fallen on tough times. I got to meet him on several occasions through the years, he always remembered me that I was from the Baptist Church in Sevierrville. He had an incredible memory and had a special way about him, that made you feel like a friend.

I wonder what kind of impact do we have?

Do we make things better?

Are we determined to be the best we can be?

Are we willing to work to turn things around for the better wherever we go?

We need more people to do just that, especially as our country recovers from the pandemic and other difficult issues now and in the days ahead. May we all do our part, like coach Majors did.

This is a photo of me sitting on a bench in Boone, North Carolina with the statue of Doc Watson. Doc was an accomplished bluegrass guitarist from the mountains near by. He earned international acclaim through his music. Although he was blind. he did not let his disability keep him from achieving greatness with his ability. My favorite quote from him is …”You have to be yourself, otherwise people won’t know who you are.” There is a lot truth in that simple statement.

There is a great example of this too in the Bible. David had to realize that when he faced Goliath. King Saul who advised David to change his approach. Saul told David: ” All right, go ahead,” he said.”and may the Lord be with you!” Then Saul gave David his own armor- a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them in his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine. – 1 Samuel 17:37- 40 (NLB)

GOD WANTS TO USE YOU. NOT YOUR IMITATION OF SOMEONE ELSE. David was small and Saul was tall, so Saul ‘s armor did not fit David. Sometimes in our effort to please and serve God we try to copy someone else too much and it just doesn’t work for us the same way it does for them. That is ok because God wants to use us in our ” own armor” or what we are most comfortable with in sharing the gospel, encouraging someone, or how we face the giants in our lives. David as a shepherd aleeady knew how to use a sling and some stones in protecting the sheep. Before we try to use some one else’s approach, we should look at how God has equipped us in the past and see if that is the best approach for us now.

GOD DOES NOT WASTE OUR PAST EXPERIENCES. David’s past experiences as a shepherd prepared him for his battle with Goliath. We see examples reoccurring in the lives of our heroes in the Bible, Abraham, Jospeh, Moses, Esther, Paul and many others were prepared for their finest hour by the experiences in their past as they trusted God and lived by faith following Him. Paul put it this way, ” He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.” ( 2 Corinthians 1:4 NLB) If we will committ our past, present, and future to Him, He can do great things through our lives, even when we face giant issues or problems and God often uses our experiences to encourage others.

BE THE VERY BEST WE CAN BE BY LETTING GOD BE OUR SOURCE OF CONFIDENCE. Our personal relationship with the Lord should be our foundation. When God is the center of our life, it frees us up to be who we were created to be in the first place…and a great opportunity to share our faith connect and relate to others in a genuine way.

Who would have ever thought we would be wearing masks (even at the grocery store) and staying six feet apart from each other in public… but here we are doing those things we never expected or experienced before. There is also a lot of speculation and concern about the future for the days and months ahead. There are so many different scenarios being discussed about health, the economy and other current issues, it is overwhelming to try to comprehend and make sense of it all. Where does our faith in God fit into this chaotic time in our lives?

We sometimes have the problem of trying to squeeze, fit and also limit God into our plans and our own perspective instead of simply following His path for our lives. We don’t need to let our difficult circumstances blur our faith. We need to remind ourselves that He is the Shepherd and we are his sheep. In the Bible, Psalm 100:3 reminds us “Know that the Lord is God, He made us and we are not our own, but we belong to Him. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

This should give us great peace and comfort. Phillip Keller, the author of the popular book, A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm stated this… “ In the Christian’s life there is no substitute for the keen awareness that your Shepherd is near by.There is nothing like Christ’s presence to dispel the fear and panic of the unknown future.”

Our peace of mind comes from trusting and following God’s leadership even when don’t feel like it. He is the Good Shepherd and we can trust in Him when we don’t understand everything. That is what real genuine faith is like when we follow His guidance now and into the future. Our perceived expectations give way to simply following Him, which is the best path for us to get where we need to be in His plan for our lives.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” – Corrie Ten Boom

Now that we are beginning the process of returning gradually to a new and different normal, here are some things we should think about…

LOOKING BACK: LESSONS LEARNED. A more simple lifestyle is good for us and our relationships with family and friends. More is not always better. Being thankful for what we have and not taking basic things and relationships for granted.

TAKE IT EASY

Because of the necessary health risk precautions, this will be a gradual return to the things we are use to going to and doing. This is also a time to lower our expectations of things we would like to do or even purchase at a store. Things will get better but it will take a while longer. Showing understanding, patience and kindness toward others is essential.

LOOKING UP

Being grateful for God’s presence in our lives. Continue looking to Him for strength, wisdom and guidance in the days ahead. Keep a good attitude. Focus on what is good in your life. Don’t be obsessed with bad stuff. Be realistic but not pessimistic.

LOOKING OUT

Being careful for our health and the well being of others. Think through your options and consider consequences in making big decisions. Do what you can each day.

LOOKING FORWARD

Don’t Panic but Pray as you Plan ahead. Recalibrate and adjust your goals and priorities where necessary.

Twenty Two years ago, I got to see Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls play in the 1998 NBA Playoffs in Charlotte NC. I decided to go on a whim, drove my pickup truck there from Tennessee. I stopped by Bridges BBQ in Shelby NC on the way for a late lunch. There is something special of being in the Carolinas and eating good BBQ before a ballgame. I got to the Charlotte Coliseum early to try to find a ticket to the game. I stood beside the ticket scalpers for about an hour, they were selling tickets at a very high price which I wasn’t prepared to pay. I think they got tired of having a old boy from Tennessee who drove a pick up truck, hanging out with them. So, finally one of them asked me what was it going to take for me to leave, but I wasn’t going to leave until I had a game ticket. I offered about 20% of what he wanted and he gave me the ticket and told me not to tell anybody near where I would be seating in the arena about how much I paid.

I got into the arena when they first open the doors to see the teams do their pregame warm ups. Michael Jordan was the very first one out there. He went to the foul line and immediately hit over twenty perfect practice shots in a row, nothing but net! My seat was high up in the stands, but I didn’t care, I was just wanted to see the game. By the time the game actually started, the place was packed. I didn’t see an empty seat anywhere. Michael Jordan and the Bulls put on a show that night and won 103 to 89. I usually rooted for the Charlotte Hornets but that night, I was just a basketball fan.The Bulls went on to win their last of 6 NBA Championships which is now called “The Last Dance” and Michael was also named the Most Valuable Player Award winner.

I stayed until most of the arena was almost emptied, just taking it all in what I had experienced that night. By the way, the people sitting around me were bragging that they had paid several hundred dollars for their seats. I didn’t say anything to them, I just sat there and grinned. I am thankful for fun experiences from the past that we can still enjoy. Twenty two years later, I am still smiling, and Michael Jordan is doing okay too. He now owns the Charlotte Hornets… the NBA team he beat that night.