Less, More; More Less?

Just taking a few of my privileges, blessings, and opportunities as an example for a discussion.

• We have a nice small, warm, and cozy home (complete with a lovely fireplace) in a safe neighborhood. This provides more than enough for our needs.
• We serve His body at a local church that has strengthened us and helped us bear and share His fruit, individually, as a couple, and as a family.
• We hold classical season tickets to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. This provides my wife and I time to connect as a husband and wife to help keep our relationship aflame.
• I have a job that respects my family life and pays enough to support it and we never struggle with putting food on our table.
• We have the blessing and opportunity to educate and direct our children, including giving them an opportunity to expand in artistic ways with dance and music.
• We have a camper to make memories with as a family (our home away from home). This provides us some time to vacation away (affordable) from home and explore more of His amazing creation. Plenty for us as a family to experience this world, grow closer together, and simply pull away to have some "fun".

If all I ever had was that, I should be forever content.

Yet I still have so much more. Other material possessions, opportunities, more hobbies and gadgets than I have time to fully enjoy, reliable vehicles, a basement filled with toys, board games, and other stuff that seems to at times become forgotten. A garage filled with outdoor games, bikes, model rockets, fishing gear, hunting gear, and tools to tinker around the house. I have enough electronic gadgets to make the most focused person struggle with attention deficit issues, and countless other random 'things' ...

These are not bad things. There are just so many of them ...

Then with all these things, what do I sometimes struggle with? Balance. Balancing to find the time to jam all these things into my life. It almost sounds insane.

I don't need more time, more money, or more things to do; I need less things and use my time to focus on them more.

I don't need to impress my children, wife, friends, or even myself with accomplishments, travel check-boxes, impressive gifts, acquiring more things so my kids don't 'get bored', arranging play time, activities, and constant business so that it divides our family. I need to fan into flame a spirit of contentment in me and my family with what we have. Wash them with the Word, love, encouragement, and let them experience in a busy, crazy, and chaotic world that less indeed is more.

It's not about being lazy; hardly. It's about seeking where we are called and investing our time in those things. Enjoy the occasional distraction and getaway, but dive into our gifts, passions, and talents. Share them for His glory, and we will be blessed in return. It's not about devoting hours of our lives a week to our favorite team, show, book series, or video game. If you think it's enjoyable to sit down and watch TV for 3 hours in the evening, I advise you to sit and ponder your gifts, talents, and passion ... find where they intersect and do whatever that ends up being. Then if you give 3 hours to that instead? Wow. Lasting joy with happiness to boot ... you won't miss your show my friend.

Too tired? That's just a lie you are being told keeping you from growth ...

Join me on a journey to simplify and power up our lives with Purpose.

His,
~Matt

(Side note: I know some of my friends struggle with work in particular. A job that seems to demand 14 hours a day, 6/7 days a week and leaves you utterly exhausted, and this post is almost impossible to shape with your life. However, I wish I could speak into that as well, but alas I can't at this moment. I'd love to chat over coffee and give you my ear. But in the meantime I pray that you find some relief, rest, and time for Him along the way. May it pass soon ... )