Project 333

7 Ways Dressing with Less will Improve Your Life is a blog post about simplifying and minimizing the "clutter" in our lives.

I love a challenge, especially one that encourages me to be a better person. Living with less means there is more to go around. As Gandhi once said, "There's enough to meet everyone's need, but not everyone's greed."

Won't you join me in decluttering our lives to make room for those things that are most important. Sometimes I wonder why I'm frustrated or anxious at times and I'm sure it's a result of too many entanglements. I'm ready to make some changes for the better and start untying those knots that are preventing me from moving forward toward optimal living.

Thank-you for joining me on this journey of health and wholeness!

Marisa








 

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Day 8...The Barnabas Way!

I am walking through a book by John Sloan entitled "The Barnabas Way" (if you're interested, this book is offered in "My Very Favorites" column to the right of this blog post) and I'm really being challenged to take a good hard look at myself and my walk with God...are my sights set on the right things? Is the direction I'm taking in life paved by God? Am I willing to give the control handles of my life to God?

All of these questions seem easily answered until flesh enters into the equation. What about MY agenda? What about what I want? How will this benefit ME??

Barnabas (his story is found in the book of Acts) was a man of God. He was constantly reaching out to others. His giving wasn't necessarily extravagant, nor were the benefits of his giving when defined in human terms, but the Heavenly rewards were enormous!!

As the Beatitudes reveal...what is great in the Kingdom of Heaven will also benefit us most here on earth.

John Sloan reminds us in his little book that the benefits of living like a follower of Jesus with a Barnabas mind-set...showing compassion, reaching out, encouraging...are as follows:

• A new focus on people instead of things
• An opportunity to watch God bless, but not because we demand it
• Emotional health
• The joy of seeing people get back on their feet
• A front-row view of the Cinderellas in life who get an opportunity to start over
• A chance to help people discover their own happiness
• An antidote for loneliness
• The secret to genuinely discovering our purpose
• Discovering God is just and fair
• Experiencing God's unconditional love for ourselves and others
• Preventing ourselves from getting disillusioned about God

There are no promises made that if you follow the Barnabas Way that you will suddenly have a bigger house, more money, a greater ministry, or a better life.

There are no promises that you'll have less trouble...that things will all make sense...

John ended his thoughts with..."I can promise that if you look each day for one who is hurting, one who has lost something, one who needs encouragement from God, or one who wants the support of a friend, you will never lack for a divine encounter. Someone will be there every day...

And you will be his/her blessing!!"

During our second week of our 29 Day Gift Challenge, I am going to focus more on giving the way Barnabas gave (if you've not read the story of Barnabas in the Bible I would encourage you to do s0). I want to be constantly looking for the next person who needs help.

John stated that, "thoughts of hunting for a new sports utility vehicle or upgrading my wardrobe, or finding a better mortgage rate suddenly pale when I've identified a human being in need of help."

Many times I look at life and see a busy schedule...things to do, lists to check off, deadlines to meet...Barnabas looked at life and saw people!!

I pray that we all hear God's still small voice leading us to the people who need us the most this week and as we heed to that voice, we will reap the Heavenly rewards while we're here on earth and for eternity!



Can't wait to hear about your experiences and how God is working in your lives!!

Marisa
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