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    7/2/12

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    “The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth 
    may very well be another profound truth.” Niels Bohr 

    Grace and Peace Friends,

    I know that I have mentioned this quote by Niels Bohr before, however, it is one of the foundational thoughts by which I navigate my life. Several years ago, I came across an article about Rick Warren who wrote Purpose Driven Life. He made a comment on life that still challenges me today. He shared how life has two rails to it. In the season that the article was written, he was in a season of financial success that he had only dreamed about. They had paid their church back all the years that they received salaries and still had resources to live their lives, driven by purpose. But, at the same time, his wife found out she had cancer and had to fight that battle. Rick’s point was that the good and the bad did not cancel each other out. They were both fully true and existing at the same time. So many times, I want to make things all bad so once I get through them there will then be a season where everything is all good. But life just doesn’t work that way.

    One of the greatest gifts over the past several years has been the opportunity to work with my sister, Jessica. We may be sisters, however, our talents and personalities are basically the opposite of each other. We started working together full time in 2006 and life was great. Up until that point, we had not had an argument (except for a fateful card game). But finally we reached the limits of ourselves and how we operated together and were challenged with where and how do we go from here? It is one thing to operate as two individuals working on one task versus a team of two distinct individuals working towards one goal. During that season, we had to be committed to our relationship first and we had to be willing to change and take ourselves on.

    There are many lessons from this season but one of them really highlights this principle. One day Jessica and I were talking and she shared this thought (or at least this is what I got out of the conversation!): Many times in life we are in a space of tension of two competing thoughts and we work so hard to get rid of the tension but the truth often lies in the midst of the tension. So instead of working on getting rid of the tension, figure out how to best operate in it. We need to live life between the tensions of two profound truths that may seem contradictory instead of trying to reconcile or dishonoring one of them. (BTW, this is different than the tension of issues being unresolved in a relationship, etc.)

    A good example of what this tension looks like is Rick Warren experiencing his greatest joy and greatest pain simultaneously. It’s both Jessica’s gift of infrastructure and my gift of creativity that gives Carpe Diem its capacity to grow. This gift of balance in the midst of the tension is what produces healthiness. It allows space for agreement in the midst of the complexity of different perspectives and different frameworks. It honors the unique workmanship we all bring to the table. It’s the space that allows the sum of the whole to be greater than the individual pieces can on their own.

    I remember a key turning point when we were working on the wording for our Carpe Diem company car wraps. We had tried different things on our own but they just didn’t sing as the right wording for us. So, we decided to spend some time together working on it and through that process we got the slogan-“ We’ve got Housecleaning Maid!” Neither of us would have come up with it on our own. It was a mix of both of our insights. you could not say: “This word was Jessica’s idea and that word was Wendy’s idea.” The sum was greater than the parts.

    If I had to summarize this idea, I think it is better to find the both/and in life versus the either/or within the boundaries of truth.

    If by Rudyard Kipling 

    If you can keep your head when all about you 
    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; 
    If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, 
    But make allowance for their doubting too: 
    If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, 
    Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, 
    Or being hated don't give way to hating, 
    And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; 

    If you can dream---and not make dreams your master; 
    If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim, 
    If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster 
    And treat those two impostors just the same. 
    If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken 
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, 
    Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, 
    And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools; 

    If you can make one heap of all your winnings 
    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, 
    And lose, and start again at your beginnings, 
    And never breathe a word about your loss: 
    If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew 
    To serve your turn long after they are gone, 
    And so hold on when there is nothing in you 
    Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!" 

    If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, 
    Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch, 
    If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, 
    If all men count with you, but none too much: 
    If you can fill the unforgiving minute 
    With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, 
    Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, 
    And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son! 

    Blessings,
    Wendy

    Productivity vs Busyness

    6/12/12

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    Grace and Peace Friends,

    The other day I asked my friend, how their chickens were doing. They had purchased 10 chickens last Spring to produce fresh eggs for their family and they built them the Taj Mahal of chicken coops. “Well”, my friend said, “I have a whole new understanding of the phrase hen picking.” Apparently, when the chickens are bored, they peck one another. My friend had to find productive things for the chickens to do, like putting them out in their play area with a head of cabbage filled with chicken feed. They needed to be occupied with a goal in order to stop them from picking on one another.

    But there is a difference between being busy and being productive. Being busy connotes being active and having our time captivated. Being productive is about bringing forth: “to cause, to bear, to create, to bear fruit.” (My summary of the 1828 dictionary http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/search/word,produce). 

    Busyness is not a synonym for productivity. You can be bored, unproductive and busy at the same time. If chickens do not have something productive to do, they will find a way to keep busy that ultimately is harmful to those around them. Boredom and busyness are the lethal enemy of productivity. 

    How many times do we turn on each other out of boredom? Picking at each other instead of finding a cabbage head to conquer?  

    This made me think about our culture. Do we have a busy culture or a productive culture? Are we spectators or active participants bearing fruit? This is one of my questions for the format of the American church. It’s the only time of the week that I must occupy my time without the opportunity to be productive. Yes, corporate worship is important and I really do love my church family!

    However, all week long I am listening to sermons from Andy Stanley, Tim Keller, Joyce Meyers, and multiple others while I am walking my dog which is a triple productive opportunity as I am nourishing myself spiritually, getting exercise, and give my dog some exercise.  Being out and about also allows me to be a light in my community. I’m always looking for people to serve - whether it’s employees or clients or people within the community – it’s just a great time to pray for the city. But then I go sit with hundreds of others on a Sunday morning and just give my money so others can go and do.  I think there is something wrong with this model. 

    Another way I see the effect of this issue of productivity (or the lack there-of) is in our entitlement based assistance programs. The greatest harm is does for people is that it robs them the opportunity to be productive. I believe everyone has something to contribute, no matter how small it may seem. I have built relationally over the past 10 years with a family who has struggled with poverty and people might want to judge their lifestyle. But one of the many lessons that I have learned was when my friend found an opportunity to be productive, her life changed like it had not changed in the many years before that. The day she started her volunteer opportunity, she called me and said “Wendy, I now have a reason to wake up every day!”

    It’s something to think about.

    Blessings,
    Wendy

    CrossFit

    5/30/12

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    Grace and Peace Friends,
    Over a year ago, I was attending an event alongside this gym in Durham. As I watched this group of people rowing together and then running together, it completely intrigued me. I decided to look into it and it turned out to be CrossFit Durham. 

    CrossFit has three pillars to its exercise philosophy. One is “ fully functional.” The exercises that we do in CrossFit, mimic functional movement from squatting to running to even the dreaded burpees. Two is “high intensity.” It is better to be intense for a shorter period of time then to go for a long time with less intensity. Three is “constantly varied.” The element of change keeps your body (and mind) engaged.  So, I started their CrossFit Boot Camp and I have since learned many things about their program and about myself.

    The first day of bootcamp I woke up at 4am, absolutely nervous. I felt like I was in elementary school gym class again and all those fears of mockery, rejection, and inability resurfaced. But one of my life’s cry has been “Lord, let me experience that which I fear so that it will not have a hold on me.” Golly, this life of faith is just not always easy! 

    That first day… I thought I would die. But I knew I had to conquer my fear so I have kept up with it for over a year now and it’s become a part of my lifestyle. One of the first benefits was the I was able to make a complete recover from having my Achilles tendon surgery. Two, besides feeling better, there are several things that I have learned along the way.

    One: there’s a difference between being fast and strong. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I am one of the slowest people in the class. Every session I have to fight the feeling of inadequacies because of my slowness. However the other day I realized I had other qualities. We were doing 10 rounds of 10 kettle bell swings and 100 meter run. My kettle bell swings are with 35 lbs. and our coach told me I could increase the weight. Though most of my classmates sped through the exercise, I was carrying more kettle bell weight that they were. The reality is, I don’t need to compare. We all have our individual strengths and the goal is fitness, not beating others. We all have different assets and I may not be good at the most obvious one but it doesn’t negate the other areas that I am strong. I can celebrate my successes even if they are different from most everyone else.

    Two:  we had a work-out that we were warned before-hand was mostly about mental toughness. The consequence for breaking the exercise was having to do burpees.  I tell you what… I was 100% motivated to not do burpees! So, I applied myself and I got that exercise done within the recommended time without doing ANY burpees. But what was fascinating is that a couple of the top guys in our class completely folded with this exercise. It took them almost double the time and they struggled like no other exercise we did before or since then. I realized that it wasn’t just about not doing burpees that got me through it. I have had to develop mental fortitude to conquer my fears to just show up for this class. Mental strength really is an important aspect of sustainable exercise.

    Three: I love group class! Why? It helps provide a rhythm and pace that does not happen when it’s just me. Others can pull out of us what we cannot always reach within to pull out. But the other day, one of the folks that I feel comfortable around in the class was absent. And in the spot where those people normally do their exercises, the top dog in our class decided to make his station for the day. Can I tell you, it kind of flipped me out and those feelings of inadequacy swelled up. We were doing a repeat work out to see our improvement, and I shaved a 1 minute and half off of the routine! Why? Was I that more fit in a month? Maybe a little. But I think it had to do with proximity. Instead of gauging my pace with those I feel comfortable with, I was gauging with someone light years ahead and it pulled something extra out of me. It made me think: am I willing to go outside of my comfort zone in other areas of my life to walk with those that are farther ahead than I am? What might happen if I did that?

    Four: I count even if I am not the best. The first few bootcamps I did on my own and I showed up at 7:18am every time. Then Ashley, our coach, from her heart said, “Wendy, the class starts at 7:15.” Instantly she apologized but I was so grateful for that kind rebuke. Why?  I could tell it was out of love/care and it was the first time that I realized that I mattered and that I really was part of the class. So many times I walk into a room and hope to be invisible and embrace that underlying belief that I don’t count or matter. But I realized in that moment, that even in small ways, I do impact others. I have been more on time since that day than ever before in my life.

    Five: I need community. The first few boot camps I attended as I mentioned, I was late. The mental battles that went on from 6:07am to 6:53am were constant and not always won. But then two things happened. First, my sister, Jessica joined me at the early morning classes. Second,  I received the gift of Nana, who is now my foster daughter. Jessica calls me every morning to make sure I am awake and Nana needs to catch her bus just after 7am which gets me to class at 7:12 every time. Without that relational net, I would still be showing up at 7:18am. I am grateful.

    Six: it’s okay to modify. My tendencies are to be an all or nothing type of gal. But in our routines, there are some things that I just truly physically struggle with doing. But instead of condemning myself and not participating, Ashley will modify the routine for me. And let me tell you, I still get a big work out. My victories come even in the process.

    Seven: It’s important to have a great coach. Ashley has been the coach for all the bootcamps. Everyone knows my name because of the frequency with which it is called. However I am grateful because she is committed to proper form. She wants the best for us which means she is committed to sharing what I need to hear, not what I want to hear. Additionally, she has been the one that keeps calling me to another level of strength. She has a perspective of experience that has helped me to do things I didn’t know or think I could do.

    This experience has been great for me as I normally do not pursue that which I am inadequate in however I knew I needed a strong exercise routine so it was worth the pain to conquer this area of my life.

    There are so many lessons that can apply to different spheres in my life. I am grateful for CrossFit. 

    Wendy

    The Gift of Compassion

    4/2/12

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    Grace and Peace Friends,

    My nieces introduced me to the movie, How to Train Your Dragon. I figured it was just another kids movie and it would be something good to bond with them over. I could not have imagined that it would give such a great picture of how to bring about reconciliation in a community. 

    The main character is a Viking teenager, Hiccup, who is small and brainy, and just does not measure up in his Viking community. But the community itself had an issue they were facing: they had dragons constantly showing up to raid them. The one dragon that no one in the town could defeat was a Night Fury. Hiccup, through a creative sling shot machine, was finally able to knock it down.

    When he went to find the body of the dragon, he found that it was still alive but injured. The rest of the story is about how he forged a relationship with the dragon, Toothless, while still having to attend the dragon fighting school. Long story short, Hiccup's friendship with Toothless helps saves the day.

    But, the other side of the story was that the dragons were fighting a battle of their own. They were battling the ultimate beast, the Red Death, who was the driving force behind the dragon's need to raid the viking village. The dragons were feeding the Red Death so that he would not eat them but you can imagine that if the dragons were out of the way, the Vikings would have been next. Once Hiccup and his friends supported the dragons in destroying their enemy, they were all able to live together in peace.

    There were several thoughts that rang out to me while watching this. The first being that we can be right in a situation but so wrong in our solution. The Vikings were right in their position on the dragons. The dragons were coming in and destroying their communities. They were taking their food. The dragons were creating havoc in their Vikings lives and in the community. But the Vikings thought their only solution was to eliminate the dragons.

    This story was really about Hiccup having to navigate his fears and cultural beliefs to find a way to compassion. And it was in the midst of compassion, a relationship was forged. And once that relationship was forged, that led him to help someone, who he previously thought of as his enemy, to destroy the true enemy. The reality is that neither the Vikings nor the dragons could have fought the real enemy by themselves and won. It required both parties involved working in congruence and each one using their individual giftings to gain the victory.

    In Ephesians 6:12-13 it states, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

    When we look at others who have caused us pain, do we see them separately from our pain and can we see their stance on the issue at hand? As I was pondering this, I came across the story in 2 Chronicles 20 about King Jehoshaphat . The passage shares about how they worshiped and praised the Lord and the Lord fought the battle for them. It then took them three days to collect all the spoil from the victory! However, the story ends that although Jehoshaphat did right in the Lord's eyes, the high places were not removed and the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers (2 Chronicles 20:32-33). The question in my heart is what are the high places in my life and in our community? What does it mean to remove them?

    In the movie, I believe the high place was the volcano on the island near where the Red Death was hiding. In the heart of the high place, the pulse of evil influenced all of their lives whether they recognized it or not. The reality was that if the Vikings kept up their strategy of killing dragons, they would never have had peace because the greater enemy would still be hungry and continue to command his way. My current prayer is "Lord, reveal the high places and please give me the courage to trust you and obey however you want me to for their destruction."

    In the 1828 dictionary, the basic definition of compassion is suffering with another. It is mixed passion compounded with love and sorrow. As Hiccup shared in the suffering of Toothless and Toothless with Hiccup (it went both ways), they both found freedom. Our Savior, Jesus, gave us the greatest example of compassion. He was passionate towards us and with love and sorrow took on our suffering so that we may have freedom.
    I look at the culture around me and I see things becoming more and more polarized. An easy example of this is of course, politics. I see both sides declaring that they are right and digging in their heels to enforce their claim. I can see many of the reasons why each side believes they are right as I could see the "right" in the Vikings views on the dragons.

    But I guess what I question is, where is the compassion? If we do not build a bridge and help destroy the common enemy, then we are caught in this destructive pattern of us versus them. Compassion on the front end may look weak and ineffective but the reality is that it’s the strong weapon to bring true peace. The question that I am asking myself is - how am I cultivating compassion in my life?

    Wendy

    Hiccup & Toothless
     

    Talent vs Capacity

    3/13/12

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    Grace and Peace Friends,

    The other day a friend and I were catching up. She was casually talking about an organization she was associated with and stated that the leader was incredibly talented, but had low capacity. She also mentioned that others see the high talent and mistake it for capacity. What's the difference? Talent is the shining star who takes center stage and receives all the accolades while capacity is the ability to visualize and build the stage. Capacity means creatively manage resources for the betterment of the whole and stewarding the talent of the people around them. While talent allows us to rise to the top faster, capacity allows us to stay there once we arrive.

    As she spoke, it totally rang true for me. I thought through several situations that I have been in and I realized how often I have mistaken talent for capacity and the truth is they are two very different things. Although this conversation was several weeks ago, sometimes there are thoughts that need to simmer and then they unlock clarity unlike any other thoughts. This was one of them.

    First- I realized I am a low talent type of gal but have developed a good foundation for capacity. When I have said that to a few friends they want to console me with "That’s not true!" However, I actually take comfort in it. Growing up, I wasn’t the smartest, the fastest, the prettiest, the most musical, or the most artistic.It’s been a struggle to rationalize my life’s calling (even to myself!) as it wasn’t as immediately obvious as it might be for those who have more visible talent.

    But I think I do have three subtle talents that have helped cultivate capacity. The first one is that I am teachable. I am always willing to learn and hence always willing to change. Being willing to change allows me to discover the lies that I believe about myself and the world around me. Our willingness to discover and deal with the lies we believe, are a key limit or boundary to our ability to cultivate capacity.

    Secondly- I have a gift of friendship. Loneliness and pain were my companions growing up but at key times in my childhood, there were a few people that looked past my circumstances and gave me the gift of friendship. It was that friendship that created a bridge to me continuing to have hope. Because I was so grateful to them, all I could do was commit to developing that gift of friendship and sharing it with others along life’s way. Even as I am writing this, I truly believe that friendship has probably brought more healing and hope to my life (and in the lives of those around me) than any therapy/ministry I can think of.

    Thirdly- I have the gifting of being persistent or as some others may call it, stubbornness. Whether it is Winston Churchill or Joyce Meyers - a key value I have gleaned from their lives is that the choice is available to whosoever will to never, never, NEVER give up.

     I think having this persistence, and it being linked to teachability and friendship, has really been a secret to success for my life as well as great ingredients for creating capacity.

    As I looked up in the 1828 Dictionary talent and capacity, I gained new clarity that I wasn’t expecting. To summarize- capacity is a passive power; it’s the ability to receive. Talent, however, is an active power; it’s the ability to give.
    One of my various “random thoughts”  has been that life is truly about giving and receiving. Often times the Enemy will twist or damage some aspect of giving and receiving for us and that in turn is what causes damage in our relationships with both God and man.

    Our physical heart is a great picture of what healthy giving and receiving looks like. The heart has two receiving valves and two giving valves. One set receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and the other gives/releases the oxygenated blood into your body. In a similar way, we need to have healthy giving and receiving valves with people as well as unblocked giving and receiving valves with the Lord. Often, you can see in people's lives where the breakdown of relationships has damaged or blocked one or more valves in their lives and it just causes them continued pain.

    Part of my life journey has been the Lord healing and unblocking those receiving valves in my life that were so damaged. But most of the time, I associate receiving with an entitlement mentality. But the reality is that healthy receiving IS a part of capacity. I read a book about healthy giving and in their last point, they asked you to try and only exhale and not breath in. Their point is that we have to breath in AND out or we will only live for a few moments. Part of healthy giving, truly is healthy receiving.

    So, Wendy Clark- what’s the difference between entitlement and healthy receiving? At this point (and I reserve the right to add to or change this thought) it is how you steward what you receive. I ask myself: is what I receive for my own consumption only or is it for what our Lord might desire? The weight of that call to stewardship is what keeps me on my knees.

    Cultivating my talent is what builds up healthy giving valves. Cultivating capacity, builds up my receiving valves. We need to cultivate both.

    Wendy

    Opportunity Cost

    2/21/12

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    I think a lot about stewardship. In many ways, it’s easier to be poor. There are limited choices that you can make with your resources. As you grow in resources of time, talent and treasure; the amount of opportunities and choices exponentially increase. 

    When I went to UNC for a semester, I took an economics class. One of the principles I am still remembering almost 20 years later is that of opportunity cost. This is the hidden, difficult to assign a metric or value to, reality that no one talks about - the cost of the choice that you make vs the choice you didn't make. If you choose to go to this university, then you have not chosen to go to hundreds of other schools. The job you chose dictates where you live and where you spend your time versus taking a another job which might have led to a totally different living situation. Opportunity cost is neither inherently good or bad, it simple is what it is.

    But when I think through stewardship, opportunity cost is a significant aspect of my thought processes. Life is the sum of the things we have made priorities as a result of our choices. How do we prioritize and weigh the value of at least two competing choices that are often screaming at us? Part of wisdom is the ability to discern and then make the choice today that we will be glad we made tomorrow. How do we cultivate wisdom? I believe having an appreciation and awareness of opportunity cost while we are thinking through our options is one of the keys. 

    We speak a lot about needing a financial budget, however, I once heard was that we should also have a time and an emotional energy budget, as they are finite resources that we have to steward carefully. It is in those two budgets that I most carefully think through opportunity cost. 

    One way I do this is I try to think through the tasks that I must accomplish during the day and assign a monetary value or cost to them to clarify their priority in my day. Washing the dishes: that costs around $10/hour. Entering in bookkeeping data: well, that can cost $25/hour. As I think through the what I need to do, I begin to ask myself: what is the cost of me doing all of these things and not doing other things? What I can delegate and consolidate so I can spend that time on what only I need to do - that which I am called and specifically gifted to do? 


    If I had to say what my two unique gifts I bring to the world were, it would be the gift of friendship and the ability to think/problem solve. As I plan my time, emotional energy, and even my money, I place emphasis on these two priorities in my life. This means my dishes don’t always get done. But sometimes they need to get done so I can  have a place for people to come and visit me and feel comfortable. This means I may need to employ a creative solution as to how to get those dishes done. Maybe it means I don't always buy the newest clothes when I want them but instead I provide a job for someone who needs it, get those dishes done, and have the time I need to think/problem solve and invest in relationships.

    Weighing opportunity cost many times unlocks the clarity of thought I need to find the solution to prioritizing my life so I can achieve the goals that are in my heart. My deep desire is to live as purposely as I can and not end up at "Oops."

    As I thought through why I started this particular blog, it is because these are some of the fundamental aspects of how I think. When you look at my life and my choices, underneath them, most of the time, has been some aspect of this thought process because one of my main beliefs is that we will be accountable for how we steward the number of talents we have been given. So, I often ponder the parable of the talents. They each got a different amount of talents. But the bottom line wasn’t how many talents they had but the attitude of faithfulness towards them. Many times I want to lament about not feeling like I am a 5 talent gal but then I have to shift gears and think about how I am being faithful with what I have been given?

    He is not asking me to be what I am not. He is not asking me to do what I cannot. He is asking me to count the cost and be faithful with what I have been given.

    Grace and peace,
    Wendy

    The Simplicity Question

    1/18/12

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     Many years ago, I read a book about simplicity in my quest to find out what faithful stewardship looks like. As a side note, I think that most people only have one main point of a specific belief/idea but they need to write 150-300 pages to create the perception of importance of what they are saying and so that people will be wooed to engage the conversation through their book. Many times, our lives really have only one major theme and we spend our time unlocking that in a variety of ways. But it can still all be summed up in one major life theme.

    So, back to the book about simplicity; the main point is we need to guard our lives and hearts from materialism as it impacts, on many levels, our ability to steward. Their suggestion was that every year, we should find one thing of value in our home and give it away. As I thought through my house, most everything I had, was given/ bought cheaply/or donated to me. The execution of this specific principle in my life, was not going to impact the tenderness of my heart as it was laid out in the book.

    I began asking the Lord,  "What specifically do you want from me in this context to keep my heart soft and not get swept away, even inadvertently, into the mind-set of materialism?" Within a few days, the thought that became clear was I needed to remove the tv from my living room where I spent time with people, to upstairs where it wasn’t so convenient. What was fascinating to me, was what that did for my home.

    My house was built in 1939 which was before the tv had been invented. In my living room, I have a beautiful wood burning stove that was the center focal point of that room. When I removed the television from that room, peace immediately filled it. What had been happening was the tv and stove were competing for the central focal point in the room; that place where our eyes naturally rest. By removing the tv out of the room, the room came into alignment. So much so, even the other day when a friend came into my house, she asked if I had my home professionally designed?!

    The other thing I think about with principles like this, is do I need to do that (give one item of value away) every single year or do I keep that principle/idea in the context of my decision making process and let it arise when the test needs to arise?

    In 2009, I ended up going through one of the most difficult financial times of my life. It was through the series of choices made by another individual that created extreme financial challenges that I was not sure how I was going to navigate successfully. Before those events happened, I had already committed in my heart to buy a reasonably-priced, used car for a family in the community that I was supporting because I knew that having a car and dependable transportation is a key to breaking free from poverty. They had cleared up their own technical issues related to their driver’s license (which had kept them from driving for 13 years) and they were in a place to start driving their kids to school every day (which I had been doing for them).

    But then, my car died. And the cost of repair was more than car itself was worth. I did need a car to make my own life work but I had not saved up what I would need to buy myself a used car as well as purchase one for the other family.

    In this decision making process, the principle of simplicity began to weigh in: having my own car, is a privilege and not a right. The truth of the matter was that the majority of my life happens in a 3 miles radius and the family I care for was living next door so with a little communication, we could coordinate our lives so we could share a car and meet all of our goals.

    For the next 6 months,  I shared a car with this family until I saved enough to buy my own. People interpreted my gesture as being so kind and generous but the truth was, I did what I did because I make choices based on my life principles. If I am committed to keeping a soft heart that is free from issues such as materialism, then that was the choice that I needed to make in that season. It wasn’t easy to share a car on many levels, but I needed to do it for me to continue to guard my heart. It was more important for me to keep my heart soft before the Lord then it was to have my own car for a season.

    So, what is it that the Lord has asked from YOU to help guard your heart from materialism?