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Sometimes prayer comes just in time. This morning I was supposed to have the invocation for a breakfast meeting at the hospital. The purpose of the gathering was to help people who have lost their jobs, or who are going through difficult times due to healthcare crises and more. My boss and his boss were Read more of Rushed Prayers — Day 36 There is a time to be simple, and there is a time to be extravagant. And it is the latter that I want to talk about today. It may surprise you that on this Simplicity Journey I am encouraging you to live extravagantly at times. Let me share a brief story. There once was a Read more of Simple Extravagance — Day 35 In 2010, we are drawn to our blue screens rather than the blue skies. Whether it is our smartphone that can access our email, or our laptop that opens the world wide web’s possibilities, or our over-sized, high-definition, television screens that gives us access to hundreds of channels, we spend much of our time staring Read more of Spectacular Daily Show — Day 34 A hypocrite is what someone else is, but never who we are. “Hypocrisy is the act of pretending to have beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy is a kind of lie. Hypocrisy may come from a desire to hide from others actual motives or feelings.” (Wikipedia) Hypocrisy Read more of Hypocrisy Everywhere — Day 33 Some of us as people of faith want to live more simply because it frees up our resources so that we can assist others who are in greater need. But social justice requires more. The phrase “Social Justice” has been in the news lately. One pundit recently said, “If your church or pastor or priest Read more of Social Justice — Day 32 Yesterday, I wrote about how listening to another is one of the greatest gifts we can offer. And on the other hand, how healing this same listening can be for us when someone returns the favor. But what about when our physical body talks to us? Our life would be so much simpler if we Read more of Listening to Your Body — Day 31 “I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” (Robert McCloskey, author of children’s books.) Do you know what it is like for someone to really listen to what you have to say? I mean really listen. Read more of A Listening Ear — Day 30 There are dozens of ways to live more simply. Many people talk about the importance of owning and owing less. And they are right, less is more when it comes to living more simply. But there is an additional strategy we can use to discover a less complicated life. It’s called taking care of what Read more of The Wisdom of Taking Care — Day 29 I am on Day 28 of my 40-day commitment to write daily about my journey to live more simply. A few observations thus far. Commitment: Writing every single day (but Sundays) is new for me. Most days I love writing, and there are other days it is a huge challenge to say the least. Just Read more of Reflections on the Journey — Day 28 I went to see a friend’s father in the hospital today. He had been given the news that further surgery would not improve his quality of life, and if they did surgery, it could make him worse. And so he had made his own decision and told his daughter and the doctor with a clear Read more of Grateful — Day 27 |
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Malcolm Marler's Blog 2012 |
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