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Posted in simplicity by Karen Swank on 7/19/2010
 I'm 44 years old and only just now discovering that I don't know how to be a friend.
It's not that I don't have friends; I would have to say I'm blessed in
that department. I have new friends and old, friends close and far away,
friends I talk to weekly and friends with whom the spaces between our
words are years long, friends my age, friends young enough to be my
kids, friends old enough to be my parents, male friends, female friends,
friends in person, friends (real friends, even, whether you believe it
or not) online, different friends who know the different parts of me and
even a few who know my most closely held secrets.
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Posted in simplicity by Aaron Daffern on 7/8/2010
If only it was that easy. Do we honestly expect God to act like a
cosmic vending machine, dispensing life-plans as long as we press the
right buttons and say the right prayers? Recently, however, I was going
through some inner turmoil and stumbled upon an insight into his will
that you might find intriguing.
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Posted in simplicity by Tim Chermak on 3/26/2010
 As the college spring break season winds down to a painful finale, let
us pause to remember the glory days of our youth-beautiful Caribbean
beaches, random hookups, binge drinking, morning hangovers, and crappy
hotels.
This was
the life. This justified a little credit card debt. Not too much, but a
little. This was the mountaintop experience of spring semester, the
epicenter of our social lives, the 7 days on which we spent 7 weeks'
income-this was spring break.
For years we viewed these sacred March days as an escape from the
ordinary. We spent the weeks leading up to our seven-day liberation
studying for midterms, saving up last minute cash, and trying to lose
our college beer bellies.
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Posted in simplicity by Josh Casper on 3/24/2010
 I was lucky enough to be offered a review copy of Keri Wyatt Kent's
new book Simple
Compassion: Devotions to Make a Difference in Your Neighborhood and
Your World. I've never been one for devotionals. I start them
but never finish. I have a hard time stopping myself from reading on and
on. I guess that defeats the purpose of a year-long devotional. The
part I liked about reviewing this book was that I was able to read it
straight through! (Otherwise, no one would be reading this for another
year!)
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Posted in simplicity by Brooke Luby on 1/29/2010
 Most people in America know what a missionary is. Many may think of
people speaking about Africa at their church, asking for money. For
others, the kid who was home schooled in a jungle and have a hard time
fitting back into society, may come to mind. I've had some several
different stereotypes over the years, regarding this breed of
Jesus-followers, and now, I suppose, I am one.
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Posted in simplicity by Brooke Luby on 12/24/2009
 "Feliz Navidad!" Jubilant voices welcomed us into there home as we made
our way up the steep hill in the darkness,towards the twinkling lights,
music and chatter. We were ushered in to yet another home in the
village, hugs all around, plates of rice and chicken shoved in our
hands. Everyone was laughing, and I found myself laughing along, partly
because of the contagious nature of the Kuna people's joy, partly
because I was overly exhausted, because it was 2 a.m. on Christmas.
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Posted in simplicity by Brooke Luby on 12/1/2009
In our search for love, we do crazy and reckless things. We search in
bars and the internet and the church and in people just as broken as
ourselves. We want this love so bad, but when we try to gain it outside
of The One Being who is love, we are cheating ourselves.
I remember being a insecure and scared fifteen year old, giving
away my virginity because I wanted to be "loved," because I thought I
was the only one who hadn't, because I just didn't care about the
consequences anymore.
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Posted in simplicity by Karen Swank on 11/26/2009
 This Thanksgiving morning finds me
teary, overcome with the magnitude of God's grace and mercy, in that He
has, for His own reasons, chosen to make me an incredibly rich person.
They have to be His own reasons; I know my story well enough to know
the massive gulf between what I have earned and what I have -- which is
why I so often repeat that old Testament chart-topper that says, "O
praise the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever."
This
morning, I celebrate the same things that many will: home, health,
family and friends. But the things I have seen, heard, and learned
this past couple of years. Well, they are what push my gratitude from
a sigh and a smile to a whole other level.
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Posted in simplicity by Karen Swank on 11/17/2009
This past Friday, I joined the ranks of the unemployed when the shelter
where I worked did some downsizing. I had never been laid off before;
that meeting was short, to the point, and absent the drama one might
imagine. Driving home that afternoon, I texted my kids. "On my way
home. Unemployed. God is good."
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Posted in simplicity by Brooke Luby on 11/16/2009
Maybe I am crazy or schizophrenic, but lately I have been more aware of
the fact that I am a physical and a spiritual being. It's like I have
been able to separate the two, and see who I am really am.
How many people in the world are happy when they stand in front of a
mirror? I wonder how many people work hard to make their bodies a
certain shape, to buy certain clothes to hide them or show them off.
I've been thinking about about how weird it is, I am this person
trapped in skin.
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