admin December 22nd, 2008

WELCOME to

The Christian Simple Living Blog

It ain’t easy sometimes!

The world makes it hard to live simply. It doesn’t like the idea because it rains on the consumer parade, makes people feel guilty and defensive, and takes profits away from corporations.
But what makes it worse for me is … I’m an addict!

I was addicted to TV and everything it had to sell by the time I was nine. I love expensive cameras and can’t stay away from camera stores. I get a thrill out of buying a new piece of software – and a faster computer – and more peripherals. I love the smell of the inside of a new car. I want enough money to do whatever I feel like. I want a boat – a BIG boat. I want to trek around Katmandu. Oh God, I want …

I believe we’re all addicted to American consumerism and we need help!

They say confession is good for the soul, and Alcoholics Anonymous’ fifth step says that “We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.” So in that spirit, I and others will be admitting in these short articles, how we’ve messed-up, and how changing our lives has been really hard work! And just like alcoholics who ‘slip’, or fall off the wagon, especially in ‘slippery places’ like bars, we all slip while trying to live simply – especially in slippery places like camera stores (I just need some fiiilm!) and of course the malls.

Most of us are more “on a journey” toward Christian simplicity, rather than having already arrived, and our hope is that by sharing some our journeys we’ll be able to help each other walk our talk, and convince others to join us.

Background of the Blog

This blog replaces an earlier commentary and discussion page on www.christiansimpleliving.org which did not offer many of the interactive features of a true blog. So now we have it – a real blog which allows you to easily post comments and replies to virtually anything related to Christian Simple Living.

We have migrated the posts from the old discussion page to the new blog archives and new posts will start showing-up shortly but most importantly, we really would like to have your comments regarding ANY topics on the Christian Simple Living website.

Purpose

Most of us are on a journey, or would like to be on a journey, toward living more simply as Jesus taught us, and as the early church practiced it. Few of us have ‘arrived’ yet, because it just isn’t easy  to live simply in 21st Century consumer culture.

This blog is intended to help all of us make the transition to living simply and faithfully, and to find joy and success as we do. Here we can share our journeys, successes, doubts, questions, insights, and opinions, as we create a community on the journey together.

If you have navigated directly to this page from outside outside instead of through the Christian Simple Living Website, you can find a great deal of information on simple living and the genesis of this blog, at www.christiansimpleliving.org.

About Us

The Christian Simple Living website and this blog were developed by Steve Seitz, a member of the University Park Church of the Brethren, in Hyattsville, MD, as a personal ministry. Steve has a Masters of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, PA, and is retired from a Federal health care research organization near Washington, D.C.

Contact ChristianSimpleLiving.org at: comments@christiansimpleliving.org
For website technical issues: webmaster@christiansimpleliving.org

Steve, and his Wife Dotti, have also created the Transformation Puppet and Story Works, www.transformationpuppets.org, which produces puppet and storytelling shows for churches, schools, and community centers in the Mid-Atlantic region. Their shows focus on environmental, simple living, behavioral, and faith-building topics.

Contact Transformation Puppet and Story Works at: puppeteers@transformationpuppets.org, or Phone 240-305-5504.

You can find additional information on us at www.christiansimpleliving.org/whoweare.htm.

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