Monday, February 24, 2020

More precious than rubies

"Go, and find out what healthy desires are," I wrote in my previous blog, quoting Mark 11:24 where it says, Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.

If we are allowed to pray for things we desire, 'desiring' in itself can not be wrong; although most of us have been taught it is. I think that is precisely why the tenth commandment is not a restriction, but a challenge to find out what we may and should desire. That has also been the point of view in my book My Neighbor's House.

Paul writes about the tenth commandment: I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” It is that simple, really. 😁

Do not desire covet) the things of someone else, but go after what God has reserved for you. I consulted the Bible and came to Proverbs, chapter 8, the chapter about wisdom. In verse 11 it says ...

For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.

Nothing, absolutely nothing we can ever desire can be compared with wisdom. Doesn't it make sense then, that that is the very thing we should go after?

Thursday, February 13, 2020

To covet or not to covet

When I was a teenager, I found the Bible and Christianity a little oppressive. So many rules and laws. And fun things? They were prohibited, of course. I had this idea that becoming a serious Christian would limit my 'freedom' and so I kept postponing the choice to live for Jesus.

Although I did not grow up in a very "conservative" church, the Ten Commandments were an invisible guide in our family. I always thought the tenth commandment to be difficult: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s. Well, can't we do anything at all then?

After I had given my life to Jesus, I slowly began to see that those words were not meant as a restriction, but rather as a challenge. A challenge to find out what we should desire. No, not our neighbor's stuff ... but the very things that God has reserved for us.

Have you ever read it that way? It became the approach in my English book My Neighbor's House. Go, and find out what healthy desires are. In Mark 11:24 it says: Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. Obviously, this is not about our neighbor's stuff.  But then, what is it?

Friday, February 07, 2020

Downsizing: how decluttering graces your heart and home

We live in a very (and I mean: very) small house in The Netherlands. Everything is tiny: the living room, the kitchen and the bedroom. Because we have such limited space, we do not have a lot of stuff. I do not collect anything (well, books maybe) and we do not keep things we do not need.

When we resided in Southern California, we were living in a huge farmhouse. The many rooms were filled with furniture, collectibles, and other stuff. The total opposite of our little home in Holland. And you know what? We have learned to be happy in the big as well as in the small house. Why am I sharing this with you? Because downsizing does not have to be horrible. Getting rid of clutter can be fun and bring incredible relief.

fellow author Susan Rohrer
In our 👉 Christian nonfiction lovers book club on Goodreads, our book of the month February is Susan Rohrer's book: Downsizing: how decluttering graces your heart and home. I read it last year and it is more than an inspiring read, it is very helpful. Rohrer proves that the practical and spiritual work together quite well and effectively. It is truly a joy to read how the author uses Biblical principles to help us clean up stuff and organize our closet space.

I like her practical approach, and especially the chapter about having to move a parent to an, often much smaller, elderly home and how to prepare everyone in the family for the challenges such a move will bring. I highly recommend this book if you seriously want to learn how to live with less!

We have added a #giveaway in our Goodreads club as well. We have asked members to enter the giveaway by simply sharing their personal thoughts on downsizing. Do you need help decluttering your own home? Are you daunted by the idea of downsizing your elders' belongings? Do you have a downsizing tip to share?

Just post a few lines in the Goodreads thread and you'll be entered to win a Kindle edition of Susan's book.