How was Sermon On the Mount Month?

If you are new here, we do a small monthly challenge every month and October's challenge was to read The Sermon on the Mount every single day.

I confess that I missed a few days,and that there were definitely some days where I was reading it more out of obligation than to really seek the face of an almighty God.  But I was definitely blessed by this challenge.

A few of the days I switched things up by listening to it as an audio file on BibleGateway.com.  That was a nice change and I found that every time I listened to the audio version I would get chills at the very end when the narrator reads the part about how the people were astonished because Jesus taught as one who had authority.  Sometimes I needed to be reminded that the scriptures aren't just nice heavenly advice. 

What struck me over and over again was how much folly there is in my desire to fit in and be normal and look like a super holy soccer mom who has it all together.  God wants so much more for us than that.  God's call on our lives is a radical one.

If you did the challenge, how was it?  What did you learn?  Did you  miss a few days, or give up mid month?  Did God show you something you hadn't noticed before, shake your heart up a little, tenderly lead your life in a new direction?

What's that? You want to know what the November Challenge will be?  Well...normally I announce the monthly challenge a few days early, but I am so excited (and nervous...) about this one that I want to wait until November 1st to announce it.  So you'll have to come back tomorrow to find out what it is!

We are doing one small thing (almost) every day for a year to create a simpler, greener, more intentional life. Take a moment to read all About Us, check out The Rules of our year long project and sign up for our RSS feed or "like" us on facebook so that you can follow our journey to radical simplicity!

Day 72: Sermon on the Mount Month!

It is the first day of October, and the first day of the October monthly challenge:  Sermon on the Mount month!  Are you in?

The Task:  Read Matthew chapters 5,6 & 7 every single day for a month.

The Why: I shared the why of this challenge when I announced it last week.  Basically, I believe that the Sermon on the Mount is radical and challenging, that God's economy of love and redistribution and reconciliation is powerful and relevant and...beautiful. I want the red letter words of Christ to shape me and change me.

The How:  I'm not a super disciplined person, so I need to make little rules for myself in order to make God's word the priority it ought to be.  Like not allowing myself to use facebook in the morning until after I've read the scripture passage.

Many of you have expressed that you will be joining the challenge.  Yay!   Please feel free to come back to this post throughout the month and share how the challenge is going, what you are noticing in God's word that you've always seemed to miss in the past, what you are struggling with or convicted of or inspired by. May the Spirit of God move boldly in each of us this month!

Announcing The October Challenge: Sermon on the Mount Month

Each month we encourage you to join us in our pursuit of radical simplicity by doing one small thing with us for a whole month.

The October challenge is to read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5,6 & 7) every single day for 31 days.

Why?  This summer our church studied the Sermon on the Mount.  Our pastor encouraged us to read it every week all summer.  Although, truth be told, I didn't actually read it every single week, I did read it a lot.  And I was stuck by 2 things: First, that these passages are so very relevant to the journey that our family is on. If you want a manifesto for a simple, radical, authentic life you will find it in the Sermon on the Mount.  And secondly, that it never gets old.  There is so much in these chapters to change us and guide us and move our hearts that it never seems to get stale.

The timing is on purpose here.  By the end of October most of us will be thinking about the holidays.  Our pinterest boards will be filling up with ideas, our schedules will be filling up with events and parties and commitments, and what I want more than anything for our family this Christmas is that we would know what it is that Christ wants for his birthday.  That we would seek to give these red letter words their rightful authority in our lives.  That it would be more than advice or ancient wisdom, but the earth shattering truth of a God who was willing to love until it cost him everything this life can offer.

So, will you join me?  Starting next Monday, will you find the time to read these three chapters of Matthew every day for 31 days?

If so, feel free to use this banner to share the challenge on your own blog.  Just cut and paste the code below:

<a href="http://theyearofless.blogspot.com/2012/09/announcing-october-challenge-sermon-on.html"target="”_blank”"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-pKzmZ4r56hw/UGH0V5CIFuI/AAAAAAAAENQ/ctopGCTJSHQ/s300/october%2520challenge%2520300px.png" /></a>

In unrelated news:  Our family is currently fighting off an illness, catching up on laundry and life after having weekend guests, and preparing for 31 days to Savour the Season  (my October blog series that starts on my other blog next week.) Plus, we have a new puppy!  Soooo....all that to say that posts might be a wee bit sparse this week while we are busy juggling life in general. Please be patient, I promise I haven't gone anywhere!

How is Eat Your Pantry Month Going?

We are two-thirds of the way through the month and two-thirds of the way through our Eat Your Pantry Challenge. If you're doing the challenge at your house, I'd love to know how it's going!

Today I thought I'd share some of the best, worse and funniest ways this month's challenge has affected our dinner hour.

Most kid-pleasing pantry recipe:  Lentil and Brown Rice Tacos. I used to make these all the time but kinda forgot about them. I am so glad that this challenge reminded me of this dish, because my kids love it and I'm pretty sure it is the cheapest thing I could possibly feed them. 

Most likely to convert me into a bean-eater: We tried this recipe. Oh. My. Goodness. Maybe it's the bacon, maybe it's the quarter cup of minced garlic in it, but this recipe made me temporarily forget that I hate beans. And my bacon-and-garlic-lovin' family devoured it.

Most awkward pantry moment:  I invited guests over for Sesame Chicken so that I could use up the sesame seeds I had in the pantry.  In all the last minute busyness to get dinner served I forgot to toast the sesame seeds and add them to the sesame chicken.  So we had not-so-sesame chicken.  And the sesame seeds are still in my pantry.  I guess we'll have to try again....

Biggest Eat-Your-Pantry Month cheat:  We used red kidney beans as bingo tokens.  That might honestly be the only thing they are good for. Did I mention that I hate beans?...

 How is Eat Your Pantry Month going at your house?  Have you reached into the far corners of your dried goods and discovered some fabulous new recipes?  Please share in the comments below!

Day 42: Eat Your Pantry Month

Today is the first day of September, and that means the first day of September's Eat Your Pantry Challenge! 

 The Task:  To eat all the stuff that is in our pantry.  (With the exception of almond, vanilla and coconut extracts, meringue powder, salt and corn starch...we don't have to finish those things!) We will be endeavoring to eat the beans that have been there for a year, the chickpeas and split peas of unknown vintage, pastas, barley, and specialty flours.  Whether we like it or not, we are going to muster up the creativity and courage and turn them into dinner.

The Why: We are spoiled.  I am guilty of standing with the pantry door open and exclaiming that there is nothing to eat for dinner.  And what I really mean is that there is nothing that I want to eat.  Or that I failed to plan ahead enough to make something great from scratch.

Even though the shelf life of some of these dry pantry items is supposedly as long as 6-8 years, at the rate we're eating them (which is pretty much not at all) they seriously run the risk of going bad in our pantry.  So we are going to do what we should have done from the beginning: be thankful for a pantry full of (mostly) nutritious food instead of wishing we had something more delectable. 

The How:  You can create whatever ground rules you want for your own Pantry challenge.  You could plan to eat from your pantry 3 nights a week, or to make a soup from scratch every weekend using what you can from your pantry and freezer.

For us, I've moved all of the pantry items so that there is one big empty shelf in my pantry.  This is where any new things will  go: a bag of flour I need to get, some fresh potatoes, that sort of thing.  The rest of the shelves are the ones we need to eat up.  And eat them we will!

There is no rule against buying new things. We will need to buy fresh veggies and dairy products and meats to go with our pantry adventures, we just need to make a point to eat what is in the pantry.  And to be grateful for it.

So, what inspired pantry meal is kicking off this challenge in our household?  Black bean soup? Enchiladas? Split pea and brown rice burgers?  Errr....Um....well, actually we are grilling beef burgers with friends today!  But I had to do something to commemorate the first day of eat your pantry month, so I'm simmering some chickpeas (and then roasting some garlic, YUM!) so that I can make some homemade hummus to go on the burgers.

Are you joining us?  What are your rules to help you eat your pantry this month? 

P.S.  If you know of any recipes containing beans that are so yummy that even this avid bean-hater will like them, please leave a link in the comments below! And don't forget to get the button to share on your own blog if you're following along!  Thanks!

New here?  We are doing one small thing (almost) every day for a year to create a simpler, quieter, more intentional life. Take a moment to read all About Us, check out The Rules of our year long project and sign up for our RSS feed or "like" us on facebook so that you can follow our journey to radical simplicity!

Announcing The September Monthly Challenge: Eat Your Pantry Month!

Each month we encourage you to join us in our pursuit of radical simplicity by doing one small thing with us for a whole month.

The September challenge is a dare to eat your pantry!

If you are like us, you have things in your pantry that have been there a while.  Foods that have been sitting there for months (or years!) because we lack the imagination and creativity to turn them into dinner.

When I stand at the pantry door and exclaim that there is nothing to eat, what I really mean is that there is nothing I want to eat.

This month we are going to clean out our pantry the old fashioned way, by actually eating the food we have.  We expect to see our grocery bill to go down, and maybe even learn a thing or two about contentment while we're at it.

And by actually eating the food, we insure it won't come to the end of it's safe shelf life while still sitting on a shelf.

Obviously there will have to be some exceptions.  We don't plan to use up the almond extract of corn starch.  But the three different types of dried beans I've had for, well, um, ages?  We'll be eating them this month.  Even though I hate beans.  (Don't ask why somebody who hates beans has three types of them in her pantry...I can't explain it.)


Will you join us? Will you commit to eating those beans and lentils and split peas in your pantry this month?

If you're planning to take the plunge with us, I've made a banner (it's 300 x 300px) for you to display on your own blog.  Just cut and paste the code below.

 

<a href="http://theyearofless.blogspot.com/2012/08/announcing-september-monthly-challenge.html"target="”_blank”"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kFfLLh7FUdU/UDzbUPHwA7I/AAAAAAAADxU/0upetTde7yo/s300/pantry%2520banner%2520300.png" /></a>

OR

You can let all of your friends on facebook know that you are taking the challenge by visiting this photo that I've uploaded to our facebook page and clicking the "share" button!

Thanks so much for taking this challenge together with us! We can't wait!

How is No Dryer Month Going?

We've almost made it.  The August monthly challenge, No Dryer Month, is over after next week.  And as I plan to share with you the September challenge in the coming days, I thought now would be a good time to check in and ask: How is no dryer month going?

Us?  We've loved it. mostly. There have definitely been a few humid and rainy days that I have wished I could just pop things in the dryer.  And we've had a couple toddler meltdowns over blankies that aren't dry for nap time, but other than that I don't miss my dryer much at all.  In fact, I really hope to continue not to use it, at least not on a regular basis, after this month is over.

So, for all you fabulous people who took the challenge with us, please take a moment to leave a comment and let us know how it's going!

Day 11: No Dryer Month

It's August 1st and our first month long challenge begins today.  For the month of August we will be choosing not to use our dryer at all.  Are you planning to join us?

I love using my laundry line, but as a mom of a large-ish family, I do regularly depend on my dryer.  On sunny days I often put the first load of laundry on the clothesline and the second in the dryer.  This month will definitely require some extra care and planning on my part.

From comments and emails I've received since announcing no dryer month I've discovered that dependence on a dryer is really a North American thing.  Many people around the world don't even own dryers, and if they do, they consider it ridiculous to use it in the middle of summer. Many of these people live in rainier climates than I do and don't have a backyard. This was convicting.  Here I am taking on this big challenge and it turns out that many people in developed countries all over the world have never even seen a dryer! 

I promised last week that I would share with you how to avoid crunchy towels when you're not using your dryer.  Line drying leaves clothing a little more crisp than the dryer does, but sometimes clothing can end up undesirably crunchy.

Excessive crunchy-ness is caused by laundry detergent left behind in the clothing.  The conventional advice is to add some vinegar to your rinse cycle, which is very useful.  It helps strip clothing of any extra soap residue, and your items don't come out smelling like vinegar, I promise.  But the truth is, I often forget to add vinegar.  My washing machine doesn't beep or anything when it gets to the rinse cycle, and it's not like I'm just standing there waiting for it, so I often miss the vinegar rinse.  But that's okay, because the ABSOLUTE BEST WAY to avoid too crunchy towels is this: use less detergent.

You really don't need as much detergent as the detergent company wants you to believe.  Experiment with less and find the amount that still gets your clothing clean but doesn't leave any residue.  For my detergent, that is a little more than half the recommended amount. Not only does it prevent too crunchy towels, it saves money too!

By the way, I've shared my green laundry routine before, on my other blog.

I know some of you have other questions about line drying, and I am definitely not an expert on the subject, so if you have a question please ask in the comments below, and if you are an avid line-dryer please take a second to answer some of those question if you can! 

Are you taking the challenge? You can get a banner to share on your blog or facebook here.

 We are doing one small thing every day for a year to create a simpler, quieter, more intentional life. Take a moment to read all About Us, check out The Rules of our year long project and sign up for our RSS feed or "like" us on facebook so that you can follow our journey to radical simplicity!

Announcing The August Challenge: No Dryer Month

Every month we will be encouraging you to join us in our pursuit of radical simplicity by doing one small thing with us for a whole month.

August's challenge is No Dryer Month.   We will be committing not to use our dryer at all for an entire month. Will you join us?

Did you know that...

• Dryers are among the top 3 energy consumers in most homes, along with the fridge and the water heater?
• Line-dried clothing puts less stress on clothing, causing it to last longer?
• Line-dried bedsheets smell heavenly?
• The suns rays actually kill germs and whiten whites?

On August first I will share some tips to help avoid using the dryer (like, how to keep your line-dried towels from being crunchy!) and encouraging all of you to share your tips as well so that we can all go into this project confident and prepared!

If you're planning to take the plunge with us, I've made a banner (it's 300 x 300px) for you to display on your own blog.  Just cut and paste the code below.

<a href="http://theyearofless.blogspot.ca/2012/07/announcing-august-challenge-no-dryer.html"target="”_blank”"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9IEmXTOEHHg/UBA4n6hDNWI/AAAAAAAADTI/XlorA4zA128/s300/no%2520dryer%2520month%2520300px.jpg" /></a>

Or you can let all of your friends on facebook know that you are taking the challenge by visiting this photo that I've uploaded to our facebook page and clicking the "share" button!

Thanks so much for taking this challenge together with us! We can't wait!

We are doing one small thing every day for a year to create a simpler, quieter, more intentional life. Take a moment to read all About Us, check out The Rules of our year long project and sign up for our RSS feed or "like" us on facebook so that you can follow our journey to radical simplicity!