I made the decision this year to simplify the holidays even more than last year. Only two boxes of house decorations made it down from the attic and only glass ball ornaments are going to make their way onto the tree (of course that includes lights and garland). With the implementation of this decision, it only took me two hours to get the house festive and ready for the holidays.

As I finished lighting the tree lights and spreading the snow fake snow around the few decorations that say “Welcome Christmas” I took a deep sigh of relief that I stayed true to my decision to keep it simple this year.

It is my heart’s desire to bring that simplicity to the remainder of the holiday season and into the new year. My quiet time this morning appears to have God’s thumbprints all over that “resolution” as here are some excerpts from my morning “quiet time” readings:

From Pulling Weeds, Planting Seeds: Growing Character in Your Life and Family by Dennis Rainey

Spinning Plates and Broken People

Too many of us are like the man who used to come on the “Ed Sullivan Show” years ago and spin the plates. He would start at one end of a long table and place a stick perpendicular to the table then spin a plate on a stick. In consecutive order the plates would be placed on sticks and spun – two, three, four, five, six plates. On he would go . . . seven, eight, nine plates. By this time, plates two, three, and four were now beginning to wobble.

Similarly, the roles we assume in life…all represent different plates in our lives. We begin spinning them early in our married life, with plate number one being our marriage. Receiving our focused attention, the plate spins along merrily and does well. With the addition of plates number two (business life) and three (children), efforts to focus become more difficult. We keep adding plates until we finally step back from the table and see that two or three of the first plates are beginning to wobble badly.

We have to make choices. Decisions. Decisions based on priorities. Our family has needs, but we mistakenly choose to meet more material “needs” by applying our efforts primarily to our business.  The result: focus is lost, and important plates fall and shatter.

I am so thankful that I made the difficult decision to put away the plate of “counseling”. Not having this job has definitely taken away most all of our “disposable” income. However, “materialism is not what you have, but what has you”.

Dennis Rainey went on to say:

Being somewhat a selfish man myself, there is nothing I would love better than to have my dozen ego-stroking plates spinning in addition to my family plates.

 That’s what my counseling job had become. An ego-stroking plate.

Dennis Rainey goes on to state:

However, I am constantly directed by Jesus Christ to come to grips with my limits. I have been wrestled to the ground by Him on more than one occasion, and forced to answer the question, “How many plates can you keep spinning and still win? How much is enough?”

In their book Moments with You, Barbara and Dennis Rainey wrote a devotion for December 1st that nudged me into saying “enough is enough”. Here are is an excerpt:

I’m not suggesting that we all move into the woods and live off the land. But I am encouraging you to consider the benefits of pulling the throttle back just a notch and embrace a more contemplative lifestyle.

When you allow yourself time for creative solitude, you can see God at work and begin to rediscover life in all its richness. When you give yourself the necessary time and space to seek clarity, gain perspective and ponder decisions, you find more to savor, enjoy and appreciate.

As I reflect on these two different approaches to life – the rushed and the restful – I force myself to ask, How did Jesus live? Was He frantic or steady? Was He checking the sundial every few minutes wishing He could cut some time off His commute to the next city? Or was He able to stop and tend to the needs around Him?

During a recent photo field trip to the wildlife park, I found myself thinking about the decades that have gone by since I took the time to sit by a tree and indulge in “creative solitude”. It was that day in the park where I began to experience the thrill of a “contemplative life” and  I began to seriously consider “pulling the throttle back”. Allowing myself to explore the areas of my inner being that have been ignored due to the spinning of too many plates. Putting a stop to the wobbling of my family plates and providing a more stable spin to them.

Are you spinning too many plates? Are you feeling rushed instead of restful?

Here are two strategies that Dennis and Barbara Rainey suggest:

Find the one thing you can change in order to carve out more time to rest.

Ask the Lord to start you on a serious six-month quest toward a quieter heart.

Let simplicity begin with the holidays and by the time the new year begins it will be ingrained as a much treasured and fruitful habit.