Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 
Psalms 37:4

Christian minimalism is about removing things/stuff from your life in order to serve God, and subsequently people. Part of developing that practice in our life is having the right desires. Reading Psalm 37 today I really couldn’t move past verse 4. I had to ask myself what I delighted in. Nice clothes? Money? My family? All of these things I put worth in (aka worship) aren’t necessarily bad, however, they are not the Lord and therefore shouldn’t be worshipped above him.

I catch myself doing this all the time. Instead of spending time in prayer I read a book about Greek art. Some would say “well you are expanding your knowledge”, though I think in all reality I am just avoiding spending time with God. My joy, my love, my delight should be for the Lord and his Word. I should seek first His kingdom and let Him handle the rest. Even in my now minimalist worldview I still get caught up in wanting new things or desiring the newest trend.

So how do you change your desires? Delight in the Lord. I love how the Lord gives you a command and then right away tells you what you will gain from it. His commands are not to just boss you around, they add value to your life (unlike that new car).

I wanted to share what Spurgeon thought of this verse, I hope you get as much out of it as I did. Truly a Spirit filled revelation.

Verse 4. There is an ascent in this third precept. He who was first bidden not to fret, was then commanded actively to trust, and now is told with holy desire to delight in God. Delight thyself also in the Lord. Make Jehovah the joy and rejoicing of thy spirit. Bad men delight in carnal objects; do not envy them if they are allowed to take their fill in such vain idols; look thou to thy better delight, and fill thyself to the full with thy more sublime portion. In a certain sense imitate the wicked; they delight in their portion—take care to delight in yours, and so far from envying you will pity them. There is no room for fretting if we remember that God is ours, but there is every incentive to sacred enjoyment of the most elevated and ecstatic kind. Every name, attribute, word, or deed of Jehovah, should be delightful to us, and in meditating thereon our soul should be as glad as is the epicure who feeds delicately with a profound relish for his dainties. And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. A pleasant duty is here rewarded with another pleasure. Men who delight in God desire or ask for nothing but what will please God; hence it is safe to give them carte blanche. Their will is subdued to God’s will, and now they may have what they will. Our innermost desires are here meant, not our casual wishes; there are many things which nature might desire which grace would never permit us to ask for; these deep, prayerful, askingdesires are those to which the promise is made.  Source

“Our innermost desires are here meant, not our casual wishes.” I love that phrase. Isn’t that what anyone seeking a minimalist lifestyle really wants? The great news is that it can be found not by cleaning out your garage but by seeking the God of the universe. Spend time with him this Sunday, the super bowl isn’t going to be that great anyway (Go Jets!…my team isn’t in it in case you don’t follow football)

God bless.

Found this pearl from a collection of old Puritan prayers.

Heavenly Father, if I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty, make my heart prize Thy love, know it, be constrained by it, though I be denied all blessings. It is Thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants, for by these trials I see my sins, and desire severance from them. Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations, if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil, and be delivered from it with gratitude to Thee, acknowledging this as the highest testimony of Thy love.

When thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul instead of sin He became more dear to me than sin had formerly been; His kindly rule replaced sin’s tyranny. Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued I must not only labour to overcome it, but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it, and He must become to me more than vile lust had been; that His sweetness, power, life may be there. Thus I must seek a grace from Him contrary to sin, but must not claim it apart from Himself.

When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me by showing me that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch, but in Christ I am reconciled and live; that in myself I find insufficiency and no rest, but in Christ there is satisfaction and peace; that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good, but in Christ I have ability to do all things. Though now I have His graces in part, I shall shortly have them perfectly in that state where Thou wilt show Thyself fully reconciled, and alone sufficient, efficient, loving me completely, with sin abolished. O Lord, hasten that day.

 
If there ever was a Christian minimalist prayer, this would be it.

God bless you guys, see you tomorrow.

First we build our habits, then our habits make us.
 Charles C. Noble

Well, we are well on our way into second month of the New Year. How are your New Year resolutions going? That bad huh?

I for one didn’t make any resolutions this year. Sure, there are things I want to do this year but I didn’t feel very resolute about them. I have done New Year resolutions for many years, and I always fall flat. Part of my quirky personality is the inability to finish things that I start. I have battled it most of my life but every so often I attain victory (Praise God) in things in my life I seek out to accomplish.

For instance, 3 years into college I decided to move to a new city with my beautiful wife. This meant leaving the college I was at and not attending college the coming fall. This really scared me, but eventually thanks to some inspiration from the employer I was working for (yes, that can happen) I finished my management degree from Linfield College 2 years later. I set out to do something and finished it.

However, it wasn’t just my employer that helped me go out and finish my degree. You see it took me creating and building habits to give me the confidence and ability to accomplish my larger goals. I guess you could say that by building up single habits I was able to create the set of habits I needed to finish my degree.

I started by finishing all the books I had on my nightstand…

I buy books, lots of books, if I have one consumer addiction it is books. Books of all sorts, just looking up at my book shelf in my office I see a book on Greek thought, a collection of American short stories, a history of the Zoroastians, and even a signed copy of End the Fed by Dr. Ron Paul (though he did spell my last name wrong, Coombs…sheesh). The problem with books is that I tend to buy them and then never get around to reading them. My habit, if you will, was to buy a book before I had finished reading the books I already had. It was a sign of procrastination and laziness. So I started to read, and never went to Barnes & Noble again.

Building that habit of reading eventually would help me out when I went to finish my college degree. I also learned how to finish something that I started while delaying the gratification of buying a new book. Just a small simple habit had huge consequences on my life. Do you see how powerful that is?

On December 31st 2011 I started a new habit that I had always struggled with. It might even gross you out but I think this habit has far reaching implications on my health. I started brushing & flossing every single night. Now I will tell you that I had no problems brushing every day, but flossing…well that was a different story. Admit it though…most of you are licking your teeth right now thinking to your self “when was the last time I flossed?” I have only missed 2 nights since the start of the year. Both of those nights I was so tired that as soon as I came into my room I fell asleep in midair and fell onto my bed. Well, that might be an exaggeration. What was encouraging was that in the morning because I had drilled this new habit into my head, brushing and flossing were the first things I did. Within just a couple weeks my teeth/gums were much healthier and I am happy to say that when I went to the dentist for my 6 month cleaning the hygienist was very impressed.

So what has this habit done for me so far? Well it has ingrained a healthy action into my daily routine that will save me money (cavities) and hopefully prevent me from having to have dentures in my older age. I think that is pretty awesome don’t you? What else has it done? It has made me aware of my horrible eating habits as of late. When you are flossing every night you notice how much plaque you have built up in just one day of eating. I really notice if I eat a ton of crappy food that plaque content is significantly higher (grossed out yet?), this has a direct effect on how I eat now.

I started the Paleo diet last year and lost 20lbs the first month. I felt great and things were fantastic, then I let myself cheat, I broke the habit I had built. The last 4 months or so have been a mix of Paleo, Gluten Free, and downright horrible eating. Even today I caught myself eating a store bought frozen burrito with a Dr. Pepper. I am aware of it, and even afterwards I told myself this habit has to stop. I took time to analyze my eating habits, why am I craving carbs and sugar? After some research, it might be due to the fact that I am not eating breakfast. Well not might…it is. When I was first on the Paleo diet I ate a breakfast of eggs and spinach almost every morning. I would feel full and happy sometimes all the way through lunch. Now around 10am I feel horribly hungry I binge on carbs and sugar and then I’m hungry again in the early afternoon. The habit of not eating breakfast has the negative consequence of making me crave the wrong foods.

Are you starting to see how important building healthy habits are in our lives? They don’t all have to be about health of course. What about building a habit of cleaning up any clutter you see right when you see it? Or maybe you start introducing yourself to three new people at church every Sunday? Building healthy habits, even small ones, can drastically change your life.

Here is a list of small habits I have build in the last 30 days:

• Brush & Floss every night
• Read my bible every day (Using the Kingdom Reading Plan)
• Reading 2 Chapters of the current book I am reading every day
• Writing every day for the newsletter (3 days in, 100%!)

These four habits are going to have a huge effect on my life in the next month or so. Flossing makes me aware of my overall health. Reading the bible every day helps me to think the thoughts of God and act according to his will more easily. Reading 2 chapters of a book helps me get through my stack of books very efficiently and expands my knowledge base. Oh, and writing every day helps me improve my writing and keep my promise to deliver content to this newsletter group every single day. I can only image where these habits I have built will take me in the next few months.

Tips for building habits:

• Start small (brushing and flossing every night)
• Remind yourself (put a calender event in your phone and set an alarm for it)
• Give yourself second chances (if you screw up just make sure you don’t the next day)
• Think about different ways the habit will benefit your life (flossing leads to healthy eating)

I hope you gained some useful information from today’s article. I have been studying habit building for around 5 years now and I know I can learn even more. Just remember that the habits you build today will help make you who you are tomorrow (for better or worse). If you want to be fit, healthy or smart tomorrow…then you have to build habits that will get you there today.

P.S.
I have a copy of the book “The Paleo Diet” by Dr. Loren Cordain that I want to give away. If you are interested in the Paleo diet and would like a chance to get a free copy, just retweet this article or post it on your facebook/google+ and let me know. If it is on twitter use the hashtag #combsy, if you post it on facebook or google+ then send me a screen shot via email to mike@combsy.com, I will do a random drawing for it this Sunday (02/05/2012)

God bless you guys, see you tomorrow.

That right there is an x-ray of my 2 year old son Bennett. That big white disc is a Oregon quarter from 2005, I am that specific because the doctors and nurses in the ER last night made bets as to what state the quarter was from. No one guessed correctly.

Yesterday for work I drove to Brookings, Oregon from Medford, a 2-3 hour drive depending on the weather. It was a beautiful day and I had a great time working with the staff over there. Things were pretty quiet until I walked into my house around 6pm. “Bennett swallowed a quarter and has been throwing up every 10 minutes since then” said my wife. These aren’t words you ever really want to hear. I would have rather heard “Bennett swallowed a quarter…but he seems to be fine”. To top it off he was extremely lethargic and barely staying awake. A quick call to the on-call nurse for our pediatrician confirmed it…we were going to the ER.

This news kind of freaked out my wife and I. For one thing, we had never been to the ER. Praise God, in 5 years of having children (we have a 5 year old daughter as well) we had yet to have a situation that required the ER. Secondly, Bennett is always hyper and he wasn’t being hyper. That fact alone scared me. The whole drive to the hospital was filled with silent prayers in my head.

We got to the ER, a relatively quiet night actually, and got put in a room right away. A few nurses came in, then the doctor, and then…well then a whole bunch of waiting. Here my son is puking every 10 minutes and crying in between falling asleep and they had us waiting. Part of me wanted to grab the doc by the collar and make him fix it, but I have been around medical offices enough (my mom is a medical assistant) to know that things take time.

Finally we go the news that we were going to get x-rays. So we wheeled Bennett into the X-ray room, took off his shirt, and I held my scared little boy up against a sinister looking camera as they looked for the 25 cent piece. They found obviously, but it wasn’t what we wanted to see. I wanted to see the thing in his stomach; they said if it was there we could go home. It wasn’t, so of course we didn’t get to go home, and we got to wait longer.

The doctor came in, great guy by the way, and told us what they were going to do. Put him to sleep and yank it out in the OR. Wow, things got real very quickly. I knew they would take good care of him but the thought of putting my boy to sleep kind of freaked me out. Too many stories of people not waking up because of too much sleepy time juice were in my head to make this news any easier.

Then came the IV, wow, I never new my child could scream that loud. I am pretty sure he has some kind of super power. It was a hard thing to go through but eventually the nurses found a vein and got it set up. I would never wish any of you to go through that, it seriously is a test for any parent. The bad part was over though and we would get to go to the OR right? Well…

Then we got to, you guessed it, wait some more. In the mean time I finally got the guts to do what I should have done, pray with my wife for our child. Of course we were keeping friends and family abreast of the situation and they were praying for us, but I hadn’t taken up the responsibility of being a dad in bad situations yet. I asked Bennett if he would like to pray, he said no…Jessica said YES! So we prayed for a peace to come over us and for the skills of the Doctors that would be working on him. Within a few minutes he was fast asleep which made the hand off to the doctors in the OR perfect, no screaming baby for us!

Within about 15 minutes our baby boy was in the recovery room, quarter free, and we got to go see him. He was sawing logs with the best of them but he was out of danger. It was our first real test as a married couple with kids. I think we did pretty well, but I wish I would have stepped up sooner into my role as a father. I let emotions and fear take over and didn’t remind myself that God works all things together for good, for those who are called to his purpose. No matter what the outcome of our little visit to the ER I needed to trust that God was in control and knew what he was doing.

Sometime things go wrong. This is an imperfect world and bad things happen to good people. But, we as the body of Christ can trust that God knows what he doing and has an amazing plan for us.

Its a good reminder also to get rid of anything in our lives that prevents us from doing that. Whether its stuff, bad relationships, or worthless activities. Our God cares for us and wants us to live amazing lives in Him. Amen? Amen.

Let me know what you think on Twitter or Google+ 

We just finished going through the book of Esphesians at the church that I go to. For the last month of Wednesday nights we have dove deep into the great wisdom of this book and it seems like everytime I read it I get a little more out of it. That is why I was excited to write a devotional based on one of my favorite verses. In the Book of Ephesians 2:10 we see that God, in his infinite wisdom, set aside good works for us to do before we were even created.

Doesn’t that blow your mind?

The idea that he knew enough detail about our lives that he could set up good works for us to further the cause of the kingdom is something I still can’t get my head around. I mean, I have enough trouble scheduling out my week let alone creating a bunch of good works for my kids to do in the future. I guess I could forgo painting my house and have the kids paint it when they are older instead…but even that pales into comparison of what God did for us.

What is blocking your walk?

The part of that verse that keeps hitting me is “that we should walk in them”. I had to ask myself if I was doing what the word said I should be doing, walking in the good works prepared beforehand for me to do. Sure I do some “good works” every once in a while but am I really doing the things God set up for me? If not, what is stopping me from doing those things?

Reflecting on blocks

Many things could be blocking me from walking the way I should. They could be spiritual things such as a lack of prayer or not relying on the Spirit. They could also be physical things like debt, clutter, or too many responsibilities. The list could go on and on, but we need to focus on what is truly blocking our path so that we can mature in our faith. Minimalism used in the Christian walk sometimes means cutting out things or habits in our lives that block the path that God created us to walk on.

How many times do you find yourself wanting to give to a worthy cause or ministry only to have the nagging voice of the enemy say “Too bad you are in so much debt, would have been a blessing to help. What a failure.” This happens to me all the time, and I am tired of it. Whether it is debt or a house full of clutter that keeps your from spending time teaching your family about the amazing God you serve as Christians we need to recognize the blocks in our path and then do something about them.

Moving mountains

The great thing about our God is that he sent a power to help us move blocks, even mountains, out of our way with just a little faith. Rely on the Holy Spirit to unblock the path God gave you, ask him for help in prayer, read about other saints in the word who were helped by God in their time of need. Encourage your self by talking to other believers who have gone through simliar situations and then do the same for someone else.

So what is stopping you from doing the good works God has set up for you?

Let me know on Twitter or Google+ 

What will you see on this newsletter?

1. A daily devotional, simple Christian living will be the topic
2. Occasional videos
3. Opportunities to support me in different projects
4. Featured giving opportunities
5. Book giveaways
6. Occasional guest writings
7. Information on other newsletters that focus on specific topics.

I hope you join me on this new endeavor. I think we all are going to get a lot out of it. Sign up soon so you don’t miss a thing!

It is better to wear out than to rust out – Bishop Richard Cumberland

 - an excerpt from Manvotionals ” Timeless Wisdom and Advice on Living the 7 Manly Virtues” by Brett and Kate McKay

*Yes, I will get paid a very small portion of the book sale if you by it from Amazon*

Just a side note, I have been really enjoying this book. I just pick it up in the morning after my devotional and read the next selection. Even if you aren’t a man you should really check this book out. Take your time reading through it, it is meant to be eaten slowly, pardon the cliche analogy.

God bless

When a man of advancing years tells you something is true, either believe him, or nod politely

- Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: Pantheon by John Jackson Miller

If you aren’t willing to sacrifice your comfort, you don’t have what it takes.

- The Flinch by Julien Smith

That is true for many different things. Comfort, the enemy of all things great.