After reading the first section of Simply Tuesday (pages 1-67), I feel like my soul just took a big gulp of fresh air.
Life has been full recently. Maybe more than full? Crammed might be a better word.
I didn’t realize how out-of-breath my soul felt. Squeezed. Pressed. Bordering on hyperventilating.
So I savored that fresh air. And I savored the words that spoke life into my heart and soul.
The words that challenged me to slow down. To embrace small. To let go of hurry.
I read a section on my Morning Motivation Show this morning that really challenged me. You can watch it here.
Of that entire section, this line was probably my favorite: “If the light of a Tuesday morning candle isn’t bright enough to light the room, a spotlight won’t be either.”
We tend to think the spotlight is where it’s at. That spotlights equal success.
But success comes in many shapes and forms. It might be serving your neighbor. Or putting a healthy meal on the table. Or rocking your baby. Or reading to a child. Or helping a co-worker. Or working in the garden. Or writing that blog post.
“When I want to climb the ladder, what if instead, I tore the ladder apart and used the wood to build a bench?“
Don’t chase after the spotlights and the success ladders. Invest in the work right in front of you. Invest in the people right next to you — in your home, in your child’s class, at your community center, at your church, at the office, on your block.
“But people don’t need fancy and flashy, they probably just want regular. They don’t need a fixer, they need a journeyer. They just need to sit on a bench with someone else so they know they’re not alone. I know this, because it’s what I need, too.”
This challenged me. Because I tend to want to be a fixer. I’m a person who loves to practically help. I like to trouble-shoot and problem-solve. But I’m learning that often people don’t need solutions; they just need a listening ear.
“What if we stopped asking God for big ways to serve Him and started walking with our friend Jesus into the next simple moment in front of us.”
Did you read the first section of Simply Tuesday? If so, I’d love to hear what sections impacted you or challenged you. Tomorrow, we’ll read section 2 (pages 67-116).
Hi Crystal! I’m listening along via audiobook and I was wondering if it would be possible for you to give a chapter marker or a quote or something that would mark the end of each section of reading? I’m enjoying these read-alongs!
Oh, good suggestion! Part 2 is chapters 4, 5, and 6.
Thanks! 🙂
Just ordered my copy! Thanks so much for sharing your books you are reading. Love it.
I am really loving this book. I’m only halfway thru the first part so far and I have highlighted so many parts already. I usually shy away from a lot of these self help-y type of books but I’m not even sure this would really fall into that category?
I was really impacted by so many things but here are a few of the most impactful thus far:
Pg 11: She talked about the benches not being expensive, impressive or flashy. The benches weren’t a complicated solution. She went on to talk about making things too complicated.
This really resonated with me. I make things to complicated all.the.time and I think that is a big hindrance to me experiencing many bench moments.
Pg: 6 how the metaphors Jesus used for the life of ministry are frequently images of the single, the small, and the quiet.. This is the part that really got me “which have effects far in excess of their appearance..”
It made me think of all the times someone has said or done something that to them may have seemed small but had such a huge impact on my life or heart, and I carry it with me as a rememberance of God’s faithfulness long after it’s been done and possibly forgotten by then….and it makes me wonder if I have unknowingly done the same for someone else but not realized it because I tend to think to myself that only grandiose things I do can really matter and therefore feel like what I do doesn’t matter since a lot of it is really small. This really impacted me.
And third: page 24: I too struggle with having faith in the face of big challenges but not it the everyday minutiae of the daily.
I am so so glad this is the book you’ve chosen to blog through. I am being blessed tremendously by it. I still have some to read in part 1 so I think I will definitely fall behind in keeping up with your posts this week as far as my reading speed goes but I am looking forward to continuing to read your thoughts on the book.
Yay! I am so, so grateful that you’re finding this book so helpful and encouraging!
Also, you may not realize it, but time and again, you’ve really, really encouraged me through your comments and emails. It might seem like a “small” thing to you, but it’s been a BIG thing to me!
Crystal- Would you please share the link for the free audio book on Youtube? I looked for it and could not find it. Thanks. Also, I was not sure which book you were referring to (Simply Tuesday or the Konimari book). [I’m sure it’s clear to everyone else but me; my brain doesn’t seem to be working right now b/c I am sleep-deprived]. LOL I am trying though. 🙂 LOL
If you search for “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up Audiobook” it pulls it up on YouTube. There are also a LOT of other videos of her speaking and KonMari tips, etc.
Thanks. I found it. 🙂
Crystal-I was discouraged when I saw how much your last book by Marie Kondo cost on Amazon & so I felt I could not buy & read it with you all (trying to be responsible & a good steward of God’s money), but then I saw today that it is being offered to download as an ebook FOR FREE! I almost didn’t notice it, but caught it right before I closed the page! I felt so excited! I feel grateful to God for this! 🙂 Now I don’t have to feel like I am missing out. 🙂
Even though I know that you are finished w/ that book and have moved onto a new one, I thought I’d share the link in case your readers are still interested in reading it. I encourage them to download it quickly before the price goes up where you’ll have to pay for it again! LOL 🙂 God bless. I hope this is a blessing to someone (minus the “weird/energy” -type stuff she writes about…as long as they discard/ignore that stuff…perhaps what is left after that might be helpful in organizing their drawer). 🙂
http://www.amazon.com/The-Life-Changing-Magic-Tidying-Decluttering-ebook/dp/B014ZB1N4Q/ref=pd_sim_351_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0E2DTM9X0GJRK3XQKBSZ&dpID=51oHN5XPs%252BL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_UX300_PJku-sticker-v3%2CTopRight%2C0%2C-44_AC_UL320_SR212%2C320_
By the way…I was so inspired that I spent ALL DAY TODAY reorganizing my bedroom dresser drawers. Honestly, years ago, I had already arranged all of my clothes so that they are all visual at once and color-coded, etc. but had did it in a different way (MY way): I had ROLLED them (NOT folded them)–kind of like you would for your suit case–b/c I believe I heard that the military ( & travelers) teach that it prevents wrinkling.
=Ahem= Well…from personal experience… I KNOW that is not true, b/c all of my clothes are wrinkled now. LOL [Maybe I’m doing it wrong? Or maybe it’s b/c they are so overpacked in there b/c I have so many]? LOL
But my color-coding was starting to get more random, so I had to restore them back to order again. 🙂 I did some other tweaking /improvements as well. I thought you’d be real proud of me. I know that I feel really proud of myself and my drawers right now. They look so much prettier now and it feels a little easier to open & close my drawers again. LOL 🙂 Be encouraged.
Thanks for the tip! I just downloaded the book for free, too!
You’re welcome! 🙂
Yay! Thanks so much for sharing! I shared this on my Periscope show this morning!
Also, you can listen to the audiobook on YouTube for free, too!
I’m so glad you are reading and reviewing this book. I preordered and read this book the week it came out. I have loved and followed Emily Freeman’s blog almost as long as I have loved and followed yours. Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from the section you’re reviewing:
“In my search for smallness, I’m finding the kingdom of God one inch above the ground.” Pg. 16
“I have a vision of people who embrace the significance of our small words, knowing that whether they’re spoken into microphones or near microwaves, they are all sacred when said in the power of the Spirit.” Pg. 17
So much soul breathing in this book! Highly recommended by me!
“…knowing that whether they’re spoken into microphones or near microwaves, they are all sacred…”
So, so good!
Wow! I love the line about taking the wood from the ladder to build a bench. Beautiful word picture for me to remember it isn’t always about getting somewhere as it is about enjoying who you are with.
Yes! Wasn’t that powerful??
Adding this to my list! I love that you are a reader too!
Wow! This sounds like a beautiful book-one that needs to be savored slowly. Such meaning and not just a rehashing of same-old same-old. I’ll be putting it on my wish list!
I purchased this book as soon as it was out so I’m glad to begin it and read it along with you! As I read the first section, one thing that challenged me was the quote by Oswald Chambers on page 39,
It is ingrained in us to do great things for God- but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people- and this is not learned in five minutes.
She weaves this quote as a theme into the chapter, quite well. Through out the chapter I am challenged to examine why I struggle with discontentment. Because I am looking for grandeur things, the mundane is meaningless when I feel like it is insignificant in God’s eyes. Simply Tuesday points out that this is not true. I am choosing to be content with the simple day and trust God to make it count.
Wasn’t that SUCH a great quote?? Thanks so much for sharing!
This quote really stuck out to me as well, for so many of the same reasons you mentioned!