Book Report: Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

As all of you devoted blog readers know, we are in the process of selling our house in Portland. We are not sure when and where our next stop will be, but Portland did not seem like the best choice as we do not have any family in the city (but friends as family...we miss you). Additionally, I have now developed a crush on a Portland author who wrote:

My friend Robyn recommended this book, but I got a little side tracked reading John Mark Comer's book Garden City first. There weren't any big aha moments for me in Garden City but I liked it, so I moved on to The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. He touches on some of my favorite topics - Sabbath and quiet times - while also overlaying some Biblical support for current trends of minimalism and mindfulness. Most of all, I found this book to be really validating.

I spend a lot of time thinking about stuff - specifically where my stuff is made, if the people who made the stuff were paid fairly, and if said stuff was produced with the environment in mind. It takes a lot of energy to find fair, sustainable stuff. My general strategy when I need something is I first try a second hand store. If I can't buy it used then I buy new preferably in-store. If I need to buy clothes I check my app - good on you (thanks Shannon for the tip!) - to see the ratings of the companies. Like I said, it's time consuming. But this book reminded me that it is worth it. A quote I wrote down is "1 in 6 people in the world work in the textile industry, 80% of them are women, and only 2% are paid fairly". The book is a call to action which results in more joy for all parties involved. 

Every birthday I pick a word that inspires me for the coming year. This year it was "Be". Originally I was thinking "Plan", but ha! no planning happening here during this forth wave. The idea behind "Be" is that I have always been working towards some big goal and right now is a time to just "be" as in what a Psalmist wrote in "be still and know that I am God." I'm also, provided kids are healthy and schools are open, in a position to have time to do some research instead of just buying in a frenzy. 

Speaking of stuff that brings us joy:

Our heat and hot water are out this weekend, but the single digit C (30s F) are no match for the sexy hotness sleeping bags.

Crosby has been bringing his big brother A-game - reading to the littles.

Cozy naps = resting his head on a cold metal monkey bar while riding over cobblestones...jokes

Blueberry Muffin Sous Chefs

Speaking of being helpful, I should probably assist Paul with Christmas prep. Stay cozy.