Regarding My Clothes Line

Someone asked me specifically about what kind of clothes line I am using. Mine is what I would describe as an umbrella style line. It stands on a single pole and opens like an umbrella and has 30 parallel lines along it, so you can hang an immense amount of laundry in a small space. The whole thing stands in a plastic sleeve place in the ground, so you can lift it out, fold it up and stowed if need be. I placed it and a similar line like it in the Practical Disciple Resource Center for those interested in seeing what I use or purchasing one. When you enter the resource center click on the "Other Resources" link. I also got a cloth bag that hangs from the line to hold clothes pens. Very handy. Of course you can always just string a line, but I really love being able to hang a couple of loads in one small space. I also take some clothes and hang them on hangers on the support poles on the end which is extremely convenient. Once again--love it, am saving energy using it and experiencing all the other benefits noted in my previous post. Hope you will give it a try.

Happy Laundry Days to you from the Practical Disciple

Back to Basics--my solar and wind powered dryer

I recently read "Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action" by J. Matthew Seeth. Seeth has practical wisdom regarding stewardship of resources. I found myself both challenged and informed about taking some steps to reduce. One thing that stood out in my mind was the irony inherit in our desire to limit labor in our lives. We pursue labor saving devices to the point that we become sedentary and unhealthy. Then we have to build physical activity into our lives like running or going to the gym. We have to work more to earn the money to pay for the labor saving devices and gym memberships. Only to find ourselves then lacking time. Way an insane cycles.

In response I have made a couple simple steps. First, I went through and eliminated nearly all our incandescent bulbs and replaced them with energy efficient compact flourescent bulbs. More significantly, I installed a solar and wind powered clothes dryer commonly known as a clothes line. I am finding that I absolutely love the clothes line. As I am out hanging clothes, I frequently pray. I find myself slowing down externally and internally. It brings a certain does of peace to me.

My clothes line is also reacclimating my awareness to other rhythms of life. I look, listen, feel and sense what's happening in nature during the time I am out there. I am monitoring birds, sun, breezes and other natural activity. I find myself more sharply attuned to nuances in the weather, lest my laundry get a second rinse cycle. My little laundry line has become a tiny window back into the world that I tend to rush by. Lastly, there isn't a fragrance ball or fabric softener that can even come close to the chemical free fresh scent of line dried clothing. I can't encourage someone enough to install one. All these little blessings and I am saving energy at the same time. Who would of thought?

Lastly, my current recommended resource is Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action by J. Michael Seeth. It is available in the Practical Disciple Resource Center. Or go green and buy the Kindle version from the resource center. Unfamiliar with an Amazon Kindle, check it out as well in the resource center.

Blessings from the Practical Disciple

Limiting Distractions--clutter

So much of hearing God's voice is just slowing down which for most of us involves simplifying our lives. One way to isolate God's voice is just to limit the many other voices speaking to us. Two years ago during Lent I decided that I want to work on simplicity. I did so by ruthlessly attacking clutter and excess in my life. Specifically, I set aside 40 grocery sacks in my closet and every day for 40 days, I filled and got rid of a sack. Many sacks went to the thrift shop in our church, some went to people I knew, and a surprising number were just trash.

I learned a host of discipleship lessons during this discipline. One of the most profound was that everything we own, owns a little bit of us. Each item is calling to us in some way--"Keep me, store me, use me, clean me, etc." Perhaps, that's why Jesus told the disciples to bring so little with them on missionary journeys. Every item you have can be a demanding distraction. So, one simple way to begin to clear the air to hear God's voice is to simply purge junk in your life.

I encourage you to reflect on just how often you find yourself pondering what you need to do with stuff in your life. How much time and space in your life is consumed by stuff? How and what could you realistically eliminate? Blessings from The Practical Disciple