about me…

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

          Jesus (Matthew 5.7)

simply, Christian is about choosing to live simply in midst of busyness in order to free our time, resources, and desires that we might focus on what is truly important and simply live.

 

It is about the intersection of simple living and the Christian life.

It is about taking seriously Jesus’ world-changing, life-redeeming good news to address not only people’s spiritual condition but also their physical condition.  It is about daring ourselves to address the most pressing calamities that face humanity today in order to bring real, lasting transformation to others’ lives.  It is about making small changes in our daily activities that we might bring large changes to others, especially those…

  • who are orphans
  • who are affected by disease, especially HIV/AIDS and malaria
  • who lack clean water
  • who have not been shown mercy

It is about challenging one another to live simply, Christian.

My name is T.C. Judd, and these are my thoughts.  Of late, my life has been dramatically impacted in two completely different ways by two completely different writers.  With respect to simplicity, Leo Babauta of Zen Habits and Courtney Carver of Be More with Less have helped me to see the clutter and chaos that fills much of life and has challenged me to simplify.  With respect to living the whole of the Christian life, Richard Stearns, in The Hole in Our Gospel, brought to my attention the immensity of the social crises facing our world today and challenged me to make a difference.  Over time, I realized that the two blended well together–truly living a simple life (not a minimalist one by any means, in my case) as a vehicle for truly living a Christian life.

So that, in a nutshell,  is what it is to live simply, Christian.

If you want to read more, look at my own story and see if you find yourself a kindred spirit.  Please also subscribe for email updates; support simply, Christian directly; and/or look at some of the incredible books I recommend.

Want to dialogue more?  Follow simply, Christian on Twitter (@simplyxian).

  • liparulo

    Hi, T.C. Just wanted to thank you for the kind review of House of Dark Shadows. Does your daughter have the second book in the series? If not, I’d love to send her an inscribed one. You can write me at Robert@Liparulo.com. Take care!

  • http://jeffskuwaitjournal.wordpress.com jeffskuwaitjournal

    TC, I’m a fellow blogger on WordPress. I’m also interested in Lutheran theology, but I went the other way: I was raised Lutheran and have been a member of evangelical churches since college. However, I still retain a great respect for Lutheran theology, but also for Reformed theology. I’d like to correspond with you about your pilgrimage and its different turning points. If you are interested, you can write to me at dadkvis@gmail.com.

  • http://www.facebook.com/rodneybowen66 Rodney Bowen

    Good afternoon,

    Having just recently discovered your “Seal of God” on your website, I wanted to touch base to invite you to consider a review opportunity for the new non-fiction book titled, Embracing Obscurity from B&H Publishing.

    I am working alongside B&H to identify a select number of faith-based bloggers to join the review team for this book. Your writing style seems to be a perfect fit.

    Please review the following information for Embracing Obscurity and let me know by this Thursday (8/23/2012) whether you are interested in reviewing this unique book on your website as well.

    Sincerely,
    Rodney Bowen
    rbowen@agroup.com
    =========================
    Click to watch the Embracing Obscurity Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC7Iyw6fk2k

    Unimportance: Surprisingly Good for the Soul

    It’s not self-confidence that humans lack, it’s that we have too much self-importance, says an author who , by virtue of that, has chosen to remain anonymous. Or Anonymous.

    “We have such a high opinion of ourselves that to live and die unnoticed seems a grave injustice. Yet, has God called us to be anything else?” The very challenge, the very calling, is in fact to embrace obscurity. “When we accept that our value is not dependent on what we do or accomplish, we are – ironically – liberated to do much for Christ.”

    Finding that ability – to think little of ourselves – is the topic of the eye-opening book Embracing Obscurity: Becoming Nothing in Light of God’s Everything (B&H Publishing Group, 978-1-4336-7781-6). Arguably so counter to the desire of humans to “make a mark” on the world, Anonymous argues for the exact opposite, an about face that means rejecting the world’s views of significance.

    “One of the greatest ironies of all time is that when we give up the hope of earthly fame and fortune, and instead embrace the obscurity of a life given in service to Christ, we are immediately touched with immortality and assured of eternal glory. By Christ’s own decree, we should be no more defined by the world than He is. Ours should be a different embrace.”

    Embracing Obscurity is a call to action to recalibrate the strangling embrace of the world to God’s standards for God’s glory. Too frightening to put away definitions of achievement, success, and reward and replace them with new ones? The alternative is to allow our intoxication with the world draw us away from our Maker and His mission – an epidemic so common most of us do not even know we are under the influence, says the author.

    Those radical enough to embrace obscurity will journey far from the spotlight, towards sacrifice, humility, significance in the Spirit, servant hood, and the mystery of Christ’s becoming nothing to glorify the Father (Phil. 2:5-11).