Richard Foster’s Guidelines for Simplicity

Posted by: Simple Living Works! on: January 11, 2014

• In: Others' resources | SLW! resource
• 2 Comments

Richard Foster’s Guidelines for Simplicity

1. Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status
2. Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you
3. Develop a habit of giving things away
4. Refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry
5. Learn to enjoy things without owning them
6. Develop a deeper appreciation for the creation
7. Look with a healthy skepticism at all “buy now, pay later” schemes
8. Obey Jesus’ instructions about plain, honest speech
9. Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others
10. Shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the kingdom of God

“May God give you – and me – the courage, the wisdom, the strength always to hold the kingdom of God as the number one priority of our lives. To do so, is to live in simplicity” –Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

Renovare is based on the teachings of Foster and the late Dallas Willard. Renovare produces the occasional podcast Simplicity: Spiritual Development. The hosts repeat Foster’s guidelines at the beginning of each podcast. The guidelines are quite practical. Renovare and the podcast focus more on spirituality than practical simpler living. I look forward to each episode. I subscribed through iTunes.

Foster has written several seminal simple living works, such as Celebration of Discipline (chapter 6) and Freedom of Simplicity. Foster’s guidelines supplement the Five Life Standards of Living More with Less.

A handy list of simplicity resources from the Quakers.

What’s Now

• Living More with Less UPDATED – Jan. 1 Podcast – Interview with the editor of the 30th Anniversary Edition of this seminal book for modern faith-based voluntary simplicity. MennoMedia BLOG about SLW! Podcast
• New Year, New Daily Inspiration: free Simpler Living Alternative Daily Calendar – Jan. 1 Blog
• 40th Anniversary: Non-Sentimental Journey We celebrated Alternatives’ 40 years of service in modest, curious ways, such as 2003: A Dome Odyssey. Reader Comment: (addressed to Pete, producer of most of Alternatives’ Iowa electronic resources): Watched the dome odyssey off of the Simple Living Works website. I laughed until I cried. That video is the funniest movie I’ve ever seen. You are so talented! — Elysha

What’s Coming

• Let’s Get Ready for a Simple, More Meaningful Lent & Easter – Jan. 15 SLW! Podcast
• Social Media Supplement to Simple Living 101: Tools for Activists Shy or Bold – Feb. 1 SLW! Podcast

What’s Happened

• Explaining Santa to My Granddaughter – Reader Comment: Great job! I laughed out loud. The story you told about talking to her about Santa was CLASSIC! –E.R.I., Flagstaff, AZ

What Others Are Doing

• Green Sector of Markets—Are They a Tipping Point in 2014? Resolution: I resolve to purchase in the green sectors of the economy in 2014 whenever I can. Jubilee-Economics.org
• Blinded by Progress: Breaking Out of the Illusion That Holds Us by Lee Van Ham of Jubilee Economics – TheCommonGoodPodcast.com
• Mark Rasmussen on Aldo Leopold’s Legacy: How Leopold’s Land Ethic challenges industrial ag’s overuse of water and soil – TheCommonGoodPodcast.com

More Resources

• Check out a few of these thought-provoking, timely resources that might meet your personal, family or congregational/group needs. They’re all FREE.
• Treasury of Celebrations*: Create Celebrations That Reflect Your Values and Don’t Cost the Earth – Jan.-April, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Day (Jan. 15), Chinese New Year  (Jan. 31) and St. Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) 
  
• 10 Tips for Simpler, More Meaningful Celebrations
• Alternatives’ Seasonal/Thematic Index

Podcast Reminder

You can access all SLW! podcast audio and the show notes either at SimpleLiving.startlogic.com/SLW-PODCAST or at SimpleLivingWorks.org (then click window #3). Listen through your computer, iPod, iPad, iPhone (or equivalent). SUBSCRIBE through iTunes, Stitcher.com or your favorite podcast service.

Access individual episodes: #1-3: Getting Acquainted | #4-5: Beyond a Consumer Lifestyle | #6-11: Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? | #12: Living More with Less UPDATED

Do your friends a favor. Share this blog and podcast.

Peace, Gerald “Jerry” Iversen, Chief SLW! Activist

Like SLW! on Facebook. | Follow us on Twitter. | Follow us on Pinterest.

We do not solicit or accept donations, nor do we sell anything. All our resources and services are free of charge. We’re an all-volunteer organization.

*Treasury of Celebrations: published by Northstone, a division of Wood Lake Publications, BC, Canada, best known for its Seasons of the Spirit curriculum.

Through social media, we extend the mission and resources of the non-profit organization Alternatives, 1973-2011. Simple Living Works! web site home page | Theme/Seasons Index

To learn more about SLW! – our MISSION, for example — please listen to our getting-acquainted episodes, especially #1 and 2. We produce a half-hour podcast twice a month, hopefully educational and inspiring for you, your family and your congregation or group. We blog several times a week.

Copyright: Creative Commons non-commercial attribution share-alike license.

Tags: 10 Tips for Simpler More Meaningful Celebrations, Aldo Leopold, Alternatives, Beyond a Consumer Lifestyle, Blinded by Progress, celebrate responsibly, Celebration of Discipline, challenge consumerism, Chinese New Year, faith, Freedom of Simplicity, Gerald Iversen, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, iPod, iTunes, Jubilee-Economics.org, lee van ham, live justly, Living More with Less, Mark Rasmussen, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, MP3, Other Seasons, podcast, Renovare, Richard Foster, simple living, Simplicity: Spiritual Development podcast, Spirit of Simplicity, St. Valentine's Day, TheCommonGoodPodcast.com, Treasury of Celebrations, voluntary simplicity, Whose Birthday Is It Anyway?, workshops, Worship Alternatives