Simple Living Works!

Simple Living Works! eNews

#63 — Dec., 2016

In This Issue:

• SLW! Podcast #82 —WHOSE Birthday? — Christmas Eve/Day //
  
• Submit to WHOSE Birthday? #28 // How to Produce Your Own Edition
• Our Simpler Living Weekly Daily Nudge // Easy-to-share for Dec.
• Relish These Responsible Celebrating QUOTES // ART //
• What Others Are Doing – So Much Help!
• More!

What’s NOW with SLW!

• SLW! Podcast #82 —WHOSE Birthday? annual Advent/Christmas resource for individuals, families, congregations [review/preview #80, #81, #83] // Text from legacy issue #20, featuring Shane Claiborne, Tony Campolo, John and Peter Marty and many others.
• Advent: Since Christmas is on a Sunday this year, Advent started as early as ever, Nov. 27.
• See article about “Whose Birthday?” in fall edition of the national publication for ELCA leaders, Seeds for the Parish, p. 7.
• Want to Contribute to WHOSE Birthday? #28 for 2016: An Advent and Christmas Resource for Families, Individuals and Churches. Submission Guidelines Whose Birthday? is for your personal inspiration, community education and sharing. This online-only edition is a work-in-progress. You can still submit ART or an ARTICLE. Although this resource is not available in print, you may make all the copies you choose. It is covered by Creative Commons non-commercial attribution share-alike license. Guidelines for a customized, DIY, electronic or paper edition drawn from articles and art of your choice.
• Alternatives’ Advent/Christmas/Epiphany Resource Index
• Our Daily Simpler Living Nudge
  • What Is The NUDGE? / How It Works / How to GET It – Subscribe by sending NUDGE to SimpleLivingWorks@yahoo.com. / How to SHARE It / More About Holidays
  • 2016
  • September: Non-conform Freely
  • October: Sustenance
  • November // Week 1: More Celebrating || Week 2: Preparations || Week 3: Unplug the Christmas Machine ||Week 4: Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?
  • December: Responsible Celebrating (Advent) Week 1: Ten Tips for a Simpler, More Meaningful Christmas, #1-6 || Week 2: 10 Tips, #7-8 || Week 3: 10 Tips, #9-10+ || Week 4: Christmas, Kwanzaa, Holy Innocents

• New SLW! Site Search Engine on Home Page Window #4
• Current activities of the Chief Activist
• SLW! Blog Index | SLW! Podcast Index
• SUBSCRIBE to SLW! Podcast for free through iTunes, Stitcher.com or your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to SLW! Blog. Click “+Follow” at lower right of blog post, enter a name and email address. Welcome!
• Simpler Living Alternative Daily Calendar – DEC.
• Check out a few of SLW! thought-provoking, timely resources that might meet your personal, family or congregational/group needs. They’re all FREE. Visit Seasonal/Thematic Resource Index

What’s Coming

• SLW! Podcast #83 —WHOSE Birthday? annual Advent/Christmas resource for individuals, families, congregations [preview #83] // Text from legacy issue #20, featuring Shane Claiborne, Tony Campolo, John and Peter Marty and many others.

What Others Are Doing – So Much Help!

I gladly pass along links from simple living bloggers, podcasters, coaches and others. Some faith-based, some not. You needn’t read them all. Choose FIVE links — including SLW! — to investigate.

• NEW – Advent Conspiracy: video, family guide and Advent calendar, Sunday School curriculum, Advent sermon outline // SLW! Podcast
• Becoming Minimalist (Joshua Becker)
  • Inspiring Simplicity Reads (12/3)
  • All the Things You Don’t Need for a Perfect Holiday (11/26)
  • Avoid Holiday Clutter. Build Homes for Orphans. (11/21)
  • Maybe Success Just Feels Like This (11/15)
• Center for a New American Dream: Kids Unbranded Action Kit
  • 4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying a Product
  • 10 Reasons to Host an Alternative Gift Fair: begin planning early.
  • Going Plastic-free, Faithfully
  • “So What Can I Get You for Your Wedding?” Two sets of dishware, two sets of camping gear, two toasters? If you don’t need more “stuff,” register to celebrate love and family instead.
  • How to Hook Kids into Civic Engagement. Looking for a way to get your kids more involved in the community? Here’s an easy place to start.
  • 7 Ways to Build Sane and Sustainable Money Habits. Help your kids stay on track managing their money by having a clear, values-based plan.
• The Common Good Podcast – Check out the new site.
  • Ep. 78: Susan Taylor of Just Money Advisors on Relating to Money in a Toxic Culture and Parenting Children About Money
  • Ep. 77: Lee Van Ham previews vol. 2 of his “Eden for the 21st Century” trilogy, entitled From Egos to Eden: Our Heroic Journey to Keep Earth Livable.
  • Ep. 76: Let’s Have an Ugly Food Thanksgiving
  • BONUS: 11 practical ways you can reduce food waste and save money
• Community Solutions: Founded in 1940, this non-profit organization advocates for small communities and the benefits of face-to-face relationships. Since 2003, the focus has been to provide resources for low-carbon living and to inspire collective, cooperative solutions in the face of peak energy and climate change.
• Creation Justice: CAPSULES – News and Opportunities for Christians Doing Creation Justice
• E-The Environmental Magazine
• Earth Mama (Joyce Rouse) – Website, Songbooks, YouTube videos; Whole Enchi-Mama on a USB Thumb drive, Standing on the Shoulders music video, sheet music offerings // SLW! Podcast
• Eco-Justice Ministries (Peter Sawtell) // Voluntary Simplicity archive // SLW! Podcast #18 // SLW! Podcast #66
  • Living in Hope (12/2)
  • Transitions, Fast and Slow (11/18)
  • Facing the Trump Years (11/11)
  • Accepting the Election Results (11/4)
• GodSpace (Christine Sine) // SLW! Podcast
• The Good Stuff—your dose of what’s working in the world from The Story of Stuff Project!
• Green Child eMagazine: Simplify for Happier, Calmer Kids
• The Homesteading Guide Daily: Exploring life off the grid.
• Jubilee Economics / Casa Jubileo (Lee Van Ham & Dan Swanson) – Back online! Check out the new site.
  • There’s a Better Way to Understand Isaiah than to Think He Predicted Jesus (11/27)
  • Standing with Standing Rock on Central Coast Calif. (11/23)
  • Did the 2016 Election Open an Opportunity for OneEarth Jubilee? (11/17)
  • The Light that Ecological Darkness Cannot Put Out (10/25)
  • Mexico Blog (English/Spanish): Chiapas Delegation
• A Living Earth Economy (David Korten – Yes! Magazine): How we can make peace with nature, realize the value of living wealth, and return to local, self-organized rule.
• Living Lightly (Susan Vogt on living more simply but abundantly): 365+ Days of Give-Aways – Finding good homes for no longer needed items rather than just putting them in the trash // SLW! Podcast // SLW! Podcast: Lent
  • Letting Go – of money, possessions, and status
  • Recycling – the usual and more
    These may pale in comparison with the major issue of our day – the presidential election – but sometimes we have to get on with life and keep working on the part of the world we can impact which is our own lives. If you haven’t read them already, following are some lessons I’ve learned about Letting Go and Recycling:
    • Time vs. Money Formula – Discerning how much is my time worth when pursuing a discount. See my formula. It may not be perfect but it’s a start.
    • 0 In – 2 Out: On Being Robbed – Thoughts on having stuff stolen rather than voluntarily giving it away
    • Giving Away Credit – Letting go of the urge to look important to others is a step in spiritual growth. It doesn’t come easily to me. What about you?
    • Recycling Plastics – Most of us probably recycle the usual stuff. This post includes that and goes on to the more difficult to recycle plastics. Do you have any experiences to add?
    • Recycling – The Multiplier Effect – How walking around the neighborhood led me to think bigger than just my personal recycling  practices. How to move from one to many.
    • Recycling – Pruning Paper – I know that paper is becoming obsolete as more and more information is going digital. but when should we let go of archived papers and paper memories like photos. Scanning stuff takes time. What’s worked for you?

    Susan’s upcoming blog post will continue the recycling theme by considering ways to “precycle” so there is less need to recycle.
• Live Simply (Third Way: Celeste Kennel-Shank)
• Lutheran Peace Fellowship: Simple Living Resources
• The Minimalists podcast (Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus). Getting us past the things so we can make room for life’s most important things — which actually aren’t things at all.
  • 035: Dayton
  • 034: Utah
  • 033: Criticism
  • NEW – Minimalism: A Documentary about the Important Things
  • The Art of Letting Go: The Minimalists TEDX Talk (July, 2016)
• Mustard Seed Associates (Andy Wade)
• New Changemakers: Join the Changemaking Celebration! (Tom Sine)
• NorthWest Earth Institute‘s latest discussion course ebook, Sustainability Works: Rethinking Business As Usual // Change Is Our Choice: Creating Climate Solutions // Voluntary Simplicity // SLW! Podcast
• The OneEarth Project (Lee Van Ham)
  • The Heroic Journey That Returns Alt-Right Extremist Thinking to the Margins (11/29)
  • The Haudenosaune People Impart a Saving Message (11/23)
  • Is Regaining the Power of the Eden Story Important for Today? (11/6)
  • Three minute film: Ecology and Economics—Colleagues, Not Rivals
  • Conversation about The OneEarth Project and Lee’s book,
    Blinded by Progress: Breaking Out of the Illusion That Holds Us
• The Pastoral Center/Gospel Living (Paul Canavese) // SLW! Podcast
  • Advent eResources, included Simply Advent by Paul, incorporating some SLW! resources.
  • Other Simple Living and Ecology resources
  • Simply Advent handouts, inserts for-a-simpler-more-faith-filled-advent-eresource.
  • CatholicCreationCare.com – General resources
  • CreationCareKids.com – Children’s resources
• PostConsumers: Find the Satisfaction of Enough / Full Article Library
  • Better Than Black Friday
  • Manufactured Trends: A Marketing Arsenal Weapon You Should Watch Out For
  • 25 Ways to Help Save the Ocean (Or At Least Stem the Tide)
  • Marketing 101 for the Postconsumer: understand how marketers are manipulating us, so we can make informed decisions about how we control our consumerism.
• Simple Enough (Bob Sitze) // SLW! Podcast
• Simple Living: the Good Life (Janet Luhrs)–Time, Finances, Home-Work, Health
• Simple Times (Debi Taylor-Hough): Saving Your Time, Money & Sanity
• Simplicity Collective – Let us be pioneers once more (Samuel Alexander)
• Simplicity Parenting (Kim John Payne): because it is a beautiful world
• Smart and Simple Matters podcast (Joel Zaslofsky of Value of Simple: Liberate Your Time, Money and Talent) // SLW! Podcast
  • Why and How to Run an Offers and Needs Market–Ep. 112
  • The Role of Slow in “No,” Letting Go, and Laziness (Brooke McAlary)–Ep. 111
  • Dear Mindless, Busy Consumer and Buyer of Fleeting Joy–Ep. 110
  • Rewilding, Sovereignty & the Heart of Domestication (Daniel Vitalis)–Ep. 109
• TransitionNetwork.org: Transition Towns–A movement of communities coming together to reimagine and rebuild our world
• TreeHugger: Finding a Greener Future
• For links to earlier entries, check the previous SLW! blog.
• Upcoming Alternate Celebrations: Sept.-Dec.

What’s Happened

• Post-Election Emergency/Disaster Preparedness and Survival Guide
• Interfaith Power & Light // Voter Reflection Guide // SLW! Podcast Ep.47 with IPL
• SLW! Podcast #79–Lee Van Ham previews vol. 2 of his “Eden for the 21st Century” trilogy, entitled From Egos to Eden: Our Heroic Journey to Keep Earth Livable.
• Previews of Simple Living Blogs, Podcasts and Sites // Collaborators & Champions
• Recent Responses to all SLW! media, including links
  

  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). Complete Episode Index. Listen through your computer, iPod, iPad, iPhone (or equivalent).

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

  *IMAGE: Spirit of Simplicity #3-A313

  For hard copies of Alternatives’ resources at nominal cost, contact ELCA Archives, 321 Bonnie Lane, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 // (847) 690-9410 // archives@elca.org

  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. Instead, we urge Alternative Giving. Give away at least 25% of what you spent last year on all celebrations – Christmas, birthdays, etc. — to local, national and international causes.

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

  *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 each week.