Five Ideas for Simpler Living ? Julie Sunne

?Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.??Confucius

A few years back, my husband and I built a small getaway (think, barn with a finished second level) on some land only a few miles from our house.?To some, it may seem silly to build a place so near our home.

However, we desired a hangout where we could escape the endless demands on our time. A haven where I could get away from the never-ending tasks home requires. Where Dave could leave work behind. Where we could reconnect as a family.

When I?m at our ?barn,? much of my cares and worries fade into the background. There, life takes on a simpler cadence:

Periodic badminton games when the persistent winds rest. Watching Common Nighthawks zigzag after insects in the evening sky. Roasting marshmallows while staring dreamily into a nighttime campfire. Card games, family movies, star-gazing, hikes, gardening.

For a short while, I leave chaos behind.

Because let?s face it: life gets complicated?sometimes, through no fault of our own?it just happens.

However, we often encourage complexity.

For example, much of our technology has been invented to make our lives easier.Yet we let technology control us.

Through satellites, cell towers, and Internet we become accessible 24/7. Valuable face-to-face interactions are displaced by posts, tweets, and texts. Social media encourages us to be actively ?engaged? all our waking hours (and often our sleeping ones) .

Activities and ?busyness? are also large?contributors?to a chaotic existence.

I hate to admit it, but I fall right into the complexity craze.

Simplifying our lives involves ?paring down, removing the extraneous.?That?s what my family attempts to do when we head to our getaway. We leave much of our culture?s ?noise? behind.

But why relegate simplicity and the peace that accompanies it to a special place and certain times?

And so I?m creating a plan this year to bring a little simplicity to our home.

Interested in joining me? Here are some ideas for you to consider.

1. Be in the Word daily?running all decisions through a God-lens. It is impossible to go in the wrong direction when God is navigating.
2. Rearrange priorities based on God?s plan, not man?s. Extracurricular activities and social media shouldn?t displace attending church or spending time with family. Don?t forget to elevate your spouse to his or her rightful place.
3. Pare down and clean out. It is impossible to experience peace in the midst of clutter. Trust me, I?ve tried for years.
4. Manage ?daily life instead of letting it manage you. This includes creating a plan for social media, finances, and activities. Build some margin into your life.
5. Identify an ?escape? where you ?can breathe slowly and deeply. A stream, a corner of your garden, a favorite tree, or it may just be a nook in your home. It doesn?t matter where it is, just utilize it regularly.

We live in an age of extraordinary opportunities and technological advances. Yet, ?living a complicated life steals much of the joy found in each day. It obscures life?s little blessings.

Therefore, be intentional about living a simpler life. Your family will thank you.

?Why spend money on what is not bread,
????and your labor on what does not satisfy?? (Isaiah 55:2a)

Share in the Discussion: Have you found yourself overwhelmed with the demands and pace of daily living? What are some ways you?ve found helpful for simplifying life??

Counting gifts is a tremendous blessings. ?#949?969, check out my entire list of 1000 gifts (or more) here.?

• Family walk; Breathing space beginning tomorrow; Zach cracks me up!
• Helping Danny from long distance; Jesus Storybook Bible; Establishing a pattern to my days
• 2 dozen turkey traipsing thru our yard; Serving drinks to 200+ people; End of a difficult assignment
• Discharged from therapy; Opportunity to listen to a friend?s heart; Tuckin? in children?love it!
• Found more fresh peppermint leaves; A little more tech savvy every day; Firewood bundles
• So enjoy our beat-up old deck swing; A clean kitchen; Cat playing with a grasshopper
• Winning August Joy Basket from?AnnVoskamp; Skyping with Daniel (college son); Back at home church after few weeks absence

Due to Labor Day, Ann Voskamp?s 1000 gifts linkup will post Tuesday this week.

Know that I am blessed by your visits and value your comments.?I love to pray for you and hear your stories!?If you find my writings encouraging, please share them with others. It?s super easy, just click one of the buttons below. And if you haven?t yet, please consider subscribing to my site by email or?RSS feed. You?ll get each post delivered right to you.

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Source: http://juliesunne.com/2012/09/03/five-ideas-for-simpler-living/

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Romney campaign defends omission of war talk

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a victory rally, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, at Union Terminal in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a victory rally, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012, at Union Terminal in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Mitt Romney's campaign is defending the Republican presidential nominee's decision to make no mention of the politically unpopular 11-year-old war in Afghanistan in his speech last week at the GOP national convention.

Romney was the first Republican since 1952 to accept his party's nomination without mentioning war.

Senior campaign adviser Eric Fehrnstrom told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday the closely watched national speech was a "home run."

The address was an opportunity to introduce Romney to millions of voters concerned about the economy, Fehrnstrom said, and with it Romney "accomplished what he set out to do, which was to talk about his better vision for America with more jobs and increasing wages."

The U.S. plans to trim the number of troops in Afghanistan to 68,000 by October.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-09-02-Republicans-War/id-15cd1c288f7f43d99bd4f20b6dec9429

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How BMW reinvents the factory for older workers

The German car maker has adapted sections of its factories so it's easier for older employees to do their work.

By Isabelle de Pommereau,?Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor / September 2, 2012

Employee Josef Kronschnabel stands next to the new axle gearing production line in Dingolfing, southern Germany in this 2011 file photo.

Michaela Rehle/REUTERS/File

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As the gray metal chassis sweep along the conveyor belt, Matthias Gomille bends his body up and down, up and down, as he has methodically since 5 a.m. He carefully fastens parts to the steel skeletons that, by day's end, will transform into 1,500 new BMWs.

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The work would be physically demanding for anyone, even a young person, but Mr. Gomille is approaching 60. Yet he is able to surmount the rigors thanks in part to what is essentially an industrial body trainer ? a physiotherapist who has taught him how to stay limber on the line.

"She showed me how to stretch," says Gomille. "The physiotherapist says it's better to do a bit of exercise all day long."

The presence of physical trainers on the factory floor is one way BMW, the luxury German carmaker, is reinventing the assembly line to accommodate an aging workforce. From special ergonomic chairs to expansive exercise rooms, it is finding new ways to make senior workers comfortable while crafting some of the world's most coveted cars.

For BMW, it is all a matter of necessity. Like many industries in Western countries, the firm faces the challenge of trying to remain globally competitive with an experienced but graying workforce.

A maze of BMW plants, nestled at the foot of the Alps in this Bavarian village, is the region's biggest employer. Known for the quality and loyalty of its workforce, it has helped turn Lower Bavaria into one of Europe's wealthiest enclaves.

Yet by 2020, roughly half of BMW's 18,000 workers in Dingolfing will be over age 50, up from 25 percent today. Faced with a probable decline in productivity, BMW reacted in an unusual way.

"The managers went to the workers and said, 'We have a problem, but we have no idea how to solve it,' " says Fabian Sting of the Rotterdam School of Management, coauthor of "How BMW is Defusing the Demographic Time Bomb." "What they were driven by was the idea that we really want to keep our workforce."

In 2007 BMW managers singled out a line within its Dingolfing complex that manufactures gearboxes. The firm staffed it with 42 workers with an average age of 47 and invited laborers, representatives from work councils, and technical experts to brainstorm about how to redo the plant with people of all ages in mind.

One person suggested wooden floors, which are softer on the knees. Another said the company could learn a lesson from his barber, whose chair telescopes up and down to make tasks easier.

So BMW contacted the maker of the barber's chair. Soon the plant was equipped with adaptable seats. In all, BMW's "Today for Tomorrow" project led to 70 changes. They included laying new floors, outfitting workers with special shoes, installing easier-to-read computer screens, letting laborers sit instead of stand, and piping in more daylight.

Now, five years later, BMW has implemented similar ideas on most of its assembly lines in Germany and around the world. One of them is to have workers rotate jobs during a shift. No longer do they repeat one task all day.

"It's like waking up again," says Christine Schlauch, a newly hired engineer.

On the assembly line, posters remind workers about the importance of stretching and nutrition. A recreation area, equipped with mats and wall bars, offers an escape from the clatter of the line.

"It's still hard physical work, but we try to make it easier," says Ms. Schlauch.

BMW is trying to get workers to improve their lifestyle outside the factory, too. If "they go home, lie on the couch, turn the TV on, and drink one beer after the other, that won't help," says physiotherapist Joanna Wieschollek.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/O2XBko9umgY/How-BMW-reinvents-the-factory-for-older-workers

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Source: http://isocracy.occupyboise.org/activity/p/82191/

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67 Year Old Fitness Fan Comments on Senior Health and Fitness ...

I've just been reading a couple of articles about Calorie Restriction (CR). Many people believe, and claim, that following a low calorie diet, where as a healthy diet is reduced to as much as 30% below what would be considered optimum.

One article I have read before. It is "Calorie Restriction for Life Extension" by natural bodybuilding champion and fitness trainer, Tom Venuto. The other is "Low Calorie Diet May Not Extend Life" published two days ago at Discovery News.

In his article, Tom Venuto explores the idea behind, and the practice of, calorie restriction. After considering some of the research and conclusions behind the claims of living longer through calorie restriction, he then goes on to reach the conclusion that, while there might be "some" minor extension of life due to a long term practice of CR, there are possible negative factors which may more than offset the supposed benefits.

The proposed main benefit of calorie restriction, i.e. life extension, cannot be proven until researchers have been able to track entire lifetimes of several individuals...perhaps through several generations.

The 23 year long study by the National Institute on Aging, which is the basis for the Discovery News article, reaches essentially the same conclusions. In the NIA study, the participants, rhesus monkeys, while healthier, did not appear to live longer than the control group which was allowed a fairly unrestricted diet.

Both articles made three major points:

1. If there is actually some life extension because of calorie restriction, it will probably be minimal.

2. Such a diet, if done properly, i.e. with the right foods being included in the appropriate amounts, and probably with supplementation to fill in the blanks, will almost certainly contribute to better health in terms of less risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other health issues directly or indirectly linked to being overweight.

3. To actually get the maximum longevity benefits, a person would have to follow a CR eating program for their whole life.

For myself, I can eat well, enjoy my life, and be in good health without following a Calorie Restriction diet. I will also probably live nearly as long as I would on one without having to pass every day spending vast amounts of psychic energy, if you will in a quest for a few extra days of life.

Jay Phelan, a biologist at UCLA, puts it, "Yes, it will increase lifespan, but it will not increase it by 50% or 60%, it won?t increase it by 20% or 10%, it might increase it by 2%. So if you tell me that I have to do something horrible for every day of my life for a 2% benefit - for an extra year of life - I say no thanks.?

I'm with you, Jay. ====================

Source: http://fitness-after-40.blogspot.com/2012/08/calorie-restriction-question-of-life.html

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California lawmakers extend Hollywood tax credit

(From the AP) Lawmakers are sending Gov. Jerry Brown legislation that would extend a Hollywood tax break for two years in an effort to keep film and TV production in the state. The Senate on Friday passed AB2026 on a 32-2 vote, while both chambers approved companion legislation, SB1197.

The bills extend a $100 million-a-year tax break from 2015 until 2017.

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a budget package that established the tax credit in 2009 to help retain jobs during the recession.

Supporters said extending it would prevent production companies from fleeing to other states and Canada. Sen. Tony Strickland, a Thousand Oaks Republican, says California needs the extension to remain competitive.

The American Cancer Society opposed the bill, saying the credits should go only to tobacco-free movies.

Source: http://westranchbeacon.com/2012/09/california-lawmakers-extend-hollywood-tax-credit/

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Bruce Springsteen's 'Land of Hope and Dreams' Used in Baseball Playoffs Ad

Samir Hussein, Getty Images

A new trailer promoting TBS? upcoming coverage of the 2012 Major League Baseball postseason features Bruce Springsteen?s ?Land of Hope and Dreams.? The clip intersperses baseball highlights with footage of Springsteen and the E Street Band performing the song.

The ad is surprising for two reasons. First, Springsteen has long resisted having his music used in commercials Second, the song, which appears on Springsteen?s new ?Wrecking Ball? album, doesn?t have anything to do with baseball. However, it is carefully edited to only include lines that capture the excitement of the playoffs, like ?Dreams will not be thwarted / Faith will be rewarded.?

Tying it all together is a train, which travels across America bearing TBS? postseason logo, and footage of Springsteen, who will play baseball stadiums in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. within the next two weeks.

Throughout the spot, we see highlights from some of the game?s biggest names, including Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, Justin Verlander, as well as rising stars such as Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen. Two of the most impressive moments of the year, Matt Cain?s perfect game and Josh Hamilton?s four-home run performance, are also shown.

TBS? coverage of the Major League Baseball Postseason begins Oct. 5.

Next: Top Patriotic Songs

Watch Bruce Springsteen?s Baseball Commercial

Source: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/bruce-springsteen-land-of-hope-and-dreams-used-in-baseball-playoffs-ad/

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