Freedom of Simplicity (1981)

Follow-up to the very popular Celebration of Discipline by a well-regarded Quaker author from the pastoral branch of Friends. ( )

How to lead your life as a Christian in a simple, grateful, humble and conscious way.

Richard Foster has in a very humble way written his thoughts about how to lead your life as a christian in a simple, grateful, humble and conscious way. It´s about solidarity with those not so rich, it´s about taking care of our world and it´s about freeing ourselves from the demands of this world, about how to be content with what we have, about trusting in God and about finding peace through a simpler way of life without isolating yourself from the world. I liked it. It´s of course a bit provocative sometimes but it makes you think. ( )

boring ( )

Not quite as deep or as solid as Celebration of Discipline, but with some great gems of wisdom none the less. The book is copyrighted 1981 and there are some disappointingly out of date cultural and environmental references that distract a bit in a few places. However, there is some great practical advice on simplicity. The main thrust of the book is that in general "seek first the kingdom and His righteousness" leads to a simplicity of heart and of outward expression. There are a couple of short chapters with practical advice, but the spiritual advice to seek first the kingdom is by far the most impactful part. Definitely worth a read. Also has an excellent bibliography and pretty good annotations. I should probably take notes on the sources and read those as well! ( )