Simply Tuesday: Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World

I’ve been trying to write a beautifully articulate post about Simply Tuesday by Emily P. Freeman, but somehow it hasn’t worked. Maybe first because I’m trying to hard with too much pressure and we all know pressure only makes words stick instead of flow, but also maybe because trying so hard to be something or someone is pretty contradictory to the idea of the whole book. Emily invites us to small. To take the most ordinary day of the week and live fully there. To notice those small moments for what they are and linger in the ordinariness of it all. To be ourselves, by God’s grace, and not obsess over success.“Small is an invitation to participate in something greater than ourselves.” Simply Tuesday, p29I was reminded of Simply tuesday when we ran into some old friends recently. We hadn’t seen them for a few months so of course I passed around the question, “Anything new?” As we went around our table I realized that maybe we are past the point in our lives that calls for that question, that stage where everything is changing and the possibilities are endless. We’ve all slowly settled into responsibility and ordinary moments and maybe I need to change the question. Maybe instead of questioning sameness, I can find a new question that reflects the worth of dailiness and the ordinary.“I am thankful we have a God who sometimes chooses to tell his big story in small, delightful, quiet ways.” Simply Tuesday, p85It’s tempting to wish away where we are in favor of something else, but Emily invites to a quiet place in that tension. I think we humans are dreamers and we don’t know what to do with the small moments. We are taught to be ambitious, successful, and always on the move. We are afraid of small, and sitting, and quiet, and boredom, and ordinary. We are marketed solutions for these “problems” and taught to endlessly pursue our wants instead of lingering in our haves.And so our souls become disconnected and worn.“And this doesn’t mean I am to dream big and amazing things for God. Rather, it means I am to believe in a big and amazing God, period. I can trust him to be himself even as I dare to be myself.” p240The idea behind Simply Tuesday is like a pause button for your soul. The moment your heart says, “Wait..what??” and you realize your futility. Everything calms as you question that urge for more and aclimate to hearing words that foster contentment.“But Tuesday teaches me that part of living well in ordinary time is letting this day be good. Letting this day be a gift. Letting this day be filled with plenty.” Simply Tuesday, p235I’m sure my friends are in similar places, even though our work situations look vastly different (i.e SAHM vs paying jobs). We all strive for purpose and meaning, and we all want to make sure we are serving God well. And sometimes when big picture questions pop up, it’s easy to feel inadecuate. We minimize the threads of meaning woven in our day-to-day when our focus is on tangible change. I still don’t know what I’ll ask my friends instead of “Anything new?”, but I do want to find something that spurs a little more thoughtfulness and reflects the importance in our everyday. A question that invites us to sit instead of strive.A question that leaves our souls full instead of lacking.

I've enjoyed other books by this author. She has a way of thinking which is outside the box, turning worldly assumptions on their heads and showing that we often make problems where there shouldn't be any. I appreciate the sort of counsel which helps us celebrate where we are, instead of forever urging us to fix or change something. This book is all about embracing our smallness instead of deploring it by hungering for a bigger impact or reach.We are conditioned to associate the term 'smallness' with being ignored, humiliated or unrecognised. Instead, Emily Freeman invites us to regard smallness as a blessing. Have you ever heard anyone refer to, 'the gift of obscurity'? I have, and never really got their point until reading this book. But who needs the deadlines, expectations and performance burn-out which so often goes with what we think we crave?Will the fruit of the kingdom of God even look like success in the eyes of the world? Maybe not everyone is supposed to see much visible growth from our efforts in our lifetime. 'If you build it, they will come,' sounds like it might have been a sentiment from the Bible, but it isn't (ask the prophet Jeremiah). Freeman reminds us that the quote is, in fact, far more modern, from the movie, 'Field of Dreams.'I was offered a new ways to think about the concept of praying for answers. So often, I've longed for clarity and definite guidance as a result of prayer, and felt disappointment when I've remained as foggy and undecided as before. It gives me a 'so much for that' type of feeling, and doesn't tempt me to pray more. This book suggests that maybe we're not even supposed to figure everything out. What if knowing that God has the birds-eye view of our lives is all we need? Maybe our obsession with building our lives into something we can figure out is just tiring. Being content with the fog is definitely a new challenge for someone like me, who loves a measure of control to gauge how things are going.We are urged by the prophet Zechariah not to despise the day of small beginnings, and most of us assume an implication that a 'big ending' is on its way. That's not actually promised. Our endings may be small too, and we should be happy with that? Maybe being a 'blip' instead of a 'bang' is all part of the plan for an individual. But then the book challenges us further not to jump to the conclusion that what is considered small by the world is also considered small by heaven's measurement.I felt refreshed, as I'd hoped. The overall takeaway is that a citizen of an invisible kingdom can refuse to take our behaviour cues from the visible world around us, that says to 'build, grow, measure up and rush to keep up.' It's sad that we feel we need permission to settle down to keep the pace with our small callings, but that is what this book offers.As a bonus, I'm pleased to live in a part of the world where I can see the Milky Way clearly above me at night. So many big city dwellers in Emily Freeman's part of the world apparently can't.

I chose a 4-star rating because this book is 80% great, and Emily writes beautifully. Emily's friend Jesus is my friend too and wanted me to join in her celebrating the here-and-now.Chapter 14 (about small beginnings) is one of my highlights. There are lots of tweetable quotes if you like to share what you read on Twitter. I did struggle with the mention of trick-or-treat, so if you want to know would I read this book again, the answer would be most of it but I'd skip part 4.Thanks Emily for your writing. I'll now always associate you with Tuesdays.

It's not often a introduction in a book grabs your attention, not only did it but the book carried on. It would be wrong not to highly recommend it. It seems whilst so many are looking to the next big thing we miss the opportunity to make a difference by taking time for those little things that not only matter but can have life changing knock on effects. But if you read the book it is put a lot better than I could manage

Best book I have ever read! And I read alot. I love her blog, her life insight and pretty much everything about that woman. Why? Simply because she's able to put in words all what happens in my mind. She is truly gifted and things become clearer when I read what she writes. I am a ministry leader, wife and mother of 4. Simply Tuesday is the gift my soul needed. If you have reached a place where you feel like living in constant hurry, body and soul no matter what you try to slow down, this book may help you by enlightening some spiritual nuggets in a beautiful poetic style and by giving you much clarity and practical steps to finally "keep calm and know He is God".Thank you, Emily.Your French reader of 8 years.

Ich hatte mich vielleicht zu wenig informiert aber dem Klappentext hatte ich jetzt nicht entnommen, dass wirklich ständig Bibelverse zitiert werden. An sich schön gestaltet aber deshalb doch eher nichts für mich. Habe es zurück geschickt.

I'm quite certain I've never read any book that hits so close to home and so accurately describes what I'm sure goes through many of our minds. Such a wonderful read filled with countless encouraging messages. My favourite book to date.