By Valder Beebe
With the success of Marie Kondo, a new Netflix documentary, and hundreds of blogs and YouTube videos on minimalism, it’s clear that it is more than just a trend. In a time of climate change and a pandemic, people are looking for new ways to live well and more meaningful lives, and minimalism is meeting that need.
In the Valder Beebe Show studio, Becca Ehrlich a Christian minimalist practices these principles daily: she and her husband got rid of 60% of their personal possessions, did a year-long shopping fast, and moved into a smaller home. She also took part in the reality show The Lost Resort, which is currently airing.
Consuming less may already be an environmental and personal priority, but Becca Ehrlich contends that minimalism can be much more. In her new book, Christian Minimalism: Simple Steps for Abundant Living, Becca Ehrlich explores the direct connection between minimalism and our faith journey.
Christian Minimalism cuts through our culture’s insistence about consumerism and challenges basic assumptions about our lifestyles, inviting us into a life free of physical, spiritual, and emotional clutter.
From prayer, to fellowship and stewardship, to self-care and the importance of Sabbath rest, Ehrlich offers personal stories and practical steps for ways we can all live a more abundant life. There’s also a 7 Day Christian Minimalism Reading Plan. Becca Ehrlich publicists provided text in conjunction with the Valder Beebe Show
VBS: Becca, welcome to the Valder Beebe Show. To assist my audience, define minimalism as you are seeing it.
BE: Most people when they think minimalism they think a room devoid of color with like one piece of furniture and that not it. Minimalism is a focus on the aspects of life that matter most and intentionally removing everything else. Basically it’s culling down your life to what’s most important and getting rid of those things that are keeping you [me] from focusing on those most important things.
VBS: The sub-title to your book is Simple Steps for Abundant Living. Let talk a little bit about why you understand this.
BE: I was actually watching a Netflix documentary on minimalism that completely change my life. I heard God was telling me to live a more minimalist lifestyle and connect it to my faith in Jesus. I wanted to connect the two. At the time, it was the end of 2017, not a lot of people were making this connection in-depth. I started writing about minimalism and I started living that way and doing minimalism experiments. I was listening for God and how he was guiding me on my journey.
VBS: How is minimalism connected to our faith journey? Because most people see minimalism is about things.
BE: Minimalism is about………
Becca Ehrlich complete interview…… SoundCloud.com/valderbeebeshow; more interviews: Broadcas- ting to a national & global audience: ValdeBeebeShow.com ; YouTube.com/ valderbeebeshow; SoundCloud.com/ kkvidfw; KKVI FM Radio; KRER FM; 411RadioNetwork; Streaming TV, Social Media, Print Publications IMESSENGERS, Texas Metro News, and Garland Journal News.
