Attractive Lifestyles

Forget "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous." I'm more interested in the lifestyles of the poor and unnoticed. These are keywords for some of the lifestyles that strike my fancy, or interest me long-term.

Simple--not necessarily poor, but not excessive. Maybe a lifestyle with no electricity? But what about laptops... I like my little Mac. Did you ever have Dr. Rhonda Galloway for an English class? I had her for American Lit. my freshman year at Bob Jones. She told me about her sister and brother-in-law who lived in a TENT in California for a year--with their family! Today they enjoy all the luxuries that come with modern civilization, like computers, but for a year they separated themselves from that. That's hot :). Ask her about it sometime.

Natural--Have you ever been to Whole Foods? The people gracing that store are so natural--they eat only organic foods. But they're pretty much all wealthy. The hippies at LEAF--so natural and beautiful. The girls don't shave, but you get used to it. It looks fine. My friend Hannah--whom I've talked about before--is working on an organic farm in Virginia this summer. She's such a natural girl. She doesn't wear makeup. She bakes her foods completely from scratch. Anyway, Hannah's my hero, along with her roommate Biz :).

Generous--My parents' pastor and his wife at their church in Norfolk would eat macaroni and cheese for dinner and give their savings to missionaries. Doesn't that almost make you want to cry? Wow--that's so giving and sacrificial. There's something good about that--why? I think it has to do with God's nature and example through Christ. Foot-washing, literally sacrificial, gracious. Feeding the hungry. People who tip well understand the importance of generosity.

Purposeful--missionaries fascinate me. They live for a cause greater than themselves. They understand the brevity of life--that "only what's done for Christ will last."

Thoughtful--I mean "thoughtful" both as in perceptive of others and reasoning and analyzing--I think of Francis and Edith Schaeffer as a thoughtful couple--in both senses. My mom is also one of the most thoughtful people in the world. She goes to the post office probably three times a week to send off little care packages, etc. I love good, thoughtful conversations.

Active--The opposite of sedentary. All people from Colorado. Have you ever seen an overweight Coloradoan? People who would rather rock climb than read the latest "People" magazine are active. My aunt Kate is so active. She's fifty-five and was known to go camping in NM with her golden retriever Okie-dokie, before Okie-dokie died. She's a hiker and a salsa dancer--always on the move. My sister Jessica and her husband Joel have saved up their money, quit their jobs, and are going to hike the Appalachian Trail for the next six months! That's pretty active and adventurous, don't you think?

Happy--My Aunt Tricia and Uncle Doug just laugh all the time, and make everyone around them happy. They enjoy life and each other. They're warm people--non-pretentious, transparent. Even through hard times, they seem to have joyful hearts.