Everyone loves a good kiss right? And what about a good acronym? Combine them and you have the K.I.S.S. The KISS principle has been around for a while now and you may have heard it stand for various phrases such as 'Keep It Simple, Stupid', 'Keep It Short & Sweet' and 'Keep It Simple & Straightforward'. But I like to adapt it to:
Keep It Simple, Sweetie!
I try to live by this motto as I find it helps me feel more at peace. I also like the phrase 'less is more'. So, as we were driving home from our two week holiday I looked around me and was quite shocked at the amount of 'stuff' we had managed to jam into our little Corolla. Although I was very impressed with my husband's car packing skills (perhaps those games of Tetris as a kid paid off), I was sure the amount we had at the beginning of our holiday had somehow doubled upon return.
I tried to reason with myself by saying, 'well, you do have a three month old now so you are going to need more stuff than you did when it was just the two of you', which made me feel a little better, but as we drove home I began to wonder if I had forgotten how to K.I.S.S? My husband assured me I hadn't forgotten how to kiss! Of course I was referring to my ability to 'Keep It Simple, Sweetie!'
Thoughts on the K.I.S.S principle
We are constantly being bombarded by the world to have more – being told that more is better, and if only we were to have this type of car, or a bigger house, or the latest in fashion, or 2.5 perfectly groomed children we would then be happy, content and somehow more fabulous.
While there's nothing wrong with wanting these things, sometimes I feel it's just all too easy to forget what is really important in life. And when I stop and think about what is important to me, I am left with a beautiful, simple and surprisingly short list.
In no particular order, it goes something like this: having a loving family, knowing Christ, living in a beautiful part of the world, being healthy, having enough food and clothing, a roof over my head and quality friendships. It's interesting to me that the latest gadget, more clothes and new earrings didn't make the cut. Even though at times I might think they are important, really they are not and when I think about Jesus walking this earth, I believe he too kept things very simple.
Encouraging scriptures on keeping it simple, sweetie
I have found the scriptures below encouraging and a good reminder to me when I start to feel the pull away from where my focus should be.
Romans 12 verse 2
'Don't copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect'.
1 Thessalonians 4 verse 11
'And make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, minding your own business...'
Matthew 6 verse 33
'Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously and he will give you everything you need.'
I love these scriptures and find them to be an excellent reminder for me. I believe God does not want us to live poorly, but rather to live richly in the things that really matter.
Jo Fuller is an early childhood teacher with degrees in journalism and education. She is currently kept busy by her baby, Isaac and lives in Brisbane with her husband.
Jo Fuller's archive of articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/jo-fuller.html