Abundant Simplicity

“Once again writer Jan Johnson proves herself to be a wise, welcoming and eminently helpful guide as we follow Jesus day by day. Abundant Simplicity assists readers in taking a long, grace-imbued look into our deepest selves, discerning what within us is in keeping with our journey of faith, and then, by God's grace and spiritual discipline, discarding what is not. As Johnson demonstrates in theologically sound and practical ways, when we are winnowed toward holiness, what remains is, indeed, simple and abundant.”

Susan S. Phillips

“If life is what you want, you must free yourself from trivial entanglements. St. Francis of Assisi advised us to wear the world like a loose garment--one which touches us in few places and there lightly. Most people fail in their efforts to do so. Jan Johnson can help you. She combines profound insight into the concrete realities of a life lived in Christ's kingdom with specific directions on where and how to cut--to eliminate stuff that does not matter at all or matters very little. Do what she says. Deliverance is at hand.”

Dallas Willard

“Time and possessions, words and worries are the raw material that comprise daily life. They are also the places where students of Jesus often experience the 'simplicity gap'--the distance between their desire for simplicity and their experience of it. In Abundant Simplicity Jan Johnson wisely, gently and creatively demonstrates how that raw material of ordinary living can be transformed into extraordinary kingdom living through experiments and adventures in simplicity. This is a book of lived truth and uncommon yet simple wisdom.”

Howard Baker

“For our hurried and harried existence, both within and without the church, Jan Johnson proposes fruitful pathways leading to a simpler and less cluttered lifestyle. Abundant Simplicity offers guidelines that commend to readers life-giving simplicity through protocols such as economy of speech (clipping our tongues), loosening our grip on possessions (frugality) and creating margins in life (leisure). The more I read, the more engrossed, convicted and encouraged I became to pursue the abundant life for the glory of God and the good of others.”

Bruce Demarest

“In a world where abundant has come to mean prosperity and simplicity is often equated with scarcity, Jan Johnson proposes an alternative. She introduces us to a biblical lifestyle of fullness--full in ways that only God can fill. In our materialistic, over-scheduled, stress-filled world . . . we need to tame the monster called 'more.' Abundant Simplicity is a monster-tamer.”

Paul Borthwick

“Jan Johnson writes in a clear style that seeks to make spirituality--following God?s Spirit in daily life--more accessible to the reader. She challenges readers yet expresses sympathetic patience with the difficulty of practicing spiritual disciplines.”

Gordon Houser