Pope Francis' Simplicity and His Easter Message 2013: I Love This New Pope, and I'm Not Catholic

I'm not Catholic, but as a Christian I loved the Easter message given by the new Pope, Pope Francis, yesterday from the Vatican.  Read the complete text online, here is a brief excerpt:

... So this is the invitation which I address to everyone: Let us accept the grace of Christ's Resurrection! Let us be renewed by God's mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish. 

And so we ask the risen Jesus, who turns death into life, to change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace. Yes, Christ is our peace, and through him we implore peace for all the world.

I hope that I'm not insulting any Catholics out there, as I share my impression as a Protestant that this new Pope sure is inspiring to me.  I like that he's appreciative of living a simple life, though I understand this is causing some controversy among traditionalists in the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis may be making waves by foregoing things like wearing the ermine lined cape as he debuted as the man chosen to serve as the next Pope.  However, I have found there is a spiritual aspect to living a simple life, and I cannot help but smile as I read more and more about Pope Francis apparently sharing this appreciation.

And I share his prayer -- that we all be renewed by God's mercy, that we may all accept the love of Jesus, and all that Pope Francis spoke about on Easter 2013.

God bless you, Dear Reader.  And God bless Pope Francis, love him!!!

Who Am I?

Hello, Dear Reader!  So, who the heck is writing this blog?  Well, my name is Reba Kennedy, I'm an official Baby Boomer who's over 50 and under 60 and that's enough about that.  Ahem.  I live a happy life here in San Antonio, Texas, with two great shelter rescue pups in a cute little cottage about ten miles north of the Alamo.

I began living a life of voluntary simplicity several years ago, as part of my Second Life career change from a twenty-plus year AV-rated lawyer to a professional writer. I started this blog in January 2006 in part because I needed to keep track of things I found on the web about this lifestyle in all its facets (food, money, health, fun, etc.).  (There was no Evernote then!)

I also started this blog because I wanted to share what I was learning with others - like you,  Dear Reader.  To share, yes, but truth be told, hopefully also to support those who are finding new ways to live simply.  Many are changing their ways because they've chosen a voluntary simplicity lifestyle for themselves.  However, as we all know, in these past several years lots of folks are living on less because it's forced upon them.

ROKU Review: Cutting Cable for Better Stuff at Cheaper Prices - I Love Streaming TV and You May, Too

Roku offers several options.

I cut cable on November 9, 2012 - this was such a big deal for me that I wrote the date on a stickie and stuck it on my monitor, so I'd remember the date.  Sure I was scared to see the cable box leave; of course I was worried I had made a mistake.

Lemme tell you: I have never looked back.

No, I didn't stop watching television - in fact, I'm watching TV about the same amount of time that I was before.  However, things are different now.

Big Money Saver

First things first: I'm saving around $100/month by opting for streaming TV via my ROKU HD instead of paying for TimeWarner cable (I had the account that was one above the basic service -- the one where you got TBN but no HBO or Showtime).  Start up costs here: around $50.00 for the ROKU device (I got it online at Roku's website) and about 10 minutes maximum to set things up.

Monthly charges?  I pay $8/month for Netflix and $8/month for Amazon Instant/Prime Videos.  My internet charge is for "turbo" from TimeWarner, and that's around $50.00 per month.  I signed up for Hulu Plus at $8/month but I never use it ... well, for Revenge on ABC when a new show airs.  I'm rethinking Hulu Plus right now: I could catch Revenge online at the ABC website for free, if that's all I need with the Hulu Plus membership.

Set up? It's a walk in the park.  

Seriously, this gizmo is easy peasy, set-up wise.  You do need to be ready to access the web with your laptop or tablet or whatever in order to do the initial login, etc. but it's not hard.  Astonishingly easy.