Written by Josiah Piett

The Who, What, Where When and Why behind the Book Beautifully Simple 

Who

To start, my name is Josiah Piett. I am 22 years old. By the time you are reading this, I will have been married for almost a year now to my amazing wife Kara-Lee. She is a woman who is passionate about God and lives a life in joy. She has a degree in human services, a minor in psychology, and her diploma as a social service worker. We fell in love during her first year of school and decided to get married shortly after I graduated. After we got married, I got a job at a local Starbucks working as barista/shift supervisor and worked there during her last school year.  

When and Where 

Last year in March, I was inspired to write the book Beautifully Simple. Up until that point, I can honestly say I had never desired to write a book. I don’t actually enjoy reading too much, which added to the irony when I was hit with this inspiration. This inspiration to write a book turned into a direction toward the conviction which led to the action of me writing this book. I began the first draft of the book the day after I wrote my last exam of my undergrad, and completed writing the first draft four days before I got married to Kara-Lee that summer.  

What and Why Behind the 3 Parts of Beautifully Simple 

I grew up with severe chronic health issues and had to go through many challenges as result of this at a very young age. Before I encountered Jesus, my life was defined by my circumstances. Once I encountered Jesus and His love, my life changed forever. I learned I am no longer defined by my diagnosis, my past, or my circumstances, for I am a child of God in whom my Father designed me to live a life thriving through circumstances and not just surviving with them (Part 1 of Beautifully Simple).  

I believe my story of finding freedom from my circumstances and learning how to thrive through them can be experienced by anyone. No matter what you have faced or are currently facing, I believe God has designed you to live free from your circumstances and I believe your freedom is dependent upon a choice (Part 2 of Beautifully Simple).  

I studied the Bible and psychology in my undergrad and dedicated 4 years of my life going deep into the context of the world that Jesus lived in. To be real with you, I am not a super big fan of the current Christian culture that we embody in North America, and I truly believe there is a great gap between Jesus Christ of Nazareth and the institution we call the “church” in our society.  

I am sort of a rebel at heart, and I recognize now retrospectively that I subconsciously went into my undergrad hoping to be able to justify leaving the Church altogether because of the faults that I saw so clearly in its people. But God took this stubborn heart of mine that was so hardened against the Church and He softened it. Over the four years, I went from a place of wanting to break out of the Church to now having a heart that breaks for God’s Church.  

This happened to me as I dug deeper into the historical context of Jesus of Nazareth. I discovered the world Jesus lived in had very similar gaps and holes that I see our churches and society having today. Instead of simply rebuking the gaps, I learned how Jesus entered into them and redefined and restored them through the planting of seeds of truth in them. I believe the seeds Jesus planted are completely relevant to the seeds that are needed to be planted once again in the holes that I see in the Church today (Part 3 of Beautifully Simple). 

If you are interested in learning more about the book, feel free to read previous articles I’ve written for Love Is Moving! If you would like a copy of the book, it is available in paperback on Amazon under the title Beautifully Simple. If you have any questions, concerns, or are interested in having a conversation surrounding the book, feel free to reach out on the Beautifully Simple Facebook Page. Thanks for taking time to read these articles; I hope something in it has been encouraging. Have a great summer!