A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Back on the Road to the Simple Life

IMG_1523Okay, maybe life will never truly be simple, especially in today’s world. But we can do things that can make our life seem a bit simpler.

Back before our boys were born we led a very hectic life. Our daughter went to public school from K-3 grade. With that came rushed mornings, afternoon pick ups, soccer practice twice a week, games on the weekend, play dates squeezed in there and that was just “her” schedule we were dealing with. Add the things I had going on and what my husband had going on and I can tell you the road we were on was crowded. Crowded with the busyness of what we thought life was supposed to be. You know, keeping up with the Jones’ mentality?

Fast forward to the birth of our boys. By now our daughter was being homeschooled, we let go of our obligations of volunteering at church (there are definite seasons for this but you need to know when to stop)  and no more sports.

*insert deep breath here*

The key is being careful not to fill your life back up full of “other things” just because you feel like you “have” to be doing something. People may look at us and think we have no life. Quite the contrary. Our life is quite full. Full of quality time together. Full of spontaneous trips because we don’t have a bunch of obligations. Full of fun and laughter because we have the time to just goof off. Full of some quality friends because you have the time to nurture them.

Recently I’ve been hanging my clothes out to line dry. It started out as an experiment as to how much money we could save. (More to come on that!) But now, I find myself truly enjoying it. It gets me outside in the fresh air and sunshine and I love it. If I was busy with other things, I wouldn’t be able to experience this.

This life that I talk about probably isn’t for everyone. Some people thrive on being busy and that’s okay if that’s what you want. There are some people that want to slow down but don’t know where to start. I suggest starting with prayer. Ask the Lord to direct you and reveal areas in your life that may be adding to the busyness of your life. Learn to let go and be okay with it.

These are my thoughts for the today!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

17 comments:

  1. Growing up on the farm in the 50's,60's,70's we always hung our clothes on the line to dry(we had to cause we didn't own a dryer), you know at the time we thought it was just a chore, but now looking back, we should have enjoyed it more.Thanks for taking me back to a more simplier time, and memories of my family and farm.
    ~Jo
    LazyonLoblolly

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  2. I love the smell of freshly laundered clothes that are line dried. And yes, it saves money too. That's a good thing.

    So glad to be back to visit you. I'm on spring break from work (at a school). So I hope to visit soome of my favorite blogs.

    And yes, I'm into simplifying right now too. Off to the garage before it gets too hot to clean it out. Fun, huh?

    Blessings and love,
    Debbie

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  3. Great post! Liked the way you mentioned that there are different seasons in our lives for different priorities. That is so true. And each family must make choices that are best for them at that time. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  4. This is a wonderful and timely post! Many folks have made their lives too busy, and all that hustle and bustle causes stress, needless spending, and lower quality of life.

    I had to quit a needlework club a couple of years ago because it was just taking up too much of my time and others were "trying" to throw even more responsibilities on me. I had to walk away. It wasn't fun anymore.

    Folks have more power over than lives than they think and it's a matter of chosing how to spend these precious hours on earth!

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  5. I too so LOVE being home and enjoy "working with my own hands, minding my own business." I have grown to so love and crave the silence. It too, is a season....its called getting older!!

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  6. I love this post, Kim. You know that this is SO my mindset. I think as a society we are WAY too busy and that we all need to get off the road and out of the car and just enjoy being home more.

    A friend of mine was recently lamenting that her vehicle was broken, so she was stranded at home. I shared with her that we spent 8 months as a single-car family, which hubby took to work most days, meaning I was stranded at home alot. Going places, while fun, is very rarely necessary.

    She didn't get what I said at all. She responded that without a good mass transit system she couldn't go anywhere. And I thought, then don't go anywhere. Stay home most days. Play with your kids in the backyard instead of driving to the park. Read them a book yourself instead of going to the library story hour.

    Then when it's super necessary to go somewhere, ask a friend to take you.

    It all comes down to the fact that people are not content at home. They've grown up with the mindset that staying home is boring and that one has to be going somewhere or doing every activity on the planet in order to be a productive member of society.

    As you can tell, this is a soapbox issue of mine...sorry for the long comment.

    Have a great weekend.

    Love,
    Patti

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  7. I would love to simplify my life. It's hard to know where to start. Waiting on the Lord for wisdom and direction.

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  8. I wish I could hang my clothes outside but it is too cold here and in the summer, too much wild life:-)

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  9. There is never anything wrong with being simple and living that simple, slow paced life. I love it! More people need to try it! Like you said, you have more time to just goof off....that is so great...not a lot of people can do that.
    You to me are truly living!
    Blessings to you.

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  10. I love to conserve, be thrifty, save every chance I get ... nothing wrong with that.

    Would never think of any other method to dry my clothes except on a clothesline. The fresh sweet smell is so wonderful to crawl into those covers & be surrounded with. Love the flapping in the breeze, have actually sat & watched them ... rainbows of colors.

    Happy St. Paddy's Day ~
    Have a wonderful weekend ~
    TTFN ~
    Marydon

    CSN GIVEAWAY ENDS 3/17

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  11. I can't tell you how many people think we are weird because we LOVE to be AT HOME with one another and NOT RUNNING all the time!! We so enjoy being together as a family. Living Simply is such a gift. I know that means different things for each family but once you experience the Peace that comes....well, I don't ever ever want to go back to the rat race of busyness AGAIN!

    big hugs to you....oh ya! Is part of this simplicity changing your blog to "no comment blogger?" I can't reply to you anymore :( Didn't know if you knew that or not?

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  12. Very well written my bestest... :) You know us, we love our slow life...of course my Dad thinks I live in a cave...and I don't care! :)
    Love you!

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  13. Very goodost. I do love being busy and being surrounded by my family with all their schedules but my Selina comes when obligations suffer because of something else you want to do more...I fell the obliggation comes first...sometimes the kids don't agree.

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  14. Preach it Patti!!!

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  15. Oh this is so how we try to live our lives. Not the homeschooling part, but the rest of it. I have a friend who absolutely, positively cannot be alone. She finds energy in busyness. Hence her family is scheduled the same way. She just told me the other day that if they don't have a "reason" to stay home, they don't. She does not understand my minimal scheduling of the kids and our family.
    Thanks for helping me see that we're not the only ones out there who don't over-schedule. I think there are more of us than we realize.
    Peace and blessings.
    Jeeanine

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  16. Oh absolutely agree with you! Simple is the way to go. I find now that I am doing more "homeschooling" preschool that I keep my mornings home absolutely sacred and now I am better at having my husband look at our week and make sure I'm not overdoing it. I try to invite people over to my house if I need some company.
    Love this post and I also line dry my clothes in the summer (can't here in the winter:(
    Gretchen

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  17. Excellent advice my friend!! My family does not like to be busy - we just aren't wired that way. Sometimes we have unavoidable busy weeks and it makes us all grouchy - LOL! We love to hang out together at home. And I'm pretty good at saying "no" now too! We carefully consider each activity or responsibility that we add to our plate.

    I have some friends that are on the go constantly and I don't know how they do it!

    Big so-I'm-not-that-busy-but-still-can't-get-my-chores-done-what's-up-with-that size hugs to you! Love ya! And finally mailing a letter!

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