Living a Simple Life
Living a Simple Life
Crystal Miller
Living the simple life is not always an easy task. In
today's world of hustle, bustle and busy lives, the simple
life can be hard to find. It seems that the home can often
become a rest stop to refresh a moment and then move onto
the next activity. Life can become too busy. Perhaps in
your heart you would like life to be a little simpler. You
would like time to just "stop and smell the roses" but can't
quite figure out how to get to that point. Another down
side to a life that is too busy is that I believe it can rob
us of some of the greater joys of being a homemaker. I
believe that as we live this "life in the fast lane" we can
become discontent.
How does a busy life make us discontent you may ask?
Well when life is too busy we find that that the home and
family will suffer. Things in the home won't run as we
would like them to. The house may be more chaotic then we
would like, household tasks are not being attended to,
meals may lack nutritional value, too much money is spent on
convenience foods due to lack of time, laundry piles up, we
may not be able to get to some of the projects we have been
putting off, and so the list goes. So we end up feeling
discontent because things are not as we would desire them to
be. Our homes are not functioning as though we are in
control of our domain.
So we set out to make some changes. We have an idea of
what we might like our homes to be and begin to figure our
ways to achieve this. As we desire to make changes we start
looking for ways to make our lives easier. We think that
easy and simple go hand-in-hand.
We have countless appliances that will do every task
imaginable. We seek out the latest convenience foods so we
can spend less time in the kitchen; we stream line so we can
accomplish more and more each day. Not all of this is
undesirable or without merit, but is this the answer to a
simple life?
To me simplicity is not dinner from a box; it is a home
cooked pot of soup and homemade bread. To me simplicity is
not a cake mix, but a cake made from scratch with whole
wheat flour I grind myself. To me simplicity is not
permapress clothing but a little time at the ironing board
to think, pray, and learn to be content with my role in
life. To me simplicity is not always wanting more stuff,
but learning how to enjoy and appreciate what I have. To me
simplicity is not sticking a DVD in for the kids to keep
them occupied; it is spending an afternoon in the garden
working side-by-side with them. To me simplicity is not
buying my milk from the grocery store, but milking my own
goats. Simple living is not always easy living. Simple
living, to me, is taking a slower walk in life and
appreciating the things that go to making our lives as
homemakers complete and fulfilling.
The satisfaction and joy we can get from so many
homemaking tasks can easily be lost unless we intend in our
heats to live a simple life. But a simple life can take
more time. If we can't slow down enough to enjoy some of
the basic fundamentals of homemaking then perhaps we are
missing some of the very things that make a simple life an
enjoyable life. A simple life is something one learns to
love if it is a life that they desire to have.
Many simple living tasks have a multitude of blessing
that go with them. When our dryer went out last summer we
were learning how to enjoy the simple living task of hanging
out laundry. We learned that sometimes working harder at a
job has its own merits. I pointed out to my children that
we saved money by not running the dryer and that in turn
meant Dad's hard earned dollars could be put towards other
needs in the family, we also learned that putting clothes on
the line at 6:30 in the morning is a perfect time to enjoy
the quiet sounds of summer on our homestead. There is a
peace in this that is hard to find in the middle of the day.
We also learned that sheets that have been drying in the
sun have the best smell!
The kitchen seems to be another room that abounds with
simple living tasks. I think food and preparation of meals
is something very important to a family. It is easy to be
frustrated at the time spent in the kitchen, however it is
an opportunity to look beyond the mundane and see the bigger
goal being accomplished when you spend time preparing home
cooked meals for your family. The health benefits alone
that are received from home cooking can give us as
homemakers much satisfaction. I love knowing that I am
feeding my husband and children good quality foods that will
assist them in living a healthy life. There are also
financial benefits from it. Every frugal meal that is
cooked from scratch for my family means my husband does not
have to be working for boxes of Hamburger Helper or packages
of Rice-a-Roni or any other costly packaged convenience
food.! These types of realizations can hopefully be
positive reinforcements on the value of simple living. Most
of all, when your family sits down to eat at the end of a
long day who could deny the absolute joy of setting down to
meal of homemade, made with love from the heart, food?
Living a simple life may require changes to the way we
live. I don't have a busy life outside my home. I have it
this way on purpose. I am happiest when my life is simple
and serene. Well as serene as life gets with a houseful of
children! ~smile~ I am the most content when I live a life
in my home, doing the things that make my home run smooth
and giving my family a quality of life that is fulfilling.
I am also passing on to my children the value of a
simple life by my example. If I am always busy, busy I fear
I may end up teaching them the message of discontentment.
The message states that I can only be happy and satisfied if
I am going and doing all the time. I have learned over the
years that the two ways of life just do not mix. The
dividing line for outside busyness and living a simple life
at home will be drawn in a different place for each of us.
I am not saying that all outside activity needs to stop,
that would unrealistic. But rather when life has too much
going on, it is impossible to live a simple life. I had to
make very different choices in my life in order to achieve
the goal of simple living. But I am more content and more
satisfied today as a homemaker than every before.
I pray today that anyone desiring a simpler
way of life will be able to achieve this and be able to find
great joy in your life as a homemaker!
Copyright: Crystal Miller, 2005
About the Author:
Crystal Miller ( mailto:crystal@thefamilyhomestead.com ) is
a mother of 8 children and enjoys her God given role as
wife, homemaker and mother! She has a homemaking and country
living web site called The Family Homestead
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com
<http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/> and has a free
monthly newsletter called Homestead Happenings. You will
find sign up information on her website.
http://thefamilyhomestead.com/freereprint5.htm
Back To:
Free Reprint Articles
HOME
Crystal Miller
Living the simple life is not always an easy task. In
today's world of hustle, bustle and busy lives, the simple
life can be hard to find. It seems that the home can often
become a rest stop to refresh a moment and then move onto
the next activity. Life can become too busy. Perhaps in
your heart you would like life to be a little simpler. You
would like time to just "stop and smell the roses" but can't
quite figure out how to get to that point. Another down
side to a life that is too busy is that I believe it can rob
us of some of the greater joys of being a homemaker. I
believe that as we live this "life in the fast lane" we can
become discontent.
How does a busy life make us discontent you may ask?
Well when life is too busy we find that that the home and
family will suffer. Things in the home won't run as we
would like them to. The house may be more chaotic then we
would like, household tasks are not being attended to,
meals may lack nutritional value, too much money is spent on
convenience foods due to lack of time, laundry piles up, we
may not be able to get to some of the projects we have been
putting off, and so the list goes. So we end up feeling
discontent because things are not as we would desire them to
be. Our homes are not functioning as though we are in
control of our domain.
So we set out to make some changes. We have an idea of
what we might like our homes to be and begin to figure our
ways to achieve this. As we desire to make changes we start
looking for ways to make our lives easier. We think that
easy and simple go hand-in-hand.
We have countless appliances that will do every task
imaginable. We seek out the latest convenience foods so we
can spend less time in the kitchen; we stream line so we can
accomplish more and more each day. Not all of this is
undesirable or without merit, but is this the answer to a
simple life?
To me simplicity is not dinner from a box; it is a home
cooked pot of soup and homemade bread. To me simplicity is
not a cake mix, but a cake made from scratch with whole
wheat flour I grind myself. To me simplicity is not
permapress clothing but a little time at the ironing board
to think, pray, and learn to be content with my role in
life. To me simplicity is not always wanting more stuff,
but learning how to enjoy and appreciate what I have. To me
simplicity is not sticking a DVD in for the kids to keep
them occupied; it is spending an afternoon in the garden
working side-by-side with them. To me simplicity is not
buying my milk from the grocery store, but milking my own
goats. Simple living is not always easy living. Simple
living, to me, is taking a slower walk in life and
appreciating the things that go to making our lives as
homemakers complete and fulfilling.
The satisfaction and joy we can get from so many
homemaking tasks can easily be lost unless we intend in our
heats to live a simple life. But a simple life can take
more time. If we can't slow down enough to enjoy some of
the basic fundamentals of homemaking then perhaps we are
missing some of the very things that make a simple life an
enjoyable life. A simple life is something one learns to
love if it is a life that they desire to have.
Many simple living tasks have a multitude of blessing
that go with them. When our dryer went out last summer we
were learning how to enjoy the simple living task of hanging
out laundry. We learned that sometimes working harder at a
job has its own merits. I pointed out to my children that
we saved money by not running the dryer and that in turn
meant Dad's hard earned dollars could be put towards other
needs in the family, we also learned that putting clothes on
the line at 6:30 in the morning is a perfect time to enjoy
the quiet sounds of summer on our homestead. There is a
peace in this that is hard to find in the middle of the day.
We also learned that sheets that have been drying in the
sun have the best smell!
The kitchen seems to be another room that abounds with
simple living tasks. I think food and preparation of meals
is something very important to a family. It is easy to be
frustrated at the time spent in the kitchen, however it is
an opportunity to look beyond the mundane and see the bigger
goal being accomplished when you spend time preparing home
cooked meals for your family. The health benefits alone
that are received from home cooking can give us as
homemakers much satisfaction. I love knowing that I am
feeding my husband and children good quality foods that will
assist them in living a healthy life. There are also
financial benefits from it. Every frugal meal that is
cooked from scratch for my family means my husband does not
have to be working for boxes of Hamburger Helper or packages
of Rice-a-Roni or any other costly packaged convenience
food.! These types of realizations can hopefully be
positive reinforcements on the value of simple living. Most
of all, when your family sits down to eat at the end of a
long day who could deny the absolute joy of setting down to
meal of homemade, made with love from the heart, food?
Living a simple life may require changes to the way we
live. I don't have a busy life outside my home. I have it
this way on purpose. I am happiest when my life is simple
and serene. Well as serene as life gets with a houseful of
children! ~smile~ I am the most content when I live a life
in my home, doing the things that make my home run smooth
and giving my family a quality of life that is fulfilling.
I am also passing on to my children the value of a
simple life by my example. If I am always busy, busy I fear
I may end up teaching them the message of discontentment.
The message states that I can only be happy and satisfied if
I am going and doing all the time. I have learned over the
years that the two ways of life just do not mix. The
dividing line for outside busyness and living a simple life
at home will be drawn in a different place for each of us.
I am not saying that all outside activity needs to stop,
that would unrealistic. But rather when life has too much
going on, it is impossible to live a simple life. I had to
make very different choices in my life in order to achieve
the goal of simple living. But I am more content and more
satisfied today as a homemaker than every before.
I pray today that anyone desiring a simpler
way of life will be able to achieve this and be able to find
great joy in your life as a homemaker!
Copyright: Crystal Miller, 2005
About the Author:
Crystal Miller ( mailto:crystal@thefamilyhomestead.com ) is
a mother of 8 children and enjoys her God given role as
wife, homemaker and mother! She has a homemaking and country
living web site called The Family Homestead
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com
<http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/> and has a free
monthly newsletter called Homestead Happenings. You will
find sign up information on her website.
http://thefamilyhomestead.com/freereprint5.htm
Back To:
Free Reprint Articles
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