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simplify

faith, family, simplify, Simply Living for Him

God Gives You the Time for What is Important

How do you have time? How do you do it all?

These are questions I have been asked, and really they are very easy to answer.

#1. He does it all. I don’t. I truly believe God gives me the desire, the time, and the energy to do all things. I do nothing (good) apart from Him.

#2. You make time for what is important to you. I believe that if I am in God’s will doing His work, He provides plenty of time to get the tasks done. It is a joy-filled life to not be chasing my tail, but chasing Jesus. I don’t feel like work is drudgery, but I am grateful for every opportunity I am given.

As I sat outside yesterday in a business meeting with my life and business partner, my love….I just felt incredibly blessed. We don’t have to run in separate directions every morning, running separate lives. Our work and life and ministry are all intertwined.



 I believe God has given us opportunities and I do not want to waste them. Life is short and I am half-way through. It is time to live the life I have always dreamed of.

Photo by Farmhaus Studios

I have seen first hand what He can do when we chase after Him hard, and let Him lead us. He has provided abundantly more than I ever dreamed of in my life.

My family is my ministry first, but together, we are reaching others.

 I also want to keep it real and remind you all…half of the time (maybe most of the time…even right this moment, actually!) these blog posts you read were written in the early morning hours from my bed while in my pj’s sipping coffee. Yeah, I could tell you it’s glamorous and I am sitting at my desk with all my neat little ducks in the row. But usually, my writing takes place in crazy places! 😉

 And I also wanted to reiterate the fact that although life may seem busy, I believe my life would be much busier and complicated if I worked outside of the home and my children went to school. Many people juggle way more hats than I do by working 9-5, and bringing kids to school or daycare each morning.

My kids would be in three different schools right now if they were in school. Praise the Lord, they are all home with me each day, and we are not running out the door every morning.

I am thankful for a busy but pretty simple life. We are busy doing things we are passionate about. And when you know you are in God’s will and doing the things HE has called you to do (none of this was my idea 😉 ) there is so much joy, it energizes you even more for the next assignment.

Photo by Farmhaus Studios

So today I am thankful for the blessing of work, ministry, and life. All intertwined as we grow closer to Him, love Him more, and make Him known to everyone we come in contact with.

Photo by Farmhaus Studios

Join Me in January!

Simplify Workshop

Learn more about having less stuff and MORE JESUS this summer!

Grab a ticket now before prices go up!

 

simplyretreat2017

Check out where I am speaking in 2017—-> SPEAKING

Listen to the new Podcast episodes—-> PODCAST

Shop Simply Living for Him——>SHOP

© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

SimplyLivingforHim

August 9, 2016 by
mental clutter, simplify

Stop Window Shopping for a Better Life. End Mental Clutter and Live the Life in Front of You


 The internet has brought about such an abundance of information these days. And while it can be a huge blessing to have access to so much right at our fingertips, it can also lead to serious discontent, not to mention wasted time. We spend hours upon hours scrolling. Whether we are looking for homeschool curriculum, things for our home, reading articles, comparing products, or just reading about other people’s lives, we may need to evaluate where we spend our time.

Are we spending our time window shopping for our life, or are we living it?

The allure of the internet is that we can see it all right in front of us–we find things that we want or even things we didn’t want soon become our desire. Our mind is inundated with images all showing us how we can have it better.

We read articles about how other people are doing things and we begin to covet for our own life. We start to compare. It is a slippery slope.

We are essentially filling up our mind with how we want our life to be, yet the irony is, we aren’t living our life. We are scrolling endlessly, while life passes by in the background.

Our families need us present. There is more contentment and fulfillment in our own real life, rather than reading about other people’s lives, or the next best thing that promises to make our life better.

 Choose to spend your time in His Word. There and only there are the true answers to contentment, a better life, and fulfillment. Let our kids see us in the Word searching for answers more than on the Internet scrolling away.

Life is too short to be wasted window shopping. Live real life and live it right now.

The new edition of Called Home is NOW available!

Learn more about having less stuff and MORE JESUS this summer!

Grab a ticket now before prices go up!

 

simplyretreat2017

Check out where I am speaking in 2017—-> SPEAKING

Listen to the new Podcast episodes—-> PODCAST

Shop Simply Living for Him——>SHOP

 

© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

SimplyLivingforHim

June 23, 2016 by
simple, simplify, Simply...Living For Him

Back to Simple



 There once was a time when life was simpler. Mothers lived by instinct and raised their children trusting their God-given abilities and not the latest blog article about motherhood. And what they didn’t know, they asked their grandmas or the kind elderly lady down the street. Folks lingered after supper, sitting on porches sipping tea, exchanging talk, but mostly enjoying relationships.

 Things weren’t overanalyzed. Life was hard enough without adding in the pressure of doing things “just right.” Probably most were concerned with just getting things done.

Sure times were tough, but people were focused. Life was different.

At any given moment in the present, you can find hundreds of articles on how to mother, how to be a better homemaker, how to homeschool, how to live…

There are even Pinterest boards to show you how it all should look, just in case reading about it isn’t enough.

There’s methods, systems, printables, ebooks, articles, webinars, and an infinite amount of information all telling us how to do everything.

Yet are we so busy trying to figure out how to do everything, that we are forgetting to live?

Now, I am all for gleaning information and enocuragement from other sources- we are blessed to have so much helpful information at our fingertips…but may it not consume us!

There was a time when summers for children meant freedom. Freedom to play, imagine, create, be with friends..all unstructured. Now, we schedule, overcommit, assign homework, and run around, busy, oh so busy…

Nowadays everyone is telling us what to eat and not to eat. Our grandmothers gardened, exchanged recipes and didn’t fret over the latest fad. They cooked what was available and didn’t have elaborate meal plans.

They didn’t have all the gadgets and gizmos that our society tells you that you need when having a baby. One walk down the baby aisle of the local department store has you wondering how on earth they made it without the latest “must-haves?” They had cloth diapers, a few wooden toys, and a whole lot of love…and they raised those babies just fine.

They didn’t have an elaborate planner system. The jotted down things on a pad and paper at most. Now, not only do we have planners, we have decorations for those planners…and an infinite amount of resources on how to make them pretty.

Life is short. Do I want to spend it reading about how to live or living it?

 

Do I want to spend time on dressing everything up or enjoying what I have been given?

I want to get back to simple. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers did just fine without Pinterest boards, meal plans, chore charts, and organizational methods.  They did what they knew, handed down to them from generation to generation.

I want to get back to simple. I want to focus on relationships more than things. People more than stuff.

Recently we began watching shows on HGTV. I love the entertainment of it and we enjoy them immensely. But I saw what happens when our culture focuses on these details. Just a few episodes in, and I started looking around my house at all the things that are wrong (according to the experts on TV).  It stirred up a (momentary) feeling of discontent. Now, this is from someone who LOVES her house. I truly do. I don’t mind that it is basic and not decorated elaborately. I am not into paint colors or the perfect wall hangings. But, I could easily see how distracting it can be when these images tell us how much better we can have it.

Better how? A house that is perfectly decorated, or what I do in that house? Even more, what we do outside of that house. We are intentionally using every bit of our home and property to give back. We want to use it for His glory, and that has nothing to do with how it is decorated.

I want to get back to simple. My own mind can be cluttered enough without adding every new idea that comes along into it.

Back in the day, homes were smaller. People worked hard with what they were given. Folks lingered and knew each other. People took time for each other, in real life. Nowadays socialization takes place behind a screen.

 Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers got it right. A simple life lived well. 

Are you with me? Let’s get back to simple. Spend time outside this summer and living life with those you love. Spend time on things that matter. Trust your instincts and trust God. He has already given us all we need to live our lives well–His Word.

Stop chasing after a decorated life and live a meaningful one. Trade elaborate details for simple living. Choose your time wisely.

Life is short. Don’t spend time wasted on the noise of this world. Live life like our grandmothers did. Bring back simple.

JOIN ME for a weekend to focus on living more simply and seeking more Jesus!
Mark your calendar NOW!

**NEW** LOW PRICE FOR RETREAT TICKETS! Register today. Space is Limited!

This summer, I am hosting a women’s retreat in Gettysburg, PA. In a world of excess, we are going to focus on that fact that Jesus is enough. The world will tell you YOU are enough. But truly, HE is enough. He is all we need. We don’t rely on ourselves, or earthly comforts, but on Him alone.  I have lived with it all stripped away, and I have seen that yes, Jesus is enough. In fact, Jesus is MORE than enough.

Early Bird Registration is Open! Join us for this life changing and life-giving event. You will spend two days with other sisters in Christ, tired of what the world offers, and ready to live the life that HE offers.

Check out where I am speaking in 2018—-> SPEAKING (UPDATED)

Listen to the Podcast—-> PODCAST

Watch my YouTube Channel–->YouTube

Visit my homeschooling site–>Bible Based Homeschooling

Shop Simply Living for Him——>SHOP (new items added!)

© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

SimplyLivingforHim

June 14, 2016 by
faith, family, simplify, Simply...Living For Him

Is It “Just” Stuff…
Moving can really test you. Here I am amidst a sea of boxes, many I didn’t even know existed up there in the attic these past twelve years…they’ve been home to cobwebs and little stinkbugs…out of sight, out of mind.

As each one came slowly down from the attic, I couldn’t believe how much was up there. It like one of those clown cars where they keep coming out…over and over…box after box.

I peered inside…some were really just junk. Easy decision. Toss it. Simplify, simplify, simplify. After all, I’m the lady who writes about simplifying. Purge. Only take what’s necessary. I keep repeating these things.

And then, I slowly peel back the fraying cardboard box, the somewhat musty and dusty smell hits me, and it’s like I am swirling back in time...years and years, way back. Way before the days of mommy hood, even before adulthood. Boxes of memories. Pictures, letters, trinkets, things of the past (lots of times I’d rather forget…the high school box…the difficult years) start flooding my eyes. I don’t even know where to begin. I find my baby book, my 8th grade year book, pictures of loved ones long passed, notes, cards…it’s almost too much. I save that box for another time.

Then there’s the big Rubbermaid bin of my daughters elementary years. The time she learned to write her name, her first books, her first phonics lessons, her math, her Cubbies vest, her scribbles and scrabbles.

“Do we really need to take all of that stuff?” my husband asks. “No,” I think. “We do not need to hold onto these things. After all, I haven’t looked at them in years, and didn’t even know they were up there. ”

 But, as I unfold that tattered and worn paper, with her very first sentence written on it…the memories…the scared mom who didn’t want to homeschool…the little bucked tooth girl who I taught to read…and write…and do math…all the while, not knowing what the future would hold…and here I am in the future…knowing how it turned out. My past collides with my present. Memories flood my mind.

I start to dump the whole box into the garbage. Until, suddenly, I can’t. I just can’t. I start piling it all back into the Rubbermaid bin.

So, where do we draw the line on this simplicity stuff?I know some of it is just stuff…but it is also a living testimony that shows where we have been and what we have become.

It really is just “stuff.” Yet, it is very hard to part with. So, I make the decisions on what to keep and what to part with. Part of the past I don’t want to remember, but it is what made up this life God has given me. The memories of my high school years, the years I dated my husband, our wedding, early parenthood. It is all such a part of this wonderful life He has given.

 So, I sit here torn. I know it is just “stuff” and just one more thing to move. It will probably end up back in an attic for many more years, home to more little stinkbugs and cobwebs…but it is part of the legacy I leave. I think about my future adult kids…is that the next time these boxes will even get opened…when they clean out my things…someday…will they look through these things and see the legacy someday? I decide to keep some of it. Yes, I know I am simplifying, but there are some things that I just can’t let go.

 Then I smile, I see what my eighth grade English teacher wrote in my yearbook…“Keep Writing…” Hmmm, isn’t it funny how life turns out. I never expected to be still writing…and here I am. Then I laugh, as I read a story I wrote and in red it reads, “Watch your tenses.” Something I still struggle with today. Oh, the past has a funny way of showing up…I am thankful for these reminders of who I am and where I was.

© copyright 2012 – All rights reserved

SimplyLivingforHim

November 13, 2014 by