THE JOY OF SIMPLICITY

 Dear God, our life is beautiful

In every splendid gift it brings,

But most I thank thee humbly for 

The JOY of little things.  L M Montgomery.              

While on the journey to discover your simple life, it helps to find simple pleasures to enjoy yourself. Think of things you enjoy doing that cost little or no money. Make a list of them. Consider the different seasons and what different seasonal things there are to enjoy.

I'll share a few simple pleasures to help you get started:

1) Take a walk in the woods

2) Go on a picnic

3) Go bird watching

4) Bake something and share with a friend

5) Spend quality time with a friend or family member

6) Enjoy a good book

7) Call and talk to a friend you haven't seen in a long time

8) Go to the Library and read some magazines

9) Sit down with a cup of coffee, tea, or your favorite beverage and enjoy a quiet moment

10) Make a card to give encouragement to someone and send it

11) In the Fall, enjoy making s'mores with your family

12) Make Carmel Corn

13) Sit and listen to your favorite music

14) Plan a potluck with friends for dinner

15) Indulge yourself with a good movie on TV and a bowl of popcorn

There is a large measure of JOY in ordinary moments.   Susan Gale Wickes

Now come up with your own ideas. Write them down ( in a journal ) to remember them and keep adding to them. Decide this week to really enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Really intentionally embrace these moments. Don't be thinking of things you need to do. Don't let busy-ness get in your way. Just taking a bit of time during the week to enjoy a few simple pleasures is so important.

ENJOY!

Sandy

DISCOVERING THE SIMPLE LIFE

What is Simple Living?

      Simple Living is...

...focusing on what matters to you most

....eliminating non-essentials

...finding joy in the common activities of daily living

...creating space in your life for divine interruptions

...learning to live in the moment

...enjoying clean uncluttered and organized spaces

...doing less and finding it more

...creating a life that leaves room to breathe

...letting go of ego

...living in the present

...letting go of what you can't control

...being intentional

...knowing God

...enjoying the moments in your life

...celebrating life's simple moments

...enjoying the simple pleasures of life

...a mindset

...slowing down

...a lifestyle

...having an uncluttered mind

...a life-long journey

...creating a home of simple beauty

...a gift you give yourself 

...a gift you give your family

...a gift for your mind, body, and spirit

...surrendering 

...becoming aware

...breathing in and breathing out

...living wisely

AND SO MUCH MORE!!!

In the next several posts I'm going to share how I have discovered, in simple steps, how to LIVE SIMPLY in this complicated world. I hope you'll join me.

One Moment At A Time,

Sandy

 

SIMPLIFYING YOUR LIFE

 Simplicity is ultimately a matter of focus. Ann Voskamp

Imagine what a simple life might look like...

Your mind is uncluttered as you live in the moment, noticing and enjoying the everyday simple pleasures in life...a beautiful red cardinal singing in a tree, new plants just springing forth from the Spring ground, the laughter of children and babies, the warmth of the sun, the beauty of color all around, rainbows after a rain, sunsets. You  enjoy and are grateful for such beauty in the world and you feel blessed just to be alive! You embrace each day with eagerness and anticipation, offering thanks for this new day!

                                         You can even enjoy the beauty of a winter day.

Your home is neat and tidy, not perfect but comfortable and inviting. It is filled with a wonderful scent and the warmth of candles. Flowers just picked from the garden grace a table. Everything is in its place and you can easily find what you want. There is no excess clutter so your home feels relaxed and welcoming. Your home is simple yet lovely with treasures that are important to you and that you love. Looking around, your home makes you smile and you feel content.

Your day is calm and unhurried. There is time for the important things in your life like spending time with family. And time for sharing with others, even if it's a simple smile and greeting. You even have time for relaxing a bit and enjoying yourself. You even have time for a spontaneous visit with a neighbor! You work together as a family in meal preparation and enjoy a relaxed and simple meal together. You have learned to balance the activities in your life so that you are not "too busy".

You don't feel the desire for more "stuff" as you have learned to be content and enjoy the things you have. Your focus is on relationships, giving of yourself, and experiences as opposed to having "stuff". You have learned that the best things in life are free. You don't feel the need to be always wanting "more".You are appreciating the little things in life that are the most important and your life is focused more and more on your priorities and values rather than accumulating more and being too busy.

Does this sound good to you? Or are you thinking, "this would NEVER be able to happen in my life"?Would you LIKE this to be more of a description of your life and home? Well, it can be, at least in part, if you are intentional and focused on making it happen. Obviously not EVERY DAY is going to be like this. Life happens. Things come up that are out of your control. But you can design your life to be closer to this scenario than it is now. And you can have more days like this than you thought possible.

In the first three paragraphs I described the ideals of living simply as it relates to your mind ( enjoying the simple pleasures in life), the stuff and spaces in your home  ( decluttering ), and your time and priorities ( relationships vs. stuff ). 

If you're interested in learning more, keep following along for ideas on how to design a life that you'll love...a more simple and serene life!

We are always getting ready to to live but never living. Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Sandy

LIVING SIMPLY...FIRST STEPS

           The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace. A persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well being that places harmony in one's life. Peace Pilgrim

 

In my last post I talked about Living Simply. But really what does that mean? It can mean different things to different people as I mentioned in that post. But my question is, " What does Living Simply mean to YOU?"

Is it about downsizing to a smaller living situation? Decluttering and just getting rid of stuff?  Finding more time in your life by cutting back on your activities and obligations? More serenity and calm in your life?  An uncluttered mind? Or maybe it's all of the above.

Some of these areas may not be right for you at the moment, such as downsizing. Maybe this is not the right time for you to move to a smaller living situation. And that's OK. One size doesn't fit all in the case of Living Simply. But you might want to think about which of these areas fits your idea of simple living right now. 

My first step in the process of wanting to live a simpler lifestyle was to take the step listed below.
It helps to find a comfortable place to sit with maybe coffee or tea nearby. Get relaxed and ready to begin clarifying what you really want/desire in your life. Get a new notebook, nothing fancy, but it helps to begin with a nice fresh notebook, and pen or pencil. Now you're ready!

You are going to make three lists: 

1) Make a list of your priorities
2) Make a list of your values
3) Make a list of your passions

The reason for this listing is because when your values, priorities, and passions are clear in your mind,  you are then free to release whatever is in your life that does not uphold them. They are easier to let go of when you have this clarity. You can then release more clutter in your home, more activities in your day, and be intentional as to where you put your focus. Ann Voskamp, author and blogger says, "Simplicity is ultimately a matter of focus."

Begin to think about what this list means to you and what is in your life right now. Are you spending time with things not on your list? Are you accumulating unnecessary items in your home? How much time do you spend with things on your "Priorities List"? Does your life seem to match up with the list you made?  As you begin to think about this list and your life right now some things will stand out glaringly and others will need to be looked at a bit closer. Take some time to compare your list with how you are living your life. It may seem like too much "work" if you're not a "list maker" but it really helps to do this before you get started creating your Simple Life.

And while you're at it, check out these items now listed in our Etsy Shop, Gwen And Alma's here!

 

SIMPLIFYING: PART TWO

FLOWERS BRING ME JOY

So the question was: How can I simplify my lifestyle?

A few years ago as "retirement" from a ministry loomed in front of me I took stock of my life and decided I should be INTENTIONAL and while following" God's plan for me", and taking into consideration my purpose and passion, create a lifestyle that was balanced and joy-filled. So I came up with a plan to hone in on just that. I found some relevant questionaaires that helped me discover some significant insights into my life. Then I came up with 6 areas that my life generally fell into: 1) Personal ( mind, body, spirit ) 2) Home 3) Relationships 4) Work/Job 5) Giving 6) Finances.

The next step was to write out a descriptive narrative of what my life might look like in each of these areas if my life were balanced, purposeful, and full of passion and joy. It turned out to be a fun exercise that motivated and encouraged me!

 From this narrative I wrote out goals in each area. I found balance in limiting the number of things that I allowed myself to be involved in but making sure I had plans in each area of my life that I had listed. I also wrote out ways in which I could "kill two birds with one stone" so to speak. Meaning, that I looked for ways in which I could be working on TWO goals while engaged in ONE activity. For example, if, as a "relationship goal" I wanted to plan more INTENTIONAL time with my husband and as a" personal body goal" I needed to get more exercise by walking, I came up with a plan to start walking with my husband for exercise.

This plan is working AMAZINGLY well. Of course, I have to keep checking my activities with my goals to make sure I'm staying on track because it's very easy for me to keep adding more "things to do" to my list. I always need to keep working on "balance in life".

So how did Hob Nobbers fit into this plan?  Well, while I was working in the ministry, we had a fabulous fundraiser called, An Olde English Christmas. We decorated the Plummer House ( historical mansion that we just so happen to also LIVE IN ) for an old fashioned Christmas and invited artists and other entrepeneurs to "rent a room" and sell their wares. So Karen, Renee, and I rented a room and filled it with our many collected vintage treasures ( there was no Hob Nobbers at this time ) and it was the most popular room in the whole house! People kept asking where our REAL "shoppe" was located. The event lasted two days and after the first day our room looked bare as we sold so much of our stuff. We had to go home in the evening and collect more stuff to bring back. Thankfully,  Karen had an attic full of treasures! When I retired then, while asking myself what it was that I enjoyed, without hesitation I came up with ," collecting and selling our vintage treasures"... and Hob Nobbers was born! It was a huge benefit that it also MADE MONEY! Another "two for one" goal! I began blogging about Hob Nobbers when everyone wanted to know when our next sale was because we only have three occasional sales a year. Now we just hand out cards that refer our friends to my blog.

Another hobby sprang from all this as another friend, Sherrie, and I began putting on workshops and blogging about "living your life to full bloom", called Blooming Boomers, where we share how we've created our lives to be INTENTIONALLY purposeful, balanced, and joy-filled. Beginning September 15th we'll be offering this information in our blog through a workshop entitled, JOYFULLY BALANCED, and will also be offering it in the future as an e-book. This workshop and book will help YOU work through the same steps that we did in creating our balanced and joy-filled lives. Currently we are finishing up a series called, The Garden Of Your Mind. You can find us here: bloomingboomers.wordpress.com.  If you'd like to make sure your life is balanced, joy-filled, and full of passion and purpose please join us! We also have other fun projects in the works so stay in touch to see what's happening! Oh! And there are no "follower" buttons on our wordpress blog. You need to hit the "subscribe" button to join in the fun! Also feel free to take the Blooming Boomers button ( the one with the pot of flowers ) on my sidebar.

And why am I writing about this on my Hob Nobber page? I've found that women who are in business  ( like you perhaps ) want to find balance in their lives, they want to make sure their lives are truly joy-filled, and they want to have purpose and passion in their lives.  So I wanted to make sure everyone who comes here has an oportunity to find out about our upcoming workshop! Please invite your friends to join in as well. Hope to see you there!

BEING INTENTIONAL

One of the things I try to do is to be INTENTIONAL  in "making things happen" in my life. I'm a big goal setter, planner, and list maker but I've found it also helps to make sure I am INTENTIONAL in making these goals and lists HAPPEN.  For example, my daughter, Elissa, and her husband, Jon, were going to be returning from China and staying with us for a while this summer. Since one of my life- time- goals  is to make memories with my family I knew I would need to do some INTENTIONAL planning to accomplish this while they were home.  They had meetings and speaking engagements they had to participate in so we had a lot of schedules  to work around. I had many items on my list of "Things to do while Elissa and Jon are home". Two of those things were: 1) Take a mini weekend get-away with the family to a nearby destination for some family R&R 2) Make sure we get a family photo of all of us.

 WOO HOO! I accomplished both! So here's the informal photo...

It was summer, it was hot, the guys didn't want to dress up or be matchy-matchy ( They were afraid we would look like we belonged on the "Awkward Family Photo" website ), and we had a very short time frame in which grandson Charlie would sit still so we settled for simple jeans on the bottom and white tops. Whew! Got that done!

For our mini get-away we went to a nearby lake (where my family had a cabin while I was growing up) and stayed at a beautiful condo overlooking the lake. 

We went sailing, fishing, swimming, antiquing, shopping, played board games, dined at  local eateries and enjoyed the gorgeous lakeside views!

But the BEST thing that happened while the kids were home was that Jon, our son-in-law, had the opportunity to baptize our granddaughter, Ashley, in the lakeside Baptism put on by our church. That special event was INTENTIONALLY planned by THEM. 

Many family memories and milestones were made in a short period of time because we planned INTENTIONALLY to make things happen! 

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!