Voluntary Simplicity

Another book I've been reading is called 'Tis a Gift to be Simple: Embracing the Freedom of Living with Less. It was written in the early 90s, and so much of what the authors wrote applies even more to our lives today.

Did you notice the word freedom in the title? There is freedom in living simply. Freedom in having less, buying less, doing less, working less, worrying less. Freedom to play more, laugh more, love more, relax more, enjoy your life more.

The authors write about voluntary simplicity: the idea that one can intentionally live less extravagantly and purposely live more simply. "Voluntary simplicity does not mean we all have to sell our homes. It doesn't even mean we can't have nice things. It may mean that we can't have all of them."

As woman, wives, moms, sisters, daughters, friends, and homemakers, we can choose to be influenced by the world (which is constantly telling us more, bigger, better) or we can choose to pursue the freedom that comes with living counter-culturally...in our homes, on our calendars, in our checkbooks, in our relationships....and influence those around us.

Tomorrow I want to talk about a day of rest as it relates to simplicity. Now that's counter-cultural!

In the spirit of rest, I'm off to bed!