Simple Living, Homeschooling, Faith, Homemaking, & Books
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I'm a big believer in keeping a healthy amount of margin in life. I've written many posts about margin over the years and highly recommend two books related to it in my list of My Favorite Simple Living Books. But sometimes no matter how hard I try, I find myself with shrinking levels of the margin that keeps me healthy and sane. There is …
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I passed my one year anniversary of leaving Facebook a few weeks ago after having thought about it for quite some time. I proved to myself that I don't need it. I've had a few moments when I've wondered if I should go back, especially after I had been off it for so long. I do miss interacting with some online friends and extended family that I …
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Like most book lovers, I've read many books that had a positive impact on my life. But if I had to narrow down the list and select the books that profoundly changed my thinking and the way I have lived my life, then the list quickly becomes much shorter. There are two books by Richard A. Swenson, M.D. that would definitely be on my list - Margin …
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Looking back, I've always longed for a quiet, simple life even when I couldn't express it in that way. As an adult, I’ve been intentionally pursuing a simpler life for over twenty years. David and I have experienced success and failure with simple living. There have been serendipities I could have never foreseen. There have been hindrances such …
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So often the act of simplifying is seen as something that would be nice to do if we could squeeze it into our lives. Simplifying would be an added bonus to life if we had the time to get to it. But we're not convinced it would make that much of a difference so we don't think about it in any serious way. Is it something extra? Or is the need …
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Is it ironic that I'm writing about the power of a simplified homeschool life a day late? Kind of. But there's still a story to be told and a lesson to be learned. A Simplified Homeschool Life When I started this series on homeschool encouragement, I wanted to have all ten days finished before it went live. I didn't. I was a few days ahead at the …
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Belonging to the body of Christ can be one of the most wonderful aspects of our lives. And belonging to a church can truly be one of the most difficult or even worst parts of our experience on earth. In this age of interconnectedness, our belonging to the body of Christ isn't just limited to our local congregation. We can also be impacted by …
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So how were your holidays? Were they enjoyable? Meaningful? Special? Or were they (as Peggy called hers in a comment on another post) a "tightly-choreographed death march"? Did you and your family end up stressed, sick or burned out? Were you so busy doing the things you felt obligated to do that you didn't do the things that truly mean the …
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Have you ever felt completely burned out? I have and I'm sure you have, too. Maybe you are struggling with burnout at this moment. Many of us carry huge loads today. Most of us live with some combination of the following: Working outside the home Working from home Homeschooling Children with learning needs Children with health …
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Many years ago David and I read the books Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives and The Overload Syndrome: Learning to Live Within Your Limits by Richard A. Swenson, M.D. Both impacted us in profound ways. David and I took steps to reduce our overload and increase our margin. We did a pretty good …
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Is it a blessing to live a small life? My answer is a resounding, "Yes!" if that is where God has placed you. I've been reflecting lately on the joy and freedom of living a small life. A quiet, simple life. It is so contrary to everything around us. Our culture both in and out of the church is all about doing more, networking more, increasing …
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Over the past couple of years, there have been times I've been frustrated because circumstances were not what I wanted them to be, especially as it relates to our business and finances. One of the things that is challenging for me about having our own business is feeling quite out of control regarding the amount of work we have (and therefore our …
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I have a fever. It is the "I really want to move and have more space" fever. Have you ever had it? Fortunately, there is no way on earth we are going to move right now so I can look at houses online all I want and there is no temptation to actually act. Short of truly Divine intervention, we won't be moving for at least a few years. House Sizes …
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I mentioned yesterday that my husband and I frequently say to each other, "Just because you can, it doesn't mean you should." We remind each other of this because: We are the type of people who find a lot of things interesting and could have more "hobbies" than there is time in the day. We are the type of people who are tempted to believe …
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My study of living simply and the simplicity movement started after we had only been married a year. I was teaching full-time and wanted to be home, even before we had children. Out of my study evolved many additional interests regarding simplicity such as: margin overload consumerism LBYM (aka Living Beneath Your Means) clutter …
