Living Gently With Good Books

From Sammie:

Living Gently With Good Books

            My granddaughter, Dani, age 8-almost-9, thinks the Friends of the Library Bookstore in our town is a fabulous treasure. I agree. It’s usually a must on our itinerary when she visits me. Many libraries have similar used bookstores where “friends” donate books and the proceeds go to purchase extras for the library.

            So last weekend, we eagerly made our way to the store to see what delicious and wonderful adventures in reading we’d find.

            “How many books can I get?” Dani asked.

            “Well, just start your stack and I’ll tell you when to stop,” I teased. After all, at 50 cents a book, how much harm could we do? I left her in the children’s section to go search out my own finds.

            Dani began her search. Our Friends store is extremely well organized, but, of course, it is not like a chain bookstore. The children’s books are categorized, but they are not necessarily in alphabetical order by author. The just makes the hunt more tantalizing!

            Dani’s stack grew quickly. “Well, I think I’m through,” she said as I returned. Looked like she had about 20 books. What better way could I spend $10? I offered to carry some for her, but she proudly refused. Scooping them up in her arms, we made our way from the children’s section in the back of the store to the checkout desk in the front.

            As we walked, several adults remarked: “Wow! That’s a lot of books!” or “You must be a great reader!” Dani loved all that attention, of course, and to every person who commented, she said, “I looooove books!” or “Reading is my very favorite thing to do!”

            Sure enough, when we got home, she buried her nose in her stack of books and reveled in her purchases for a couple of hours before she got hungry and wanted supper.

            I’ve noticed that most people who want to live simply also treasure books. This opinion is not based on scientific study, but what better way to spend some gentle moments than with a good book?

            Of course, as frugal, simple folks, we want to make the most of our literary dollars. How can we do that?

            *Borrow from the library; and don’t forget your church library;

            *Explore stores like our Friends store; paperbacks are $1, hardbacks $2;

            *Garage sales;

            *Estate sales;

            *Used bookstores;

            *Library discards. Call your library and see what they do with discards.

            *Put out a Facebook or email request to see if any friends have books to lend or give;

            *If you have an e-reader, there are TONS of free books and low-cost books available;

            *Shop the bargain counters of large chain bookstores;

            *If you live in a small town or rural area and these options are not available, make use of the next trip to a larger city by doing a little research to find out where you can find book bargains.

            Don’t let a tight budget keep you from reading!

 

 

DO JUST ONE THING

From Sammie

 

DO JUST ONE THING

            Or as we say in my part of the South – dew jest one thaaannnnnnggggg.

            Moving to a gentle life – simplifying – may be, well, not so simple. It can be downright overwhelming. How many years of life and possessions can you deal with immediately? How many decisions about what’s important and what isn’t can you make and not have a screeching headache?

            Well, the answer is simple. Do just one thing.

            Most of us begin simplifying by dealing with possessions. You may have lived in the same house for years. If so, there are things stuffed in every nook and cranny, right? And maybe there are boxes in the attic – or even worse, still at your parents’ house!

            Start with one part of one room. If you’re not brave enough to face the clothes closet yet, start with a nightstand or dresser. One drawer at a time. Make decisions. Did you even know what was lurking there? Broken stuff, outdated accessories or jewelry, ragged and useless somethings? Momentos that seemed important at the time you attended that concert but now can barely remember – and really don’t care that you don’t remember.

            Each item goes in the trash, the recycle container to donate to the thrift shop, or in a pile to be returned to the drawer – maybe. Keep going, though. You’ve done one drawer; you can do another.

            Can you go through just one thing every day? No? Well, then, set a specific day and do it once a week. I’ll bet my fabric grocery shopping sacks that in no time you’ll love the experience of paring down so much that you’ll be thinking ahead and planning what else can go.

            And that new feeling you’re experiencing? It’s lightness. Unburdensomeness. Less responsibility for keeping, maintaining, and knowing where the dadgum stuff is! And perhaps someone else is enjoying and benefitting from your gifts to the thrift shop. Or if you want to pad the grocery budget this week, take out a free ad, price the stuff to sell, and make a little scratch.

            So you can move on to the next room, and the next. And the neat way what’s left can be folded and placed in the drawer without scrunching to actually close the drawer is a real victory. The feeling of accomplishment is enough to make you blush!

            Tiny steps. Small accomplishments. You’re on your way to gentle living!

 

How Many Tee-shirts Does One Woman Need?

From Sammie:

 How Many Tee-Shirts Does One Woman Need?

Reading the book “7” by Jen Hatmaker was another wake-up call for me as far as possessions are concerned.

I’ve been living simply for many years. I truly reuse, reduce, and recycle anytime I can. I’m quite an avid recycler with stacked bins in my garage for dividing recyclables. I buy from thrift shops, especially for garden projects.

I try not to be a consumer. Don’t buy many clothes and those frequently come from thrift or consignment shops. I repurpose when I can, being the non-creative and non-mechanical person I am. (Now, good friends are snickering as they ask, “And what about those books you bring home by the armload?” I’ll have you know, books are off-limits! Everyone has something that doesn’t count, and in my case, it’s books! SSSSHHHH!)

But Hatmaker takes living simply to a new level. For seven months, she determines to concentrate on one area of her life and reduce what she uses/consumes to 7 specific articles. For instance, on the month she focuses on food, she decides on 7 foods she will eat for the month. On the month she focuses on clothes, she designates 7 pieces of clothing that she will wear for the month. She continues the next months with possessions, media, waste, spending, and stress.

Hatmaker definitely brings up some challenges to our consumer culture. Could we live with seven articles of clothing for a month? (That’s not counting, if I remember correctly, underwear and socks.)

I spend very little on clothes and I know all my friends wish I would go shopping a little more. I have 3-4 things to wear to church each season. Then I have casual pants (usually a pair of black pants, a pair of khakis, and a pair of jeans to be matched with casual knit shirts or tee-shirts for everyday going to the grocery, a meeting, etc. I also have my home scrunge that I wouldn’t wear to the grocery or a meeting, but those pieces are comfy and loose and me. THEN I have two gardening outfits. These are the ones I wear to crawl around inside the flower beds, tote pine straw, water the plants (and me, too), scratch weeds out of the compacted Alabama red clay, etc. etc.  These clothes go straight to the washing machine when I peel them off at the end of the day.

BUT…… I have to admit this: I have other clothes in my closet. Most of them fit. Most of them look just fine. Most of them are in colors I think are complimentary. But most of them have hung there for several – well some for many – years. I mean to wear them. No real reason I never wear them. But I don’t. After all, how many cutesy tee-shirts do you really need? I don’t get around to most of them. And some of these clothes are just on the edge of looking weary. Not really slapdab worn out, but not looking fine, either. So I hang onto them . . . but I don’t wear them.

So my goal this next week is to make the hard decisions. I admired Jen Hatmaker for getting down to 7 pieces of clothing, but I don’t think I’ll do that. I’m not even much a clothes person. Simple really does it for me. But only 7?

The thing is, someone else could use and appreciate these pieces that I just overlook. Someone else might make that cute denim blouse her favorite. Or someone else might have the perfect earrings for that pink sweater that I keep pushing aside.

So that’s my goal this week. Not to reduce to 7 pieces, but to focus on what I do/will wear and share the rest with the folks at the community clothes closet a few miles from my house.

HHHmmmmmmm……. Maybe food next? I’ll have to think about that one.

LVSLOW

From Sammie:


LVSLOW

That's my kind of person -- the one with the license plate that reads, "LVSLOW"! One of my main goals is to learn to live slow (slowly?) -- or perhaps gently -- or more simply.

I sped up to see what kind of person actually pays to have this enticing slogan on his/her license plate. But, wouldn't you know, I couldn't go fast enough to get a glimpse of the driver!

I say I want to live more slowly, but instead I:

* Drive 80 mph in a 70 mph zone;
* Glare at my watch every 10 seconds that the speaker takes more than her allotted 30 minutes;
* Tap my foot impatiently to let everyone in the checkout line know just how perturbed I am by waiting;
* Remember the many mornings my most gentle words to my children were: "Hurry uppppppp! We're late!"
* Don't allow enough time to get to a meeting, which means I arrive out of breath and frantic;
* Fail to plan meals, so I, of course, eat fast food;
* Make an impossible to-do list, setting myself up to fail -- or do a scrubby job on those tasks I do complete;
* Have great intentions for all the cards I'll send, meals I'll prepare for others, visits I'll make, but I'm too busy and too tired to make all that happen.

So, now and then I have to say it -- "Slow down; breathe; smell the roses; live in the moment....."

But, later. Maybe tomorrow. Right now I have to be somewhere -- fast!

By Lucretia

Restructuring our Time

Most people I know struggle with finding time to get everything on their to-do lists done. They run from daylight to long after dark trying to achieve the pleasure of finishing the list. Except that rarely do they accomplish it all.  We’re left with exhaustion, stress, anxiety, frustration, and a sense of guilt that we don’t quite measure up.

In many seasons of my life, especially when the girls were young, this was my story too. Even now that I’m way past the season of active parenting, I can still find myself packing too much into the day and come to the end with not one ounce of energy left for those I love most.

Randy Frazee wrote a very interesting book in 2003, Making Room for Life: Trading Chaotic Lifestyles for Connected Relationships.  In it he encourages his readers to commit to live by the Hebrew Day Planner.  “The pattern of the Hebrew day was taken from creation. After describing the day’s creative work the author of Genesis concluded the section with these words, ‘and there was evening and there was morning - the first (second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth) day.’”

The ancients lived in an agrarian society when work was done in the daylight hours. Work was done from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Six in the evening signaled that it was time for relationships; a good dinner prepared for and eaten with family and neighbors. Then sleep - aah that elusive element many of us are so deprived of. 

Restructuring our time by the Hebrew Day Planner is just one way Bill and I are living more gently with ourselves.  It is helping us live at a more human pace and make room for work, relationships, and sleep. We enjoy preparing dinner together and eating at a more leisurely pace. Many times we have friends over to share dinner and conversation.

Walking together in our neighborhood or taking our books out on the porch is another way we purpose not to “work” into the night. Spending time on the porch or in the neighborhood in the evenings gives us a chance to meet and talk with our neighbors. Something we rarely did when our evenings were consumed with chores and work brought home from the office.

And, yes, we do get to bed earlier than we used to, and that’s a very good thing. When I sleep 8 hours I wake feeling rested and ready for a new day. I can tackle those tasks left undone from the day before with a fresh and more alert mind. It's a win/win situation.

What about you? How are you restructuring time to create sacred space for God, family, friends, and rest?

An Old Message -- Or Is It?

From Sammie:

An Old Message -- Or Is It?

One of my favorite teachings on simplicity from the Bible is the book of Haggai.

Haggai is not a portion of Scripture that we read frequently, but let me refresh your memory on this story. The Jews had been in exile in Babylon for 70 years and were permitted to return to Jerusalem. Some were used to their life of captivity and chose to stay where they were, but some did return home. When they first arrived in Jerusalem, they were enthusiastic about rebuilding the temple, so they built for themselves only minimal housing. Simple lean-tos, nothing fancy, so they could get on to the job of rebuilding the temple, which had been destroyed.

The Samaritans, however, objected to the rebuilding of the temple and they quickly persuaded Cyrus, the ruler, to forbid the Jews from working on the temple. For the next 16 years, no work was done.

In the meantime, the Jews concentrated on building their own homes. I don't know where their wealth came from, but they built magnificent houses from stone and the richest wood. They were eaten up with materialism. Maybe it was because they had suffered in Babylon and now that they were free, they couldn't get enough of showing off and having more and more stuff.

Darius became king and he lifted the ban forbidding work on the temple, but, guess what? The people were so wrapped up in their own over-consumption and extravagant lifestyles that they weren't interested in working on the temple anymore.

This is when God sent the prophet Haggai to speak to His people. "Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it." (Haggai 1:5-6).

This passage was written more than 2500 years ago, and yet it describes us today.

We plant much and harvest little;
We eat and drink but are not filled;
We earn money and don't know where it goes.

This is true, in part, because we have complicated our lives to the extent that we don't know what is important, or we choose to ignore what is important, in the eyes of God.

Having wealth or having nice things is not the problem. The problem comes when our things or our lifestyles steal our relationship with God. If my possessions demand so much time that I neglect time to study Scripture or to pray, then I will "harvest little." If I work hard to earn money, but I have no peace, then I have worked for nothing.

Perhaps the Prophet Haggai is banging on my door, too. What about you?

Repurposing

From Lucretia

What’s old is new again. . .we are discovering the art of repurposing in our quest for simple and gentle living. Repurposing changes our world on many levels. It unleashes our creativity and provides us with unique items we can gift to others or enjoy ourselves. Repurposing keeps things out of the landfills while giving us a sense of sustainability.

My mother and grandmother were masters of repurposing. They lived up to the ideal of making do with what you have. Jelly jars for drinking were common in our home. Pickle jars became lightening bug catchers and coffee and tea tins were repurposed to contain buttons, clothes pins, and a host of other small items.

My sweet daughter, Lenore has a great eye for repurposing all kinds of things. She has her father’s gift for working with her hands and his patience to carry out very detailed projects. Her latest repurposing effort was to convert an old wooden window she found in her garage into a gift for me. 

We filled the window with photos from our family Christmas trip and a few other happy moments from 2012. Seeing it as I pass through the living room makes me smile because I see a happy family at play and life skills passed to the next generation.

What are you repurposing?

From Sammie:

Five Ways to Go Green Gently

            “Nope! Not me,” Sarah said. “I’m concerned about the environment, but I’m sure not ready for the whole Walden Pond experience!”

            Sarah and I had just watched a TV documentary about a family that moved to a small cabin in the woods, forsaking electricity, processed food, and a car. We watched as they washed their clothes outside in a large, black kettle and prepared meals on a wood cook stove. Certainly that family was making major changes in lifestyle to protect the environment.

            Our conversation quickly moved to another topic. Do Christians have a special responsibility for caring for and preserving creation? Matthew Sleeth, in Serve God, Save the Planet, contends we do. “Let us keep in our heart this thought: God created the earth, and if we do not respect the earth and all of its creatures, we disrespect God.”

            “I want to do my part, but I just want to do it a little more gently,” said Sarah. “Definitely not the cabin in the woods!”

            Knowing that landfills are overflowing with plastic which will not disintegrate for hundreds of years and that America burns huge amounts of fuel, how can we individually make a difference? A gentle difference, that is.

            Here are five suggestions:

1.      Stop junk mail. Go to: www.ecocycle.org for instructions about how to stop direct marketing flyers, credit card applications, and various other types of junk mail. More than 100 million trees were sacrificed to make the 109 billion pieces of junk mail produced in 2009. Stopping some junk mail may take placing phone calls to various stores or organizations that target your mailbox.

2.      Stock up on reusable, fabric shopping bags. Every shopping trip means you come home with one or more plastic bags which a few days later end up in a landfill and take literally hundreds of years to disintegrate. Purchase a few inexpensive reusable fabric bags, keep them handy in your car,  and take them with you on your next shopping trip.  

3.      Adjust the thermostat. Rates vary across the country, but the general rule is that you’ll save approximately 3% on your power bill for every degree you adjust the thermostat. For a change of only three degrees, you could save almost 10% on your fuel bill and have a positive impact on the environment, as well.

4.      Catch the water. How much water goes down the drain while you wait for cold water to run warm or hot? A lot! Keep a gallon jug handy in your kitchen and bathroom. Catch that cold water and empty it into your clothes washer. You’ll have a head start on the next load of laundry and conserve huge amounts of water.

5.      Buy recycled toilet paper. It takes 27,000 trees to produce the amount of toilet paper used around the world every day! If your family buys recycled toilet paper rather than virgin-fiber tissue, you’ll save an entire forest in no time. While we’re talking about paper, go ahead and give up paper towels and paper napkins. Think of all the trees that have been cut just to make paper that we throw away after one use. Instead, use kitchen towels and cloth napkins.

Making a difference is easy. Start with one of these suggestions. Next month, try another. Gentle does it!

From Sammie:

 

Go Gently Into the Day

            All my life – until retirement six years ago – I bounded out of the bed, hit the shower, and raced off to school or work. Many times that meant getting in the car and backing out of the driveway only to find that I’d forgotten something and had to go back, unlock the door, and go through the leaving process all over again!

            Of course, when my family was growing up, it also meant getting a herd of other people ready to get out of the house with school supplies, lunches, and signed homework.

            Needless to say, mornings were not gentle during those years.

            Now, one of the greatest blessings of retirement is going gently into the day. For the first time in my life, I sleep without waking to an alarm. If I read until 1:00 a.m., I may sleep later. If I have a specific project on my mind, my internal alarm sounds earlier.

            A well-planned, healthy breakfast (as opposed to a Pop-Tart) and reading the paper start my day. Then my quiet time with God when I read a devotional and have some prayer time. (I save my in-depth Bible study time for later in the day after my mind is working better!) Next, I tackle whatever housework needs to be done – and, in the summer, add some gardening to that.

            So that’s my morning NOW. But it wasn’t always so.

            I remember the “not gentle” mornings so well. Screaming at my daughters to “Hurry up! You can’t be late!” Breakfast was pretty much what we could find. Lost shoes. Forgotten homework. And I loved the, “Oh, Mom! YOU didn’t help me with these spelling words!” So we would call out spelling words in the car on the way to school. I’d arrive at my work completely frazzled to start my day there, and my children remembered a mom who last words that morning were, “Get out of the car! Hurry!!.”

            So for those of you who read about my gentle mornings now and you’re thinking, “Well, good for her! But that’s surely not my life.” It wasn’t my life until recently, either.

            Here are some ways you can make your mornings more gentle:

·        Get up in time to get yourself ready before the kids wake up. Exercise, shower, makeup, whatever. You’ll be in a better mood for your children when they do wake up.

·        Do whatever you can to prepare for the next day on the night before. Have a special place to put backpacks and whatever else needs to be carried out of the house. Make lunches, if possible. Check to see that all homework is done. Lay out clothes for the next day. (I well remember the clothes battles in the mornings when we had no time for that!)

·        Most Important: Resolve to stay calm. Believe me, I was anything but calm in the morning during those years when my children were at home. But I think now about how much better their days and mine would have been with a peaceful start. Smile. Sing a morning song together. Sit at the table and have a real (simple, gentle) breakfast. Allow enough time to avoid hurrying.

·        Pray with your children in the car on the way to school. This is something my friend, Lisa, always did with her children. Frankly, I was usually screaming at my children or giving instructions. But Lisa asked her two boys what they needed to pray about that day. They prayed for their day, for their teachers, for each other, and any other concerns. Eyes open and hearts alert!

No matter what your circumstances in life, with some planning you can go gently into the day, too.

 

 

From Sammie:

Am I really a rebel?

I read an article on simple living recently and the writer declared that she thought most people who were “into” simple living were rebels.

Well, not me! I’ve known some rebels, and I really didn’t want to be like them. I’m a quiet person. I have never participated in a demonstration or a march. I don’t stand on the side of the highway with a placard stating my cause in crudely worded phrases. Surely I’m not a rebel.

But the somewhat humorous thought jogged around in my mind for a couple of days. I began to identify my quiet rebellion. Yes! Maybe I am a rebel! Here’s what I rebel against:

·        Overconsumption. Deciding what is enough is different for every person. I’m certainly not a minimalist, but neither do I seek extravagance. I want a few clothes and shoes and I wear them until I’ve “got the good out of them.” I want adequate living space but not audaciousness. I believe in “Use it up and wear it out” before buying new.

·        Waste. Not just because there are starving children in China, but it pains me to buy food (or anything else) and then let it spoil. I’m an avid recycler and getting more so every day. And, yes, I squeeze the last little dab out of the toothpaste, too.

·        Bigger is better. There’s no chance I can keep with the Joneses, anyway, but I don’t want to. A bigger house. An expensive car. More diamonds and pearls. Nope, that’s not for me, the rebel. I love my little house, my compact car, and wearing the same earrings till my ears turn green.

·         Unexamined thinking. Now, this is where I may be the real rebel. I’m afraid for much of my life I based my values and decisions on what other people taught me or expected of me. Most of those concepts were true. But some were not. My highest purpose is to know God’s Word and to be obedient to Him. Against that standard, I must examine my sometimes flawed tradition. Why do I think that? Is it true? Does it please God?

In a world that values glitz over depth, clatter over solitude, and fantasy over reality, I admit it: I am a quiet rebel.

 

From Sammie:

The 10% Challenge

            Recently, I heard someone say that they had set a goal to be 10% more simple in several aspects of their life. Now, I don’t know whether that meant 10% in a year or in a shorter time, and, of course, changes to simple living are fairly difficult to quantify.

            But that statement stuck in my mind. I have simplified so much in the past few years, but I immediately knew I could make a 10% further change in many areas. Could I eliminate 10% more clutter? Be 10% more environmentally efficient? Spend 10% less? Simplify my routines by 10%?

            What would a 10% move toward simplicity look like for you? Here are some thoughts:

1.      Clothing. My closet contains several items of clothes that I could wear. They still fit and there’s nothing wrong with them. But I don’t wear them. If I’m not going to wear these perfectly good clothes, could I donate them (at least 10% of them)?

2.      Food. If I’m more careful about not wasting food, could I buy less food? That means using up the obnoxious leftovers in soup or casseroles. I might also cut down 10% by just eating less! (Now that’s a radical idea, right?)

3.      Money. No doubt that if I plan better, I spend less money. I often buy something at a higher price because I get down to the wire and haven’t planned well.

4.      Environment. I almost always carry my cloth bags to the grocery store, but still I seem to collect those pesky plastic bags from other places, too. Retail businesses use plastic bags, so I need to remember to bring my own bags when shopping at the dollar store or the big chain stores. Easily I could cut down my use of plastic.

5.      Books or magazines. Okay, this is my greatest vice! I love books and magazines. My city has a wonderful Friends of the Library store, and I frequently buy books there for $1 and $2 and magazines for $.10. When I feel the urge to buy a new book, FOL should be my first stop. Now and then, a new book or magazine is a treat, but I can find treasures so I cut down on purchases and not give up my book and magazine habit.

What about you? Can you take the 10% challenge and simplify your time, money, possessions, or creation care?

From Lucretia

A few years ago I began to explore what a simple life plan for me would look like. Many people have written about simplicity, and I realized that I needed to articulate my plan too. This was driven by the self-knowledge that if I didn’t put it on paper, or on the calendar, it wouldn’t happen. Many of my New Year’s resolutions and good intentions fizzled because they remained as philosophical ideas in my head.

I have refined this simple plan several times over the last two years until it has become part of me.  There is an awareness of each piece and a little voice in my head that begs me to consider those words on the paper as I make decisions about products. 

Bill and I are working together to create an original art piece (paper and canvas) of my simple life plan, and we have the perfect spot to hang it in our little home when its finished.

One aspect of our plan is to reduce the amount of unknown chemicals in our life. Fabric softener went out of the house this month. We’ve discovered that 2 tablespoons of baking soda dissolved in a pint of water and poured in the wash cycle softens all our clothes better than any liquid softener or dryer sheet ever did and for pennies comparatively. 

We air dry all synthetics on an indoor drying rack so static electricity isn’t a problem. Sheets and towels are whiter, without bleach or costly additives, softer and fresher without dyes, perfumes, or other unknown chemicals. 

As my friend Pat says, “It makes me happy!” And, I think Granny would be happy too.

Lucretia

From Sammie:

 

I’m not sure when these beautiful words were written, but the writer, William Henry Channing, lived from 1810-1884. This is one of my favorite pieces on gentle living:

 

To live content with small means;

To seek elegance rather than luxury,

And refinement rather than fashion;

To be worthy, not respectable,

And wealthy, not rich;

To study hard,

Think quietly,

Act frankly;

To listen to stars and birds,

To babes and sages,

With open heart;

To bear all cheerfully,

Do all bravely,

Await occasions, hurry never.

In a word, to let the spiritual,

Unbidden and unconscious,

Grow up through the common.

This is to be my symphony.

 

From Lucretia

Perhaps the seeds of living gently were planted in me by my grandmother, Stella. The biscuits we made together on the porcelain top of this old china cabinet were the lightest and most wonderful delicacy of my childhood. She was a quiet woman and calm. I never saw her her ruffled or hurried. She raised eight children, gardened and preserved food for the family , and still found time to love her grandchildren as if they were the only thing in the world she needed to give time and attention to. May we find our way back to that sweet spot. I can still smell granny's biscuits and taste Pa's wild honey. What could be better?

Lucretia

If you think your life is too complicated, you’re right! It’s time to live more gently in this frenzied, chaotic world.

But how do we do that? Read more from Sammie.