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