Sunday, July 3, 2011

Simple Gifts

We have spent much of this last year moving closer and closer towards simplicity and the gifts from this process have been simply sweet! Clint and I really felt a calling to abandon our mainstream mentalities that were telling us more is better and learn to find contentment with less -

  • Less job - Clint traded in his highly esteemed, high-tech job as an electrical engineer to become an electronics educator which has greatly reduced his daily stress.
  • Less money - Our experience was that when you have more money, you just spend more. A bigger paycheck meant a bigger house, more stuff, and more activities for the kids. It was easier to justify buying things that we wanted versus just what we needed when we had the money in the bank account to spend. We have become much more disciplined with our spending and better managers of what we do have.
  • Less house - We moved out of our big house that came with a big mortgage, big expenses, and big responsibilities which lifted a big burden!
  • Less hustle and bustle - We moved to a slower-paced, smaller town which I will admit was hard to adjust to, but the benefits far outweigh any hesitations I once had.
  • Less stuff - We sold or donated over half of all we owned and it felt great! It is so much simpler to keep track of and take care of less stuff! The best part was that our whole family learned that the joy of giving is far greater than the joy of having and we will continue to take seasonal inventories to get rid of more stuff! Be free from stuff!
  • Less activities - There was always something to do and somewhere to go and busyness divided us. I still struggle sometimes to maintain a healthy balance, but we have really enjoyed just spending time at home as a family playing in the backyard or baking together or building something together and that motivates me to keep activities to a minimum.
  • Less technology - This has made the biggest difference in my life. I used to be so connected to my iphone that I was becoming disconnected from everything else...ironic! Praise the Lord that my iphone crashed one day and my eyes were opened to a life free from the distraction of a "smart" phone! We rarely watch TV anymore and we do not own a gaming system. I spend less time on the computer these days as well and consequently less time blogging, but I figure if I am spending more time making memories than recording them...it's a good thing (that was so Martha Stewart)!
Less really is more!

3 comments:

Sherri said...

I LOVE this post! So true. We're STILL trying to sell our BIG house, but I am so inspired to see you living out this simple truth and finding so much freedom in it. Miss you over in this big busy city, though.

Shanna from BabySchrades said...

love this Kristen! so glad you are so happy! xoxoxoxo

KenMan said...

Very proud of you two. The longer I live, the happier I am with less. Thank God for the real important things in life that have nothing to do with money or 'things'. Good job.