Why live more simply?
I love to declutter! Simplify, minimise, organise, clean and tidy. There is a lot out there on how to do all of this and I am passionate about this topic! There are so many reasons to simplify our lives and that will vary from person to person. The main reason people seek to simplify is so that they can re-gain control and clarity. Because chaos causes stress and problems. One of the major benefits for living more simply is that you can make room for God in your daily life.
As you have probably guessed from my blog title, my motivation behind living more simply is so that I can Honour God. It may sound far-fetched but keeping things more simple has really helped to do just that. I must confess, that in the beginning of my wanting to simplify it was not because I was trying to get closer to God. Yet I knew I needed to make life easier and less stressed.
It was all sparked by selling house, moving and having a baby all within the space of a month. I felt overwhelmed and memories of moving around during childhood made me feel anxious.
Accumulating stuff doesn’t take long and it doesn’t take long for stuff to overtake us. So I began reading books and blogs on minimalism and simplifying and began to see how much easier things could be with less stuff. As well as a more simple lifestyle.
More time to focus
Surprisingly I began to have more time to do the things I had wanted to do but didn’t find the time, such as writing and charity. I could spend quality time with my daughter, husband and extended family. I had a priority list of things that mattered and I realised that I needed to let go of the things that took time away from that. Those ungodly time wasters.
Soon I realised that I was feeling closer to God and had more peace. Less rushed and stressed (not perfect though!). I had way more clarity and focus and began to really study my bible daily and spend time with God. Something I had not done often enough or with my undivided attention. I had made time for God in my daily life just by eliminating the things that were in the way.
What can you remove?
My blog shares different ways to declutter so I won’t share them in this post. However it was a combination of removing physical clutter as well as other distractions such as too much screen time, social media and secular music that helped me move closer toward God. These things may not be necessary for you to purge in your life. The point is not to tell you what to keep or get rid of but to encourage you to make room for God in your daily life, in your heart and your mind.
Mark 12:30
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Living a minimalistic, simple life has also blessed my family and I in so many ways! My mind is more clear and so is the house. It makes it easier to have God as the focus instead of all the ‘stuff’. A tidy home really sets the mood for everyday life. Besides the roles of mother and wife, my job is a homemaker, so why make my own job harder with unnecessary junk.haha I also removed all social media and secular music, and limited screen time as well. It makes things much more delightful. I thoroughly enjoy all your blog posts 😊 God bless
Hi Jay, thank you for your comment! I am so glad that you are enjoying my posts:) Yes I completely agree! Eliminating the unnecessary so that we can focus on the important things/people in our lives. That is a wise decision with removing social media and secular music/limiting screen time, as simplifying goes well beyond just removing the physical clutter. These things can really interfere with our daily life. I need to go back to having limited screen time also, it makes life a lot more peaceful:)
Thank you and God bless you also.