Living a Life of Simplicity: What I've Learned from Joanna Gaines

Is it possible to live a life of simplicity in a world of constant busyness? Can we live a simple life and focus on the things that really matter when so many distractions fight for our attention? Learn how Joanna Gaines lives a life of simplicity despite her hectic schedule.

Simplicity is More Than Just a Catch Phrase (A Guest Post by Susannah Kellogg)

Simplicity is such a catch phrase these days.  If you head to Pinterest you'll see hundreds, if not thousands of pins that are letting you in on the simple way to do such-and-such or how to live a simple life.  I could spend hours flipping through all the blog posts those pins lead to and be stuck in on a rabbit trail for days!  Sometimes simplicity gets to be a little too overwhelming.  There are just too many ways to be simple and, honestly, a lot of those ways take a lot of time and work...  Pretty much the opposite of true simplicity. 

*Related Post: Who Can Have Simplicity?*

What is Simplicity?

All that being said, simplicity is my heart song!  I'm not talking about all the tips and tricks you find on Pinterest, I'm talking about the way my life is lived on a day to day basis.  Simplicity means we only keep a limited number of toys for my son.  Simplicity means preparing freezer meals to throw in the crock pot every day.  Simplicity means going on cheaper dates with my husband so we can go on a few expensive dates a year.  Every choice I make goes back to my key heart song - living a simple life.

Simplicity in Our Faith

Simplicity is at the heart of my faith too.  All too often I hear people - even Gospel believing Christians - expressing faith in a "Jesus and..." sort of way.  They'd never straight up say it but it's in the depths of what they believe.

Maybe you've heard it too... Statements like "No homosexual person can be a Christian" (Wait, aren't we ALL sinners in need of God's grace?) or "I don't want to get to Heaven and have God tell me that I did *fill in the blank* wrong" (Just a second, if we've accepted Jesus' payment for our sin doesn't God view us as blameless?)

It breaks my heart to hear additions to the Grace of my Savior. I feel as though it makes light of what He did on the cross.  What does it take to truly be a part of our faith?  Well, Romans 10:9 says it best "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  That's it.  It's simple!

Related Post: It's All About Grace

Of course, as the Holy Spirit comes into our lives He will begin changing our hearts to be more like Christ!  We should be desiring less of sin and more of Him.  That doesn't affect our salvation one little bit but it's just something that will happen when we have a life that's regenerated by Christ!

I want to keep simplicity at the center of my faith.  Grace is all that's needed.  I'm not going to add anything to the Gospel.


Go take a look at Susannah's Blog to see my post on "How Trusting God Makes Things Simple".

BIO:

I'm Susannah, blogger at Simple Moments Stick – a lifestyle blog focused on marriage, parenting, and faith.  The two men in my life are Nate – who’s the hottest worship pastor I know – and our precious, stubborn, opinionated, amazing one and a half year old son, Caleb.  I spend my days caring for Caleb, connecting with women through blogging and IRL, and crafting for my Etsy store: Simply You… and baby too – pretty much my dream job!  My heart behind my blog is to connect with other women around the country (and world!) to love on and encourage one another.  Come on over and get to know me better!

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Embracing Minimalism- Make Small Changes

I'm not gonna lie- I'm prone to "hoarding". Not like what you see on T.V., but I do tend to keep a lot of stuff that I shouldn't keep. Most of it is because of sentiment.

I like to keep that favorite T-shirt from middle school, that sweater from family that I've never worn, and that book I've read 10 times (12 years ago).

But the truth is, I don't need those things. The memories are enough. I'll never be as small as I was in middle school. If I haven't worn that sweater by now, I'm not gonna. And let's face it, after the tenth time, a book just isn't as exciting as it used to be.

So for those of you who hold on too tightly to sentiment (like I do), join me in trying to condense. There are several ways a person can simplify their life, but here are just a few, quick ideas.

Let Your Friends Have a Shopping Spree

Collect all of the clothes and shoes you need to get rid of (that are still in good condition) and invite your friends over to rummage through your stuff. It's a win-win! They get free clothes, and you don't have to figure out what to do with said-clothes!

Have a Yardsale

Once you've let your friends have their pick, get together the rest of the clothes and shoes, along with any other items in your home you'd like to get rid of and set up a yard sale. It's always nice to have extra cash, and you reduce what you will have to haul off yourself.

Donate

For the rest of that stuff? Donate, donate, donate. Places like Good Will, Salvation Army and quite a few others have a donation center where you can drop off your stuff. Just don't try to drop off things that are falling apart. Not cool, bro!

Implement a New Shopping Rule

Lastly, when you decide to simplify, you are going to have to be willing to adopt a different shopping philosophy. Decide right now that you will only shop when you need something, and that you will not buy clothes, shoes, etc. just for the sake of shopping and buying. This will prevent you from accumulating a whole new pile of stuff to go through and purge in a year or two.


Minimilasism is something I have been interested in learning more about for a little while, but I never looked further into. But luckily, Ashley Sams of  Live Intentionally (blog) and Live Intentionally (Youtube) signed up to be my sponsor for the month of April!

Ashley is all about minimalism and how she can simply her life in order to focus on the very best things in life- particularly Jesus!

But I'd really rather let Ashley introduce herself:

"I am a twenty-something Southern girl who loves Jesus, polka-dots, and all things Disney. I was born and raised in Tennessee, and love calling Nashville my home. I am a Youtuber turned blogger who puts out content related to simple living, faith, fashion, and lifestyle.  Live Intentionally began in May 2015 as a Youtube channel, and has since grown into a little community of people who strive to live simple lives with purpose, intention, and a Christ centered focus. Aside from Youtube and Blogging, I am a (soon to be) elementary school teacher. God has truly blessed me with a career that I love, as well as great friends and family to spend life with."

*If you want to get to know Ashley better, follow her on social media*

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