Simplicity
1 Thess. 4.11:
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life...NAS
Aspire to lead a quiet life...NKJV
Make it your aim to live a quiet life...GNT
Study to be quiet...KJV
Something tells me the struggle I have to live simply is not uncommon to man. What is uncommon is the choice to make it our ambition. We seem to be surrounded with all kinds of other ideas about how to live life. The goal is rarely quiet living. People cram their days full, succombing to the notion that the more we do, the more life we will have experienced. After all, you have to grab for all the gusto you can get, right?
Wrong! Totally wrong!
Many of my clearest and warmest memories from childhood the are the common place, run of the mill happenings. The morning bathroom schedule. The smell of dinner cooking. The nighttime darkness of country living. The Saturday morning Western Jamoboree (to this day I love Westerns!) Grandma's molasses cookies from her cookie jar. The creek running beneath the bridge out in the back field which provided hours of playtime fun. The smells and sounds of the yearly hay harvest. Falling to sleep listening to Enrico Caruso singing great tenor arias.
I want to make sure that my children have special, once-in-a-lifetime memories - but even more, I want them to remember the rhythm of routine life here. And I want it to be full of Jesus, Mom and Dad and family, church (His Bride), and love.
So my goal for the next season is to regain rhythm - a good, steady rhythm. Somehow there is delight in that, and I'm more than ready for it.
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life...NAS
Aspire to lead a quiet life...NKJV
Make it your aim to live a quiet life...GNT
Study to be quiet...KJV
Something tells me the struggle I have to live simply is not uncommon to man. What is uncommon is the choice to make it our ambition. We seem to be surrounded with all kinds of other ideas about how to live life. The goal is rarely quiet living. People cram their days full, succombing to the notion that the more we do, the more life we will have experienced. After all, you have to grab for all the gusto you can get, right?
Wrong! Totally wrong!
Many of my clearest and warmest memories from childhood the are the common place, run of the mill happenings. The morning bathroom schedule. The smell of dinner cooking. The nighttime darkness of country living. The Saturday morning Western Jamoboree (to this day I love Westerns!) Grandma's molasses cookies from her cookie jar. The creek running beneath the bridge out in the back field which provided hours of playtime fun. The smells and sounds of the yearly hay harvest. Falling to sleep listening to Enrico Caruso singing great tenor arias.
I want to make sure that my children have special, once-in-a-lifetime memories - but even more, I want them to remember the rhythm of routine life here. And I want it to be full of Jesus, Mom and Dad and family, church (His Bride), and love.
So my goal for the next season is to regain rhythm - a good, steady rhythm. Somehow there is delight in that, and I'm more than ready for it.
posted by Darlene Sinclair at
10:47 PM
6 Comments:
That is quite a challenge at this time of year. We have parties, contatas, plays, menus, decorating, shopping--all added to our list of daily routines. Over the years, I have found that the daily routine is to be the backbone of all the bustle, not to be tossed out at a whim (well, once in a while...), but to be the structure from which the extras can grow. Without the structure, life seems to fall apart quickly in this home.
I am so glad for weeks or days like this one--with no homeschool--so my attention can go to the once-a-season stuff like painting, decorating, menus, and the like.
Here is a toast to simplicity!
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Oh I can totally identify with that. There is nothing like a move to totally disrupt the rythm of our home. It is four months today we've been here and I feel as if each day is a "fly by the seat of your pants" day. The holiday season is not always the easiest time to slow down and find the rythm that works but I am looking forward to the New Year with great anticipation.
can I borrow your prayer...rhythm (that is a hard word to spell) and symplicity would be welcome.
as i am reflecting on what you said, it seems like distrupting our rhythm, our routines, can be a very effective stragety of our enemy. and also would be providing all those excuses not to regain the routine.
exactly what you have shared has shaken up my world lately...no rhythm or routine. and now that i think about it, i am a person of rhythm, of pace. some thrive on chaos and the "go, go, go" mentality. not me. i can function there, but i thrive with a steady rhythm. thanks for sharing that darlene. i think i need to look at this over the next couple days...reestablish some rhythm and routine. and thanks for causing me how to learn how to spell rhythm (did you notice how many times i wrote it - i was practicing.)
Wow Darlene. I really need this. Joe
Darlene,
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving...spending it in Colonial Williamsburg...is so awesome!! I loved this blog, as I have all your others. You again, are an encouragement and I am so thankful to know you!
Your family was missed this evening ... a row of empty seats in the front marked your absence. Still, it was a beautiful concert. Everyone worked hard, and it showed.
Hope you are all having a wonderful time!
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