What Summer Can Teach Us About Simplified Living
Summer is almost here! If you have children, school is either already out or about to be out, and you really can’t help but get caught up in the excitement of “summer break,” even if you aren’t really getting one. Temperatures are warmer, vacations are being planned, and everyone’s vibes are getting just a little bit more chill.
Or maybe summer has a whole different feeling for you. Maybe you’re realizing you’re already halfway through the year and you’re starting to feel the crushing weight of goals that seem so out of reach. Maybe life just doesn’t ever seem to slow down for you, and now that the kids are home, you have even less time to just stop and breathe.
Remember when summer was simple? Remember when life was simple? Earlier in the year, Marie Kondo was front-and-center of pretty much every casual conversation and Netflix queue. Who doesn’t want to find more joy in their life, especially if it means getting rid of physical clutter in your life? Why stop at physical clutter, though?
This month, we want to dive headfirst into the double-headed topic of simplifying your life for intentional living. A mouthful, right? But such a powerful practice that will more than pay for itself when all is said and done. “Simplicity” sounds good in theory but when it comes time to actually commit to it, why are so many of us confused or scared to pull the trigger?
“For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity[a] and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.”
2 Corinthians 1:12
To live simply is to live with intention, but we must believe in the intention of our lives in order to make our lives more simple. We know, our heads are hurting a little too! This month, though, we hope to help every one of you reading this learn how to go down to the roots of your life and start building your life so that it invigorates you and gives you the freedom to actually live rather than survive every day.
As you follow along on our discussion this month, keep your mind open to what can be put on the “simplify list.” And keep your heart open for God to make clear to you the path of most intentional living. Again, it will be an involved process, but by the end of it, you just might find yourself recapturing that “summer feeling” all year long.