~Living Simply~

I have been visiting different blogs and found more than one which speaks of a simple life style or simple living ! I found this very interesting and decided to do some more research on the subject. I went to google search and typed in "Simple Living". The more web sites I came to and read up on them ,the more I realized I have pretty much led a simple life, for many years now. No, I don't grow my own fruits and vegetables are get fresh eggs from yard chickens ,and all my meat comes from the grocery store. I do some times wish I had a milk cow because my son drinks milk like water. For many years I did not have a phone ,and I am not talking about a cell phone, just a regular house phone. I didn't have a washer or a dryer and washed my clothes out by hand or we would spend a half a day on Saturday at the local laundry washing clothes. The kids always had a great time at the Laundry Mat! I heated water on a wood stove and that was the means of heating our home as well. We lived in a very simple and modest house and most all our clothes , the kids toys and my house decorations came from hand me downs, garage sales, thrift stores and the like. I wasn't fortunate enough to own a sewing machine and never have learned to sew very well. I did do mending and such by hand and made the kids a few hand made dolls and so fourth. I was gifted a nice sewing machine from one of the sisters in our church last year and I plan to learn more sewing skills with it. To this day I had rather go second hand shopping than any other way! Of course, The Lord has always provided that which we were in need of, in one way or another ,and continues to do so to this day. My husband finely was blessed with a good job, by this time our three eldest children were grown,he was earning more money than he ever had in the past and I was also working off and on. We were living modestly but comfortably and even had some credit and were able to save a little money to take a simple trip from time to time. Our bills were payed , we had medical and dental insurance,and then at no fault of his ,my husband lost his job. Which left us owing a great deal of money to credit cards that we were unable to pay. Also, left us with no medical or dental insurance ! So, we have pretty much gone back to living a simple life. My husband did finely find work again and I had to quit working long before that due to my health so these days we live on one income which is very modest. We were blessed to be able to pay off our car loans after he had lost his work and our home was already payed for. We now live in a very modest home and have cut back in many areas to compensate where the money is needed most. I do plan on learning more about this simple living and see if we may benefit more from it in ways I don't know much about.
I truly can say I have never desired a lot of material things in life and have found myself to be content with more less, than more. As I said ,God has always been our provider and for that, I am so grateful to him !

Our life's are so blessed with things that can't be afforded with money ! Like the health of our four children and six grand children. The love of many friends and extended family members. To be able to worship God freely and openly without fear of persecution.

Yes, I truly live a simple life and find much peace and comfort in doing so ! If we live this life style by choice, are by chance ,I believe one can truly be content in whatever the reason.

God bless you in what ever way you choose to live your life today. If it is a life which pleases God and brings him honor and you find true contentment than I would say that it is a life well worth living!

Blessings,Shelley