Proverbs 31:27

²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Gaining control over the “affairs of my household” seems a bit daunting. Exciting, but daunting. Have I said this before?

Goals, organization, schedules, files, wills, finances, photos, cleaning, hospitality, the whole nine yards.

Inspired by Just a Girl, Whatever and Seriously a Homemaker, the kids and I made a We Love Summer To-do List.

I figure I might as well get fired up for goal making with summer fun!

I left a couple of lines for anything Pete wants to add.

Love,

Jess

New Years can often represent a fresh start in a new look, attitude, or plan. Goals are thrown about; some serious, some ridiculous.

I just plain want to have more, freshness. Fresh foods to eat,  laundry to hang, and goodness sakes, I’d love fresh bread, daily…with butter.

Most of all, however, I am bone-breaking, heart-longing for, dying without one thing…Fresh Air!

It is my goal this year to be in nature, for 30 minutes or more, everyday. Yes, thank you for the reminder, I know where I live, snowy Minnesota. I think I want to tackle it anyway. Okay, I’ll let myself off the hook for anything below 0 degrees; those days I’ll just do 2-3 minutes before frost bite kicks in, eating away my very skin.

So nature, here I come again, returning to you for some much needed, bigger-than me, time. Time to see, feel, and hear the work of God all around me. Time for my lungs, heart and every inch of me to say…I am alive and well, take me to see the world (though I am sure many of my adventures will begin and end in my very own yard).

Today, I took the kids on a sled-walk. No need for bicycles or strollers to transport us around. The streets are covered in ice. I am not exaggerating. We traveled the neighborhood with binoculars in tow, searching for snow-birds. Then we played at the park followed by some cocoa, pretzels, and chocolate snowmen.

The actual definition of simplicity from Wikipedia is the following:

Simplicity is the property, condition, or quality of being simple or uncombined. It often denotes beauty, purity or clarity. Simple things are usually easier to explain and understand than complicated ones. Simplicity can mean freedom from hardship, effort or confusion. It may also refer to a simple living lifestyle.

I am not simple. My roles, relationships and re…(darn what’s a good r word here?) are all very combined. I respect the way God made my heart, soul and mind in a web of connections, complexities and creativity. So what am I doing with The Simplicity Project? Do I want to go live in a bubble free from challenge, growth opportunity or noise?

Q: Can I incorporate my suburban part-time stay-at-home Mom world-living God-fearing self into Simplicity?

A: The simplicity I long for is not a destination as much as a condition I can develop to see a bit more clarity and beauty along my dusty trail here on Earth until the moment I come face to face with the ultimate Beauty and all the confusion is washed away.

3 Idea Seed Fertilizers

1. Define goals. What will our house and family run like, look like, sound like, smell like (seriously I have such a stinky laundry washer right now!), celebrate like and feel like?
2. Pray and Discuss. A friend of ours says, “You need some serious knee-mail!”. I want to be united with the my “Are you serious?”-darling-husband-Peter. What will I have to compromise on? How can we infuse our faith into our plans?
3. Spend time with your dreams. My best ideas come to me right before I fall into a sleepy nap. I like to stay half awake playing around my new imagined place of graceful space. I need to be inspired without becoming jealous which isn’t easy to do. I will stay away from the stores for a long time! That’s like phase 100 and I am still in phase 1/2.