While I haven’t shared much about it here yet, we have been on a journey to a more minimalistic lifestyle. We’ve started with turning to minimalistic wardrobes and slowly getting rid of toys that the boys just don’t play with, and I’m hoping to share more about that over the next couple of months. Today, I’m excited to have Kayla from The Accidental Nomad Life Blog here with us, talking about the topic of minimalism and sharing how living a minimalistic lifestyle glorifies God.
I LOVE the show Hoarders. Gross, I know…a strange show to love (but seriously, I was super bummed when they took it off of Netflix…). Why?
Because I have hoarding tendencies.
When my husband and I first got married, I kept EVERYTHING…our house was disastrous and I just kept buying more. I love a good garage sale…
So why did that make me love Hoarders?
I began recognizing that I *might* have a problem that needed to be addressed. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t crazy, obsessive about any one thing like many of them are, and I definitely threw my garbage away and kept feces off the floor. But I had my share of stacks, piles to work around to find a chair or a table…It runs in my family.
So while I would watch Hoarders, it would encourage me to re-evaluate why I was purchasing things and what did I have at home that I could get rid of.
You might be chuckling and confused right now because this post is supposed to be about how leading a minimalistic life brings glory to Jesus and so far all I’ve talked about is a creepy TV show and my junk obsession…
But it took me quite a while to come to terms with getting rid of things and realizing how decluttering really can bring glory to God.
How living a minimalistic lifestyle glorifies God.
Over the last 8 years that my husband and I have been married, we have moved 4 times.
That’s a lot of boxing and unboxing to do.
With each move, I realized more and more how little we needed certain things that hadn’t been touched since we moved in, or maybe there was an entire box that I had never unpacked.
As I began getting rid of things (which is STILL hard for me to do) my stress level dropped, my anxiety decreased , and I began to feel more peaceful at home.
I have to say that I’m sure God intended for me to live life more like that than surrounded by piles, unused items, and mentally in turmoil because I can’t move in my own house (ok, it’s never been THAT bad, but you get the idea at least!).
Each move has made me more and more aware of how unnecessary so many things in our Western Culture are. How blessed we are to have the opportunity to have so much excess.
How little the things of this earth mean in light of eternity...how living a minimalistic lifestyle glorifies God. Click To TweetI am also reminded of how little the things of this earth mean in light of eternity.
We have lost our home and our car at one point and while those are devastating and scary, in the end they are meaningless. We still had our family together, we haven’t experienced death or disease, we are so blessed to have so much, regardless of what’s in our name.
This song comes to my mind so often when I think of all of the “things” that I want, or have, or miss having, etc…
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Refrain
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conquerors we are!
Refrain
His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!
Words & Music: Helen H. Lemmel, 1922
I think so often about this passage:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
And THAT is where I believe minimalism is so glorifying to God.
While I still don’t consider myself a Minimalist by title, I am enjoying working towards minimalizing the way that we live and I applaud all those that do live minimalistic lives! What you are doing is good, it’s good to teach our children the meaninglessness of things here and to raise their eyes to heaven instead of shelves.
Kayla has been married to her husband, Andrew, for almost 8 years. They have three boys – 6, 4 & 2 and a new baby due in June. They have moved four times over the course of their marriage which is where the title of Kayla’s blog, the Accidental Nomad Life sprung from. Kayla blogs frequently as her stay-at-home job; she loves photography, graphic design, and anything crafty and DIY. Kayla has a heart for sharing her story and encouraging people – making the social media life less perfect.
Find out more about Kayla on her blog The Accidental Nomad Life.
Instagram: @theaccidentalnomadlifeblog or @kayla_j_nelson
Facebook: the Accidental Nomad Life blog
Pinterest: @kaylajayne14
Twitter: @kayla_j_nelson
This is inspiring. I’m want to be on a journey toward minimalism. The only thing is I have to get my husband on board. I totally agree I find when I’m surrounded by a ton of clutter I get anxious and stressed. My goal is to get our home down to bare minimum. I’ve found that stuff doesn’t satisfy me, moments and experiences do. Thanks for this post.
So true, Nikki!! My husband also has lots of stuff he doesn’t want to part with, I usually leave his stuff alone, because I have found that he is pretty much always correct with what he wants to keep- he does use it later, or find good use for it.
Thanks Nikki! The memories that we make are so much more precious that the things that we’ve got! I hope your husband begins appreciating that with you, as well!!! <3
I love, love, love a minimalist lifestyle! We aren’t perfect yet but we are so much further than we were before. And every day we get better. It seriously feels SO much better to not have stuff cluttering your life. If your stressed, start throwing stuff out and see how your life changes. Totally serious. It’s amazing!
Decluttering is my stress reliever for sure!! The boys know that when I am upset about something they had better get their room clean when I tell them…otherwise I’m bringing in the garbage bag! Haha!!
That’s awesome, Ashley! Good for you!!! It really is amazing how much getting rid of stuff can clear our minds and make us feel better. 🙂
I love this! Growing up as a missionary kid, we moved every four years at least. My Dad always joked and said “Three moves is as good as a fire”. Meaning that by the time you have moved three times, you no longer have anything that you started with!
I am totally with you in the element of trying to live more minimally. I would not consider myself a minimalist, but I have found that I have so much that I just don’t need. And I truly agree that living minimally is glorifying to God- as long as your heart is in the right place!
Oh, I totally agree with you, Suzanne, minimalism only brings glory to God when our hearts are about bringing Him glory and doing his will.
I’ve moved once in my life, and I did get rid of a bunch of stuff then, so I can see your dad’s point. Where did your family serve? Africa? I can’t remember, although I know I’ve read about where before…
Thanks Suzanne! I love that, “three moves is as good as a fire” – it’s so true!!! I love opening up space to see God work through provision and trusting that we already have what we need. 🙂
Great post. I too try to libe this way. I have a long way to go but working toward it.
Thank you! Baby steps is all you need! Many times I feel like I have to make all of my changes in a day, but seriously, it’s so much more meaningful to take it slow and really understand why you are doing what you are doing! Good luck!
This is such a good reminder! I need to print this out and tape it up somewhere. hahaha I have a tendency to be super sentimental, so it can be hard for me to get rid of things sometimes. But I do feel a lot less stress when my home is decluttered!
It makes cleaning soooo easy! I think that is why I love having a decluttered house!
Haha! Rebekah! We are so similar! I still find myself holding on to things and then realize it doesn’t matter to the giver that I still have it…
I LOVE that hymn. It was my turn to lead worship last Sunday and I choose to play and sing it for that. Such a great refocuser.
I wish the church would return to singing more of the great hymns, more often!!
I love hymns for that reason. I love the modern, trendy songs too, but I find that hymns really have a way to speaking deep to the soul on bigger matters like this.
Kayla, thank you for sharing! I enjoyed reading about your experience so far. We don’t have a lot of space to hoard, but I came to a similar conclusion when we had to somehow make space for my daughter’s arrival. Suddenly, our little home became quieter and more peaceful without stuff stashed everywhere.
You’re welcome, Lauren, thanks for reading! We’ve never had a lot of space to hoard either, which is why each move, I seemed to purge more and more – each place got a little smaller, until the last one. It’s also easier to keep track of a little one when there’s less stuff – their stuff takes up enough room for three marriages sometimes! ha! 🙂
This is encouraging. I don’t know that I would say I practice minimalism exactly but I do like getting clutter out. My husband was raised around grandparents (of the depression era) who kept everything and so it is harder at times for him to let go. I on the other hand while I am a natural pile maker, just want it OUT. I need a clean environment to function best and it’s so much easier to do this the less we have.
Yes, getting rid of clutter and stuff is so freeing!! I find I go through moods where I want to get rid of everything, and we take loads to goodwill and a local consignment shop, then we go a while and do it again. 🙂 It is definitely a freeing feeling to get rid of stuff, and I find it much easier to keep the house clean. Plus, it takes so much less time. 🙂
Love this post n thank you for sharing it. I’m on a quest to rid my home of 27 years of clutter. We too have moved but it’s more like 13 times in my marriage n when I tire of box diving for something I just replace it. Not good. I’m a borderline hoarder but God in his kindness kept bringing that very scripture to me n I finally yielded n then researched minimalism. Also, it does help to learn how to be more organized with the things you have as well. Our kitchen n bathroom cabinets holding food n spices, towels n toiletries can still be a source of stress if we don’t get a handle on those things as well. My advice, which I need to take lol, is to make a list of rooms n areas that need to be decluttered n start from there otherwise it becomes overwhelming which of course is stress. Sara I loved the comment “raise their eyes to heaven not shelves” is priceless. I’m raising my granddaughter n that’s what I’m trying to do even with Christmas. Why does any child need 15, 20+ presents under the tree. I say bring the gifts closer to what Jesus got n that was 3 gifts. My goal no more than 4-6 gifts n the bigger more expensive the fewer the gifts. God bless n hugs
So much wisdom here! Thanks for sharing this!! Yes, cabinets and cupboards totally can get super cluttered…I try to go through them every few months and that keeps them mostly under control. 🙂
For Christmas we try to keep gifts to four, one to read, one to wear, one they need, and one they want. It helps keep the budget under control that way too!