As we start the year, David and I are really striving to simplify and de-clutter our home and our life. I am so excited to have an awesome tool to help us as we tackle it, Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living
I feel like the phrase "simple living" can really be vague and "philosophical" but Tsh's book is really amazing as it approaches the idea of simple living by giving practical ways to apply the idea of simple living to real life. She's a realist, and doesn't think we all need to live off the grid and away from civilization, but rather teaches us how to apply our values to our own, individual lives.
The first thing we decided to do as we prepare to work through the second half of her book (the how-to section) was use her guide to create a family mission/purpose statement. She has blogged about this before so I've thought about doing it; in fact over a year ago David and I sat down to answer her guiding questions, but never moved on from there.
So this past weekend, we got out our answer sheets and went through them together, finally coming up with the first edition of the Bennett Family Mission Statement. This could naturally change over the years, but for now, this will be the filter we use to pass through all of our belongings as we ponder them, and in the future as we make family decisions.
We, the Bennett Fam, believe that our purpose as a family is to love God and others, and glorify Him in the way we live.
We will:
- reflect the fruit of the Spirit toward each other {love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control}
- cultivate a home that is open, laid-back and inviting, and a reflection of our family
- aim to live a simple, uncluttered, peaceful life
Our priorities are:
- loving Jesus and radiating His love
- living a healthy, active, natural/homemade lifestyle
- caring for Creation and enjoying the outdoors
- having fun together
Hopefully having something concrete like this will help us attain a lifestyle of simplicity and contentment as we raise our children. I want them to grow up understanding why we've made certain decisions, and I want to give them the tools {thru modeling} to value quality over quantity.
Do you have a family mission/purpose statement? I'd love to hear yours if you want to share.