|
| My Sunday School class is doing a 5 week short study on the book Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity by Adam Hamilton. This book is wonderful and I highly recommend it to my THS organizing friends! The basic tenet is that simplicity frees us. It does - I've let so much stuff go over the past year and I feel so free right now! In the book, Hamilton keeps going back to the Shaker Hymn:
'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
When true simplicity is gained,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Since we've been studying this book I've been meditating on it while doing chores, purging and organzing. It is a gift to be simple, and it is freeing. Less stuff = more freedom. Freedom from the stress of clutter that ruled my life for 20+ years, freedom from debt; I just paid off the last of my joint debt from divorce this month! WOO HOO! Now I have a mortgage and small car payment - that's it! With freedom from stuff-itis, I will stay out of debt, and get the car paid off within 10 months. I'm also not ashamed to "bow and to bend." I'm not ashamed to tell family and friends I don't want to go out to eat because it's not in my spending plan for the week. I'm not ashamed to tell my friend I don't want to go shopping with her becuase I have ENOUGH, but I'd love it if she stopped by to have a cup of coffee with me after her shopping. With Christmas coming up, I'm not ashamed to tell family that I have to scale back this year, including my kids. I hope you all enjoy this little book as much as I have. It's a slim volume, quick read but packed with wisdom. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Enough
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| I remember that song myself, I believe it's Aaron Copeland who wrote the music. Congratulations on simplifying your life. Getting rid of clutter and debt are my current projects right now. Bad news is I owe around $62,000. Yikes! But the good news is I am on track to having it all paid off in less than three years. Mommabird, you are proof that it can be done! Thanks for your vey eloquent posting. I'll look for that book. |
|
- Posted by LuAnn_in_PA (My Page) on Mon, Oct 24, 11 at 10:00
| "I believe it's Aaron Copeland who wrote the music." Nope... it was written by a Shaker Elder in the mid 1800s, well before Copeland was born. |
|
- Posted by lazygardens (My Page) on Mon, Oct 24, 11 at 13:18
| Copeland used it, and several other tunes, for his "Appalachian Spring" composition. |
|
| Thank you, LuAn and Lazy, for clarifying the music. |
|
| Thank you for posting this song! I used to sing it with my daughter all the time but it's been so long that it was quite the exercise dredging the tune out of my brain. I couldn't find a Youtube rendition that quite matches how we sing it (and that's not just because we sing out of tune :-)), but we love it. It is a real spirit lifter. Karin L |
|
- Posted by LuAnn_in_PA (My Page) on Thu, Oct 27, 11 at 15:11
|
| I used to sing this to my sons as a lullaby, too. Now my youngest son is playing it in 6th grade band. He plays marimba and I love hearing him practice every day! |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Organizing the Home Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.