I left for our short trip to Santa Barbara feeling weary. The semester was ending here at Talbot--there had been several speaking engagements, grandchildren to tend and sick babies to hold. All good things, and needed things, but I felt stressed by the load.

The restoration began on the drive, complicated by traffic, of course, but enhanced by a nice lunch eaten al fresca and quiet time in the car with my husband. And because we took the route along the Pasadena mountains, the scenery was lovely. Arriving, we quickly unpacked at our restful hotel and drove to the beach to walk. Oh, the beauty of the beach, the pier, the bluffs overlooking the Pacific. My fatigue began to blow away.

We spent as much time outdoors, as possible, during our 36-hour respite, and the indoor time was spent with dear ones—catching up, eating together, living life in community.

Driving home, we took the long route through the farms of Moorpark and Santa Clarita, enjoying the emerald broccoli fields and lavish strawberry acres. I felt replenished. I wondered how such a short trip could accomplish so much. I began to recall a class I teach at Talbot in Family Issues in Women’s Ministry as I realized again that God is honored in our lives when we choose to live more simply.

Here are some of the things we talked about in class last fall as we thought about living a simpler lifestyle that can lead to replenishment in our spirits.

Get outdoors more. Enjoy the simple, clean things of nature—walking at the beach, working in the garden, mowing the grass. Nature is a cleansing agent for your soul. Go for a walk with someone you love (or like a lot), chat, eat an ice cream cone or bring your lunch. The ocean washes away the cares that can seem big. In Fullerton we have wonderful walking/biking trails—and anyone can use them. Buy a bike and ride it. Often. Walk on a street with jacaranda trees and enjoy the purple rain. Go to a playground and swing. Play hide-and-seek with kids. Swim in the summer every chance you get. If you have a yard, work in it. Plant something in a pot. Grow roses and take a bouquet to someone in the hospital. Plant an orange tree and eat the fruit. Grow a garden and hope you don’t have gophers! God made the outdoors to refresh and energize us. And it’s free for the taking!

Learn to prepare food. Practice cooking several dishes until they become easy for you, and viola, you have a specialty! Make these foods for your family. And for friends. Invite others into your space—a room, an apartment, a home. Make them a cup of tea. A young friend invited me over in the summer to see her house, and I didn’t want her to feel she needed to make lunch for me, so I said, “I’ll come after lunch and we can enjoy a glass of iced tea together.” Well, we had a nice visit, she showed me all the work that had been done on their recently purchased home, and then we sat on the patio to drink iced tea and talk about a book she had been reading. As I prepared to leave and thanked her for the tea and cookies, she said, “I’ve never made iced tea before. When you mentioned iced tea, I had to look up how to make it!” I was trying to make life easy for her, and I didn’t quite succeed! But she conquered a new skill.

Do the laundry well. Take time to sort your clothes for optimum laundry results. Wash white cottons with white cottons, and darks with darks.  Ideally, you should sort into 3 categories. Whites like towels and men’s undershirts and wash them on hot. Women’s lingerie and other perm press items can be washed on warm. And dark clothes can be washed with cold water. Wash your sheets and towels every week. No exceptions. Learn to iron so that you can touch up your blouse that needs it, and iron your husband’s shirts when needed. I’ve spoken to several MOPS groups about laundry and ironing and had more than one person say, “I’ve never seen anyone iron.” One of my sons said to me when he was in high school, “I like it when I come home and you’re ironing.” I didn’t ask him why, but I wondered if it was because I stand in one place while ironing (so he knew where I was while he put his backpack away). Ironing is near the refrigerator in case he wants a snack.  Ironing is quiet so he could talk to me. And ironing smells good.

Clean your abode. Cleaning is a good thing. Cleanliness is next to godliness. Keeping our environment clean is good for the body and good for the soul. Cleaning burns lots of calories and we use our bodies in various ways, stretching, climbing, reaching under, scrubbing the floor…. aah, that feels good to our bodies. It is also good for your soul because you have brought order and light to where there was darkness. You have emulated the wise woman of Proverbs 31 who looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Have parties! Simplicity doesn’t mean there are no celebrations—it means of course, celebrations, but primarily at home. Where you have cleaned so people feel welcomed, where you have prepared food, where you have even decorated to say, “Please come in. We are celebrating…you!”

Practice hospitality. While our daughters were here at Biola, the parents of their friends did not live close by as we do, and when their parents came to visit, occasionally they asked us if they could stay with us. And the answer was, yes. We have a place we can put guests. We are willing to wash the sheets and towels and provide breakfast.

Use up what you have. Finish the last drop of make-up before buying more. Resist the buying mode of our culture. Learn to find enjoyment rather than shopping at the mall. Wear out clothes or mend them, or have a clothing exchange like my daughters and their friends do. Give usable clothing to charity. Keep your car in good repair and then hang on to it. A long time. Our friend keeps his for twenty years and we keep ours about fifteen years.

Repair when you can to keep our landfills less full. Our dishwasher broke down recently, and when the repairman came, he mentioned that he could give us a coupon worth $$ for a new dishwasher. And he told us the cost of the repair. We decided to repair the dishwasher, to keep it out of the landfill for as long as possible. Then our TV died, too. And we called the TV repairman. He came and took it away and fixed it and it’s not in the landfill yet!

Practice silence. In your home, in your car, while you are on a run, listen to the sounds of life rather than music, TV or radio. God speaks in silence; silence is good for our equanimity. Learn to develop a heart of praise to God during quiet moments and quiet hours. See if you can hear yourself think. During our wonderful walk at Goleta Beach in Santa Barbara a young man walking near us was absorbed in his earphones when he could have listened to the waves pounding!

Take a day off every week. Yes, a whole day. Without work. Do this religiously. Let your mind rest and your body renew through different activities than the usual workday routine. God gave us the Sabbath rest and we need it.

Unplug. Go for a walk without your cell phone. Amazing. Monitor or eliminate Facebook. Stop checking emails! I am talking to myself!

Enjoy the company of children. God made them. They are the future. They are sweet, funny and delightful. You haven’t lived until you’ve heard my granddaughter, Abbie, say, “Mrs. Tiggywinkle,” a Beatrix Potter character who loves to wash and iron.

Enjoy the sunsets and  moonrises.  We get some spectacular ones here in southern California and they are God’s gift to you. Always drop what you are doing and run to the window when someone says, “Look at that sunset!”

Use your hands. Play an instrument. Knit. Fold laundry. Write a letter to someone who needs it. Make fudge. Paint or draw.

Simple living won’t solve all our problems of stress. But it will help. God intends us to live fully, with time to rest and replenish in His creation.

Psalm 115:16 “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth He has given to man.”