Recommended reading

A random selection from Asta's library

So I thought I would add a recommended reading widget to my blog. I have a friend who has done this on her site. As I am a passionate book lover, who loves to recommend books, I thought I would too.


Surely it can't be too hard, I thought. I chose my books carefully, trying to keep them to a limit. I created a lovely slideshow of titles that made me smile as the preview displayed their pretty faces... covers... one after the other. 

 I saved it. I copied it. But when I tried to paste it, I had no idea where to paste it to. Blogs! I have so much to learn.

Anyway while I sort out this problem why don't you share with us the books that you would recommend. I covered topics like: art, writing, simplicity, eco living, spirituality. What topics would you chose? Or maybe you are mostly a fiction reader. Any favourite authors? I can't wait to hear from you.


Asta x

Maintaining the pace – or not, by Penny Reeve

It’s been over two months since I last contributed to Asta’s blog and since then I must admit I’ve felt predominantly like a failure.  L  I’ve groaned at the dishes. Moaned at the washing and sighed at the ever thickening dust under the coffee table. I’ve felt as if all the love and gifting I wrote about last time has fizzled up, wafted away on the breeze of inspiration and I’m left with plain old me and a house full of work.

I’m tempted to shut up (who am I to write about living simply when we had take away twice last week?!), give-up (why bother pretending to make things from scratch when in reality I keep forgetting to put the bread on!) and slip back into my old habits. But something stops me.  It’s a flickering memory that I didn’t enter this simple living journey to prove a point. I began simplifying because I had some basic goals in mind. And these goals haven’t shifted – no matter the mood or surrounding family circumstances.

One of my main goals of living simply is to take back time. I don’t mean turn back time (I know I am a little odd but I’m not that far gone – yet!), I mean reclaim it.  A while back I decided that ‘busy’ was a dirty word.  Busy-ness had no right to rule my life. “Busy-ness doesn’t rule lives” I can hear you mutter. Well, doesn’t it?

Listen to the conversations around you and you’ll hear the word dropped frequently, as if it’s an expected, anticipated and even normal part of life. I’m not so sure it should be. I’m not convinced we were designed with busy-ness in mind. Fruitfulness – yes. Productivity – yes. Creativity – yes. But busy-ness?

One of my favourite Bible verses is “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Being still does not sit kindly with being busy. In fact, being busy negates even the possibility of being still. So my striving for simplicity is a deliberate attempt to slow my life. If I can’t completely eradicate the busy, I aim to squeeze it into seasons, or sessions, rather than allowing it to be the norm.

But how do I do this when I have an active family (including one amazing husband, and three adorable children - one of whom is a toddler)? I find busy-ness creeps up on me when I’m not looking and the symptoms pervade my life. I feel tired, harried, worried, stretched, exhausted, frantic – anything but still. I focus on the symptoms rather than the cause. And if I am honest enough to look at the cause (‘You’ve booked too much in your week again, PJ!’) I stall in that place of ‘failure’.

But remembering my goal to take back time isn’t about beating myself up. It’s about this little pocket of time that I have now. It’s more a mindset than a punishment. It’s deciding to plan the coming weeks aware of my own limitations. It’s choosing small and beautiful things to do with my spare time rather than filling it with nothingness. It’s being honest with my body: am I healthy? Am I eating right? Am I getting enough rest (busy-ness tends to sap strength even if what we’re involved in is positive)? I need to be careful about my motives, not begrudging time spent playing puzzles with my toddler but choosing to enjoy his growth and development. It’s about living out Micah 6:8 (“And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”) instead of judging myself on other people’s expectations.

Every little decision I make in my attempt to avoid the ‘b’ word and live with more time impacts my family. Sometimes it’s a hard call: “No, you cannot do Tap as well as Ballet”. Sometimes it’s an easier one: “Lets wander up to the park now and we’ll just eat scraps for tea”. I haven’t reached my goal yet. I think we are still living in a time deficit, but we’re making tracks in the right direction.

So I’ll lift my chin up, dust the word ‘failure’ from my shoulders (the coffee table can wait till Monday) and keep going on my journey towards simplicity. The goals haven’t changed even if the month has. Plain old me is still in love with her family and eager to celebrate the beautiful with them. In fact, I think I might go and make some banana bread – the kind that takes about an hour to bake. And then we’ll eat it warm, outside, and watch the sun go down. 

What about you? Once you’ve finished reading this blog? What will you do today to take back some time into your family’s life? I’d like to hear about it. J

Penny Reeve is the author of 11 children’s books. She is passionate about children, faith and social justice. She can be contacted via her websitewww.pennyreeve.com or via her Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Penny-Reeve-The-Penny-Drops.

Thank you Penny. Oh my goodness I was nodding in agreement all the way through. I used to buy into the busyness is next to Godliness stuff, but I am no longer impressed by busyness. 

Asta x

Asta's fashion fast update

(365 days of not shopping for clothes, accessories, shoes and even socks)

This is my fourth day. I am wearing one of the outfits I bought on my last shopping spree at the Salvos. I haven't written an inventory of my clothes yet - but I will, when I feel brave. I worry I don't have enough for 365 days, but I know deep down that I have an obscene amount of clothes, even after my big clean out recently. I also know that  there is much in there that I never wear. I think I will learn that it is true that we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. What a waste - and we are targeting waste this month on The Simply Living Challenge. 

A x

Is it our duty to wear lipstick?

'How much does a tube of lip-stick cost in the supermarket?  I do believe, that being well-groomed and neatly dressed (and that doesn't necessarily mean, "expensively dressed" ), especially when attending Church-related activities, are part of good Christian witness in the community.' - the surprising word's of an older man, whom I greatly admire. 

As I continue to ponder how simplicity might influence my appearance these words stunned me, and yet I think I may have almost agreed with this statement once. I don't believe I wore make up as a 'good Christian witness' but I was never one to leave the house without it on, and my clothes, shoes and jewellery were all chosen with care. The difference now for me, is that my definition of what constitutes 'well-groomed' has changed, and I find I am now more accepting of the appearance of others, perhaps as I better accept myself. (It also probably helps that my husband is very pleased to see me looking more natural and confident - much to my relief.) Where once I may have judged another woman with no make up I now admire her choice to allow herself to be just as God made her. And I have noticed something that I don't think I saw before - her face frequently looks fresh, sometimes even younger and perhaps more honest. It just isn't the case that all women who are not wearing make up have 'let themselves go'. 


Author Penelope Wilcock in her blog - Kindred of the Quiet Way, tells of a discussion that followed her session on Plain dressing at a retreat. She was told that 'they (unlike the Plain dressing people) took great care over their appearance and felt a responsibility to society to do so.' What is that about? Is someone who dresses more plainly or simply less neat or clean or presentable? Do they contribute less to society? Of course not.

Surely makeup and clothes are not the most important feature of a woman. What Penelope goes on to say is that 'what makes us feel good is being loved, being liked - friendship and affection and acceptance',  and that 'a kind face, a ready smile and a joyous heart are always beautiful'.