I didn’t begin the year with an urge to start fresh goals. If anything, I only had the desire for less. Less time commitments. Less of my own ego. Less busyness with unimportant things. Less things cluttering my time and kitchen cabinets. But living with less, as most Westerners realize, requires humility, fortitude, and remarkable discipline. This month, I have been slowly inventorying my capacity and desires right alongside my belongings. If less is what is needed, then the answer is certainly not found in doing more but instead prioritizing something I already have or am already doing. Then, put the rest aside. Sometimes the reminder we need isn’t a notification on our phone or a mark on the calendar, it is a line of wisdom sitting on our bookshelf currently collecting dust. Here are the books I have been re-reading at the start of the year, fortifying some rhythms and re-making others.
Essentialism | I have read this book annually the last four years (just finished it again this week), mostly because I am not an essentialist by nature. Although the book is technically about business and economics, the life applications are endless, reminding me with each read of the power of choice, of my need to define and protect what is most valuable, and as I mentioned in the last post, to recognize the trade-offs as Mark and I work toward long-term goals. I walk away from this book with more clarity and vision of our values, with more resolve to say no.
This is Home | Although there are heaps of coffee table books with beautiful images of homes, I love how this book by the stylist Natalie Walton explores the soul of the home as much as the aesthetic. Broken up in three parts with interviews and images of 16 international homes, This is Home explores how we create, live within, and nurture our sense of home. The featured homes are lovely, no doubt, but much like our own home, they are not primly designed or overly fancy. The homes seem more organically designed, more slowly grown into by the people who inhabit them. This books always helps stir my creativity in our home’s design, to think through what we already own, to see the space we inhabit in a new way.
Simple Matters | I read this book by blogger Erin Boyle cover to cover when it first released, and I reference it often throughout the year. She and her family of four live in only a few hundred square feet in the NYC, and again and again, I find myself challenged by their minimal lifestyle, by their intention and creativity in tiny apartment living. The book is neatly categorized by areas of the home and is quite practical whether you are cleaning out a closet, decluttering your office drawer, or making your own cleaning products.
Teaching From Rest | I did not begin homeschooling because I love grading or creating academic tasks for my children. I do not think I am the best teacher or the most consistent one either. I sometimes find myself slipping into that role, looking at our homeschool as a machine of “did you?” Check. Check. I am perpetually aware of my short-comings and theirs. How do we do it all? We don’t. No one does. This quick read is always encouraging for me. It gives practical helps, of course, but more importantly, it slows me down and reminds me, less is better here, too. This read is faith-based, but I find instead of a didactic how-to, it is a comforting voice of a friend, asking me to consider again why our family chose this path this year. I find myself identifying my core values and goals for our learning again, instead of simply looking at what the curriculum guide says or what another parent is doing. I see my children. I see me. I see our own style and pace and needs. I am finding the important less that makes it more for all of us.
Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership | I read this book last fall and am re-reading it again now, even referenced it here last week. Clearly, this is not a book either on minimalizing the home or organizing closets, but it recognizes our humanity, that we are not tasks or things to shuffle about, nor are those in our care. We are souls, and as such, we need margin and solitude. As one who can easily believe doing more or strategizing better is always the answer to a problem, this book quite practically reminds me to simply stop and listen, to make room for my thoughts and emotions, to make room for God to speak to me. It is a faith-based book, and although it is directed toward people in spiritual leadership, I found that the principles applied equally to those leading in any capacity––as a parent, mentor, or business owner, too.
Comments
Thank you for including This is Home in this selection of books. Essentialism is a favourite of mine too. I often listen to the audiobook version on long drives.
You’re welcome! It’s such a wonderful collection, Natalie. x
This is so great. We’ve been in a 1400 sq. Ft home with three kids in one room. Also, is that your bedding in the photo.
We had several years of having all of our children in one room. What fun years! And yes, the linen bedding is ours, and you can find it here.
Needing some new covers and pages to absorb! Thanks for taking the time to post here and love to you today <#
xo
I hope you enjoy them! x
You consistently recommend the most life changing books. I bought The Soul of Leadership on your recommendation, and am already so thankful for the call to consecration and rest so we can leave well.
What a compliment, Jennifer. Thank you! And that one had certainly been life-changing!
Thanks for these suggestions. I just added Essentialism and This is Home to my list!
You’ll love them both! This is home has such beautiful visuals and sits on my coffee table, so I can enjoy it in small, spontaneous moments. Enjoy!
I have read (and re-read) all of these except the last one. Thanks for reminding me of them and recommending a new one! We are in a time of big transition and less feels like a challenge and a necessity right now.
I rarely re-read books in my rush to learn or read new things, but there’s a deeper lesson in re-discovery and in absorbing wisdom more slowly. Plus, I always enjoy reading my marginalia again. They become a bit like journals, don’t you think?
Can you believe I’ve not read Essentialism yet? Need to change that this year!
You’ll love it, Danielle!
ESSENTIALISM is AWESOME!!
Life-changing if you want it to be!
I recommend it all the time.
Love your musings!
Thank you, Shelley. I feel like a broken record about that book, but I learn something new every time I read it!