Shaker Hymn

Tis the gift to be simple

Tis the gift to be free

Tis the gift to come down

Where we ought to be

And when we find ourselves

In the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley

Of love and delight

When true simplicity is gained

To bow and to bend

We shan't be ashamed

To turn, turn will be our delight

Til by turning, turning we come round right

~Shaker Hymn 1848

I came across this hymn today and thought about how I've been aiming for simplicity in our home life. Life is so complex that anything I can to to make things more simple, the better. As I read the above hymn, I felt that God was saying even my quest toward a healthier life can (and should) be simple.

"Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be".... to turn back to God is a gift. To turn from sinful behavior is a gift. That is what I am doing - turning from ignoring the fact that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Turning from eating for pleasure (or to stuff pain down) to eating to nourish and strenghten my body. In turning from these things I will indeed "come down where I ought to be" - out of self-indulgence and into honoring God.

The hymn goes on to say "to turn, turn will be our delight". I believe this to be true - that when we change our life to follow God's will, turning from sin becomes a delight not a chore. Right now I have to think about my every action in turning from past bad habits - my prayer is as I turn, turn, turn it will become a delight to do so. That life will be delightful not because of fun food or goodies that I can eat, but because I'm doing it God's way instead.

So as I strive for simplicity in all this, I've decided to focus on just one habit change for awhile. I'm starting out my journey by focusing on increasing my daily activity. I am making sure that I have at least one physical activity each day (a walk after dinner, vigorous yard work) and that I get to the gym at least 3 times per week.

Today I definitely got the vigorous yard work in! We felled several trees yesterday and had huge piles of brush to chip/shred. I was sorting through all the brush and using the loppers to chop it down to size for the guys to put it into the chipper. Lots and lots of pulling, tugging, clipping big branches, etc. We worked out there for almost 2 hours today. In the past I would have just "supervised" the guys :-) and it felt good to be part of the work.

And, speaking of work, this is my first full week starting tomorrow. I'm sad to see summer come to an end, and yet I know the structure of a normal daily routine will help me to create some new habits. More tomorrow...

Onward!