Living traditionally has brought an immense amount of peace in my life. It’s actually changed my life as dramatic as that may sound. Its just a way of living that I feel called to. Its not just about baking bread and pretty dresses. Although, lets be honest that part is incredibly fun!
To me traditional living means utilizing my hands to create and serve my family. It means honoring my family and the life we’re building. It covers all aspects of my life and how I view the world. I view it as a way to steward the beautiful earth God has created. By choosing homemade over production when possible. To value family over money. To treat our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit and so much more. This is why I desire to live traditionally.
For me, traditionally living has provided my family so much peace and joy. Because of that I want to be a source of encouragement to women out there that desire this fulfilling and joyous lifestyle! Below are some of the ways I live traditionally in the modern world.
I’m a very new Christian and wasn’t brought up in any religion. However, I was always very drawn to Christianity and found ways to make my way to church quite often in my adolescent years. It wasn’t until right before my wedding that the idea of faith really started to click for me and became something I wanted to devote my life to. Although I am very new to living a faith based life. Accepting Jesus as my Lord and savior has really tied in the morals I’ve held in my whole life growing up and desire to live out my dream as a homemaker and wife as well as living traditionally.
Being a Christian in todays world isn’t always supported. A lot of the teachings of Christianity have been watered down or outright not supported. However, I believe in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ and try my very hardest to live out my life in a way that separates me from the world. This is an area I find myself constantly learning in and finding conviction.
One of the biggest ways we live traditionally is that my Husband is the financial provider for our family! This was a huge leap of faith for our family! I had always wanted to be a stay at home mom and it was a dream my fiancé (at the time) made happen! A month before our wedding we made the decision for me to quit my job and ever since then I’ve been fulfilling my role as the homemaker of the house. This decision was one we met some pushback on but also had a lot of support with. Having distinct roles in our home has made all the difference in the peace and efficiency for our family.
As a family on one income we try our best to live a frugal lifestyle. Mainly what I mean by that is we don’t put things on credit cards. I’ve been a Dave Ramsey fan since high school. I know weird… I did a book report on Total Money Makeover which made my classmates were bored out of their mind! Now, here’s the thing I believe in credit cards (not Dave approved.) However, I view them as a utilization tool. I think credit is important because unfortunately, lets face it we live in a credit dominated society. I only use it for things like gas to utilize 10% and that’s it. We absolutely do not live off credit cards. Just cash. If we don’t have it in our checking we simply don’t have the money.
Another way we live frugally is that we are a one car family. When I decided to leave work we were going to keep my car and financially we could do it. I had a brand new paid off car however, my husband also had a brand new car that was not paid off. To me I didn’t feel like having two cars was worth the price tag. Even though paid off theres still TONS of costs like insurance, gas, tags etc. Because of that, I decided to sell mine to pay his off. No more car payments for us!
Living frugally is also a way to steward the earth. Not feeding into consumer culture. Thrifting when possible and avoiding impulse shopping.
This is a huge way I live traditionally. I love to create! Whether that be sewing, cooking, baking, gardening etc. Just slowing down and creating. You can create so much beauty and fulfillment in your home just by using your own hands and feminine creative touch. Making things whenever possible. Learning the ways of a good DIY project and mending clothes when they become tattered. Baking is such a passion of mine! Whether it’s creating a nutritious loaf of sourdough bread or baking delicious desserts! Creating things with my own hands is such an empowering experience that sparks so much joy in my life. We have access to so much in our modern world and while I 100% still purchase things theres something so special about putting a project together and is becoming a lost art for so many.
Traditional living is all about getting back to basics. Our modern day culture is incredibly busy. We view juggling multiple plates at a time as a badge of honor. We have a over stimulated, overwhelmed, burn-out and anxiety ridden society. When my husband and I were both working full-time and raising a child it was down right exhausting and not beneficial to a tight knit family dynamic we desired. Creating roles in our marriage allowed so much more freedom than restraint and something I feel very blessed by.
I still sometimes fall victim to believing if I haven’t worn myself completely thin for the day I didn’t do enough. Learning to slow down and enjoy moments in life instead of racing through them is an area I’ve really struggled with. Playing calming music and taking my time to make dinner instead of rushing through it like I’m on a competitive cooking show etc. I encourage you to try taking in each moment and make time for the things you love.
I plan to talk more on slowing down and romanticizing your life next week so check back next Wednesday!
I hope you enjoy today’s post! I feel very blessed to be aiming to live a life God has called me to live. Living to honor my family and spending my days striving to cultivate a strong family has brought so much joy to our home. Living traditionally has encouraged our family to slow down and enjoy the true fruits of this world.
Don’t forget to come back for more posts on old-fashion homemaking and simple living! Wishing you all a restful and beautiful day!
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
