One of my Mother’s Day gifts to Jeanne this year was putting some shrubbery in our front yard.  Last year we took down several pine trees and we had two large stumps remaining.  The estimates for having them ground down were fairly expensive and being one with short arms and deep pockets I had to think of an alternative.  Since I had recently replaced the front porch I had some lumber left over and I thought I could build some planters around the stumps and viola – no more stumps, Jeanne has some nice planters, and the wood is put to good use (see the picture above).  Our lovely daughter Elisabeth and her four beautiful daughters were visiting us this weekend and she said, “Dad, you’re such a minimalist, you should blog about this” so this post is dedicated to Elisabeth! 

I know that I have much to learn about being a minimalist but I want to grow more in this area.  It starts with realizing that we have all we really need – it’s the principle of realizing that you have enough.  The Apostle Paul said it well, “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am” (Phil 4:11).  You must realize that the marketing industry wants you to believe that you’re not content and that you need more.  Paul continued on, “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need” (Phil 4:12).

Have you learned the secret of contentment?  Someone once asked John D. Rockefeller, "How much money is enough?"  His classic response was, "Just a little bit more."  We would do better to heed the wisdom of Socrates, “The secret of happiness is not found in seeking more but in developing the capacity to enjoy less” or if you prefer the words of Sheryl Crow, “It’s not having what you want, it’s wanting what you’ve got.”  May you be satisfied with what you’ve got!