Christine Sine

1. What does living simply mean to you?

For me simple living is a commitment to cut back on my own expenditure and lifestyle so that I can free up time and resources to focus on God’s kingdom purposes. It doesn’t mean living in poverty but it does mean focusing less on my own needs and more on the needs of others. Simplicity effects every area of my life:

• simplifying our eating habits – eating less expensive food (not totally vegetarian but very little meat), growing more of our own produce (about 40%)
• freeing up time for regular spiritual practices like morning and evening prayers and regular retreat times
• freeing up time for for involvement with people at the margins,
• freeing up money to give to mission both locally & globally

2. Why is it important to you? (finances, faith, politics, etc)

My main reasons for living simply are because of my faith. I believe that Jesus encourages us to focus not on our own needs but on those of others which means living more simply ourselves. I am also concerned from an environmental perspective – trying to reduce our ecological footprint as much as possible

3. What steps have you taken to live simply in your day to day life?

Tom & I live in a small community which consists of 3 apartments – separate living spaces but we share meals together and do morning and evening prayers during the week. We also have a large vegetable garden that provides about 40 % of our vegetables. We only have one car (though as we work at home that is not an inconvenience) and do a lot of hospitality – believing that part of living simply means celebrating life with enthusiasm.

4. What’s been the hardest part of your simple journey?

There are times when living simply is quite a challenge partly because of our work and partly because the culture in which we live constantly tells us to spend more and focus more on ourselves. I struggle with the amount of travel we do & how inconsistent it often seems with the need to reduce our ecological footprint. Also I grew up in an upper middle class family with all the comforts that implies and sometimes, especially when finances are tight I feel the tension of wanting to go back to that.

5. What advice would you give others who are on the living simple journey?

To put it simply – Fun, food and fellowship. To live simply in our culture today means the need for strong convictions and the support of a community of like minded people. I think it is important to establish ground rules (or a rule of life) for how we intend to live and then enlist a group of people who will both walk with us and encourage our journey. Also it is important to make sure that we incorporate times of celebration and fun in our lives. Simplicity does not mean austerity. Life is meant to be enjoyed and simplifying our lives should mean a more enjoyable life that we can live with the enthusiasm of our convictions.

Christine Sine and the community she lives with in Seattle

Christine Sine lives in Seattle with her husband Tom Sine. She is executive director of Mustard Seed Associates and blogs at http://godspace.wordpress.com. In a former life she was an Australian physician who developed the medical ministry for Mercy Ships. You can find her on Twitter at @christinesine

keep reading...

• Five questions with Kevin Hendricks
• Five tips for creating simple beauty
• Five questions with Christine Simiriglia