Hey Friend!

What is financial success to you?  So many people define financial success as retiring early, a million dollars in the bank, material Items and how much they accumulate, but I believe it should look different as a Christian.  I challenge you to look at this differently.  As Christians, we are eternal beings and I believe that our life should not be measured  by what we accumulate on earth, but by what we give.  

Instead of fancy vehicles and focusing on material items, choose to give more to those in need and give all the glory to God.  There are so many opportunities to give- missionaries, and so many many Christian based ministries. Your money is God’s money-keep your hands wide open for what He wants you to do with it.  Once you change away from the world’s view of materialism, you may think about giving in a different way.  When you value your priorities differently, you can change the world with God’s help.  He can do big things through you, so don’t ever doubt that once you change your life, you will see a difference. We are proof that once you change the focus from yourself to others, everything changes.  We have seen God’s hand in so many things more than ever these last 10 years.

Don’t ever place your worth in a dollar value.  Look at financial success as God does.  Eternity is forever, but our time on this earth is short.  Make sure you are making the best of it and giving wherever you can.  God sees you and it will not go unnoticed.  Sometimes this means giving of your time if you don’t have the funds because serving is also considered giving.

I just wanted to bring this up because I had this conversation with a friend recently and we both thought most people don’t think like this, so this is just something for you to ponder on this lovely day!

Website:

Claimingsimplicity.com

Join our Community of Christian Moms ->

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God Bless!

Monica

Welcome to another episode

I can't even tell you how awesome it is not using social media!  I didn't realize how much it zapped my energy even using it so sparingly!

I realize when I get too busy that I have less time for God which is the most important thing in my life.  My life suffers when this happens and since I love to always be doing things and can get caught up in the hustle, I have to sit back, slow down and figure out what is going on and it almost always comes back to not having quiet time and listening to what God is trying to tell me.  It doesn’t take alot of effort to take even 10 minutes every day to just sit in the quietness of the Lord.  Praise Him for who He is and Thank God for what He is doing in your Life no matter how small it may seem and then just sit in His presence.  He wants time with you.  Start doing this daily- put an alarm on your phone during the day to take the time or get up 10 minutes earlier to take this time.  It is incredibly simple to do and SO SO important!

I was at a Women’s Christian Leadership Retreat last weekend and during the worship time, God really spoke to me and even though I heard this message over a year ago, I know now that I can’t wonder if it is my thought or if it is God and I need to be Obedient.  I will go into this story as things unfold and God reveals more to me, but as for now, I will take each step as it comes and I am more eager than ever to see what God has planned.  We are in a season of change which isn’t always easy, but following God is not easy in the world we live in today where evil is good and good is evil.  Keep doing good friend-you may be persecuted for it, but remember that eternity with Jesus forever is worth it!  Continue to let Biblical scripture lead you and don’t be led astray.  Be diligent in teaching your children and Grandchildren truth from the Word of God.

I just want to thank so many of you who have been reaching out-I truely appreciate you!!  I would love to reach more people across the world to learn about Jesus, so if you could take a few seconds to give a rating and review, I would really appreciate it because then this podcast can continue to reach even more people! If you are someone who wants to learn more about Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please reach out to me at [email protected]~I would love to hear from you!!!!

Make sure you take time to rest in the Lord’s presence each day friend!  He loves you!!!!

Go to the website and join our email group for some good nuggets!

Website:

Claimingsimplicity.com

Join our Community of Christian Moms ->

https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

xoxo,

Monica

Hello

This last week with all of our grandkids here, it really reminded me of the reason I do what I do!  On Friday after having a fish fry the night before with my parents, kids, and all the grandkids,I had to think……what day is it? Our closest Grandkids are 30 minutes away with the others about 1.5 hours away, so because we don’t live really close, it doesn’t always happen that we have everyone here for most of the week or for dinner on the weekdays, but it sure was fun! I have always loved being able to be flexible, but when my husband and I worked full time, there was little flexibility and we wouldn’t be able to take all the kids and get to all their events during the week if we hadn’t chosen this different path. This week the kids had fun ice skating and our 6 year old was so excited she was able to skate and do twirls instead of shuffling behind a chair, they went snowmobiling, sledding, ziplining, helped with the goats and chickens, went to a homeschool valentine’s party, baked with us and it was another week of memories. We sure cherish all the time we get with our Grandkids and family.  You can’t ever take back these days and we have never regretted raising our own kids and I am so so forever grateful to be able to help out whenever we are needed with Grandkids too!

This got me thinking about you.  Do you have joy in your everyday life or are you rushing through every day just wishing for more peace and time to enjoy life? Are you wishing you could slow down and live a simpler life?  Do you want to be able to be at home and raise your own kids or be available for grandkids?  What is holding you back?  Is it finances?  Do you just have too much debt to ever think about living on one income?  If this is your reason, I want you to take a good look at your situation and where you can make some changes.  When you think about possessions, remember Proverbs 22:7 - The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender. With debt - you are a slave-what does that mean to you?  I realize each and every one of you are in a different situation, but if God has put this calling in your heart to live a simpler life, He will help you.  You do have to do the work, but don’t forget that anything is possible with God. 

Sometimes you have to make a different career choice-there has never been a better time to work from home or start a side hustle to replace your full time income.  With the internet, you can reach people with your gifts all around the world!  You have to think out of the box!  You may  feel stuck in your job because you spent alot of money and time in college doing what you do, but you don’t love it or it is stressful.  I want you to remember, you have choices! 

 You may be doing what you do because you feel the need to keep up with friends but you are exhausted and you are not loving what you do.  Start looking inside yourself and take the time to think about what really matters to you.  Is it making memories or is it having the top of the line material items.  You can’t take any of that to heaven with you, so why are you burning the candle at both ends just trying to keep up?  You can only do that so long!

I would love for you to email me at [email protected] and tell me where you are struggling and what I can help you with - I also have a few 15 minute discovery calls left this month to help you get started on your simple living path because it is so rewarding and I don’t think it is something you will ever regret.  Whether you want to start saving money, learn about raising your own food or just learn how to make simple food from scratch or your own non toxic household products, I can help you.  Shoot me a message-I would be happy to help you if I can!

There really is nothing so special as being able to make memories.  If I die tomorrow, I sure hope that my Grandkids learn enough from me to grow deep in their faith as they grow up because I believe that in the times we are living now, that they need to be equipped and strong in their faith with all that is thrown at them. Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.  Think about your own walk….are you growing in your faith so that your cup can overflow into others while you are making memories?  I think this is so important!  

Are you ready to make a change this year or are you going to continue to live as you are right now?  I want you to live this abundant life God has for us.

Join our Community of Christian Moms ->

https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

You Tube -> https://www.youtube.com/@claimingsimplicity/ 

Until next time-Be Blessed!

Monica

Hey Friend

It is starting to warm up here at the time of this recording, but even though it has been cold, I have had so much incredible time with friends crafting for 4 days and then another weekend time with friends that I don’t see very often and another weekend at a Womens leadership retreat, we have been ice fishing and my family has caught a bunch of fish, so even when it is cold, we still gather and have quality time with people we love-even though it may not be outside!

Today I want to talk about the simple foods we eat.  I no longer eat for what my body looks like, but for my metabolic health and to heal my body from the inside out.  I have talked on here about how over the years up until 3 years ago,  I have tried every diet there was including keto, paleo, vegan, and the list goes on and on, but when I had an abnormal EKG after doing Keto and then getting my body age, I realized that I needed to quit worrying about weight and worry more about health, so after doing alot of research,i realized that  auto-immune disorders and our health problems come down to mostly what we eat.  I knew that even though our soil is so depleted that we won’t benefit from all the nutrients our ancestors did, if we get closer to a nourishing ancestral diet with nutrient dense foods, we will be much healthier.

I had some testing done and I found out I had food allergies to milk, wheat, tomatoes, tuna, kidney beans, kale, and 10 other items, so when I started cooking from scratch with whole food ingredients, I noticed a huge difference in my gut health. I can’t wait to retest and see how many of these food allergies are gone.  Since switching so much of what we eat, my family has become even healthier and it has saved thousands of dollars making it ourselves and growing the food.  We buy organic whenever possible if we aren’t growing it as we are more aware of pesticides and also our gut health has improved immensly. 

My list of nutrient-dense foods that we typically eat daily does not include a bunch of random super-foods that are expensive and hard to find. My diet has shifted to eating more Traditional Foods….or as I like to call it, following an Ancestral or Primal diet. Eating the way my ancestors have eaten for thousands of years. 

Traditional foods are the types of nutrient dense foods I now focus on for our whole family.

These foods are for anyone, at any stage in life. They’re rich in nutrients that your body needs to thrive.

Nutrient Dense foods we eat every day

Eggs from our chickens

Raw Cheese

Fermented Veggies

Fruit

Raw Milk

Butter

Animal Protein

It sure makes a difference in how we feel.  We still eat our fruit and veggie tablets daily, but that is because we couldn’t possibly get 30 different kinds of fruits and vegetables every day and those have kept our whole family free from sickness for over 3 years now.  I will put the link below if you are interested!

When you nourish your body with the right foods, you will feel  AND LOOK  your best!!!

If you want to be part of our community of like minded women that want to learn more about making simple traditional nutrient dense foods, join our group-the link is below in the description!!

And if you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with a friend and as always, feel free to send me an emaili with any questions or things you would like to simplify~I seriously LOVE hearing from you!

Join our Community of Christian Moms ->

https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

You Tube -> https://www.youtube.com/@claimingsimplicity/ 

Fruits & Veggies -> https://www.monicabaker.juiceplus.com/

God Bless!

Monica

Hello Friend

It was really amazing how little I spent on food last month with our no spend challenge and I thought there is no reason we can’t eat like this all year because we wasted so much less.  I honestly don’t like cooking anything that is putsy or takes alot of time, so my goal is to have simple, thrifty, and healthy meals!

1.  Make a meal plan for the week using what you have in your refrigerator, pantry and freezer.  Only buy what you need for those meals. Look at your schedule and see what is going on for the week.  If you are buying in bulk, make sure you are rotating the items so they get used up and you are only buying foods you really like and use alot.  The most expensive food is the food you don’t eat, so try to buy only what you are going to use that week.

Saving money and learning how to make your own foods is an important skill to have as we continue to see grocery prices rise.  It is just an extra benefit to being able to have better tasting food that is healthier for you without all the additives and preservatives in the store bought  food.

I am compiling a list of my favorite recipes that I like to use to swap out the expensive food/mixes  from the store, so if you want to get on the wait list, just send me an email and say wait list!

Join our Community of Christian Moms ->

https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

You Tube -> https://www.youtube.com/@claimingsimplicity/ 

Have a fantastic day! 

Monica

Welcome to another week of Claiming Simplicity

Are you wanting to pursue more simplicity in your life?  Many years ago, I realized  I wanted to spend my days with more meaning and not consuming and competing.

Pursuing a simplified life can be just as exhausting at times as pursuing the fast one because it doesn’t just happen on its own.  You still have to manage balancing family life, work life, and personal life—while trying to maintain a slower life.  You may have to learn new skills from budgeting differently to learning how to cook from scratch or preserving food and there is a learning curve if you don’t know how to do these things. It is so very rewarding though!

In my current season, serving my husband, children and grandchildren calls for most of my energy, so my business is often secondary. There’s a lot of No in my vocabulary right now because we say yes to better things, but with each new season, that will always be changing.  

I have 2 daughters still at home that homeschool and are in sports year round, so that takes much of my focus because I know that season will be over in 6 years and I want them to know they are my priority right now.  I also work my businesses early in the morning and free hours that we are not running with kids.  Kids are only young for so long and I don’t want to miss it.  I don’t want you to miss out either!

So what are you doing to make a change?  If you don’t make a plan and start, you will be exactly where you were last year!  Please please please make a plan to learn something new and begin to move forward so when you look at your goals for this year, you can look back and be proud of yourself!

I want to give you some skills because this is what my brand is all about!  

1. Decide what a slower life and simpler living looks like to you.  How many hours will you spend at a job?  Will you raise your own food or preserve your own food? Do you want to get some animals to become more self-sufficient?  Do you want to spend more quality time with your family? Do you want to live on less money and stop over consuming?  This is the most important step because living a simple life looks very different for each person and if you don’t know what it looks like to you, you will never be able to attain this lifestyle.

Join our Community of Christian Moms ->

https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

You Tube -> https://www.youtube.com/@claimingsimplicity/ 

Hello

I do this no spend challenge and freezer and pantry clean out every January, but it was really fun to do with other people this year!  It is such a great way to begin the new year with new habits and many of those habits stay throughout the year.  Being intentional about every single purchase is so good to be aware of.  I value time, flexibility and  freedom over consumerism and material items and  I love teaching you to live a simpler,  more natural and meaningful life so you can enjoy this incredible life God gave us.  I think excessive consumption keeps people from financial security and builds kingdoms of clutter in our houses, schedules, bank statements and environment.  I want you to buy less of what doesn’t matter so you can afford more of what does!  I love helping people escape the trap of overconsumption to find freedom in frugality!

What I hope you find is your own full life and it probably won’t look like mine, but you can start designing your own version of financial freedom and you may find you enjoy the pursuit of it! 

We had some great things happen in the group!  My favorite are more family time with homecooked meals and teaching kids the importance of spending less, trips to the library for the first time, fishing with family, family hiking, decluttering and just being aware of every single purchase and only buying essentials.  When we live more intentionally, our lives become more significant in so many ways!  When you live for treasure in heaven instead of treasures on earth, you have more time to enjoy the life you have and that is why I encourage people to simplify their lives to live better.

Money spent on groceries was very minimal and most members had to get a little creative when trying to use up pantry items and cleaning out the freezer.

When you do a shopping ban or challenge like this you need to figure out what you value. Vision what a values- aligned life looks like.  I talk about this in episode 2 of the Claiming Simplicity Podcast.  Value vs. Time Assessment.  What motivates you?  Does spending more time with family motivate you to spend less money?  Do you want to stop trading hours for dollars?  Do you want to be able to give insane amounts of money to people in need?  Do you want to travel whenever you want to and have time freedom and flexability to do it whenever you want to?  You have to have a reason that gets you excited to do this!

You also need to  know what your challenges and excuses are.  Most times these are just limiting mindsets.  Change your mindset and you will change your outlook.  You might think you are broke, but once you make a budget, you might find that you just overspend.  Whatever you think is keeping you from paying off your debt, there is someone else in a situation like yours that has accomplished the same goal because of their mindset.  There is alot of scientific studies to prove that mindset significantly implacts the way you make short and long term decisions, so here are some things you can do to improve your limiting mindset.  Surround yourself with abundance thinkers and practice gratitude.  You are capable of saving more than you can even imagine. Make a goal for yourself and plan to reach it!

You can do a challenge like this any month of the year and I encourage you to try it if you haven’t already. I am super proud of the members of our No spend challenge because most have never tried it before and for the ones that were active, they had success! 

Join our Community of Christian Moms ->

https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

Enjoy your week and God Bless!

Monica

Hey Friend!

I was pretty excited to only spend $73 on groceries last month-especially with the food prices right now!

I am so grateful that my family hunts and fishes,  we grow and preserve our own food, and have chickens for meat and fresh eggs_especially with the price of eggs right now! I used to advise people to eat eggs for an evening meal at least once per week to save money, but now they aren’t going to save a whole lot on that!!  

My first week of the challenge, I ended up spending $30 because I hadn’t been grocery shopping for a few weeks and I need to buy some extra fruit as we were running low and in our area of the country, we aren’t able to grow fresh fruit for months due to below freezing temps, so that seems to be our biggest expense because I like to buy organic as much as possible and I don’t can very much fruit because we like fresh fruit. I do freeze some fruits, but my frozen apples are gone, but we do still have strawberries.  The rest of the week, we ate egg meals for breakfast because I was running low on milk, venison, potatoes and corn, I made a large pot of chicken wild rice soup because I had most of the supplies on hand and we make our own broth, we had a potato, burger and cheese hash, tacos, roast,potatoes, green beans.

The second week I made a huge pan of hash to last us most of the week.  That is shredded hashbrowns, pork sausage, and eggs-sometimes I put peppers in this, but we didn’t have those on hand.  I like to make alot because we like heating it up during the week for breakfast or lunch.  I always make large batches of everything whenever I cook  because then I have to cook alot less often. Our breakfast  can be something as simple as yogurt, smoothies, sourdough dishes, eggs, oatmeal and then we can use leftovers for lunches so I only concentrate on a quick dinner meal. 

I have not had enough ingredients to make double the meals to freeze like I usually do, but I’m sure I will get back to that when I am done trying to eat mostly out of the pantry and freezer.  I had alot of cubed zucchini in the freezer and made some zuchinni lasagna with our canned spaghetti sauce, burger and cheese that we had-it is one of our favorite meals-so much flavor and it is really quick to make. I also made some chicken tacos with chicken in the freezer, venison sloppy joes and french fries, sourdough pizza crust pizza, and chilli.  Of course we always have sourdough bread and treats throughout the week as well! So week 2 I only spent $26 because we still had fruit from the week before, but we did have to buy some raw milk to make our greek yogurt and also to have on hand as we ran out the first week along with a few other items..

The 3rd week I spent nothing and we had stroganoff with our homemade sour cream,and venison, one meal was chicken, potatoes, and corn, another was chicken fettuccine with our homemade noodles and homegrown chickens, venison burgers and our homemade french fries we freeze in the fall with the potato crop, , potato soup, omlets and spaghetti squash spaghetti and meatballs, canned pickles, and sourdough garlic bread.  I’m being very intentional about what I buy at the store and I am not buying any extra food to stock the cupboards like I normally do when it is on sale.  

And week 4. I only spent $17. Sourdough pizza, sourdough skillet, eggbake, roast and potatoes, burrito bowls, chicken and sweet potatoes, and fish and french fries. We also ate similar breakfasts to the weeks above and usually leftovers for lunches. The biggest expense we have saved on was not buying snacks and making them all homemade because my kids found some recipes using ingredients we already had, so that was another win from our challenge.

Even though I have only been buying the few items for the meals we need week by week, I have not felt deprived at all.  It is so nice to have so many nutrient dense foods from our garden,chickens, hunting, and fishing. We will eventually need to buy more groceries just for the simple fact that our pantry staples like flour, sugar, olive oil and spices will eventually be getting low, but I’m actually encouraged to see how long I can actually go without spending more than 120-150/month.  Could I do this most of the year? Possibly!I am going to try!  And you possibly could too!  I know months that we have Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, we wouldn’t be able to since we probably spend a few hundred each holiday for over 25 people, but most other months~especially in the summer and Fall when our garden is producing, we definitely could spend less.  If you need help with this, let me know-send me your ingredients and I can help you get creative with your meals!

Join our Community of Christian Moms ->

https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

Monica

I am so glad you are here!

I am going into this 2nd year of podcasting and I just want to say that I never in my life ever had a dream to podcast, I’m not a natural speaker, and I didn’t think I had anything to talk about, but God…..  He had plans, and if you are listening, you must want to live a simpler life because the podcast has grown to the top 2.5% globally, so that is exciting! This podcast is All God!

When I first started, it was because over the years, many people would say that they wish they could work their job around their life and I wanted to teach you that, so you could spend  time with what was most important to you-see episode 2 on building a balanced life plan. But as the podcast evolved, I realized that most of people didn’t have the skills to live simpler and natural life, so now I am actually teaching you more simple homesteading skills, cooking from scratch with real food, sourdough, raising animals, preserving food, gardening, natural living, saving money and reducing expenses, so you can enjoy a slower life.  Everything I do is simple, so no matter how busy you are, you can incorporate this into your life and hopefully you can begin living your dream life soon.

So naturally as I was planning for this 2nd year, I thought since I didn’t do any advertising and very little on social media that I should start doing more of that to grow our business even more. I teach people to simplify and put down social so they have intentional time doing what they value and so I really struggled with the thought of being on social more.  I’m rarely on social and if I post something, I don’t sit and scroll, I do it because I feel like I have to and so as I have been praying about this for months because it is exhausting to me to have to post everything and then have to reply to all the comments, ect!  God has really been speaking to me and telling me to lay it down completely and that it is through Him these businesses will grow in His timing, not an algorithm that is controlled by someone else-He is the everlasting algorithm!  He keeps reminding me of philippians 4:13 -that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and so can you!!  If you aren’t familiar with this verse-it is a great reminder to persevere and be content in any situation-not on your own, but through Christ who will give you strength.  

As of February, I am deleting my Instagram and Facebook from my phone again and I will go on my Private Claiming Simplicity Group from my computer and I plan to start actively sharing content to help you put some of my simple practices into your life. I will give this group a year and then reevaluate and see how that feels!  I would love for you to join me-the link is below in the description.  Come and join our community with  other busy moms who love Jesus, want to slow down and live a more meaningful and intentional  life.

One of my biggest problems I had with social media, is that I really really  enjoy my life and I didn’t want anyone to feel insecure, inadequate or jealous because comparison is a struggle for many and that is one of the many reasons we have more mental health problems than ever and I don’t want to contribute to that and I don’t like the focus on me.   I also don’t want to waste my memories with trying to make posts and capturing all we do when I can be just enjoying every intentional moment with family and friends.

I do love hearing from you, so if our community is not for you, please rate and review the podcast and always feel free to reach me by email listed below!

Join our Community of Christian Moms ->

https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

Thanks for listening and remember-listen to God and He will lead you!!  

Monica

Hello

There are so many easy ways you can become more sustainable and many of them you can implement immediately and they are frugal as well!  Just as we talked about homesteading last week and going slow to avoid overwhelm, I suggest you start making small daily changes and habits to start out with becoming more green or eco friendly as well so that you become more sustainable and envirnonmentally responsible.  

1.Grow your own fruit and vegetable garden.

1. Plant fruit trees

16.Only use natural non toxic facial creams or make your own

17.Buy used clothes

18.Condense your wardrobe

1. Make your own baby wipes and lotions

20 Keep it simple!

We can all do our part to become more sustainable, as you run out of products you have, just replace them with more non toxic.  I do have recipes for my favorite non toxic products, so just shoot me an email and I will send those to you.  Email is in the description below.  We would love to have you join our community and the link is below!

Join our Community of Christian Moms ->

https://www.facebook.com/groups/claimingsimplicity/

Email -> [email protected]

Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/claimingsimplicity/

You Tube -> https://www.youtube.com/@claimingsimplicity/

May you be blessed this week friend!

Monica