Living a Tiny House Life sans Tiny House

Tiny houses were all the rage and are still a quiet desire of many people. When I googled “why do you live in a tiny house”, the top three articles listed 26 total reasons and only two of those reasons truly matter.

Twenty-four of the reasons had to do with physical stuff and self. Only two reasons had to do with others or heart matters. Let’s get into the heart of tiny house living.

Hannah Do Mode

The other day a friend and I were out on our weekly ‘walk and talk’ and she asked how I was doing. Ughhhh – I didn’t want to answer that question.

I knew the Holy Spirit had just convicted me and I’d been operating in “Hannah do” mode.

Rabbit trail: if you don’t have a ‘walk and talk’ friend or two, you need one. 

As for “Hannah do” mode…my mom says these were the first words out of my mouth. And oh golly gee – the Holy Spirit is still wiggling that part of self out of me.

Do you have those things that your heart knows but your body and brain are still struggling to connect with?

Know that the words I’m writing here, are and were, spoken to me first.

The Holy Spirit showed me that “the pursuit of less, isn’t just about having less stuff, it’s about a slowing down of life and a quietness of soul and spirit.”

Why’d He have this talk with me?

Because I’d given myself due dates and goals and tasks that I’d not spoken to God about. I’d decided to pile a bunch of stuff into my week and suffered under the load of self-inflicted gain.

Let’s take a look at God’s word.

God’s Direction

Psalm 16:11 says “You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” 

When I asked Siri to pull up Bible verses on ‘slowing down’ this was one of the first on the list.

When I opened my Bible there was a bracket on this verse and a note I’d written 15 years ago. “Your Direction”. See what I mean about the Holy Spirit wiggling stuff out.

Sometimes it takes time and often the time it takes is because we get in the way. Fifteen years ago my head knew that

• allowing God to direct my steps = joy.
• That in His presence and alongside Him = unending pleasure.

Maybe this time, together with God, I’ll follow the path God has for me.

Will you join me on a tiny house journey with God. A journey of less (preferably zero) self and all things God?

Why should we do this? Jesus spoke to His disciples about this right after He’d given the ‘Sermon on the Mount’.

God’s Treasure

Matthew 6:19-21 reads “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a firm believer that God provides financially for us. I wouldn’t have a dollar to my name if it wasn’t for God’s financial provision.

But the stuff God puts into our hands – money and the things money buys, are to be used for Kingdom purposes.

Yes, part of those Kingdom purposes involves our physical needs but (there’s always a big ‘ol but) it’s our hearts that matter. You and I have to ask ourselves some tough questions.

• Am I following God’s direction with the money He’s provided?
• Do I really need (fill-in-the-blank)?
• Am I using stuff or any physical thing to gain status in man’s eyes?
• Or to fill a void in my heart or life that only God can fill?

The questions I could ask myself and you around these verses are endless.

The point Jesus was making here- is that everything in our lives should be lived tiny house style except one thing.

Our hearts should be overflowing and bursting at the seams with the treasures that come from following God’s direction for our lives.

God knows us though – He knows we need and want physical ‘stuff’.

God’s Provision

Jesus continued his conversation with the disciples saying “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?…therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘what shall we eat?’ or ‘what shall we drink?’ or ‘what shall we wear?’…your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:25, 31-33

We’re just going to scratch the surface of this today. Hang with us  – we’ll come back to the topic of worry and anxiety.

The bottom line, the bottom line for every.single.area.of.our.lives, is that God WILL and DOES provide ALL our needs.

I could go on another dictionary loving rabbit trail here but won’t. Just camp on the word ALL and write down what you think it means.

How would you define that word?

God wants us to trust Him so much, to know Him so well, that we realize without a shadow of doubt – He provides for ALL our needs.

Worry and anxiety over emotional and physical stuff is horribly destructive. It makes us physically sick and I’m not talking a sniffly nose here. Stress and anxiety and worry impact our health in catastrophic ways (again, more on this in future posts).

Anxiety takes over ALL aspects of our lives and shoves God to the side. It negatively impacts the way we treat other people and last, but certainly not least, it reduces our ability to trust God. 

God wants us to

• follow His lead,
• to fill our hearts and lives with His treasures,
• and to trust that He will provide everything we need to do this thing called life. 

Will you trade your life of stuff and your calendar full of ‘Hannah do’s’ for a tiny house filled with Godly treasure?

The best thing about tiny house living is that you can take your house on the road. That means that no matter where God directs you’ll always have a home.

Granted, I don’t live in a tiny house (well…it’s tiny by American standards) but I am going to begin living a God directed tiny house life. Why?

Because in the scheme of things, it’s only God that matters.

After 15 years, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit has finally connected my heart, soul and mind. That the joy and pleasure, the abundant treasure, of following God’s lead will be ALL I need.

Ready to take this show on the road? Here’s some questions for you to prayerfully answer.

Food for Thought 

Here’s the downloadable PDF. The Heart of Tiny House Living PDF

• What areas of your life do you need to hand over and let God direct?
• What might happen if you give these things to God?
• Where’s your treasure chest? Physical things and/or status, or with God? Explain.
• What would happen if your treasure was all Kingdom focused?
• What areas of your life are you anxious and worrying about?
• What do you think would happen if you trusted God with these areas?
• What would living a tiny house life with God look like for you?

Based on today’s post,

• What is the Holy Spirit showing you or asking you to do?

We’d love to be praying with you so please send us an email or drop a note in the comments below. As always, if you’ve got questions about what you read today – go to your pastor. If you don’t have a pastor, send us an email and we’d be happy to help.

Until next time…

p.s. Check out our two different infographics on planning here and here. One is tips for planning your busy life and the other is for meal planning.

Today’s Tip

Here’s a short Ted talk on minimalism that I love. I don’t know if the speaker knows Jesus but I do know her reasons for downsizing certainly line up with God’s heart. Let us know what you think.