Traditional Values ~ Why We Decided to Return to a Simpler Life

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What Do We Mean by Traditional Values?

Our country is experiencing epidemic levels of mental health problems, drug addiction, single-parent homes, homelessness… I could go on, but I’m sure you get the point. Things are very different from our grandparents time. Heck, things have changed dramatically just in my lifetime. But there is one consistent change that has been occurring, the destruction of the traditional home and moral values.

We use the phrase “traditional life” a lot at Making It Home, but what do we mean? To us, the traditional life is based on Judeo-Christian values, the values our country was founded on. It’s being accountable for your actions and understanding the world does not owe you anything. It is returning to the American Dream; you work hard and you can do almost anything. It has also meant a return to growing your own food, raising children to have manners and respect, traditional roles of a husband and wife, and bringing Christ into every aspect of our life. Another part of traditional life that is similar to pioneering days is developing communities where we support and trade labor or harvest goods. I wrote about this in my article Community, a Lost Tradition ~ The Family You Choose.

Why We Chose to Change the Way We Live

Aaron and I have lived a pretty average life in a way. Neither of us did drugs, used alcohol other than socially, or committed any crimes other than the odd traffic ticket. We did have a bumpy and less than traditional marriage. Our life together up until a few years ago was fraught with struggle and disappointment punctuated with short periods of happiness. We had no chosen faith, but we did have some foundational morals from our parents. So why change so dramatically? I know this sounds weird, but it all started with food.

When our daughter Moira was about 10 years old I was diagnosed with PCOS (an endocrine disorder that causes infertility and has some similarities to diabetes). I was so concerned that Moira would end up having the same issues, I decided we needed to eat healthier food. We started our first garden, went more organic, reduced plastic use in our home, and tried to reduce the number of chemical cleaners we used. So that was the first step in our journey, food.

Slowly over the years, we learned more and more about sustainable living. Which let’s face it is just a modern term for the way our grandparents and great-grandparents lived. When we bought our first home, we had two raised bed gardens, started a compost bin, and got our first chickens. I even took up canning and dehydrating. From there it has just been consistently adding more skills to our arsenal of knowledge. We even started learning about emergency preparedness. But the real change didn’t start to unfold until the presidential election. I know you’re thinking, wait what?!?

What Do Politics Have to Do With It?

Here’s the deal. Aaron and I would probably have been considered centrists before the election, at most constitutionalists. We had more conservative values with a bunch of liberal ideas sprinkled in. But after the election, things began to change drastically. We began to see the vileness and divisiveness of how leftism was infecting our country. We see now the plague that is political correctness eroding our first amendment rights, the attacks on the second amendment, and the out of control nature of identity politics. How the very vocal minority is trying to change our country into the land of equality of outcome instead of equal opportunity. We were awakened to the moral decay of our country. So when I converted to Christianity, we decided to create a sanctuary away from the chaos happening around us. We wanted to return to the moral values of our forefathers.

With what has been happening in our country, it’s no wonder so many people are wanting to return to a simpler way of life. Over the last year and a half, I have heard so many stories of people like me converting to Christianity, becoming conservative, or going as far as moving out of the cities to get away from the nonsense. I recently discovered a movement called #walkaway. It’s a group of people sharing their stories about leaving the democratic party or a leftist lifestyle. There are so many people from all walks of life being embraced by conservatives in the movement. It’s a small bit of hope that people are waking up and embracing the original spirit of our nation.

A Choice to Make

If you find yourself agreeing with some of the things I’ve mentioned in this post, maybe it’s time you took action. But you’re probably wondering how to start making changes in your own life. This is why I made the “5 Steps to Living a More Traditional Life Today” printable, you’ll find the link by clicking on the image below. I wanted to help our readers by giving you some baby steps towards a life that has been so rewarding for Aaron and me. These are some of the first steps we took and we are happier today than we’ve ever been. God Bless!