The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World

Throughout so much of this book, I felt as though Tsh was talking to me. Or more so, with me. I was immediately pulled right into her stories, and couldn't stop reading! An amazing person, and an amazing book!

I am reading this book and two others that coincidentally have the same theme but in different areas of my life. It is totally serendipity but I am so glad I found this little book too. It is encouraging me to find time to pursue the things I love instead of letting life just happen to me. I think this book is a must read for young adults as they are starting out life so they can learn to chart their own course. I know too many times we get taken in by the our job. The requirements of the job can often dictate where we live, how we spend our free time and in some cases the hobbies we do or do not choose. Tsh offers examples from her own life about how she lives with intention. Her way may not be your way but what she does really well is talk out her decisions and how she came to the conclusions about living her own life with purpose. I have two adult children who just graduated from college. My son has decided he doesn't love living in a big metropolitan area like we do. After reading this book, I have encouraged him to reconsider his job while he is young and look at what he really wants to do and what he feels called to do and then set his life around that instead of waking up years from now wondering where all the time went. I admire Tsh's courage to live a well crafted life despite the naysayers (who are probably a little envious of her courage...).

... and this book did both throughout its pages. Tsh opened my eyes to places I would like to visit, to foods I would like to try, and to values oft forgotten. This book is now on my list to recommend and to give.

The author's life experiences illustrate this book. It is sometimes repetitive but its points are well explored and there are several "aha" moments that shifted my viewpoint on whether slow living can be achieved with young children in our culture.

Some interesting little short chapters, but this doesn't hold together. There aren't very many insights here that feel like more than just trite wisdom. And while she declares insights in one chapter "to know better and do differently is evil" or something like that about the way they eat, or whatever, in the next chapter she's telling you about how they had descended into daily TV as babysitter and were having the same thing for dinner every other night. And then she pulls the 80/20 rule saying well, as long as we do the "right thing" 80% of the time, we're okay. I had to finish reading to see if she ever got to a final resolution on it all, but she doesn't. I come away feeling like I could have written this book from my own private journal entries. Glad I bought this book used.

I felt like Tsh was having a conversation with me. Her words are well written and honest. I loved each chapter and was sad when it came to a close. What great tips to lead a more intentional life, whatever that means for you.

From the moment the the store, kindle download promotion popped up on my Facebook feed-this book synced beautifully with my personal journey, learning and life experiences.

Well said. Well done.

Thank. YOU!!

I approached this book anticipating a good read, even a great one. Now that I'm 135 pages into it, I've concluded that this book feels as though the author wrote it for the purpose of selling a book and making money. Nothing wrong with making money from your work, but I don't think this book has much of import to communicate. She exerts considerable energy detailing why they planned to home school, then she expends just as much energy defending their choice not to home school. I myself home school and have for years, and if a mother feels it's not for her or her children, fine. No biggie. But don't go to lengths to describe the drawbacks of home school after you've decided not to home school, when you just earlier spent chapters demonstrating how home school was the "simple" lifestyle choice you've made for your family.The author writes about the need to keep books in the home, to read aloud to children, to make your home a place where children learn to love learning...anybody interested in reading this book surely already knows this. But if you're looking for some fresh insight into HOW to create a home where your kids learn to love learning? It's not here. The book seems to try to be instructional but isn't really instructional; it seems to try to be a book of the author's life stories, but it doesn't share anything too personal or in-depth or even interesting. I've lived overseas for multiple years in the past, made tremendous choices to live a slowed-down life, and even own a (mostly) blue bike. I thought I'd find a kindred spirit in this book, but I am just finding it dry. If I weren't already so far into this book, I'd give up on it.

I first stumbled across Tsh Oxenreider’s famous blog, then Simple Mom, when we moved back from Kenya to the States. I remember that at about the same time, she was moving back to the States from somewhere overseas, and how it was a transition of mixed emotions. I felt a connection with her that resulted in me subscribing to her blog. Since then, I’ve enjoyed her posts on living intentionally, living simply,and living as a global citizen. She is a voracious reader, and I’m often getting my “next book” ideas from her. So when I heard that this book, Blue Bike, was being released, I was really eager to read it. I entered in every giveaway I could to try and win the book (I rarely actually buy books because I don’t typically reread them). No dice. Thankfully, it came up on Booklook Blogger site, and I quickly requested it. Yes!

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What is this book about?

Tsh reflects on her and her family’s journey from post-college life through current life with three kids and an at-home business. Nomadic at heart, Tsh and her family have been to Kosovo, Turkey, Austin, Tx and now Bend, Oregon. Lots of moving, lots of hard work building internet-based businesses, but they have managed to keep a very intentional lifestyle. She shares her family’s journey of living out their values in the basic categories of life- food, work, education, travel, and entertainment.

Why did I choose to review this?

Jake and I’s deepest desire is to live intentional lives. Why we do what we do is just as important to us as what we actually do. Over the last couple years, we’ve been struggling to keep up with our reflective, intentional life. Between many cross-country moves, lots of schooling, and many kids, we’re really tired and have stopped trying as hard as we once did. I thought that this book may be what we need to reenergize ourselves to align our daily practices to our values.

My takeaway:

My positive takeaway is to spend some time with Jake and re-dream about the life we’re living. This summer is going to be a slower one for us, and we’re looking forward to regrouping. As we prepare, we’re trying to be more intentional about nurturing our souls so that we can hear God’s voice more clearly. Also, Tsh is a fantastic writer. I love her style of writing- easy to read, good word choice, etc.

Overall, however, I was disappointed in the book. Perhaps it was because i had ridiculously high expectations, or maybe because I feel excluded from the life Tsh describes. Her life seems to be really fun- working from home with her husband, jumping on planes to Paris and Turkey and Australia (sometimes the whole family, sometimes not), and having the resources to buy organic and farm-fresh everything. I felt judged that I don’t feed my kids all organic food, that I don’t want

More importantly, while one of the goals of the book was to help the readers live a less hurried life, I feel like what she was describing would only cause more hurriedness and stress. Cooking for an hour plus everyday for dinner with 4 cranky kids under foot waiting for my husband to come home does not sound wonderful, relaxed and simple. Grocery shopping at 4 different places each week sounds exhausting (farmer’s markets, picking up from co-ops, going to the butcher shop, etc.). And while I would absolutely love to pick up my kids and travel around the world with them, it’s not an option. The cost of one international trip would cost the amount of money Jake makes in a year as a TA. I know that we’re at a unique life stage (husband in full-time school, momma staying at home with littles, etc.), but I’m guessing that most of America with young children don’t have the resources to travel the world, learning about different cultures.

Tsh does add a chapter at the end saying that what her family does is not the right way for every family, but perhaps that would have been better at the beginning of the book, as well as sprinkled throughout the middle 200 pages. Instead, I felt judged by a tone of writing that lacked humility, understanding for others’ circumstances, and most of all, awareness of her place of privilege. While it’s true that she has lived in war-torn places before marriage (not sure exactly what she was doing, she’s a little vague on that), I think that perhaps she isn’t aware of the real struggles many people here in the states have.

Perhaps the book rubbed me the wrong way because of our life stage, but I hope that when we are eventually done with school, and are settled in one place (after 10+ years of moving all over the country and world), that I will remember each chapter of life, and live and give in such a way that reflects our family’s values of faith, radical generosity, equality, creativity and compassion.

BUT, if you are a upper middle class family, you might love this book! :)

Questions I’m now asking:

1. How can we better align our marriage with our 5 family values?

2. How can we parent in such a way that reflects our 5 family values?

3. What experiences can we create for the kids (and some of their friends!) that will help them to be a better global citizen?

Thank you BookLook Bloggers, for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sharing her personal experiences from living in Turkey to moving back to the states, "Notes from a Blue Bike" is a personal journey of Tsh Oxenreider, in living an intentional life while living on a minimalist lifestyle that the author attempts to create in a way that does not interfere with the actual experience of life itself.i

While filled with insightful look at her own personal journeys, "Notes fro a Blue Bike" and comparing the cultural differences she experienced with life in Turkey where the lifestyle is definitely worlds apart from that of the States, the book felt more like a personal journal than a book that the everyday woman, living in a chaotic world would be able to connect.

There are some redeeming qualities throughout the book that with discernment, one can find practical applications to ones life, but at the same time, it was difficult to really find practical tips that for many, may find themselves unable to have the same resources.

Some had to do with the short chapters and the jumping not just geographically, but memory wise that happens through out the book that reads almost in a forced hand that for someone who maybe more familiar with her style, would easily grab on, but for the new reader, it seemed difficult at times to actually find the books focus.

The book does offer some food for thought though there is a definite vast difference in cultural experiences that for the average person may have some difficulty in understanding how to apply to a "regular" life.....The premise is good, but unfortunately this is one of the rare cases where in the attempt to share ways to be more intentionally, that for the target audience....the connection isn't there.

If you're already a fan of the author and familiar with the writing, this is a good personal journal to read, but unfortunately when it comes to insights to living intentionally, although well intention, not practical for many.

***Thank you to Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to read and review this book, in exchange for my personal opinion***

Notes From A Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World by Tsh Oxenreider is described as part memoir, part travelogue, and part practical guide. That does seem to sum it up fairly well. Oxenreider does chronicle the various places she has visited and adventures there, although I am not quite clear why she was in most of them. There are also long discussions on what decisions were made and why they were made about schooling, televisions, and numerous other daily activities. To be fair, she definitely does have a talent for writing and expressing herself. Her style reminds me somewhat of Ann Voskamp. And, I was very impressed with the way the book was divided into organized sections. Great clarity of thought went into what belongs in each section.

But, I must confess, her idea of a simple life is vastly different than my own. While I am certainly in favor of world travel and broadening one's cultural activities, she did come across as a tad condescending at times.I am happy for her that she is able to live her life the way she wants to, but that is not a lifestyle many are able to live. There are some great ideas, but not all are realistic for many of the people I know. It is a great book for some people, but just not for me.

Thank you to Shelton Interactive for the opportunity to read and review this book. They provided a copy to me at no charge. I was not required to write a positive review.

After reading a book about simple living, my thoughts are anything but simple.

In her memoirish book Notes from a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World, Tsh Oxenreider lays out a blueprint for living a life with purpose. Because, honestly, aren't most of us just drifting wherever the current takes us? (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from Thomas Nelson through the BookLook Blogger Program in exchange for my review.)

Oxenreider and her family have lived overseas and in the States. They've homeschooled and public schooled. They've worked jobs they hated and started their own business. They've traveled extensively. They've paid off debt. And though all of that is part of their journey to live a more simple and more intentional life, none of it was, or is, easy.

And that's a major plus to this book. I've read other books on simple living that are more legalistic manifesto than guided invitation. Notes from a Blue Bike is the latter. Oxenreider doesn't pretend that what has worked for their family will work for every family, but she encourages families to make a plan for intentional living. Because being intentional won't just happen.

The book is divided into sections--food, work, education, travel, and entertainment--and in each one, the author draws from her family's experiences and how they arrived at the current stage of their journey. After the food section, I was so inspired that I was ready to make sweeping changes to our family's eating habits and food purchases. Now that I'm finished with the book, I'm taking seriously her encouragement to identify our family's core values so we can make decisions based on those values.

I've dog-eared as many pages as not during my reading, and I'd encourage any who has dreamed of living a more intentional life but can't figure out how to do it, to get a copy of this book. But be warned: it won't be easy. Oxenreider confesses that living more slowly, more simply and more intentionally was easier when they lived overseas. American culture is not always conducive to this type of life and making changes will seem like swimming upstream at times.

That doesn't scare me. It excites me.

Notes from a Blue Bike is in the top tier of the best nonfiction books I've read this year and would make my list for most influential books I've ever read.

Tsh Oxenreider shows how it can be possible to live our lives contentedly with intention by creatively changing little things in our lives. The chapters are divided into seven topics.

I – Awakening – “We were made to live slower then our fast-paced Western culture deems normal. But it means paddling upstream through strong currents.”

II – Food – The Slow Food approach – wanting to feed the family nourishing food and supporting companies and farmers by buying local. Eating right requires making deliberate choices about ingredients and growing methods.

III – Work – Starting your own business and being able to work from anywhere. It will require finding a work-life balance and prioritizing your family values.

IV – Education – Schooling options – to homeschool or not to homeschool. Be intentional about you kids’ education, thinking through both the benefits and the negative consequences.

V – Travel – The modern-day technology of travel. There were days when the family felt like heading toward the airport and hopping the next plane to wherever. The kids all had updated passports. It requires bravery, but allows you to investigate life up close. Certainly not routine, but creates much adventure as a family.

VI – Entertainment – In all its forms, entertainment is so easily accessible in our technology-soaked culture – always within arm’s reach.

VII – Revival – Taking care of yourself is essential to making life-changing decisions that can have an effect on your family. Sometimes slowing down is necessary to enjoy living more intentionally. It can be a blessing to live for something beyond yourself.

To young couples raising a family I would recommend this book more quickly. Realistically, the suggestions are not for everyone. I would assume that most families would not be able to just pick up at anytime and hop a plane to wherever. But the author reassures the readers to live according to their needs and resources. Also included, in the back of the book, are interesting discussion questions. I could see this book being read by a young couple’s book club.

My only quibble with the book - sometimes the chapters felt disjointed.

I wavered between a 3-4 rating, finally deciding on 4 because of the great writing style. I found this book to be a relaxed and easy read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Tsh has a beautiful way of writing, of telling the story of her life, her family’s life. She welcomes you into her home – wherever that may be at the time in the story – and shares from her heart the ins and outs of her family’s journey to a more intentional life. Her life certainly was not all a bed of roses, but she’d chose this path all over again if given the chance.

Notes from a Blue Bike is broken down into seven main parts:

*Awakening
*Food
*Work
*Education
*Travel
*Entertainment
*Revival

I was immediately drawn into the book and couldn’t wait to read more. Unfortunately for me, even though the writing style was fantastic, there was so much to which I didn’t relate that I found myself less drawn into the book as I read. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed hearing the stories from the different moments in their lives. I even liked how the stories were broken down by location and time period within the different parts of the book. I just didn’t personally connect with many of the different parts of the book.

I did like the main premise of the book – living life intentionally in a way that makes sense for your own family. Each family is going to look different, and they need to understand these differences while making a plan to help them achieve their own goals in life. The final part in the book did a wonderful job of wrapping up her message and tying it all together.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to help facilitate the writing of a frank and honest review. A positive review is not required nor is it guaranteed. All opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the writing is captivating and draws you in. The topics Tsh covers run the gamut of eating, schooling, and general family life. I thought that Tsh was very honest and direct in her writing, and that much of it heartfelt and inspiring.

Shortly after Tsh Oxenreider’s book came out, I read review after review raving about this book! I was already a fan of Tsh’s since I have been following her blog for quite a while now. If you enjoy her blog, you will love this book! There is so much more to her story and her heart that you do not completely see through her blog!

I loved hearing about Tsh’s life before kids, and just her heart in general. Tsh can write words that your heart has felt but that you could not clearly verbalize, at least that is how I feel. She is real, humble, relevant and inspiring all at the same time.

So often in today’s culture we get swept up into a busy lifestyle that we do not enjoy or savor, and through Notes from a Blue Bike Tsh reminds us that we can slow it down. That by wishing we were back where we used to be, or somewhere different overall, we lose sight of the fact that we can make THIS life the way we want it. If we want to eat better, we need to figure out how to eat better where we are and plan accordingly.

I loved how Tsh wrote so much about her life in Turkey – seeing what it looked like for her family to live like natives while there. The experiences they had when they came back were very eye opening as well, and watching how they dealt with challenges.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Tsh book about living intentionally, making decisions that were best for your family for right now and giving yourself grace to change those decisions in the future. Make sure you check out TheArtofSimple.net – Tsh’s blog! You will find more of her voice and tons on inspiration.
NOTE : I received this Notes from a Blue Bike in exchange for an honest review.

Notes from a Blue Bike by popular blogger, Tsh Oxenreider, shares a story of living simply and living slow. She finishes the book well, ultimately concluding that "living intentionally ultimately means staying true to yourself and how your family is made." She agrees that as we surf that web and read those blogs, we'll see different paths and perspectives on what we need to do to live this life well. Garden this way. Cook this way. Educate your kids this way. Parent this way. We can easily get caught up in expectations and overwhelmed by failure until we simply decide what our family needs and stick with that. No more. No less.

It's a lovely bit of grace at the conclusion of this book, but to get there she shares her own family's experiences moving from Turkey to Austin, TX to Bend, Oregon. Her discussion of the Simple Life focuses on five areas: Food, Work, Education, Travel, Entertainment and she concludes with a section on "Revival." Her chapters are short and easy to read. Her prose is lovely and cozy. Each chapter begins with a location and a date because it truly does jump from place to place and year to year in her journey. It's not a start-to-finish linear read.

I love that in the end she essentially gives me the freedom to choose what in this book will work for me and my family and what won't. But I have to admit that I wasn't sure she'd give me that freedom. I felt preached at for much of the book and uncomfortable with her assertions that I could pack up and travel the world with my 4 children 9 and under if I really, really wanted to. If I truly wanted the simple life my husband could quit his regular job and find something more flexible he could do from home so we could be more jet-setting.

Her goal of spending more and more money on high-quality, locally grown, organic, fair-trade groceries isn't something that has me jumping up and down with excitement. She says that decades ago Americans spent 40% of their budget on groceries and how this is more ideal....it's simply not ideal for me.

The Epilogue to the book says they were packing their family of 5 up to spend a year abroad, traveling from place to place to see the sites. It seems a fitting end for her personal story, but thoroughly untenable and impractical for pretty much the rest of us.

I suppose what I expected from this book is something more practical, something more applicable to my life, something more personally inspiring. Instead, it's really her memoir, but with more sweeping generalizations about buying local groceries from farmer's markets than specific stories and vignettes. I also hoped for something more spiritual and faith-driven, but there's very little mention of that. I guess in the end I felt like I had a conversation with someone who is amazing, but with whom I simply don't have much in common.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Tsh Oxenreider is the founder of TheArtofSimple.net, a website inspiring people to live simply. Her latest book is Notes from a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World. In this book, Tsh shares about the journey her family has taken to duplicate the slower lifestyle they enjoyed overseas as they have transitioned back to the States.

The book is divided into seven sections. With an introduction and a conclusion as bookends, Tsh writes about the five areas in which they have chosen to be intentional: food, work, education, travel, and entertainment. Notes from a Blue Bike is a collection of essays with tips for simple living sprinkled throughout, instead of a "how-to" book.

I hadn't heard of Tsh before this book or seen her website, so this was truly my first introduction to her writing. And I loved the book! I loved the essay format and hearing how their family decided upon these intentional steps and reading how it actually worked within the family. I appreciated all the sections (really!), but, at this point in life, the work and education sections held the most meaning to me.

In the work section, Tsh talks about managing a business from her home with her husband. She writes about finding time to write in the midst of being a busy mom with little ones at home. It was a message I needed to hear: that it's okay for me to take time to do something I love. She writes of slowing down and setting limits, but also of valuing your work and treating it like it is "worthy of my dedication, practice, focus, and excellence. (Because it is)." I was interested to hear how she and her husband manage the business together, but I also appreciated that she included examples of many other families with different work schedules who have made adjustments in order to find what works for them. In other words, Tsh isn't expecting that what works for her family is what will work best for mine.

I also appreciated the chapter on education as Tsh shares their journey to find the right fit educationally for each child, each year. After swearing that she would never homeschool her children, Tsh spends a year homeschooling and falls in love with parts of it. But later they decide that the best decision for their family is to send their children to public school. She writes about the value of exposing your children to books and of giving them room to be creative.

Other reviewers have mentioned that Tsh's life doesn't seem simple and I understand where they are coming from. Her life certainly isn't straightforward - she's lived all over, she works strange hours, and her children have had multiple schooling options within a few years. Her life is complicated. But I believe she wants to live a full life and is choosing to do so as simply as possible. If you're looking for a practical, step-by-step guide to simple living, you will probably be disappointed.

Notes from a Blue Bike is balanced, which is what I like about it. The main message is to find what is important to you and then adjust your life to reflect that. Tsh doesn't write expecting that every reader will move to a farm and live off the land. She writes for ordinary people and ordinary families looking to make small changes. And I like that because I am an ordinary person with an ordinary family.

**I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Notes From a Blue Bike The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World by Tsh Oxenreider is about living with intention and living simpler. Each chapter touches on a different subject such as food, entertainment, education, travel, and work.

Living intentionally means having a plan and making more choices every day that helps you reach your goals and what you want out of life. Your time is valuable and could be better spent in ways that don't involve eating junk food and watching YouTube videos about cats all day.

Live simply, slow down so you can actually enjoy life, and spend your money wisely are all also prevalent themes throughout this book.

I found the author, Tsh, very inspiring. She is the founder of the successful blog TheArtofSimple.net and has a top-ranked podcast. She was able to turn her blog into a business, and an income to support her and her family. This fact alone makes this a must-read for all aspiring bloggers. She also travels the world, makes healthy home cooked meals, and has home schooled her children (which she talks about in the Education chapter.).

She never comes off as preachy, rather down to earth and honest. Even though I don't have children or my own business. There was a lot of things that I found relatable, motivational, and inspiring. There were some things that I really needed to hear, so that I could start going in the direction I really want in life.

Some of the words that were very valuable to me in this book included:

"Money is a tool." Simple and true, yet mind blowing. You mean it doesn't matter how much money is in my bank account? Money is just the tool to get me where I want in life whether that be a trip to France or the food on my plate. Don't stress about how much of it you have or don't have.

"Not sacrificing the things that matter most for the things that matter least." I'm definitely not where I want to be in life, and I can only blame myself. When I really think about why I haven't graduated college yet, it's because signing up for classes kept being put on the back burner for things like shopping for new clothes, watching TV, and checking into various social media platforms. Time to start breaking out the to-do lists to keep me on track!

Overall, I truly enjoyed Notes From A Blue Bike. I think it's a great read for anyone whether you are a parent, single, blogger, or non-blogger, you're sure to find some bits and pieces of priceless wisdom scattered throughout this book.

*Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

As a fan of Tsh Oxenreider's blog at TheArtOfSimple.net, I was eager to pick up her latest book, "Notes from a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World". Her writing style is engaging and easy to read. Part memoir, part manifesto of living a simpler life, Oxenreider skillfully shares personal stories that highlight her family's journey to living a counter-cultural lifestyle.

I loved the stories that she shared. Motivating and thought-provoking, I found myself drawn in by her passion for the subject. Having lived overseas, Oxenreider brings a unique perspective to the table that many people have never experienced or may never get to experience. Drawing heavily on their life in Turkey, she illustrates how their life there was a springboard to living life with more intention upon their return to the United States.

Divided into seven main sections, Oxenreider shares how her family makes conscious choices to live more intentionally and simply in areas like food, work, and entertainment. They make travel as a family a priority to give their children a better worldview and as part of lifelong learning. It was easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm with which she writes. I left each section contemplating how I can incorporate some of these ideas into my own family life.

Oxenereider is quick to reiterate that each family needs to evaluate and make decisions based on what is best for your particular family, your particular season: "We're each given freedom to choose our decisions, and that responsibility is the very definition of living with intention, after all: making daily choices so that your life lines up with your passions and values. It should all make sense in your head" (p. 214).

This book is a great jumping off point for people to put some thought into what your goals are, how you want to live, what your priorities are, and how you want to raise your kids. It is never easy to live counter-culturally, particularly in a culture like the U.S. But with a bit of thought and some creativity, it is possible to make even small changes.

While Oxenreider writes out of her life as a mom of young kids, this book is not geared specifically for moms of young kids. There is a lot of great information in there for people of all ages, men or women, regardless of life stage. I would highly recommend this book!

(I’ve received this complimentary book through the BookLook program in exchange for a review. A positive review was not required and the views expressed in my review are strictly my own.)

Notes from a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World is the newest offering of Tsh Oxenreider, the founder of TheArtofSimple.net. Since I had read One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler a couple of years ago, and had even tried to implement some of the 52 suggestions that she has for making your life better and easier, I was excited to read more from her on the simpler life.

Oxenreider’s book is divided into seven sections. These are: Awakening, Food, Work, Education, Travel, Entertainment and Revival. In the first part, Awakening, Oxenreider is looking at her life in America and remembering the simpler and more intentional life that her family had in Turkey. She begins looking at ways that she can make her life simpler and more like the life she had in Turkey. She ultimately comes up with a list that she spends the rest of the book exploring.

This book is written in flashbacks and veers back-and-forth between their lives overseas and their lives in the United States. The vignettes are beautifully drawn and the writing of the book really draws the reader in. You can picture what type of life Oxenreider has had and how that affects how their family lives day-to-day. It’s truly a beautiful book and a pleasurable read.

If you’ve come to this book looking for practical advice, however, you’re coming to the wrong place. Oxenreider shows you through her stories some of the changes that her family has made in regards to their own lives, and even though she attempts to extrapolate those into broad principles, her advice is not always practical for her readers.

I think this is a great book if you’re reading it as a travelogue and an account of how life is different overseas than in the United States. I think there are a lot of great stories and great points that Oxenreider makes about being more intentional in the book. I think that if you’re looking to use her book as advice, however, the main advice you can receive is to go back to the first section and make up your own list of what your family feels is an intentional life and what changes do you want to make.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <[...]> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

A great friend of mine introduced me to Tsh Oxenreider a few weeks ago during a conversation about being more intentional about how we are investing in our families. My friend mentioned Tsh’s blog and also that she had just written a new book Notes from a Blue Bike. I mentally stored the name and title to check it out sometime soon. I was pleased to find the book available for free through a group that I belong to that offers free copies of books in exchange for a blog review. Seems easy enough…need to simplify and be more intentional…and they were going to give me the book for free. What could go wrong?

I immediately felt a connection with Tsh in the introduction to her book when she asked the poignant question, “Do the choices I make line up with how I really want to live?” Oxenreider’s book shares the adventures that her family (her husband and three children) have been on the last several years as they have lived in a variety of cultures around the world. As someone who has been on a number of international mission trips, I can agree with Tsh’s point that people outside the United States seem to live so much simpler…and ultimately, so much happier.

This book went back and forth between conversation, philosophy, theory and practical application. I truly think this book did a great job of acting as a handbook for how to live more intentionally by covering items such as: travel, work, education, food, entertainment, renewal and restoration, and even finances. In an age of hustle, hustle, hustle, this book was truly a breath of fresh air that lingers long after I closed the book and began contemplating where to go from here.

I did not know anything about the author before I picked up this book. What initially drew me to it was what I had heard others say about it. I then liked the idea of "living intentionally in a chaotic world" since I try to live this way so reading a book about it was only natural.

This book is made up of mostly of little stories from the authors life. She weaves these stories through the topic of living less hectic, simple lives. She has an interesting life so it makes these stories interesting. It is an easy read. It reads like you are listening to a friend over coffee. It tackles common areas of normal life.

I liked the book okay. It was interesting to read another person's story. If you want a light read for the beach with Christian worldview then this may be your book. It also includes discussion questions in the back so perhaps it could be a light summer read with friends. Overall the author does make you think and evaluate your own life (toward simplicity) in different areas like food, money, school, work and entertainment. The topics from the book would also make good conversation starters as you talk with others about these things.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers [...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 [...] : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Tsh Oxenreider and her family moved to Turkey in 2008 and lived there for several years before returning to the states. It was just as difficult to return as it was to leave. Having grown accustomed to the culture in Turkey, it was difficult to return to the fast-paced busy lifestyle Americans call normal. Tsh and her husband, Kyle, made an intentional decision to live a simple life which meant giving up some of the luxuries we enjoy. "Notes From a Blue Bike" is Tsh's story of how buying less and making healthy food choices, makes life simple and more enjoyable.
More than a memoir, "Notes From a Blue Bike" offers advice to readers about how to make simple changes to enjoy life more and not spend so much time on non-essential things. Living the simple life isn't necessarily easy particularly in American culture, but it can be gratifying to slow down and enjoy the life God has given us.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Shelton Interactive, as part of their Book Review Blogger Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The fact that someone actually published this shows how far south the publishing world has gone! We could have collectively saved a lot of trees as this "book" is not worth the paper it was printed on. In fact, we can summarise it in one sentence: I am not happy, no matter where I live, what I do, what my family's life looks like - but don't worry, just give me a month and I'll change it up because, as stated, I'm just not happy.

Simple living has been a topic that has really been on my heart recently. As we were waiting and preparing for an open door to move to California, Tsh Oxenreider's book Notes from a Blue Bike was released. I requested a copy from BookLook bloggers to read.

I've been reading Tsh's blog for years, starting when it was Simple Mom and before it became The Art of Simple. I love the way Tsh shares stories from their time overseas. She talks about the difficulties in coming back to the US after living overseas. She talks about how relationships should trump stuff and busyness. She hits on how you can live intentionally in every area of your life - family, work, food, housing, physical, emotional, spiritual, education, and more.

God has such perfect timing. I've sat with this book for months. I read it quickly but my thoughts have repeatedly gone back to Notes from a Blue Bike as we made our cross country move. The call to living simply and intentionally keeps coming to me. Life isn't about stuff. It's about people. Tsh's thoughts in Notes from a Blue Bike have helped me put words to what God has been drawing me to for a while.

Material Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tsh Oxenreider is the blogger and founder of Simple Mom (now known as the Art of Simple), and in her new book, Notes from a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World, she tells the story of her family’s quest to live more simply, fully, and intentionally.

She writes about what it means to live simply in different cultures and contexts. Having lived in several countries, her family moves from Turkey to Austin, Texas to Bend, Oregon. She documents family life, so it includes a lot of information for parents. Her book is broken down in many sections: Awakening, Food, Work, Education, Travel, Entertainment, and Revival.

So what can I, as a single person without any children, learn from this book? I would recommend this book more quickly if you had a family and you were interested in someone’s perspective of how to live more intentionally and simply. But what about if you don’t have a family? Is it even worth reading if you’re single and spend a majority of mealtimes trying to half or third a recipe so you don’t have leftovers for weeks?

I would say yes.

No matter where we are in life, we can learn from what she has to say in this book. Part of me feels like the term “live intentionally” has been so overused. We can read it and miss its meaning. To really take living intentionally seriously, we need to have a plan. We cannot just say it because it’s catchy, but we have to live it. Tsh writes: “It’s all well and good to want to live more intentionally, but nothing will happen unless there’s a plan” (p. 197). Planning requires creativity and saying no to certain things in order to say yes to other things (like traveling).

In the chapter titled “Take Care of Yourself,” she writes about the importance of self-care. Tsh is honest about her depression and therapy. She acknowledges self-care depends on who you are, so it will look different for all of us. We all need time to restore ourselves. This is why we should embrace Sabbath. This connects with the following chapter, which is about slowing down. We need to slow down in order to enjoy the everyday moments around us. These everyday moments can be incredibly life-giving if we allow them to be.

Tsh takes her readers through years of her thoughts and experiences of finding what worked best for her and her family to live intentionally. To enjoy this crazy life, without wishing you were doing things differently. Sharing what she learned while living abroad and her processing in figuring out what worked in the crazy American lifestyle.

There are such awesome ideas and tips, as well as insights on how to make your life your own, to not just live the way we’ve grown to believe is normal. In the back of the book there is several pages with information and questions to ask yourself, to figure out the life you want to live.

The price of the book is steep for me, but maybe you and a friend can go in on it together, or buy a copy and pass it around or donate it to your library when you’re done. It was a great read, easy to get through, enjoyable and it overall helped me to put words to the way we feel about how we live our own life in our home. It also helps that I absolutely love the colors on the cover and have my own blue bike.

The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book through BookLook Bloggers, but the opinions here are my own.

While reading this book, several things jumped off the pages to me and made me look differently at my life. I would discuss them with my husband and he would see how that could help our family but with a twist on it. I loved reading about Tsh's life, and while it would never be the life I would choose for my family, I do see that we can learn something from everyone. She loves traveling the world with her kids and immersing herself in the culture, while my idea of a family vacation is immersing myself in the culture of Disneyland. It was that way throughout the book in the different sections; Food, Work, Education, Travel and Entertainment. A lot of her life I can relate to, for example her kids schooling, and her work life since I too am a stay at home mom, homeschooling blogger. I can totally sympathize with those struggles.
I think that was kind of the point, you can live simply and more intentional not by doing exactly what so and so is doing down the street, or living your life from your Pinterest account, but by seeing the good in those things, taking what you need from them and living your own way.
I read this book with my life in mind, not hers and saw how the lessons she learned along the way could apply to my life.
This is a book I will come back to again and again and I'm sure it will speak to me differently each time, since life is always changing and I will always need something new.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about others lives, and learn something from them, and I think anyone could do just that with Notes from a Blue Bike.