Good morning to you and God bless you on this Sunday morning! We've been blessed with a gorgeous morning in Maine and despite the fact that we didn't get nearly the things done we wanted to yesterday (including the lawn getting mowed), yes, we still have the dandelions dancing in our yard this morning. And, ya know? How delightful it is to see all those sunny yellow dandelions still smiling and bobbing toward the sunshine out there! Perhaps they just weren't meant to be cut down after all!
I'm excited to share with you something I discovered yesterday. I've been reading from several issues of the New Harvest Homestead Newsletter over the past few months and I was curious to see if they had an actual web site. Sure enough, they do! And oh! Oh! What a site it IS!
They deliver so succinctly what this whole homestead concept is in my mind and resonates so much with what we're attempting to create and live out in our own family life. Then mixed in and interspersed amongst all of this, are some significant, helpful bible verses and musings that provide such fresh encouragement and inspiration.
As you try to recover and re-focus from THAT visual, you can read through the very first few paragraphs on their home page:
The word "homestead" tends to evoke an image of pioneers living off of the land. However, we have come to embrace the literal meaning of the word which, simply put, means to be "steadfast at home". We want to encourage and assist Christians in rediscovering the practical skills and home arts which were once commonplace in our culture, but have been all but lost to the last couple of generations. We especially want to encourage women who want to give the majority of their time and energy to their families and homes, in contrast to a culture where women are constantly on the go.
The rewards of the homestead or home-centered lifestyle are manifold. Life becomes quieter and less complicated. There is a great joy and satisfaction in working with our own two hands to provide for our family's needs. Most importantly, the more we interact with God's creation, the better we get to know the Creator Himself.
"But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you; so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need."
1 Thessalonians 4:10-12
This kinda stuff just gives me goose-bumps all over! And it also helps me de-tox out of my stressed-out, hyper-sensitive I-can-NEVER-do this mode of thinking! It helps me realize that even though we have broken down equipment and that I don't have any REAL clue as to what I'm actually doing with this whole bucolic, homestead country-life, that somehow, some way we're still on the right track! And there are some beautiful, talented, gifted families out there doing this sort of thing who want to reach out and help unguided, ninkimpoops like me pursue our stabs at this homestead life--and all from a precious Christian perspective, too! God is just SO good--and thank you, Lord, for laying this on people's hearts out there!
Although, I wasn't exactly intending to, I ended up copying and pasting their ENTIRE home page--that seems to have several of the links besides. There is just so much here that I can't wait to explore myself, so I guess I'll just let it be what it is! And you can click on what might appeal to you at the moment...
NOTE: The New Harvest Homestead has created a new website so the links below are no longer the proper links. Click on this New Harvest Homestead link to see their lovely updated site. However, all the wonderful topics below are still found on their new site...check it out!
In the introductory issue of New Harvest Homestead:
The Homestead (Home-Centered) Woman: Steadfast at Home
Homestead Life: What is the "Homestead Life"?
In the Garden: Growing in containers and raised beds
In the Kitchen: The "Heart of the Home" plus tips for getting ready to preserve the summer bounty
Titus 2 Keepers at Home: How do we really fulfill the call of
Titus 2? Ask about my free Titus 2 Meeting Guide!
The Introductory Issue is Free! Write to us to request yours:
[email protected]
The free sample copy is sent via email as an Adobe Acrobat file. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat on your computer, you can download it free here. If you have a spam blocker, please add this email address to your "allowed" list.
The March/April 2008 issue is now available!
Take a peek at what's going on around the homestead.
New Harvest Homestead is an electronic newsletter published bi-monthly, delivered via e-mail as a PDF file and then printed out by subscribers. Subscriptions are $12.00. Please see the subscribe page for more information.
Join the New Harvest Homestead Newsgroup! Keep in touch between issues, ask questions about content from previous issues, share ideas and meet other NHH readers!
Click to join newharvesthomestead
Steadfast at Home