A Joyful Keeper

Sometime last year I stumbled across this article: What does it mean to homestead in 2005? by Crystal Miller about how she defined homesteading. By reading through her website I recognized myself - the articles about when she was dreaming about being on the land, but also all the things she does at home.

This is how she defines homesteading:

“I looked at the word “homestead” and kind of had some fun playing around with the word. I broke the word into two parts, “home” and “stead”. I came up with “steady at home” as one definition.

 

The modern day homesteading lady has a love of home and a desire to find purpose in providing for her family as much as possible with her own hands. Anyone from the woman who lives in a big city apartment to the woman who farms on 600 acres of land can homestead. Homesteading brings with it a desire to produce from your own hands and a satisfaction of having provided needed necessities for your family.”

(Have a look at the entire article here; there are many more words of wisdom!)

Lisa, from New Harvest Homestead defines Homesteading as this:

 

“The word “homestead” tends to evoke an image of pioneers living off 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.”

From the time Cameron and I were engaged, I began to read and read about being a wife and homemaker. What really interested me was making things from scratch. I was surprised to learn that there were still women who preserved their own fruit and veg! I was so pleased that our wedding gift from my parents was a preserving unit and some bottles!

After we married, God brought people across my path from whom I started to learn many of the skills that are part of what the above women call “homesteading”. I already knew how to sew, and sewed most of the children’s clothes in those early years. I learned how to cook from scratch. I learned how to grow veggies and freeze them for the winter. I learned how to bottle fruit and sauce. I made my own soap,…..etc, etc.

However, I didn’t consider this homesteading! It was only until we first had half an acre and then two acres and I had chickens, a huge veggie patch, and sheep that I thought I was “really homesteading”! And it wasn’t until we left our happy homesteads that I felt like I was no longer homesteading.

When I came across these alternate definitions of homesteading, I was so excited, because the truth is that all of these things, in varying degrees, are part of my life whether I have land or not. I bake my own bread, I grow whatever I can, I preserve what I can - no matter where I am.

When we were in the Middle East I taught other women to make tomato sauce from scratch and bottle it. I taught them to bake bread and make sundried tomatoes. I learned from other women to quilt! And all this in the middle of a desert!

God has placed the desire to be a keeper at home in my heart, and part of this desire is also to be a homesteader. Maybe one day God will bless us with some land again, but until then I am encouraged that wherever I am, I can be “steady at home”. I also feel very much that I need to make the most of my time of not being on the land to learn new skills. I know how much hard work it is with only a couple of acres to look after! At the moment I have nothing in the garden - no plants or animals. Instead of wishing I had more things to do outside, I need to be working on the things I can do inside. I can also plant a few things outside in the winter, which I will try to do soon. But let me take this time of “less outdoor work” as a blessing from the Lord, and use it to learn other skills and do things that I didn’t have time for in the past.

This too is part of contentment and enjoying what God has for me at the moment.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 11th, 2007 at 2:22 pm and is filed under Homesteading. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.