An Agrarian Home-Based Lifestyle, Part 1: Our Vision

Ok folks, today begins my first "series" of blog posts!  How many parts to this series?  Who knows...until I feel like I've said enough, I guess!  Forgive me if it sounds a little bit like I'm thinking out loud throughout this series...because I am.  We are just beginning to shape our "dream"; our vision for what we want our family life and livelihood to look like.  It seems clear to us that God has brought many factors together into one place for us lately, and I'm going to take a little time to explain it to you.  Hopefully we here at Domestic Reformation will understand ourselves better in the process, too.

I'll keep this pretty basic today since future posts in the series will cover many aspects in greater depth, but let me begin by laying out our overall vision by defining some things (thanks to Merriam-Webster online!)...

agrarian: of or relating to fields or lands or their tenure.  Yup.  You heard me right.  We actually intend to "make a living off our land".  Well, mostly...more about that in a minute.  We've been blessed with 20 acres, about two-thirds of which is open land.  The rest is brushy undergrowth, young-ish forest, and our yard.   Is it possible to earn enough cash off 20 acres to live comfortably?  We believe it is.

home: one's place of residence.  Our dream is that our whole family--Dan included--will be able to work together here at our own home--our own "place of residence".  Around here we find that we get exponentially more accomplished in a day when we're all working together than when we are split off in our separate ways all day.  There's a kind of synergy that occurs when we're all working together, and it's way more fun than being apart all day.  Our family actually likes to be together!  Will it always be sunshine and roses?  Of course not!  But it's not a bad goal:)

Let me be clear: a "home-based business" does not mean we intend to become hermits or social recluses.  However, it does mean spending more time actually at home.  Less running, fewer last-minute trips to the store, better planning, more intentional time spent with friends and family.  As I mentioned above, we plan to "live off of" our 20 acres, but we will continue with Courser Deer Processing, which I suppose, being a service-based business, can't really be considered living off our land.  Currently we run this business at a different location, but our goal is to move it here for next season.  Being away from our own home so much is taking a toll on us already, and this year's hunting season is just getting started!

lifestyle: the typical way of life of an individual, group, or culture.  I hesitate to call this merely a home-based "business" because it is about more than just money for us.  It's a way of life, and a way of life that is radically different than most folks.  Our dream is to have a lifestyle that not only "pays the bills", but is more rewarding, more fulfilling, more healthy, and more whole than what "normal" American culture has to offer.  And, we hope it's contagious.  We hope that when others see what we're doing they, too, might be inspired to slow down and smell the proverbial flowers...literally.


Our intent is not in any way to sound condescending or "holy-er than thou".  Right now we are in the dreaming, visioning phase where anything can happen.  It's probably something of a honeymoon phase.  Hard days will come when we wonder what in the world we've gotten ourselves into.  But for now I hope maybe you can all dream with us a little bit as the series develops, and maybe even help us shape our vision of what's to come!

Next post: the "History" of our vision (or, "How the Heck Did We Come Up With This Wacky Idea?")  No promises as to when that post is coming.  After all, it's deer season.  I'm sure you'll all be waiting with bated breath though, right?

A few shots from the south side of the property at sunrise.

Isn't it beautiful?  We are so blessed!

Jesus is Loving Me

We all know the song..."yes, Jesus loves me..."  But tonight I just read such an inspiring article in the latest bulletin from Gospel For Asia, (the ministry through which our kids sponsor a child) that caused me to think a little more about that love of Jesus.  Here's an excerpt:

"Devanand had skin cancer that was eating away at his flesh.  Doctors gave him a slim hope for survival--and only if they amputated his affected leg and arm.  When Mary [a missionary] visited his home and saw his condition, she wept for him.

'This is possible with Jesus,' she encouraged Devanand.  'Do you believe?'

'I am believing,' he responded.

Mary prayed, and soon afterward, Devanand began to feel relief from his pain.  He was brought to Mary's prayer center, and she continued to visit him, praying for him and cleaning his open wounds.  Over a period of a few weeks, Devanand was completely healed and has been free of cancer ever since.

'I really understood that Jesus is loving me so much,' he muses.  'So I am thankful to Jesus for His healing.  The rest of my life I just want to live for Him.  And sister Mary really showed me the love of Jesus.'

What a difference just that slight change in wording makes.  It's really easy to say, "Jesus loves me."  It's on t-shirts, coffee mugs, bumper stickers, you name it.  I don't want to downplay the significance of the phrase, because it is true, of course!  Jesus loves us.  But turn it into Jesus is loving me and suddenly that love comes alive.  Not only that once-for-all, unchanging kind of love, but the kind of love that is shared personally, moment by moment, with Someone who knows you intimately.   And this man, Devanand, appeared to understand that Jesus was loving him even before he was healed.  Jesus is loving us when we are sick and when we are well.  Jesus is loving me when I am being a great mom and when I utterly fail.  Jesus is loving me right at this very moment and waits for me to acknowledge that He's there, ready to comfort, heal, encourage; to satisfy every need if I would just open my heart to His right-this-minute love.

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."  Ephesians 3:17-19

If the Lord spoke to your heart like it did mine when you read that story, or if you have questions about Jesus, the Bible, or Christianity, please leave me a comment or contact me through google friend connect.  I would love to have a conversation with you about the love of my savior, Jesus Christ.  Blessings, everyone.