Repurposing

repurposing :  to give a new purpose or use to 

There's a lot of repurposing that goes on around our farm.  We repurpose materials, structures, livestock areas . . .

There is also a lot of repurposing that goes on in the house. I also repurpose materials and storage spaces, as well as our motivations and time spent doing things.

I have decided that it is time to repurpose my blog.

My blog has slowed down, halted, and became virtually silent as we transitioned from our start up of the farm into our actual farming.  Some of this has been due to the addition of more little blessings running around the house.  Some of it has been due to the swelling of demands to keep a beginning farm up and running.  Some of it has just been due to a lack of purpose in my posts.

Sure, I have always wanted to keep a journal of our journey.  But the lack of purpose of keeping that journal started to creep in.  

Even so, I have continued to want to find some way to continue my blog. Not just for the readers who may be out there, but for our generations to follow . . . to see how we persevered with where we felt called, to see how the Lord provided for where He had us, and to know the history behind our farm. (All assuming the farm continues on - as well as Blogger!)

Yesterday we gave an in depth tour of our farm to 14 individuals.  They arrived at 9:00 am.  We combed the farm viewing the different enterprises, discussing how and why we do things the way we do, shared how we attempt to balance family, farm, and town jobs, discussed finances, and ate a lunch and supper of Crooked Gap Farm produce and meats that I had spent the week preparing.  Our guests left around 8:00 pm and left me with a desire to repurpose my blog.

Over the last year I have had numerous individuals asking me how I manage the home, the garden, the family, and even the farm in my role as a stay at home, homeschooling, farming wife and mom.  Many have asked (and re-asked) for classes on some of the thing I do. I would LOVE to hold these classes and share the things that I have discovered from my journey of cooking with a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in town to preparing 2 meals for 14 guests and our family of 6 with foods almost completely raised and grown on our farm.

The wall I run into is lack of time. And lack of facilities. And lack of supervision for our children. (Ethan has been working ~60 hours/ week of off the farm work, along the daily chores and 6 months of Saturday farmer's markets . . . and all else that goes along with keeping a farm business running.) 

Which brings me to my next thought.  Children. I have had a number of conversations lately about how to make family work with starting a farm. A wise friend shared with me a couple years back that our culture spends so much time following our children around (not that it's wrong to join in their interests) and so little time having our children follow us around.  Following us to learn from us, to see the beauty in what we have learned to hold beauty, to encourage them, to share with them, to shower love upon them.

In Titus 2:3-5 we are encouraged to "Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers, Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God." 

These conversations with my farm friends looking for help on how to provide for their home, my personal friend who encouraged me that it was okay that we couldn't join in the American chase with our children, and my Heavenly Friend who continually shows me the way to fullness of life, have all brought me to repurposing my blog. 

I still hope it to be a journal throughout our farm journey, but as I do this I hope it to be an opportunity to share with others how to love their husbands and children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes . . . all the while challenging myself and encouraging my readers to bring the next generation along with them so that they can do the same.