Matthew 6:21 tells us that Where our treasure is, so is our heart.
As we pursue our dreams and build our lives, we are called to keep our purpose in mind.
Are we building treasure to hide and keep for ourselves? Or are we focused on building abundance to give and bless our families, our communities, and the kingdom of God?
In gardening, you have to amend and tend the soil to produce a bountiful harvest. If we keep throwing out seeds and depleting the earth, eventually no life will grow there.
And so it is with the human heart. If we store all our treasure in earthly pursuits and do not pursue our passions from a place of reverence to how we can be of service, eventually that treasure will lose its shine.
Leading from a place of love, compassion, and kindness, sharing your gifts with others, living in gratitude for the life we have been blessed with, feeds our hearts and souls.
From that place, true love and abundance will shine, earthly abundance will come, and your gifts will be a blessing to all you encounter.
Homestead Update: Sometimes you have to slow down to speed up. I spent the day yesterday cleaning up, reorganizing and removing both the old, extremely heavy wood burning stove from the living room and all of the old HVAC ducting from underneath the house. Both were pretty big chores. Today, I was able to reframe the dividing wall for the laundry room, 1/2 bath and new walk in shower. This wall is a non load bearing wall that I framed directly on to the floor joists. NOT the traditional way to do this, but I needed to leave the subflooring out in order to run water lines and configure all the new drains. There just isn’t enough clearance to comfortably crawl under this entire area, and this wall is needed for the plumbing vents. So, non traditional it was. When you’re making a very old house do something it wasn’t originally designed and built to do, you HAVE to think outside of the box sometimes. It is what it is, and that’s exactly what makes this fun for me! This stubborn little house WILL conform one way or another…
Homestead Update: Nothing too exciting today. Finished nailing and lag bolting the new floor joists and rim joists. Removed a window and framed in and opened the new exterior door, opened the wall area for the new walk in shower and did some other miscellaneous framing in preparation for framing some walls. Nothing exciting, but progress is, in fact, progress!
When working on a dream or goal, the first place it comes true is in your mind. In your belief that you can accomplish it. That you will live the life of your dreams. Create so much abundance that it spills out and uplifts others to believe in their dreams.
Homestead Update: Wayyyy more progress on the main house in the last week. Mud sills and rimm joists are all done in the kitchen, and the new beam and floor joists are installed! Brand new roof and brand new HVAC system are scheduled for the next few weeks! We’ll be continuing on over the next few weeks framing the new walls that we need and replacing/ relocating all of the windows and exterior doors! So stoked!!!
Busy couple of days working on the website here. Cleaning up, updating the URL and adding a store front page. Stay tuned and thank you for being along for the journey.
His hard work hard work is really pushing progress forward.
“Homestead Update: Shwew! What a busy/ productive few weeks it’s been! Got the garage storage loft built and did some more moving in/ organizing. Installed lights and got most of the garage wired and new sub panel installed. Got the upper garden fencing project completed finally. Took down two small closets in the main house. Built a new bedroom wall and standard size closet. Took out two brick chimneys (One was buried in a wall) rebuilt two major sill plates that were 100% rotted, returning structural integrity to the kitchen. Finished removing all of the old water pipes and drains. Built a Chicnic Table for the chickens and celebrated harvesting our first ever chicken eggs! We’ve harvested about a dozen this past week! Pretty exciting, forward movement!”
Now that Christmas is over I can share a project I have been working on and am so excited to see where it goes.
I have always been interested in learning about herbs and there medicinal properties.
Once were on the homestead I was able to start growing several varieties.
I am now taking a Master Herbalism Class and after an amazing session with Legacy Home and Garden at Farm Where You Live to learn how to make healing salves, I have been busy making my own salves and butters for special people in my life to help with specific needs.
I also did a special lip balm for my granddaughter, and I am so happy she has edible lip balm free of toxins.
The RV we lived in when we first moved here is now my little workshop until my She-Shed/Apothecary is done.
I am now perfecting recipes, partnering with a local coffee roaster and a honey farm to have the best quality, local and sustainable ingredients possible.
A few years ago, instead of setting resolutions, I picked a word to focus on. To shape my year. The last 2 years it has been abundance. Not just financial but love, happiness, connections. For my marriage, for my family.
With this move across the country and the new adventure my husband and I are on, as I meditate and reflect, I feel strongly that I am connecting to my purpose.
I have raised 3 amazing kids who are happy and healthy, and have 3 grandkids who have all the love and support any child could want or need.
I have been fortunate that my work in the world to provide for my family has always been fulfilling and I have truly enjoyed the connections I have made and the small difference I have made in the life of others through my work.
I am at a place where I feel all that I have learned, all the things I have been passionate about are coming together.
This coming year is about being intentional. In my marriage, in my connection with family and friends, in how I spend my time, and how I make a difference in the world and community around me. To be connected and aligned to my purpose through being intentional with my day to day habits and interactions.
I am excited for this coming year as our homestead continues to grow and I continue to learn and grow.
I send you positive energy and prayers that you find your word for the year.
If you have a word for the year, please share in the comments.
The hardest part of homesteading is when you lose your animals to predators. Unfortunately, we lost our 2nd chicken to our rescue dog that we are training to protect them. I came home to find Ursula in the yard. She was our trouble maker and last one in each night, the girls were quite upset tonight. Tomorrow we add overhead netting to out smart the ladies from getting out.