The one word the Lord has put on my heart this month is simplicity. We are living in an amazing time of opportunity, work, entertainment, and serving. I have learned the hard way how important it is to guard my time and pray about all opportunities (even good things) because I can only do so many things well. Through this hardship, I have learned that by focusing on the important things I have been called to do, it allows me to better accomplish them.

We have also been reminded this month that to get the best results in a situation it often takes hard work, diligence, perseverance, and sacrifice to accomplish. Regenerative farming is a great example of this. Rather than quickly treating a symptom in an animal or plant we are looking to find the root cause of a problem. This takes extra time and research, but usually ends with a stronger, healthier animal or plant.

My husband often says that July is the time of year that reveals the best gardeners. The weeds grow so quickly with the heat and humidity. I must confess I am not in that category again this year. The weeds are growing faster than we can keep up with them thanks to the rain and early heat. Our hill next to our house looked like a hemp field for a time. My husband was finally able to borrow a tractor and get it knocked down. He was surprised to find dozens of rotten eggs that had been hidden by our free range chickens. That was disappointing! We are working diligently on our extensive gardens and pastures to catch back up before the weeds dump millions of seeds on our land.

We have been raising treatment free bees for years. Over time we have lost all of our hives. Our last hive was knocked over by a cow that broke through the fence this spring. Since we had already invested a lot financially, we decided not to purchase any more packages of bees this year. We were so surprised and thankful when a friend offered us one of his nukes. So far the bees seem to be doing well. We learned recently that a few weeks after getting the nuke, most of our friend’s bees were killed by an aerial sprayer. He was spraying pesticides on a neighboring field, with winds blowing directly at the hives. Our friend has video of the plane spraying the field, he then smells chemicals at his place, and shortly after this time the bees are dying on the entrances to their hives. My heart aches for him, and the bee owners that have to suffer the consequences of these chemicals. We are told time and again that we don’t know what is killing the bees. My prayer is that this cover up will be exposed and we will find a better way before it’s too late.

The month of July is usually sultry with little rainfall. We have been blessed with abundant rain and we have experienced a week of below average temperatures to end this month. It has really helped the pastures to grow. The cooler weather reminds us that winter is just around the corner. It has given us incentive to dry, freeze, and can as much as possible as we think of the nourishing food it will provide this winter. A few weeks ago a very generous friend offered us apples from her tree. We gladly accepted and everyone worked together to pick, cut, cook, and can many jars of applesauce and apple butter. Even our little ones participate in the process. She also offered us apples from another tree that will be ready soon. These apples will be wonderful for eating, dehydrating, and so much more. Our three apple trees on the farm are loaded and will be ready soon.

We have had some extra time this last month to work on house projects. Our focus has been forming up a sidewalk and sitting area in front of our house. We poured our first concrete with the help of two friends. The boys were great help as well. The girls and I prepared a feast of fried chicken from our last round of broilers, homemade scalloped potatoes with ingredients from our farm, homemade tortillas out of masa, Kailey’s beans, homemade dinner rolls with our beloved einkorn flour, sweet corn that we put up last fall, and oatmeal cookies.

Our family loves to get together with other people and work, fellowship, and eat! I often think of those that came before us that had to work together to survive. With our modern conveniences I’m afraid we have lost some of the togetherness of the past. We love to barter labor and help one another out. The Lord certainly had to humble us to get to the point of asking for help, but it has proven to be a tremendous blessing. The sidewalk turned out well other than it setting up too quickly and looking a little rougher than we hoped. Lord willing we plan to fix it in the near future. We were reminded again that we shouldn’t take on such a complicated project for our first time doing something new (we must love a challenge) and how thankful that the Lord provided excellent help! The stairs will be our next project and then we will be adding stone and siding ourselves.

The Lord has really put it on my heart to empower others about how our food has changed over a short period of time. We are reaching more and more people with our website and newsletter and LOVE to hear your stories about how natural, clean foods have changed your lives. Please help spread the word and keep those stories coming! As summer continues, we look forward to the work that lies ahead and to blessing others with our products. Homesteading and farming are not simple tasks, but when you enjoy the work you are doing and get to feel a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, it is completely worth it. This summer we pray that you are encouraged to grow great food, locate and meet a great farmer to buy from, slow down and enjoy each day, and be blessed with abundant health!