I want you to look out the window at the fields and the soil that belongs to our family. We see this ground every day, and it is easy to take it for granted. But I want to tell you a truth that you must carry with you for the rest of your lives: this land is the most valuable asset we have, and our greatest goal should be to guard it, work it, and expand our borders whenever we are given the opportunity. Everything else in this world—money, machines, or things bought from a store—can be printed, manufactured, or taken away by men. But nobody is making any more land. It is a finite, sacred resource, and it is the true foundation of our freedom.

Continue reading “A Letter to Our Children That I’m Sharing With You About Freedom” →

When you hear the words “medicine cabinet,” you probably picture plastic bottles, white pills, sugary syrup, and cough drops.We believe that true health starts in the kitchen and the soil. That is why our pantry and herb jars are our medicine cabinet. When we get sick, someone starts coughing, or our skin is raw and cracked from working outside, we don’t head to the pharmacy—we look to the original medicine that God gave us to treat our ailments and heal our bodies.

Here is what we keep stocked at all times through the winter:

Continue reading “Stocking Our “Medicine” Cabinet for the Winter” →

Continue reading “Winter Prep on the Farm” →

The last week has been a whirlwind of activity, but our hearts are so full of gratitude.

We started with a wonderful Labor Day-where we truly lived up to the holiday’s name and did plenty of labor on the farm! We were invited to our son Caleb’s new house for supper and dancing. He treated us to homemade chili using tomatoes from my mom’s garden and cornbread made with ingredients straight from our farm. He even taught us a few dance moves! We had the absolute best time together until the mosquitoes decided to join the party and chased us inside.

Continue reading “A Whirlwind of Activities and a Tomato Tip” →

Before I write my posts, emails, or recipes, I spend time throughout the week praying about what I should share. My prayer is always that I would be an encouragement and a blessing to those who read my material, and that anything not of the Lord would simply be forgotten by the reader.

This week, I feel led to share a personal experience and some wisdom that came with it.

Continue reading “An Encouragement to You” →

In the last few weeks, we finished preserving our sweet corn and pickles, and started harvesting and preserving raspberries, green beans, herbs and tomatoes. I have been starting to keep track of how much time it takes to plant, weed, water, harvest, clean, and preserve this food. It all takes more time than I think it should. When it comes to our health, we can make a lot of changes and feel like we aren’t making any progress. We have to remember that our health didn’t decline overnight, and just like all the work that goes into growing food, healing takes time, but it’s worth it. Don’t give up.

Read more: Healing Takes Time

Cory and I were visiting with the kids last week and my husband said he feels better at 50 than he did at 30. I shared that I feel better at 45 than I ever have. We came to the conclusion that unless a person has experienced a 100 percent traditional, clean diet, they probably don’t even realize how much better they could feel. That is why we want to spread this message. We are so thankful for those people that took the time to share with us. There’s no secret pill or “magic bullet” that we have to sell you. Anyone could do the same things we are doing without buying a single thing from us.

We have an enormous health crisis in our country. Thankfully there are people waking up to the fact that our food is making us sick. The modern diet isn’t working. Thankfully our family has have found that cutting out processed foods completely, raising or sourcing beyond organic ingredients like ancient grains, pastured meats and eggs, heirloom fruits and vegetables, raw milk, and natural sweeteners like honey (sourced from a local farmer) and maple syrup we harvested by our farm, unprocessed salt, and herbs as medicine has cleared up most of our health challenges and improved our quality of life. I do believe if we went back to our previous diet, like some people claim you can do if you heal your gut, we would be experiencing those once again.

Diet can help a lot, but if we aren’t keeping our stress manageable, getting proper sleep early in the night, getting outside, moving our bodies, practicing forgiveness, reducing stress, and cutting toxins by using clean skin, mouth, and cleaning products, and avoiding fragrances, lawn/garden chemicals, etc. and getting fresh air into our homes, we won’t get to experience the healthy body and mind that we could.

As I sit and write this, I’m soaking up the sun and watching our kids boat at my in-law’s dam. We have a pastured chicken, sourdough einkorn bread, and potatoes in the oven for supper. A completely homemade, baked cheesecake awaits us in the freezer, and I will cook up some green beans that I picked before we left when we get home. Healing doesn’t mean we don’t get to enjoy good food or have fun; we eat whatever we want, as long as the ingredients are high quality, though some of us watch our carbs more than others. We can still do fun things and be nourished if we do a little planning. It is just so easy to fall into convenience if we don’t.

Healing takes time, perseverance, and patience, but trusting in God’s timing and following these basic principles can completely transform your quality of life. We would love to hear your story. What small changes have you made that helped you feel your best?

Before we got married, my husband and I made one thing very clear: we did not want to farm. We didn’t want the commitment or heavy demands of agricultural life. But God had other plans! In the spring of 2002, during our first year of marriage, we planted our very first garden. It was completely unsuccessful. Nothing went the way we planned, and it would have been easy to quit right there, but we didn’t give up. We tried again the next year, and little by little, each season’s harvest got better.

Continue reading “Our Unexpected Farm Journey” →

Continue reading “The Gift of Provision” →

Continue reading “A Little Rest on the Farm” →

The cool weather on the farm last week was a good reminder that even though it’s early in the summer, its abundance will not continue forever. This made processing over 1400 pounds of pasture-raised chickens and a beef a very pleasant experience. The mild temperatures also helped our edible mushrooms thrive and made weeding and all the routine work around the farm feel less like a sauna.

Continue reading “Processing Over 1400 Pounds of Meat on the Farm Last Week” →