We live in a society that is constantly telling us what we should think, eat, build, learn, wear, possess, and how to treat and entrain ourselves. It’s presented in such a way that if a person doesn’t conform to these “rules” they are shamed and confronted with fear. We have been indoctrinated in such a way to believe that there’s only one way to do things. After we got saved, we started thinking for ourselves and doing things outside the box. Rather than doing something just because it’s expected, or whatever everyone else is doing, we pray, count the cost, and do what makes the most sense.

Cory and I aren’t afraid to try new things, (this can be good most of the time) and we try not to worry about what other people think. We have our own businesses, homeschool, homebirth, cook/heat with wood, are home centered, milk cows, grow and prepare food from scratch, avoid debt, and don’t waste time watching the news or television, surfing social media, (except for Facebook Market Place for used items) reading or watching immoral books or movies, performing “busy work,” or feeling obligated to do certain activities because it’s expected or everyone is doing it. For the most part, if we do something, it’s because we really want to do it, or see benefits to improve, grow, and serve. We are always learning and gaining knowledge, but we will only pay for that education if it makes sense. This thinking outside the box is totally opposite to our early marriage.

Rather than just doing what we have to do for work like we used to, and then entertaining ourselves the rest of the time, our family strives to work hard in those extra tasks that benefit us all considerably. We try to have a lot of fun doing it too. Our kids still have a lot of time to learn, have their own businesses, and play as kids should. Cory and I schedule time to spend together and plan times for family fun and fellowship with others in our home. We attempt to make our home a very peaceful and fun place to be (I do need more work in this area though). Allowing little ones to help, singing, dancing, asking questions, listening to music, and telling stories are fun activities to do while we are preparing food, cleaning up, folding laundry, or working outside. I try to show my excitement in what we are doing, and I can see that in our kids. The other day, Abigail, age 8, found a bucket half full of sap and yelled, “We are rich!” That makes work fun!

We are instilling a freedom mindset in our kids and encouraging them to think outside the box as well. They are all doing a variety of things without debt or formal education. Our oldest son is finishing a small home he built himself. You can watch the video here. He passed his EMT exam at a young age, (this was formal education) and recently studied and passed his exam to become a septic tank installer, so he could save money by installing his own tank. Our daughter Kailey started a popular business called Little Midwest Farm and has learned a lot of skills like tanning hides, gardening, a little building, and painting her car. She has a short video here which has received over 3 million views and continues to grow. Alena has been writing and publishing books for years and recently made it to a number one best seller in her genre on Amazon without traditional publishing. Aiden built a shed when he was sixteen to do his wood working in. He is trying to grow his business despite not being able to do exactly what he wants (due to rules in his Etsy shop) until he turns 18. Annika is milking goats and selling soap, and the younger kids are begging to start businesses. Thinking outside the box can be hard and time consuming, but it’s worth it.

About 80 percent of households carry some form of debt. When we were first married, we didn’t think it was possible to be out of debt, but God changed our hearts about this in a powerful way (especially me). In 2009 we broke the chains of debt and now pray that we never have to be slaves to it again. There is so much freedom in being debt free, and this value has saved us from making a lot of poor choices. We have watched the Lord meet all of our needs in a mighty way through the years. I wrote a post here about our process. So much has changed since that time, and there’s so much I could add to this post (maybe in the future). We continue to think outside the box with our finances.

Approximately 70 to 80 percent of Americans take a prescription or over the counter pharmaceutical daily and many of those people take several every day. Another way our family thinks outside the box is that we haven’t taken a pharmaceutical in over 12 years. We don’t want to cover up symptoms, but instead want to discover the root cause of the symptom and help our bodies to heal naturally.

Contrary to what we used to do, we now work to nourish our bodies with nutrient dense foods that have been properly prepared (and mostly grown by us) and use herbs and food to treat symptoms. We also prioritize healthy sleep habits, fun exercise, and try to keep our stress low. This has greatly improved our quality of life and our health. I’m not searching for the next fad diet or trying to find that “one thing.” We simply use good quality ingredients and make food we enjoy. Pictured below is a beet cake that Kailey made for Annika’s birthday. Most of the ingredients were grown by us and were properly prepared. The homemade frosting was colored with beet juice, and it was surprisingly delicious! We felt great. The fact that we use food/herbs as medicine and grow and prepare most of our food is almost unheard of these days. That’s definitely thinking outside the box.

I share this because we really do enjoy our life, even though we are doing things that people think would be too hard or are scared to do. We all have more energy and improved health. Many people are overwhelmed thinking about everything we do, and I have to say we are not doing everything perfectly and sometimes we take on too much. While this works for our family today, it might not be best for others. I only share this story because I want to encourage more people to think outside the box, have fun in their work, and pursue and appreciate freedom! I love this quote from our Pastor, Phil Kayser, “Fear God and enjoy life.”