Christian Homesteaders

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

I am interested in why those of you who are Christians decided to homestead? How does this affect your walk with the Lord? There are a lot of reasons people homestead, ecology, wanting to be in the country... I am just interested in what motivates christians toward ths life.

Little Bit Farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@calinet.com), April 08, 2000

Answers

Living a simple life allows me, personally, to fully appreciate everything God has given me. I have time to smell the flowers or just take a walk & talk with the Lord. So many people rush through life on a quest to obtain material things & miss out on the little pleasures of life in the process. I try to be as self sufficient as I can to use the talents & brains that God gave me. I don't have to depend on anyone else for food & things. It truley is a wonderful way of life & the way I imagine Paradise will be after my death. :-)

-- Wendy (weiskids@nalu.net), April 08, 2000.

I agree with Wendy; Nature is as close to God as it gets! What better paradise than working with God's creations on earth & then finally resting in heaven with Him? Jane

-- Jane Gauch (Sewbears4u@aol.com), April 08, 2000.

Since I don't believe things happen by accident, I believe it is God's plan. I believe He gave my husband and I the desire to be homesteaders many years ago, and since we were willing, God had blessed us. And what a blessing it is-even in the hard times. What lifestyle brings you closer to God's creations? (Christians should be the first to take care of the earth.) What's better than simplicity? Living close to nature and hard work are part of God's plan. I think that homesteading is a walk. Something that is never completely finished, something you add to daily. It's a privilege to talk to Jesus while sitting back watching the butterflies flit around the zinnias, listening to the meadowlark on a nearby fence post and feeling the breeze in the warm sunshine. Homesteaders seem to be closer to each other than people in other lifestyles, I think the goal brings us together, even though the path isn't always the same. I thank God for the blessing. Thank you for asking, Cindy

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), April 08, 2000.

All of the above and also when we fell into sin and were tossed out of the garden , God said "for thine own sake thou shalt till the soil and eat by the sweat of thine brow"> Forgive me if it isn't exact. The important thing that struck me a few years ago was the "for thine own sake". In this world that we have defiled, there is no other place to encounter God and His plan on a daily and obvious basis. We have the joy of working with His creation as caretakers. I couldn't ask for anything more fulfilling in my earthly life.

-- Doreen Davenport (livinginskin@yahoo.com), April 09, 2000.

Personally, I don't think it does affect my walk with the Lord. As with any type of lifestyle, we all have the choice. I believe it still boils down to the heart attitude, whether you homestead or live in a big city. Yes, there is some satisfaction not having to become dependant on any grocery store but a Christian who lives downtown Chicago may have a better "walk" with the Lord than one with 300 acres living in the boonies. It reflects who we are and our personality. It builds character and strength. It has it's ups and downs. In the long run, we chose this for one reason or another. You're gonna find out, everyone has a different reason to why they chose homesteading as well as how it affects their Christian walk.

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), April 09, 2000.


Cindy and Wendy, I couldn't have said it better myself! You said it all. That does not mean you have to be a homesteader to be a Christian but I do enjoy being so close to God's natural beauty. I believe this was his original plan for mankind. May God bless you all and if I have made anyone mad in other posts, please forgive me.

-- barbara (barbaraj@mis.net), April 09, 2000.

For us it was a gradual, but natural progression. We felt a direct leading from the lord for me to quit my fast track career to stay at home with our new son. Simpler living was away of cutting corners to make up for lost income. Once we started to foster parent, and are not able to "witness" directly to these kids, we tried to include God in our daily routines... as much as we can *G* to show these kids. As well as my own personal fulfillment, I see this lifestyle as a way to get the kids away from the "technological" world, into nature, and closer to God. Sounds kinda hokey reading it on the screen, but that is really what lead us here. I tackle the " homestead" ideals, the same way that I did my outside career, and it makes me feel like I have a "job". Well, hope that makes some sence.

-- Marci Brown (daleb@kent.net), April 09, 2000.

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want"....from Psalm 23.

Pretty much speaks to the pastoral life, if you ask me. Keeps it simple.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), April 10, 2000.


The Bible tells us to work with our hands, that we may have enough and some over to give to others. It also tells us to owe no man anything but to love one another. And to teach our children to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your strength, and all your soul, and all your mind" (a combination of several verses). And to do that as you walk together with them every day -- how could you do that if you aren't WITH them? And then there is Proverbs 27:25-27 "The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens." There is another verse in Proverbs 24:27, "Prepare thy work outside, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house."

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), April 11, 2000.

My walk with Jesus Christ begins every morning as I look out my patio doors to the small grove of trees just north of the house. I can see the flowers, hear the birds and marvel at all His Creation. Why am I so special as to get to live this kind of life? He will give us the desires of our heart if we are living for Him. I fail Him every day but He still lets me live in the country. I don't own the farm, just the caretaker for Him. 24 Acres and I love every minute of living out here. Quite solitude and over-running with His Blessings. Glory to God! I'll take care of it until He calls me home through death or by the rapture! Matt. 24:44

-- hoot gibson (hoot@otbnet.com), April 11, 2000.


Little Bit, What are your thoughts?

-- Cindy (atilrthehony@yahoo.com), April 12, 2000.

I believe that living in the country has helped me in my walk with the Lord. There is the real beauty of the trees, grass and meadows, etc. By real, I mean that the experience is not one of watching nature programs or reading about the earth from books alone. Another real experience is taking care of our animals. Real time and effort go into being a caretaker of life. And lets not forget about chopping brush and even an occasional tree. After my first one, I had a whole new respect for those who had to make houses and clear land. I believe that we, as a society have become very desintisied to the value of life. The average teen ager by their 18 year has watched thousands of murders..life is made unreal. But bury a favorite pet or other animals, can give us a whole new attitude.

-- scott wyatt (scottjoy@flash.net), April 12, 2000.

Grace Builds on Nature. God created them "Male and Female", you know the rest. The family is God's design, and a reflection of the perfect love of the Trinity. When we choose to obey the will of God and create families (if this is our specific calling) in a marriage covenant (the word means Oath, which is calling upon God to help you carry out your committments and keep promises), we are assisting in his marvelous plan, participating in creation.

From my study of Theology, the Bible, and Catholic social teachings (Pope Paul VI, John Paul II, Second Vatican Council,...) my observations of modern society, and a bit of history (though not nearly enough), I believe that the enduring social structures that serve human needs best are the family and community (tribe, village, town). Our society has replaced these structures with corporations, schools, and more government. When we participate in these institutions, we give up our social power. The Intentional Peasant wrote a great piece about this called "Institutions and the Intentional Peasant" which appeared in countryside about two years ago. (sorry, don't have the reference with me.)

The modern family is all split up: Dad works one place, Mom works somewhere else, kids off to different schools being raised by their peers, Grandma and Grandpa have gone off to Florida to buy a condo and never have to mow the lawn (they have abdicated family responsibilty). People are moving around for the best job and committment to community is lost. I could go on about the ways we have lost controlWe have thrown away the traditions and institutions that were used to keep us faithful to one another and to pass on accumulated wisdom to the next generation.

My family is moving toward homesteading and building an intentional community in order to try to rebuild these social structures, to be closer to Nature, to place some controls on modern commerce, and to be in a better position to control our participation in modern commerce. We intend to both "drop out" and to "start over" building God-fearing institutions to assist (not replace) the family and community.

God Bless you all.

-- Bob Blessum - Steubenville, OH (robertblessum@netscape.com), December 09, 2000.


Little Bit, We don't homestead now, but I would love to be "off the grid" and more or less self-sufficient as far as us sinners can be. Jesus supplies all our needs.

Americans, IMO, are entirely to reliant on the gov't.

-- Heather (heathergorden@hotmail.com), December 13, 2000.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ