Bringing God Back Into The Kitchen

My daughter asked me if God gave her food allergies.  The answer...Yes, he did.  I then reminded her that God has a plan for everyone and everything.  She asked if I knew what God's plan was for her food allergies and if she would ever grow out of them.  I told her that she was very lucky.  I told her that because of her Hypersensitivity Spectrum Autism that her body only knew what "real" food was.  I shared with her that most people in the world had food allergies and/or intolerances but have never realized it.  Her body doesn't allow itsself to be tricked by "fake" food.  I then told my kids a story.  I told them how a long time ago there were lots of farmers who grew food for their families.  They also had chickens, ducks, pigs, cows, and other farm animals that provided their eggs, milk, and meat for families.  I told them how people lived this way for thousands and thousands of years, but it was not to last forever.  As time went on people changed more and more.  Soon there were not a lot of farmers left in the world because people were moving into cities.  Little did they know that soon the government would have to "help" the people with their food sources.  Without enough farmers; scientists figured out how to make a little food go a lot further.  They started processing the food to break it down and add a bunch of "stuff" to it, and then they build it back up so that it will feed a lot more people.  They also used their science to change even the seeds used to grow food so that one seed would produce a lot more plants.  Little did the world realize that God was soon being taken out of everyone's kitchen.  People were eating foods that were developed in labs and soon people started getting sick.  People were suffering with awful diseases and illnesses with many losing their lives.  People started praying to God for a cure and to help with their families.  A wonderful thing started happening.  A "Real Food" movement started to take place in the world.  People were getting back to nature and all that He provides.  People even started homesteading and farming more; some even in the cities.  There still aren't as many farmers in the world as their used to be, but God has shined his blessings down on us and people are more aware of what they put into and onto their bodies.  It's a beautiful thing to see that my children get to be such a big part of watching the world bring God back into their kitchens.  The End

Sustainability: A Homegrown Lifestyle

Sustainability is a word used to describe a way of life for many people, including ourselves.  My husband and I live next door to his parents, and when I say next door I mean in the country with an area of woods between our houses.  Up the road are my father-in-law’s cousin and her family, and on the back side of the farm are my husband’s grandmother, two aunts, and their families.  Those are just who is in immediate proximity.  His cousins, aunts, and uncles live all around us within a few miles; and most of us chose a sustainable way of life.  It was the way the older generations survived; by their own means.  It is not how I grew up, and it was not my husband’s first or second choice as to how he thought we would be living.  It all started with me wanting a garden.  I didn’t grow up around gardens, but always wanted one.  After our second child was born, my father-in-law and husband tilled up a spot in our backyard and I started my first garden.  I bought books on gardening and eventually about canning and freezing.  I was a self-made woman who was providing healthy, home grown food for my family.  I loved it!  As the years have passed our gardens have grown to a large vegetable garden, a smaller herb garden, a flourishing fruit orchard, 40 chickens, 8 ducks, 60 guineas, 7 Nubian dairy goats, two horses, a miniature donkey, two dogs, and a cat named fluffy.  It keeps us busy with feed bills, maintenance, and little adventures along the way.  We now provide ourselves with seasonal vegetables, fresh fruit and herbs, farm fresh eggs, and raw dairy milk on a daily basis.  The men enjoy hunting for deer, rabbits, squirrel, and turkey.  They are not trophy hunters and only kill what we eat.  I have the joy of making fresh rosemary chicken sausage or sage duck sausages.  We have large freezers to store meat and some fruits and veggies.  We had an ice storm in 2009 and were without power for 9 days; it reminded me how much I loved canning those veggies and fruit jams.  There is a new food movement among us along with urban gardening and a growth in hobby farms.  More and more people are appreciating the freshness and hard work of taking care of themselves and their families the same way their ancestors did.  They say history repeats itself.  Perhaps this is our new path as history is coming full circle.  With surging gas prices, unemployment, and larger grocery bills; sustainability is fast becoming a way of survival for some.  I have the pleasure of being a leader for the state of Kentucky in the B Kind 2 Earth challenge.  Ask yourselves this, what are you doing in the means of sustainability?