A Safe Place

Hello dear friends and quiet readers,

It's been on my heart to write something, so here goes...

I want this place, my little spot here in blog land to be a safe haven. Surely we need that right now. I want it to be a place where if you are burdened or feel you have no one to listen to you, you can share here or send me a private message (ladies only). What I don't want is this place to be used for gossip,  or any divisive talk.

If your like me, your a Keeper of the Home and this is what fills your day. You may have family to care for, children still at home and or grandchildren. This all requires a lot of work, love and commitment. Our minds and hearts need to be peaceful to do this well, and if our hearts are heavy because of different things then frankly it make life very hard indeed. I would say emotionally, the last year has been my hardest ever. With losing my Dad and sister + all the scares about covid and other things happening in the world....but even more than that. What's caused me the most pain and sadness to the point of tears many times is the division that vaccine issues has caused within families and my own. I want to share this scripture: 

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. 

 This scripture is dear to my heart and is a measuring rod for me to hold myself accountable in my daily walk. These days it seems vaccine issues have drawn new 'lines in the sand'. I just see the enemy having a field day. He loves nothing more than Christians criticising and judging each other and pitting one end time world view against another. So what if your eschatology is slightly different to mine? God's interested in the heart and whether or not we're growing in the fruits of the spirit. If I'm loving my neighbour and giving God the glory by the way I live my life each day. I'm not seeing much of that around me right now. These are surely dark days and it makes me so sad. 

My heart goes out to people who are backed into a corner, like we are. Our government leaves no option for most people. If you don't have the vaccine, you will lose your job. This applies to nearly all jobs. Some people have a lot of money/property investments behind them and have the option to make a choice that will not affect their livelihood, but most people do not.  I really don't think voluntarily leaving your job and going on the unemployment benefit is an option either? or having to sell your home and go where? Some people forced to take the vaccine have become ill because of it, that saddens me terribly too. I feel we are like guinea pigs. I do not trust our govt in this country. They lie, quite blatantly. They leave no freedom of choice. I am pro choice. 

Many people because of compromised health have taken the vaccine....because they feared getting a bad case of covid.  If you've had the vaccine I don't judge you, we had to take it too. I didn't want to, I was frightened and wrestled with the whole thing and now the endless boosters. I haven't had the booster and don't want to...Oh Lord help us. Even if your pro the vaccine I don't judge you. Maybe you think me a fool for my opinions? When I spent countless hours praying about this situation, I felt the Lord impress upon my heart to choose the narrow way, to walk in it and to have compassion and mercy for people on all sides..in all situations. That's where I stand.

As I look ahead to 2022 I have no idea if it will be as difficult as 2021. I've never suffered loneliness and rejection like I have this past year. My heart has been so torn and I've felt so confused at times I thought I might lose my mind. People who I love acted in ways I would never have imagined. But what I do know is GOD WAS AND IS MY ANCHOR. My faith did not waver, not even one little bit. Many nights when I couldn't sleep, I would repeat scripture verses over in my head or repeat the name of Jesus over and over to dispel the darkness that tried to swamp me..and it worked every time. 

I truly feel like a pilgrim. I think I shared here 2 years ago that we had to leave the church we attended as we found out that they were connected with ungodly/unscriptural practices. It's too much to go into and I don't intend to. We had worshipped there for 10 years. I live in a very small town in a country area and because of our Christian values there is no where else to attend; so there again we are on our own. Yet we are still faithful. We have daily morning and night devotionals, bible reading and prayer. We have to make the best of the circumstances we find ourselves in. We are faithful and committed to the Lord. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

So if you read this, and feel alone many days too,

then know I am here for you.

Let's stick together and walk in love as believers in Jesus,

supporting each other through our struggles.

May we still shine our little lights

and show love where we can.

May the Lord bless you,

~ Linda ~

New Year, Same Hope

 

Hello everyone,

I'm back..sorry for my long absence. It was grief, pure, tough and simple and just needing a little space while I went through it and processed some things...but my heart has mended and I feel more peaceful again. I wanted this post to be a little update on what's been happening around our little homestead and in my heart...sort of reflections of 2021 and goals for 2022. The title is New Year, same hope. My hope is always in the Lord !!! :) 

Hebrews 10:23 'Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful' Amen

Plus a ton of pictures, please feel free to scroll through or whizz through it all if it's all a load of waffle to you. We've also had wonderful grandies days with little ones visiting :)

 

 

2021 October: We extended our vegetable garden - exponentially !!! and I'm thrilled with the results. We have a total of  16 - 17 total vegetable beds now and I probably still need a large spare one to have room for successive plantings of things like lettuce, spinach, cauliflower, cabbage etc. We have plans to make a proper screened in area for raspberries and boysenberries and a couple of small cloche style boxes fitted with old windows, to act as little hot houses for Spring & late Autumn/Winter use. 

We planted some more fruit trees too: 1 x Cherry, 2 x Nashi Pears, 1 x Prune Plum, 1 Dwarf Pear tree and a Feijoa Hedge. I'll make a little video/tour and upload to You tube and then put here for the next post.

 

I also wanted the garden space to be filled with pretty flowers, so we planted Sunflowers, Cosmos, Nasturtium, Marigolds, Poppies and 'O' how pretty they look !! How majestic soaring up towards the sun. Every time I go out there, whether its just to walk and talk with the Lord, or to go out purposefully to harvest something, I come back feeling in my heart happy, thankful and with an overarching sense of blessed peace. 

We've been eating fresh salads from the garden daily plus harvesting cabbage, cauliflower, beetroot, spring onions, red onions, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, kale, silverbeet, a few carrots and herbs - which is fantastic for our budget. I've been making sauerkraut, grating, freezing and dehydrating zucchini, and making Relish from zucchini. I bottled some Beetroot, plus froze and vacuum sealed a whole lot of celery. The tomatoes are yet to ripen, so no doubt then I will be up to my eyeballs in produce :) We have Apricots and Plums ripening..so plenty of bottling coming up soon too.

So that pretty much covers what we did and have been busy with in the garden. It amazes me over and over again the vast quantities of food that can be produced from a simple suburban property !!! With hard work and a couple working as a team, all this is possible.

2021  R E F L E C T I O N S

1. Always put the Lord first. Even if its tough at times, we must prefer God over the affections of people. This is easier said than done and I fail in this area at times, because like most of us we don't want to hurt people, especially when we have to take a stand as a Christian. Being a Christian isn't always easy. If we desire to walk in holiness with the Lord, we need to make sacrifices, tough choices and be prepared to walk the narrow way with Him alone. This is relevant to so many situations and struggles from the past year...and I see more on the horizon, more challenges and hard choices. We need to be ever so close to the Lord, keeping short accounts and seeking to hear the Holy Spirits quiet voice. So often we don't need to give an answer, and silence is best. Keeping our opinions to our self is best. Sometimes when asked for my opinion about an issue, (and aren't their so many 'controversial issues' out there today), my response is often: "I don't have an opinion. As a Christian my life is lived in submission to God and to His Word. My will, my thoughts, my desires must come into alignment and into submission to what the Word says." (even when it may be hard).

2. Sometimes people will just not like us, often just because we are a Christian. There is nothing I can do to make it any different. I can pray for them, ask God for strength to not get down about there opinion and attitude and still purpose in my heart to love them and be kind. Otherwise I am no different.

3. Achieving goals brings joy: In my heart for a long time I had wanted to focus more on the garden, eating from it, preserve more food from it, have successive plantings of lettuce/cabbage etc, sow my own seeds, save seeds, plant a bigger medicinal garden to create a home herbal apothecary. I am well on my way towards this goal :) 

4.Stay out of debt. Its a good feeling when you pay off the credit card !!! I know - happy dance... even though we still have a mortgage. Be vary careful about incurring anymore debt, whether that be getting a new car etc. Can we go without or wait longer? Living a frugal life makes me feel like I'm not wasting what the Lord blesses us with. Drawing up goals for the year holds me accountable. Planning/praying about it all is wise and invites God into all choices.

5. Busyness can often unravel goal no.4 (its true). If my life is out of control and too busy I don't stick to budgets or meal plans. I impulse shop, Vegetables go to waste in the fridge, I eat more takeaways, I wind up gaining a few pounds and I also end up with unfinished projects all over the house. It makes me feel defeated. Balance in life for me is KEY!!!!! I took my Heart & Hand products out of a local shop that stocked them as it was a big contributor to the 'busyness' and constant need to have to make more stock. If I was 20 years younger I might have enjoyed all that, but at my stage of life I need more simplicity and peace. I now only sell my products online and feel more in control :)

that's about it for reflections.

2022  G O A L S (for me)

1. Complete and add to the home apothecary. Plant more medicinal herbs that we will actually use. Make salves from the infused herbs and a herbal cough mixture so it will be ready for Winter.

2. Plan a small vacation. We never do this :)

3. SEW MY WINTER NIGHT GOWNS. I started this project last Autumn and still haven't finished..sigh

4. Finish painting the house (Hubby mostly).

5. Have more extended family dinners :)

6. Save more, continue with goals.

7. Strive to walk in the spirit each day, seek the Lord at all times and draw closer to His presence.

8. Try not to get completely overwhelmed and discouraged with the state of the world/covid & the division it's causing within families, churches and Christians. I must admit at times it's a daily struggle for me.

~  ~ ~

Bye for now everyone. Thank you for those who said they had missed me, it warmed my heart and encouraged me xox love you ~ Linda

Final Pic: Me joyfully holding this book. Mrs White if you read this, it gave me a little thrill to know that I own a book you published and recommended. It is so charming. Thank you. My husband purchased it for me for Christmas :)

Psalm 105: 4

'Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually'

 

End of an Era

 

Hi friends and quiet followers,

My Dad 'Rae' passed away 4th July 2021 aged 81 years. He'd been ill for about two and a half years and more so the last year, following another heart attack. He also suffered from diabetes.

I didn't want to let this time go without recording it and also my feelings, as this is one of the ways I remember significant events in my life and also how I felt about it at the time. A couple of hours after he passed I felt a sense of calm, like I'd been holding my breath and was finally able to exhale. The past months have been harrowing for Dad, with many hospital stays, falls and bad ulcers on his legs that just wouldn't heal. His body was shutting down. Our life had taken on a rhythm of checking in every day or two to see how Dad was doing and also how was mum coping.  Mum's life was filled with appointments for Dad, care workers coming to their home to help and a lot of frights for mum when Dad would have yet another fall. He had so many falls at the end, yet never broke a bone - a true miracle. 

When my mum called us Saturday morning at 4.45am to tell us to rush to the hospital as Dad was dying, I didn't know it was possible to get ready so fast. I ran into his room upon arrival, but was too late by minutes. My mum was too late as well. We all sobbed our hearts out and couldn't believe Dad was no longer with us. Even the lovely hospital staff were crying and hugging us. Dad's was still warm and we hugged him and said our goodbyes, letting him know once again how much we all loved him. But more than anything we were so relieved for his sake that he was no longer suffering. Through all of this I have witnessed that ageing takes great courage.

One of the greatest blessings for me was that Dad had a faith in our Lord and while he may not have been one to talk about it a lot, he tried to live it out in his own ways. He had enough humility to know that we are all imperfect and just try to do our best each day as disciples of our Lord.

My Dad was in the army as a young man, but didn't fight in any wars. He loved my mum, his children and grandchildren. He especially loved gardening, specializing in growing shrubs and vegetables. He was not able to do this in later years as he had very little energy after his second heart attack. In the final months he didn't even have the strength to lift himself out of a chair and needed someone else to shower him.

Dad as a dashing younger man.....

Courting and marrying mum...

~ Lessons I've learned, some from Dad and some from witnessing ageing  ~

1. Caring for a sick loved one is not easy and no matter how patient you strive to be, you will lose your patience (says mum and later regret that you did). Bless her

2. Don't delay each day to live life well and live out the fruits of the spirit of: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self control.

3. Keep short accounts with God, friends and your loved ones. Apologise quickly when needed.

4. If you've always wanted to travel, and your health permits it and you have the finances - just do it !!! (now we have silly old covid 19 and can't) !!!. Mum and Dad made two vacations to Australia with other family members after they had retired (in their 60's and 70's), so it's never too late and they had a blast :)

5. Don't hesitate to share the gospel with those you love, even if they reject it, seeds are still sown and they can work through it with the Lord themselves and in their own time. My Dad made a confession to my husband just weeks before he passed. He gave his life to the Lord as a young man, but confessed again that he believed that Jesus died for his sins. My Dad had a very peaceful passing and told us all that he loved us. He didn't seem to have unfinished business. He accepted the state of his health and was ready to go on to whatever God had in store for him.

6. Don't waste time - We hadn't redecorated our bedroom or the kitchen since we moved into this house 14 years ago and I felt like I was wishing for things that could be done, but just not getting on with it. Dad taught me each day is precious, and time is short. So we finally just did it. My husband took 10 days off work and we just worked very very hard, staying up several nights until midnight to get it all finished. I posted before and after pics on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__thelittlehomestead__/

                                                                       ~with curtains up ~

I'll include pics of our room another time when the lighting is better. I also sewed all the curtains for the kitchen, French doors and our bedroom myself. It was quite a challenge for me as I am not an experienced seamstress. 

..continuing with final lessons learned:

7. Be confident in the final time that you have left to do things the way you want to do them. Don't worry if other people are disappointed or think you should plan a different funeral. It's your final moment and I think its right that the person dying should be able to choose how they want things to be. Dad has chosen to be cremated and have a simple service back at home. He wants a few hymns and for there to be just family and close friends (mostly family) to just enjoy time together celebrating Dads life and recalling memories. It surprised me that Dad wanted such a simple, no fuss sort of send off. But I see that a lot of older people choose this option at the end, foregoing fuss and crowds and just choose something simple and intimate.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well that's all for now friends, I just wanted to be able to mark my Dad's passing and share the things he taught me in the final years God gave him when he was declining. I loved my Dad with all my heart, even though I didn't always agree with the things he said at times or how he sometimes acted. I chose to love him anyway and take the bad with the good. Learning to tolerate and accept each others foibles makes life easier. We all have room for improvement and God loves us still. My Dad was a man of integrity, hard working and meticulous. He kept careful records. He saved his money, lived frugally, but also well. He planned and gave my siblings and I wonderful childhood memories of great holiday camping adventures, which still remain some of the best moments that I recall from my young life. He shared nearly every Christmas with our family and we will miss him greatly. Thank you for your life Dad xo and Love to you all ~ Linda

Happy Mothers Day

 To all my dear followers who are Mothers, I just wanted to pop by quick and say Happy Blessed Mothers Day.

I'm so thankful that even though my husband and I were very young when we had our first child, he was loved and welcomed into our hearts and homes. Since then followed another son and a wee daughter. Of course these children are all grown up now and have blessed us with beautiful grandchildren to love. Life is good.

I pray dear Mothers that your child or children showed you love and appreciation today. I know as Mothers we can be our hardest critics and think our children might be scarred for life for the times we lost patience or said a harsh word. No Mother is perfect all the time and most strive each day to do the best they can. 

All mothers want their children to do well in life, and to one day marry and have children. If your anything like me you've probably prayed a thousand prayers for your children. When you see them  marry and then in turn become good parents, you feel like maybe you passed on something good after all, even if at times you felt like you didn't always know what you were doing - smile.  

It's a blessing that this special day is still celebrated ! It's a blessing anytime a wee child is

loved and welcomed and protected when in the womb. Their is no place more sacred and it should always be a sanctuary for a developing child. When I'm out and about and I see Mothers speaking to their children in a loving way, it makes me so happy inside because I know those children will grow up well and have good self worth. 

It doesn't matter how humble your home is, but only how big your heart is, how loving your arms are, and how gentle your words are that they hear.  When I reflect on myself as a young mother, I sometimes think I could do a better job now, but that's only because I have grown and matured through being a mother and not the other way around. 

Our children are very dear to us and I consider it a great privilege to be called mother.  

It brings me enormous joy to watch our own daughter grow as a wife and mother and even be inspired by the selfless choices she continues to make and to see our daughters in law also grow to become beautiful mothers. I consider it a high calling and a very worthy work of Love to be a Mother.

Much love to you all ~ Linda xo