Spring on the homestead is a time of renewal and rebirth! Even though there’s still three feet of snow on the ground up here in Idaho spring is only a few days away. Spring and it’s rebirth weighs heavy on my soul and mind right now. Discerning one’s lot in life can be a difficult thing and the key for me is being open to the will of God. While not always easy, maintaining that willingness to hear the still small voice is paramount in fulfilling the will of God.
Homesteading Full Time!
We’re deep in discernment at this point trying to determine if now is the time to make the 
leap to homesteading full time. It’s a frightening proposition, but the call is strong and I believe we can make it work. We will continue to pray as a family and seek inspiration from the Blessed Mother and the Holy Ghost. This is by no means a done deal, but there are exciting times ahead for the Traditional Catholic Homestead!
Prayer for Choosing a State in Life…
In general I tend towards prayers that are short, simple, and to the point. Something along the lines of: “God grant me wisdom, courage, and perseverance so that I may know, act, and fulfill your will”. This leap of faith seemed to necessitate something a little more substantial so to the Rural Life Prayer Book I went for this gem:
“From all eternity, O Lord, You Planned my very existence and my destiny. You wrapped me in Your love in baptism and gave me the Faith to lead me to an eternal life of happiness with You. You have showered me with Your graces and You have been always ready with Your mercy and forgiveness when I have fallen. Now I beg You for the light I so earnestly need that I may find the way of life in which lies the best fulfillment of Your will. Whatever state this may be, give me the grace necessary to embrace it with love of Your holy will, as devotedly as Your Blessed Mother did Your will. I offer myself to You now, trusting in Your wisdom and love to direct me in working out my salvation and helping other to know and come close to You, so that I ma find m reward in union with You for ever and ever. Amen”
Pray for Us!!!
At this time of renewal and change, we here at the Traditional Catholic Homestead ask for your prayers and support. Please pray for our family that we are able to be open to the will of God and make the right decision for our future and that of the TCH community!
Blessed Mother Mary Pray for us!
Hello-I have been reading some of your posts because of your Catholic faith and the location(farming). In the future, I plan to follow you closer in the future. Good luck if you go full time. Pat
Hello! We’re Catholics who are *just* starting out homesteading with our two young kids (age 7 and 5). We’re interested in your story because it’s a bit like ours. Barb (wife) doesn’t work since we moved from Northern Virginia (DC suburbs), Geoff (husband) works for the National Parks Service with a six-month furlough but a long commute. We’re scratching heads over here about how to meet expenses if he quits. Barb did a very conjectural mock-up of expenses if we lived more on the land (e.g., lower grocery bills but better put some aside for vet bills every month), and she couldn’t figure out how we could live for less than $3000/month. Do you all plan on having any income? Will you have insurance? That is something that has tied us to Geoff’s job, and we are not sure it should. We came out here with the idea of making a Catholic Worker Community/Farm, maybe involving hospitality to those in need, maybe donating surplus food, maybe hosting cultural events/retreats. Not sure where/how it will go, but we want to see where God takes us. We will pray for you all, and you all please pray for us!
It’s definitely a big step moving towards supporting the household off the land. We are planning on having multiple income streams to start off with. We’re thinking about things that utilize our resources like trees and then dovetailing our homestead work into different income streams. We’ve been looking at the different healthcare co-ops as far as insurance and we have some funds saved up to get us through until some of our endeavours start to cash flow…..for sure a complicated process and pretty frightening but I believe it is God’s will and we all need to be docile to that! PAX-Dave
This old lady in Kentucky will pray for you in her rosaries.
Much appreciated! PAX-Dave