“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself ” (Philippians 3:20-21). We can’t do everything exactly the same way as we were raised, neither can we simply follow the flow in the cultures where we are living. We are committed to finding a “3rd Culture” in Christ in our daily living! We are not ashamed to live as “foreigners and strangers on earth” and “desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. … ” (Hebrews 11:13-16).
“3rd Culture Living” is a lifestyle as a family, a progress to be prepared and equipped as citizens above; it is a way to apply what Apostle Paul teaches “Do not be conformed to this world,but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2).
In conclusion, the Golls’ definition of “3rd Culture Living” is:
We embrace our different cultures and other cultural exposures, to challenge us to renew our minds as we strive to not just follow our assumptions, but to apply Biblical principles in all aspects of our life in dealing with decisions, conflicts, and evaluating beliefs, to be passionate ambassadors for Christ through His daily transformation.
“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.” – John 12:24
Being a home educator, I am often delightfully surprised by the inspirations that come up through living a full life. The Lord’s mercy and tender love often show up when I least expect but am most needy. A little faith like a seed goes a long way. What a comfort to know He is the one to will, to act, and to bring His plans into completion for His glory! This is true for my salvation, sanctification, and also true for all my children’s future. He cares about our loved ones more than we can ever imagine!
A “failed” garden. Randomly organized. A bad fence allowing chicken attacks. Lack of water… and yet God created life to multiply! God makes things grow (and we get to enjoy)!
I love those moments when a simple but profound spiritual truth becomes more evident to me through God’s creation and seemingly random life occurrences. It takes wisdom to explain deep truths in a way that a little child can understand. This wisdom is not from the world and can not be produced on our own. The true wisdom from above is simply a gift to receive by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. God may use His creation to strengthen my faith as I put my trust in the Lord. I am grateful for my all-wise Father in heaven to help a slow learner like me. However, God can shed light to different people in different ways. As much as I am passionate about sharing the Truth, I need to learn to submit to His timing and His ways to let those who have ears to hear. I also need eyes to see others’ needs and ears to listen for spiritual readiness.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all knowledge and wisdom. To be truly wise, we first need to know the Lord, our Creator and Savior. We need to have a connection with the Almighty to have life-giving sparks in our learning. As a gardener, it is a common practice to soak the seeds before the planting. The purpose is to activate the dormant seeds through the soaking process, so the seeds will “wake up”. You may even discover some cute sprouts. One of our early homesteading experiments was sprouting the seeds. My favorite seeds to sprout are mung beans, which are easy with a high, nearly 100%, sprouting rate! I am not sure about you, but it takes me a while to try new things when life seems already packed-full. Even though I had exposure to sprouting as a child, I never really had done sprouting by myself. Like many new things, they always seem more daunting at first. What if I waste my time and seeds? How will my failure affect my children? Will they be discouraged and not willing to try again because of my failures?
Mung Beans Sprouting
I tend to worry too much to get started. By God’s grace, He has allowed a few seeds to accidentally drop off the overnight soaking pot (Check out more details for soaking and cooking beans from Vitamix). Guess what? The next day, I noticed the sprouted seeds appearing happily in the sink! That was a miraculous spark for my learning! All of a sudden, I was inspired by life, as the seed did what it was designed to do. When the temperature, moisture, lighting, timing, and other conditions are just right (or even roughly in the ball park), life happens. It is so EASY but yet a complicated process which I am not qualified to fully explain. It definitely makes a good science lesson for homeschooling. Science helps to explain how things are connected in a logical manner. Have you ever wondered who designed the seeds? Science without God, the Creator, can not satisfy the hungry soul for deeper purpose and connection. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit keeps drawing us closer to our Creator Father even through those “random” moments.
The sprouted seeds immediately brought me to the realization that the seeds died!! Yes, those seeds are no longer seeds any more. The sprouts prove that a new life has begun! There is no way back. Even if the sprout dies, it dies as a plant rather than a seed. I am motivated and urged to tender the seedling for optimal growth. It’s a quiet but compelling calling from nature. If I allow the sprout to continue to grow, it will stretch out more stems, leaves, and roots. Then the seedling will be ready to be transplanted into good soil to continue the growth and reproduction. Eventually, that little plant, transformed from a tiny seed, will bear much fruit and eventually a LOT more seeds. Life, abundant life, goes on and on! As a gardener, I pray that I will never lose the wonder of the power and value of seeds! When we are tending the garden, we are privileged to have the front row seats to watch how life happens, continues and multiplies. However, even if you are not into gardening, you can easily find signs of transformation in the eco-system when you are close to nature.
Think of the vast number of seeds in this simple garden!
When the sprouting happens, it is easy to notice that the outer skin of the seeds/beans will come off easily. A question I like to ask my children, “Would it be easier to peel off the outer skin before or after the soaking?” The answer seems obvious to them.
As a homemaker without a dishwasher, the soaking method comes really handy if you have some hardened-on tough spots to clean out on the bottom of a pan or dishes. The soaking tip saves a lot of time and energy on scrubbing extra dirty dishes, doesn’t it?
However, how many times do we try to get rid of a bad habit in our own efforts without the “soaking” of the Holy Spirit? We imagine we can change and have a new life without dying first. We don’t have the vision of a renewed life after death. We are deceived by the concept of “death” without hope from the broken world.
The “soaking” also connects me to Christian baptism. By God’s grace and providential care, one of my children recently was baptized.
When asked by the Pastor, “Why do you want to get baptised?”
His answer, “Have a new life”!
Simple but to the point. When you get baptized, it symbolizes the old self being buried with the water. The old is gone and we are set free from the bondage of sin and death. So you are literally soaked. Being baptized is not the most glamorous moment, but is a great opportunity to proclaim a powerful message in public by faith. When you stand up from the water, it represents the new life in Jesus Christ, our Lord through His Resurrection. We are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the Triune God! We belong to God’s family and kingdom, forever and ever. What a glorious milestone in our faith journey!
Celebrating New Life in Christ at Baptism
Baptism itself does not bring salvation. Baptism is an outward proclamation of our faith. We are baptised by the Holy Spirit when we confess our sins and invite Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. True baptism is a one-time event but an ongoing process through the work of the Holy Spirit. Baptism also connects us with the Body of Christ of all believers in Jesus Christ and more directly with a local Bible-teaching church. It saddens us when people rarely show up at church after being baptized. There is no magical power in the act of baptism itself. Baptism, as a ritual, does not guarantee us to go to heaven and receive eternal life. Only through knowing and bonding with Jesus, we are not only alive spiritually in our earthly life, but also one day we will appear with Jesus in glory.
Have you been soaked like a seed? Different seeds come with different sizes and need different lengths of time to “wake up”. God has designed each glorious seed and He has great plans for our children as well. He made the whole world with His children in His mind like a loving Father will do. Through His beautiful, orderly, and powerful creation, He is calling His people from the east to the west, and everywhere in between. When you seek Him, you will find His fingerprints everywhere no matter where you are or what you do.
Just look into the mirror, you will see the image of the Father. He made you, male or female. Nothing is hidden from God. He searches our hearts and minds and orchestrates our life events and who we will meet. As a mother, I need to continue to learn to surrender to Him, trusting His timing for calling and using my children for Kingdom work. In His proper time and perfect manner, our children will hopefully sprout and bear much fruit for His glory! This is not a wishful thinking kind of hope but a hope anchored on God’s word and promises. He will redeem our past, current and future mistakes. He died (and rose) for us because He knows we can’t save ourselves. We need a Savior! Death has no hold of those who put their trust in Savior Jesus!
Are you immersed by the Holy Spirit? Have you been washed by the precious blood of Jesus? As a child of God, baptism is only one step of faith, a huge step for sure. God has begun His work in His children way before they are born, even before the foundation of the world! Let that sink in a bit… Knowing God’s eternal plan of salvation, we, as parents, never need to fret, or to rush our children for an act of baptism.
By faith, we will continue to show love and mercy, share and live out the Gospel by His strength and pray fervently for our children even when we don’t see signs of conversion or when a child walks away from Godly thinking or living. When our faith is tested, God will graciously fill our hearts richly with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit if we faithfully cry out to the Father. The more we follow and trust God’s leading joyfully, the more we are being transformed by God through Jesus’ Word, the Bible. We learn to love our children and others like our Father loves us. We grow in our faith in God’s greater love and perfect care for our children. We are to be like Jesus for our Father’s glory as a family, and as a church! God will never forsake us and will be with us every step we go!
Trust God with the eternal hope in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit! And pray, pray, pray…
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
Further reading/listening:
One of our boys had an article published recently through Keys for Kids: New Life Mushrooms (Search for “New Life Mushrooms”, Daily Devotional for July 13, 2025).
It’s a fun read (and listen) but more importantly, I pray the spiritual truth shared is true for my children for years to come and for yours as well.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31
I like reading recipes, but usually don’t follow recipes very well. Using what I have is my natural default. Since my hubby has blessed our family with a Vitamix, I might as well take advantage of its strong motor. When you cook with Vitamix, your kitchen literally sounds like you are cooking up a storm! Take heart for some loud sounds. I might do some quick spinning dance with young children while the mixer is grinding. They seem to enjoy it instead of being afraid of it. Like many things in life, a lot has to do with how we make use of it and have fun in the process. This way of thinking is a lifelong lesson for me to practice.
I can count the years we have been blessed by Vitamix conveniently by my first child’s age. That being said, it’s been over 14 years at this point. I can’t believe my little baby is growing up so fast, and our Vitamix is still permanently sitting on our small kitchen counter. Throwing something quick together using Vitamix is becoming more automatic. It takes me a moment to think through the steps as I plan to teach my children to cook. Cooking with Vitamix is a simple way to get started even with young children. They can help select ingredients to put into the blender cup to make a smoothie. My 7 year-old helped make some banana popsicles this week. When we put bananas into the blending cup, he decided to use some mashed bananas for half of the popsicles and the other half for smoothies! What a clever thought! We did just that!
That’s the beauty of home cooking, you have a lot of room to explore, experiment and build relationships with your loved ones. Even as I prepare for this post, I have found many new and interesting recipes online using Vitamix. Think about what you like, what you want to make, and do some research, then get busy with your hands to make it happen. You will remember much better after you have put your thoughts and hands into something. Cooking shouldn’t be intimidating. It’s more scary to have a picky eater than trying something new. Change starts with our mindset. You can always try with a small amount and gradually increase as you feel comfortable.
You can try to use just a single or a couple of ingredients to have a more pure taste or mix things up for a richer and more complex taste. It’s so easy to make plant-based milk with Vitamix. Presoak the raw nuts (if you have a soaking routine established) and make the nut milk next morning. Don’t let perfectionism get in the way. If you don’t want to bother with the soaking process, just add nuts and water. If the nuts you have are roasted, there’s no need to soak anyhow. Whatever you make at home is probably still way better and cheaper than the store-bought ones. Play around with the sweetener and water/milk amount as you go. Find your sweet spot. I like to add bananas and dates as natural sweeteners, but you can use raw honey, molasses, pure maple syrup, or agave nectar with moderation for a treat. Trust me. Cooking is not rocket science. You can always try one cup or one meal at a time. Change or swap as you see fit. Again, enjoy the process. In the end, the worst thing that can happen is some leftovers, which can be creatively mixed into another meal.
Almond Milk
Almond milk is the easiest for me. 1/2 Cup of almonds and a handful of dates. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon powder if you would like. Fill up the cup with water or milk, and start the blender. After half a minute, here you go, your milk is ready! Just make sure the dates are pitted before you throw them in. Sometimes, even those pitted dates may still have a few with seeds in them. Vitamix can still grind the seeds up but your milk may be more grainy, especially at the bottom. Guess how I figured out that tip? Yep, trial and error, a most effective learning method. 🙂 I have also noticed that if I add some oats into the mix, the milk may be less foamy. This simple way of making milk can please my children if they want white milk instead of a green smoothie. But I put everything here into the smoothies as well. Now that we are milking, I don’t need to make “milk” as I used to. Another homestead blessing!
Smoothies
As for smoothies, I like to make them fresh to get the optimal nutrition. I sometimes mix the leftover smoothies to the sourdough pancakes batter or waffles mix. Common ingredients for the smoothies are: ½ C nuts (almonds most of the time for us), a few (maybe 7-10) dates, 2 Tbsp sesame seeds/flax seeds, 2 small bananas (and/or sweeter fruits like pineapple cores, mango peels or sweet potato peels), ⅓ C oatmeal (cooked leftover oatmeal and/or raw oats), raw or cooked carrots (or beets if you want another interesting pink color), a handful of fresh greens. We try to use organic ingredients as much as possible. I sometimes put a few cut-up SCOBY pieces (a byproduct from making Kombucha) into the mix to make a probiotic drink. Add some raw honey if it’s too sour. If we pick greens from our garden or hydroponic vertical garden, I will try to have one of the boys pick them right before I make the smoothies to have the maximum nutrition benefits. If you are making baby food, you can add a lot less water to reach the thickness for easier feeding. Scoop some out for the baby, and add water/milk to make more smoothies for the family. Nowadays, my toddler enjoys sipping her own smoothie with a straw! Yeah for self-feeding!
Colored Greens for a house decoration
Winter greens in our basement
Soy Milk (and other beans)
If you desire to make soy milk, it does take a few extra steps. However, once you get the hang of it, you will have no need to buy canned beans in general. First, you will need to buy organic soybeans. I used to get ours from the Asian market for a lower price and now we get ours from Azure Standard. Presoak your beans for roughly 8 hours. Dump the soaking water (to the garden if you would like to). Submerge your soaked beans with a new batch of water two to three inches above the beans. Cook your beans with the lid open while you are busy in the kitchen so you can keep an eye on the pot. It will have a lot of foam after it starts boiling. If it does spill over, no worries, it happens to me many times as I cook a variety of beans often. Kids will think it’s fun watching Mom hopping in the kitchen. :-) Simply move your pot to another burner and continue the process. This way the overflow liquid will not get burned on your stove, making it harder to clean. Skim the foam a few times and turn the heat down to low. Close the lid and allow the beans to simmer for an hour or two. Smash a bean with a fork against the wall of the pot. If you like it tender, just cook them longer. Once you know how to cook soybeans, it is the same with cooking other beans. You can experiment with different bean juice. Soy milk or bean juice (豆浆 Dou jiang) is a common beverage in China, providing easy-to-digest proteins for generations in history. Simply add the cooked beans along with the cooking water into the blender and grind it. Add more water to reach the consistency you enjoy. Unlike the traditional bean juice maker, you don’t need to filter the pulp with Vitamix! If you really want to reach a smooth texture, you can always run the milk through the cheese cloth. Use the pulp in your soup or add it to your bread or biscuit mix to give extra nutrition and fiber.
Hummus
Legumes are very versitle. You can add natural sweeteners to turn it into a dessert drink or add salt to make a savory sauce or dip. A friend from Lebanon brought homemade hummus when we hosted a potluck with our international friends. We love to try international foods. I was introduced to an interesting ingredient called Tahini. When I realized Tahini is just sesame paste, this ingredient does not sound so mysterious any more. Since Vitamix can grind up everything, you can swap tahini with sesame seeds. To make hummus, you will need 4 Cups cooked chickpeas (or canned chickpeas), 4 or more peeled garlic, ⅓ C olive oil, 2 Tbsp Tahini/sesame seeds, juice from 1-2 lemons, 2-3 tsp real/pink salt. Garnish with a dash of paprika after you pour the dip into individual small glass containers. You can adjust the amounts of spices or experiment with other spices or beans to create different bean dips. Add some hot pepper if you want a kick. Dips make the veggies, bread taste more interesting. They also make easy finger foods for a quick healthy snack.
One of the staples I make after moving to the U.S. is hummus. I never had hummus growing up. It’s never too late to try a new taste. Simple ingredients have their way to bring us flavorful experiences (read Trio). When we first moved to the country, a friend was willing to trade a gallon of fresh raw milk with a small mason jar of homemade hummus. I felt empowered and honored to be a part of a supportive homestead community. You never know how your new experience will open up new opportunities. Life is full of surprises.
I hope you are inspired and encouraged to try simple healthy ways of eating and food prep for God’s glory. Happy blending!
Further experimenting: I have found a site with many Vitamix recipes if you would like to explore more.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31
After I reflected on the non-essentialness of a dishwasher, I feel a need to bring some balance by counting my blessings of having some modern kitchen appliances. As always, we don’t actually need those conveniences, but with a thankful heart we can embrace some ease when our season needs it. Things can be done much faster with those plugged-in “servants”. Yes, people in the ancient times did just fine without any extra electric devices. However, they also had a lot of skills, time, and patience. Most importantly, they had a lot of help from the community or even slaves. Even not too long ago, probably my grandparents’ generation, many people in China stayed in one area almost their entire life. People only two generations ago were much more connected organically as their lives intertwined with each other. That being said, I see those kitchen gadgets or appliances as redemptive tools for modern people in great need of time and skill, if used with careful consideration.
If I get to pick one item coming to my mind first, it would be our Vitamix. This is not to say you need a Vitamix. It is simply a fact in my life. Your life could be totally different! If you have a mixer that works great for you, stick with your mixer. There is no need to buy another Vitamix. I am writing a record of our family journey and always hope what we share can bring encouragement or inspiration to someone out there, especially Moms. I have been blessed by so many wonderful resources or stories other people shared online and thought the Lord might use my words to serve another busy mom. Isn’t the double-edged social media platform another redemption tool the Lord could use to bring some community support for His Kingdom work?
Okay, back to the Vitamix discussions. Vitamix is on the more expensive side among the blenders. I would not make the hard choice to purchase such a pricey “extra”. Vitamix was only used commercially rather than for home use in China at least years ago before we moved to the States. One Vitamix can serve a neighborhood of thousands of city dwellers with smoothies on the go. With that cultural background, I was more intimidated to explore such a name brand mixer. Here came the firm leader’s decision: “We will buy a Vitamix!”
When a husband leads with love, submission is such a delight, or even a pride! After our first son was born, I was burning through an average blender which came with our first rental house. I was making baby food every day. Store-bought baby food did not fall into my Chinese common-sense shopping list. Not only was the packaged baby food expensive by comparison, but also I can’t bear giving a baby canned food. In the process of canning, the high heat destroys microorganisms, not to mention all the other sugars, salt, additives could be added to the mix. No, thank you!
As a new immigrant to the U.S, I was very cautious against the convenience culture all around. Guarding our food safety was kind of connected to my cultural roots. Traditionally, Chinese families pay extra attention to the diet of pregnant or nursing moms and babies. Canned foods are fine for adults, for special occasions or for emergencies, not for the norm, definitely not for the babies. Chinese cuisine emphasizes the freshness: fresh ingredients, fresh colors, freshly made and served. It’s common to see live fish kept at the restaurants so the customers can pick their own fish to cook! Some of those “fresh” concepts are not practical for a busy homeschool mom in the States. Many times, I have to compromise and let go of my culture’s ego in food prep. But when I had only one child, it was a delight to devote much of my time to preparing homemade baby foods for my precious child.
Different tools can make huge differences! Diligence combined with effective tools makes our workload much more manageable. My sweet husband did not want me to spend unnecessary time in food prep, knowing another blender can solve the problem. I hesitated at first but chose to abide by the “executive order” to give it a try, knowing that Vitamix has a good return policy. Well, I was immediately sold by the speed and pleased by the smooth pureed food. Forget about baby food, I was making hummus, dips, sauces, smoothies, plant-based milk, experimenting, exploring various ingredient combinations. If I have any tough parts from the vegetables or parts my children don’t usually like to eat, I put them into the Vitamix, ta-da, problem solved, nutritious and yummy food served.
Well, that was almost 14 years ago! Over the years, I have no idea how many times we used Vitamix. Sometimes, several times a day! I make a fresh smoothie almost every day to have the optimal benefits from the enzymes through juicing/blending. I save the pineapple cores, sweet potato peels, mango peels for smoothies to give extra fiber and sweeter flavor. Pureed tougher vegetable parts, like cauliflower or broccoli cores, roots, or even tough or fat bird skins are made into pasta sauce or soups. In the fall, I will save the squash peels and core membranes along with the seeds. The pureed squash turns the soup into a delightful yellow or orange color. Use what you have, Vitamix has helped to turn many unwanted or not-so favored parts into gourmet meals without breaking our pocket! Isn’t this secret most exciting for a frugal home cook?
One of many smoothie mixes
Now that we are milking our goats, and a Dexter cow, we don’t drink smoothies as much as we used to. With more milk around, it feels extravagant to replace water with milk in making smoothies or milkshakes. I am grateful for the abundance aspect about homesteading. Recently, I started making cheese and added the by-product of whey water into the smoothies! The ruminants are the ultimate God-sent “mixer” to turn fresh greens loaded with sun energy into delicious and nutritious milk! We are still using Vitamix on a VERY regular basis, if not every day. We did take advantage of the free repairs/replacement within the 7-year warranty. (The headquarters of the company was close to where we lived in Ohio, which made repairs somewhat easier.)
Our first cheese ball! We got to try it with Nainai (grandma) when she was visiting.
This high-performing machine can work like a beast with its powerful motor. There is something attractive about the tools for many men. Vitamix is a kitchen appliance men might like to experiment with, at least for all the wonderful men in my life! Our family enjoys blending frozen bananas with a plant-based protein mix to make an ice cream (feel free to contact us if you would like to learn more about the mix). You can add dates or nuts as toppings to your frozen banana ice cream. Add some ice cubes and drizzle some raw honey to make a sorbet. You can try different fruits to create different flavors or colors. The blender does make healthy summer treats much easier. You can also try to mix 1 part of dates and 2 parts of nuts for a sweet gluten-free pie crust. Press the paste tightly onto a pie dish and then pour the mashed bananas/fruit mix, or milk shake on top. Freeze the ice cream pie! Yum! We have a few special days to celebrate in the summer. Grateful for those sweet memories, even though they take a few extra steps.
With how often we used our Vitamix, we did end up paying for another mixing cup. The timing was almost comical. After we moved to the country fixer-upper farm house in Missouri, we had a long list of things to fix, big and small. Not only the house fixing needed a lot of attention and energy, but also little things here and there kept popping up at the most inconvenient moment. Life was busy. We were squeezed in all directions. Plus, we had a baby on the way (who is already 19 months now. Wow!). Washer, dryer, oven, light bulbs, fans, water pipe, vehicles, freezer… I remember those days I went to bed praying that the Lord would give me strength and joy to face the next unexpected breakdown, not allowing the enemy to steal my joy.
God answered my prayer right away!
The next day I started my routine work in the kitchen. I was just about to make a morning smoothie with ingredients already prepared the night before. I turned on the Vitamix but it didn’t move at all! I checked the plug and everything. Tried again. Nothing!! Instead of feeling frustrated, I literally started laughing really hard. It was almost as if I was reading a children’s book series by Richard Scarry. I didn’t expect my faithful and powerful “servant” to even decide to retire and join the fixing party. It was a memorable moment for me, teaching me not to take unexpected mishappenings too seriously. Even though over a year has passed, I can still pinpoint that comical moment. What the enemy meant for evil, God can use it for good!
After comparing prices, we decided to buy another blending cup, but we are still using the same engine base! The powerful Vitamix Motor can grind virtually everything food-related. You can actually make a smooth hot soup if you let it run longer. It seems a little overdone to me so I don’t usually use Vitamix to make soups. I may add the smooth sauce to my soup pot to create an interesting texture, flavor and the extra nutrition. Vitamix uses plastics for the cup because the glass can’t stand such strong vibration. Even though the plastic is food graded, I still feel more comfortable to avoid hot food in plastics as much as possible.
Some people think Vitamix is another kind of juicer but they are different. A juicer will usually squeeze out the juice and take out the pulp (full of fiber). Juice looks more clear than smoothies since juice is more liquid based. Children like fruit juice because they are sweet. We don’t serve juice at our house, but my children are allowed to enjoy 100% juice as a treat once in a while when we are at parties. Juice is too sugary, even the pure ones. On the other hand, the smoothies are much more balanced with whole food nutrition. Enjoy the whole foods: flesh, peel, seeds, nuts and everything (just be aware of a few exceptions, like some fruit seeds, like apples, are toxic after being opened up!) Your digestive system, as made by the Creator, will be better off in the long run with a more natural and balanced diet. You can even turn the leftover smoothies into popsicles, a regular summer treat for our family, like I mentioned above.
Popsicles! I believe our youngest son was making these with bananas and almond milk.
Thank you for reading to the end. If you are looking for ways to make changes for a more healthy option for you and your precious family, smoothies are a good and simple way to get started. Swap your juice or other sugary drinks with smoothies or milkshakes. Not only is it more budget-friendly, you might save yourself from future dental visits or doctor’s appointments as well. One simple change goes a long way over a long period of time!
Since this post is already getting so long, I will share some Vitamix recipes and tips in another post just for record-keeping or in case you are interested.
First, I would like to thank so many for your concern. We (and apparently my family) were being asked how we were when the tornados hit the area in April. We were fine. For the first tornados, in April, Springfield got hit hard. We didn’t know anything about it until the next day, but it was pretty bad. For a while after, when we were in Springfield, we would see downed trees, smashed roofs, fences, etc. Some were without electricity for several days. However, where we were, about 20 minutes north of Springfield, there was some wind, but nothing to cause alarm. About a month later, people were asking again, this time as the worst tornado on record hit St. Louis, about 3.5 hours northeast of us. That one hardly did anything here. From talking with those who have been around for a while, it seems that the tornados are often coming towards us and everytime they then go north or south. I’ve heard several people talk about the geology around here. Whether that has anything to do with it, I’m grateful that we are in an area that has shown to be safe, sort of like chicks in a mother hens wings, for a very long time. As Isaiah 25:4 reminds us, Christ has been our, “stronghold to the poor, stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat”.
Springfield had homes destroyed. We just had two playgrounds down and shingles like a player piano.
Chicks in the Wings
This may get its own, more reflective, post at some point, as it was such a fun, insightful moment. One of the mother hens had thirteen new chicks. As one of my sons and I were shutting down the coop, I found only four of chicks. This is obviously a problem. They usually stay close to mom so I looked around the area… nothing. Then I picked up momma hen again… five chicks… where’d that one come from? Reaching under her wings, I found a few more, but many were still missing. Finally I flipped her upside down (she’s a very patient hen), and there were chicks hanging on everywhere, way up in her wings, etc. I couldn’t even shake them out and kept finding more until they were all found right where they should be. My son was laughing as he’s done this before and knew their disappearing trick.
This made me think of Matthew 23:37, “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” A hen “gathers her brood under her wings”. She doesn’t just bring them close. She isn’t just over them. She has them tucked everywhere. If anyone or anything is going to get to her chicks, it will only be through her. Jesus doesn’t just want to be close, or for us to be near him. He wants us to be tucked away and hidden in him. The storms may come, and we are safely tucked “under his wings”. Yet, unlike the chicks, we often want to go our own way out of his loving provision and protection.
Log cabin
As mentioned, neighbors have been stopping by to say hello. One of the neighbor’s family has lived in the area for around 150 years. They were able to give us some background on our house, including that the old section of the house was a log cabin, that has been covered with other materials since then, so the walls are very thick. It was the first house in the area when settlers came through. That was pretty cool to know, and also confirming that as also mentioned above, the tornados tend to miss this area.
Homeschool conference (lacking a homestead presentation)
The “Teach Them Diligently” homeschool conference was in Branson again this year, and again with our “work our way” approach, we had the blessing of serving as hall guides for some of the time instead of buying a ticket.
I’ll summarize my takeaway reminder by just saying that if our children are amazing in math, writing, science, and every other school subject, but don’t have a solid and growing grounding in God’s Word, the point of education was missed. As the Psalms remind us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Psalm 1:7) and “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” (Psalm 111:10). With the “fear of the Lord” as the “beginning” of both knowledge and wisdom, any education that is not firmly grounded does not even begin to have wisdom and knowledge. This can obviously apply to the public schools, which have rejected the very beginning of knowledge and wisdom. It can also apply to Christian schools and our homeschool when we put the values of the world over the fear of the Lord.
The conference was inspiring and helpful, but we also noticed one thing glaringly missing… homesteading. While a good number of participants and speakers are homesteading, and there are presentations and booths about more ideas than I can count (well, at least that I can count without looking at the program list), there was no focus on homesteading. We’ve found that the two are often connected and the gateway to the other. Homesteading often leads to homeschooling, and homeschooling often leads to homesteading. Now, “homesteading” is a mindset rather than a location, and can be done anywhere, not just with acreage.
RV fixed
Our RV must have had some water in the flushing mechanism during the winter, and broke. We had this last winter as well and from talking with others, this is a very common problem. Rather than replace it again, I completely by-passed the mechanism. The new system uses basic plumbing (no complicated valves) and is easy to completely drain and leave open so that there is no chance of it breaking during the winter. I’m excited for the change as we’ve had several situations where we had guests come for a few days somewhat unexpectedly and the RV toilet wasn’t ready for them. This way, at least that issue should no longer be a problem.
Sycamore and BSF finish
Both our homeschool co-op (Sycamore) and BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) finished on the same week. While we continue to study, learn, and grow all year, and while we will miss these times, it is nice to have the change of pace. These both brought us into Springfield, so we’ve had more days of focusing on the homestead instead of being busy running into town.
First Cheese and Ice Cream
With having our own milk cow and milk goats Elyse has made our own cheese a few times and Isaiah is enjoying making some fresh (and delicious) frozen custard! So good!
Whew! April and May were full. I was just reading through everything above again and it is such a joy to see the ways that God is teaching us, challenging us, and making us to depend on him more and more!
It has been great having people come to visit, from friends and new friends here, to Rob’s mom. It’s great having this as a place to connect with others and to point to Christ.
Nainai’s Visit
We were excited to have my (Rob’s) mom visit us for a few days in May. It was nice to have her come see our life and things that have changed since her last visit, such as milking the cows and goats. She was also able to see the transformation of one area of the woods as we removed vines (the quick dramatic change and the impressive fire that follows are reasons I picked that job for while she was here). It was nice to have time to hang out, but probably the biggest thing is that this was her first time to fly here alone, so she is feeling more confident to come in the future.
Growing community
We’ve been blessed to have more neighbors stopping by. Two that we haven’t met yet stopped by to say hello and offer help if we need any equipment, etc. As it turns out, people are watching and are excited to join as the property is transformed (from being abandoned and overgrown for many years). One is actually from quite a bit down the road and said he’s been watching things as he drives past. His family has lived here for around 150 years and he’s seen many of his relatives losing their farms over the past few years. He does the normal (industrial) cattle farming and said he sees how it doesn’t work. There are too many (increasing) input costs to make it sustainable. He has seen us doing rotational grazing with our cattle (a whopping 2 head, as mentioned above :o) ) and stopped to say that he appreciates what we are doing and that he is looking on how to convert his whole operation to these more sustainable methods. He is also excited to build community with other sustainable farms and homesteads. It was a very encouraging conversation. While we are not looking to be “self sufficient”, we are looking to be increasingly “God sufficient” and “Community sufficient” it is also a reminder that people are watching and that we need to be doing all that we do for God’s glory and by His strength.
Boys music with group
As mentioned over a year ago, one of the older Decons at church (who is also our neighbor) has been helping the boys with their music (as well as investing into our family in countless other ways). It was really encouraging for the boys to have had the opportunity to play not just with him, but with others who were at our (small country) church for “Last Sunday Sing”. It was fun to see them all playing together.
The pond is a highlight for friends of all ages. :o)
In lieu of pictures of people, here’s a fun picture of one of our goats climbing a tree.
When we moved in, our property had been neglected for several years. Trees were overgrowing the house, barn, and pond. They would bush hog the pasture each year, so there weren’t many large trees, but there were a whole lot of smaller trees, especially sumac (which makes a tasty treat, but is not great to have all over the field). Last year, we were wondering what we would do to clear the field. While planting our chestnut trees up by the road, a neighbor stopped his truck and asked if we would mind if he brush hogged our field for us. Mind? That was amazing! That cleaned things up nicely, but still left six inch stumps everywhere (since the brush hog is a field flattener, not a lawn mower). Those stumps make it hard to walk (and easy to trip), and impossible to tether the goats since they get their chains wrapped on them immediately. One of our activities in April (and before), is to go out with long handled garden clippers and cut hundreds (thousands?) of the tree stumps down to the ground. After clearing about half an acre we brought in our mower and mowed everything down. I don’t want to be mowing often, but it was amazing to see the area cleaned up. Now we just need to maintain it and let the goats eat the new sumac as it comes up! (The cattle don’t eat the sumac.) It was a lot of work, but was a fun activity with my boys as we all went out together to give the field a haircut by hand. Now we just have the next ~2.5 acres to do. :o)
Clearing vines
Along with clearing the field, parts of our woods look like something out of an exploration of a long lost, ancient civilization. The vines are so thick that you can’t make it through the forest. While I like having natural, wild areas, this is killing the trees underneath that support those vines. It has been a fun and fulfilling activity to clear the forest of the vines and dead trees that are damaging the living trees. For how bad it was, clearing it has gone much more quickly than I expected, and like exploring an ancient civilization we have discovered artifacts from years gone by, namely old, rusty, twisted barb wire fence, which we are working on removing though it is imbedded into many of the trees and root systems.
While working, I couldn’t help but think of the effects of sin. From the outside these areas looked wild, but beautiful (at least in the spring), as honeydew and other flowers grew off of the vines. However, once we worked our way inside (which took effort), it was dark and dead. Dead branches. Dead trees. This death came slowly, from many years of letting the vines work their ways up and through the trees. It probably just looked pretty at first, until it was out of control. We now have one area clear of vines, through the death below remains, … and the roots of the vines remain. Sin works its way in, and may even seem nice at first, but then it kills. Fortunately, vines, unlike sin, make great food for the goats, so these vines will be managed instead of being removed completely, but either way, they need to be dealt with or they will destroy.
New trees
We planted some new trees including cherry, peach and plum. We’ll see what happens as the area where they were planted is needing some help to bring life back to the soil. (This is true for much of our property and we are working on building healthy soil with the help of our animals.)
Plant potatoes
We planted our potatoes in the big garden. Some recommend cutting up the potatoes with multiple sprouts to have more potatoes. Someone we respect recommends keeping them whole for various reasons, so we are going with that route, since our seeded potatoes are not big. We’ll see how it goes!
Potato leaves coming up fast… now to wait and see what’s growing below.
Figs to life
We thought our fig trees were dead after the winter. It turns out that those above ground trees were dead, but the roots were good and new trees are coming up quickly. Apparently this is a normal routine since they are for more of a tropical climate (unless we can protect them for the winter). They should still produce fruit, and we’re looking forward to this possibility.
Seeds sprouted
As well as the animals, our two gardens are going well. This is the first growing season for the one plot (second for the other), so we are still developing the soil, but things are growing well. It’s nice to have the rabbit droppings as the perfect fertilizer for the gardens. Once the rain stops we will be harvesting our first batch of potatoes (on a dry day so that we can dry them a bit to store longer). Our tower gardens are also growing well and producing our greens along with some different greens in our bathtub garden (why throw away a leaking tub when you can grow in it!).
Border Fencing
Goats are known to be escape artists. We are blessed to have very contented (non jumpy) goats. However, their quicklinks on their chains have come loose occasionally (one day three of them got off their chains), and they wander around. So far no problems, but as mentioned with the ducks (and for our cattle… and toddler) we are looking into options to add to our fence to avoid problems.
The spring is a VERY busy time of year on the homestead as everything is growing and waking up. I’m way behind on getting this update out, and it is long, but it’s exciting to recall all that has been happening. We’ll divide this update into four posts (Animals, Land, People and Other). With our primary audience being our children, it’s nice to have this record. I just reread the following, and it’s such a joy to see all that God is doing to teach, challenge and grow us to make us more like himself.
1: Animal Updates
Milking
In the last update I mentioned that we now have two cows (correction: head of cattle). We do not have 2 COWS. We have one cow (a female after having a baby), and one heifer (a female which has not yet had a baby). We also have three goats which have given birth within the past few months. The four ruminants with babies have brought what is likely the biggest change to our homestead routine… milking.
the Cow
The cow and goats have brought their unique challenges to work through.
While our cow is a small dexter (see the last update), she could still squash us if she desired. She’s very gentle, so there’s not much risk of that, but still, we can’t just move her where we want her. Our first milking involved one of my sons with a bucket and me with treats. She would stay near the treats, but my son was basically chasing her in a circle trying to milk her. Funny, but not very efficient. We then tried chaining her to a tree with treats. This worked quite well (and she is perfectly happy eating), but getting her to a tree (often outside of the fence), was a flight risk and a hassle. When we were researching, most people use a stanchion, which locks the cows head, but that also seemed hard to move, etc. so we weren’t sold on it (and why learn from others failures when we can have our own :o).
We now have a system that works great for us. Our cows are grazing rotationally. They move to a new pattock every day. We do this with a single strand of electrical fence (it amazes me that that small rope keeps them in, when they could easily hop it, smash it, etc.). Roughly each week, we make a long alley of rope about 300 feet down the pasture and 40 feet across. We pound a T-post at the top of the hill and put a chain (about 8 inches) and clip at the base. Both Bonnie (the cow) and Red (the heifer) start at the top of the hill with a space ~40 feet across. They are separated (by one strand of rope) all night. The next day, we bring treats and sit on buckets next to the T-post. Bonnie happily comes on her own. While she is munching the treats, I (Rob) clip her to the post. She stays there while one of my son’s milks her. After milking, we release the chain and open the rope so she and Red can be together. Later in the day, we move the rope a little further down the hill and separate them to start the cycle again. This has worked quite well. We still have the problem of her occasionally shuffling her feet so that my son can’t milk very easily or rotating a bit around the T-post (what I call bowling for my son), but overall this has worked well, is very quick to set up and I doubt a stanchion would do any better. We’re very grateful for the cow (and heifer) that God provided.
Milking Bonnie out in the field
the Goats
The goats are a different story. They too are moved everyday, but unlike the cows are easy to leash and move. We just tether them to tires and move the tires to areas with lots of forage (recently clearing an area of woods that was extremely overgrown).
To milk them we set up a stanchion in the garage (a few times milking in the rain with chickens jumping on us, in the milk, etc. taught us that something needed to change). We just leash one at a time and they know exactly what to do. They will walk right past their home and baby to the door of the garage. As soon as we open it, they walk in, jump up on the stanchion and put their head through. One of the boys then milks her while another gives treats and I hold her hind feet to keep her from stepping into the milk pail. We can then relax, talk and milk.
While we don’t have that much milk compared to the huge dairy breeds (less than a gallon a day total), we have plenty of fresh, high quality, raw milk for our family. With the abundance of milk, we’ve been able to experiment with making cheese and ice cream, as well as having plenty of milk to enjoy. We often are reminded of the truth of Proverbs 27:27, “There will be enough goats’ milk for your food, for the food of your household and maintenance for your girls.” We have seen the abundance of God’s provision, and how he created cows, goats and other ruminants to turn the solar energy caught in the grass into an abundance of healthy food for the whole homestead (even the garden likes a nutritional boost of raw milk).
Our early goat milking set up (now moved inside… away from the chickens!)
Too cold for bees
We haven’t caught a swarm of bees yet. We were wondering what we did wrong… until we learned that no one else seems to be catching them either. The colder, wetter temperatures this year are keeping the bees from swarming. Hopefully we’ll provide a nice home for a swarm when the weather warms up.
Diatomaceous Earth
Goats and Cows and Parasites (Oh, my!) While we rotationally graze our animals each day (though the goats have a home base for night), parasites are still something to consider during the rainy season. We recently learned that it can be good to include Diatomaceous Earth with their feed to kill parasites. I’m not 100% convinced that this is the best, but it was recommended by several friends who know a lot more than we do (a LOT more), so we’re going with them on this one.
Ducks and chicks hatch
This spring we had three broody mother hens. One had 8 chicks hatch. One had 13 chicks hatch. And the last had 10 chicks hatch. It’s fun seeing the chicks since they aren’t actually (or exclusively) her eggs. The eggs could be from any of our various types of chickens, so when they hatch they are a whole mix of colors. The third momma hen had an even more interesting group of chicks. Her eggs were all duck eggs that we put under her, so now we have 10 little ducks following their momma hen around. Being ducks, they are naturally drawn to water, but can’t swim quite yet. When they are splashing around in shallow water, you can see the concern from their momma hen. In a few weeks, they will likely discover their full duckness and go off on their own, while momma hen returns to her normal routine. (This will happen for the baby chicks as well, and is normal.)
Momma Hen with her chicks ducklings!
Two sets of rabbits
As well as baby ducks and chicks, we also have baby rabbits (and the goats which were mentioned in the last update). The same buck is the dad for both sets with two different does. For the one set, the buck and doe are the same type of purebred rabbit and their bunnies look just like them. The other doe is one we picked up later. She must have a mix of breeds in her. No two of her six babies look the same. We have brown, black, white, half black/white, black eyes, red eyes, etc. They’re all adorable, and all very different from one another.
One nice bonus of having a growing number of rabbits is the manure! Yep, it’s true. Rabbit manure is a nearly perfect fertilizer. Unlike other manure it can be used immediately, with no need to age for a few months/years and is made for soil and plant health.
Ducks wandering
Well, the ducks loved our pond… until the Canadian Geese moved in. The ducks have now become nomadic wanderers. They are usually around our property, but also enjoy our neighbor’s property (which seems to be perpetually wet), our other neighbor’s property (which has a small pond/swamp), and our other neighbor’s property (which… I’m not sure why they go there other than it’s somewhere where the geese are not. We are now looking into options to fence our yard (not just for the ducks). None of the neighbors mind the ducks, but we did have one get hit on the road and we don’t want any incidents (or for our goats, cattle… or toddler) to go wandering.
Canadian geese… Balance to the Land
In the last update, we mentioned the issue with the Canadian Geese. It finally got way out of hand. The goose was chasing our ducks (and everything else) well beyond it’s normal range. This goose was particularly aggressive. We finally called the Missouri Conservation Department and they were able to take care of the goose. That goose is no longer with us, which left a single mom to take care of her goslings. To our surprise, two days later a new male was with her on the pond. Canadian Geese are very smart and have lasting family relationships. We’re thinking that it may be her brother who came to help out. Sometimes (like now) some others also came to the pond. Fortunately, while that first male was very aggressive, these new geese all seem to go with the flow. The balance was returned to our property and everyone is getting along and learning to respect each other’s areas. (As a side note: When reviewing the past months as a family to prepare for this letter, the boys wanted to mention that we also have a blue heron that makes our pond home.)
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”– John 4:34 (ESV)
Food is meant to give us strength and energy to accomplish our earthly work. We need food to live. That’s probably one reason why all four Gospels have recorded the miracle of Jesus feeding multitudes (5000 men, not including women and children). This need is universal. Man or woman, young or old, all need food to live. Food is our fuel. God has created us and designed this needy desire. New-born babies naturally crave mama’s breastmilk. A full-term baby is born with the sucking reflex. As the baby grows, she will explore other solid foods, open for anything you put in front of her. This is the crucial time to develop a taste and delight for real food, rather than highly processed or packaged junk food.
Our twins nursing… Baby goats, like baby people, know what to do for real food.
Children who grow up in different cultures or homes will have different food preferences. Interestingly, children learn different table manners accordingly, as eating is supposed to be more of a social activity. Food is best enjoyed and shared with other people! When you have a good number of people dining together happily, you have a feast! Food can mean very different things to different people at different times. Adam and Eve were given every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it (Genesis 1:29). God established the basis for human food. Man sinned. Sin has its ugly destructive consequences and can only get worse without a Savoir. God loves us so much and always provides redemptive plans as we come back to Him. After the earth-wide catastrophic flood (recorded in Genesis 9), God gave Noah permission to eat meat, in addition to plants.
As to why God has given humans permission to eat meat, there are different discussions on this matter. Some say God gave meat as food due to the lack of vegetation after the flood, while others believe meat can supplement the loss of nutritions in plants due to the flood. I am not even attempting to get into the scholastic discussions here with just one post. However, as a Christ-following busy mother, I just want to point out one thing that is very clear: our loving Father always provides generously for what we need!He has designed our bodies to consume and thrive on many kinds of food and has provided abundantly through His creation. Most importantly, the Father has given us His only Son, Jesus, as the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God for our sins. Jesus taught us to eat His flesh and drink His blood as a metaphor. We are to put our trust in Jesus, our ultimate spiritual food, for eternal life!
If we are clear on our eternal destiny, we are good to go further and talk about our earthly food. Otherwise, no matter how good or healthy the food you have here on earth, if you don’t have Jesus, eternal judgment still awaits when you die. Let this sobering thought sink in a bit as we all shall die one day, assuming Jesus does not return before we die. Do you live to eat or eat to live? Is the stomach your god? Why do you eat and live? Have you allowed physical needs, pleasures or worldly pursuits to become more urgent and important than eternal spiritual matters? Those questions keep coming to my mind by the mercy of God. As a homesteader, we interact with food, and its planting, harvesting, preservation, preparation and presentation all the time. It is very easy to get distracted without the anchor of the truly important spiritual food.
On the other hand, we are missing the point if we are deceiving or short-changing ourselves by ignoring the importance of real food. Unfortunately, when a whole culture is deceived, it is very hard to have the discernment to step out of the vicious cycle. The Standard American Diet (SAD) has not only crept into the church, but in some ways I can even say Satan has used the ignorance of the church as a breakthrough to cheat, steal, kill and destroy. Well-intentioned church members or organization leaders have welcomed and prized the toxic and addictive junk food to please the crowd, especially the defenseless children. It’s not hard to find vending machines loaded with junk (notice: I simply can’t call “junk” as food) appearing at churches or Christian schools! Awkwardly, if you are health-conscious or have no allergy issues, you might feel out of place. This is not right, especially with God’s Holy people at the Father’s house. It’s a battle not simply with our health but with the mind and soul.
Let’s go back to the basics again. What is food? King James Bible translates “food” as “meat”. We can easily assume “meat eaters” eat just the “meat” we know without understanding the background or context. The word “meat” has a narrower meaning nowadays, limited only to animal flesh as food good for protein. Little babies or toddlers start to explore the world by putting everything into their mouths. It’s a parent’s job to keep our environment safe and guide the little children on what is good or what is bad. Traditionally, Jewish children start their education with the Book of Leviticus, the third and central book of Torah (or the Law). God’s chosen people are to be set apart, even though we are not limited to Kosher dietary restrictions. Our freedom in our food choices needs to be exercised with wisdom and caution to honor God and express love to others. As a born-again Christian, we are not to judge other people’s food choices and are able to give up our food freedom to lift up another’s faith. This loving principle to not stumble others also applies to other aspects of life choices or decisions.
What first comes to your mind when “food” is mentioned? A few of your favorite meals may start appearing in your head along with people dining with you. In this case, food usually gives you a warm and happy feeling, unless you just had a big meal, feeling stuffed already. This happens more often than I would like to admit in our home. It’s wonderful when food does more than just nourishing the body! Embrace those heart-warming, mouth-watering family meal memories! They are your love bank to encourage you to go back home and to inspire you to fly further away. If you are an adventurous eater, you may even connect different types of food with different people groups or cultures. As you venture out, you make adjustments as you explore life by faith. Just remember Jesus was also judged by whom He was dining with or eating with unwashed hands.
Don’t worry about perfection as you try to eat healthy (for God’s glory) or make friends with people from different backgrounds. Simple things are not always so easy. It takes time to change, to communicate and to understand. In Mark 7:18-19, Jesus says, “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can make them unclean? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” God cares about our hearts, not our outward performances. How we view food in general or certain food can be so ingrained in our upbringing. We take it for granted for things we do all the time without much thinking. We can offer things we like without knowing how offensive it can be to another culture. We are tempted to cast judgment on others who consume “strange food” in our eyes. Out of stereotype, we may even label certain food as “poor man’s food” without knowing their royal treatments in another culture or setting. If we dig deeper, so many of our values are related to how we view food.
In this fast-paced world, we can simply open a packaged “food” without reading the ingredient list. Most of the time, we probably have no desire to know what is actually in the “food” (if you can still call something even living microbes do not attempt to eat “food”). Modern busy people are easy prey for an “easy” or “convenient” way out (read my testimony with the dishwasher). Before I was saved by my Lord Jesus Christ, I was a slave to my own flesh. I chose quick easy fixes without much conviction. Thankfully, now the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of me will remind and guide me even for what I eat or drink for the Lord and His glory. He loves me too much to leave me where I am and continues to pursue me, shape me for His use.
As a sinless man of God, Jesus has the most healthy relationship with the food he has created. Food, like money, air, water and other created things, are merely used to advance His kingdom for the Father’s glory. He did not worship food, or abuse food. No overeating or picky-eater issues for Jesus. During that time, food was not as convenient or abundant as nowadays. Chinese people, especially the older generations, like to greet each other by saying “Have you eaten?” (你吃过了吗?) It is true people who have gone through famine truly understand both hunger and satisfaction. Thus, food, in Bible times, is more likely to be associated with a deep and joyful satisfaction in life.
When Jesus told his puzzled disciples, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work”, He knew his friends need some faith boost more than the physical food. Do you know about this type of mystery food Jesus is talking about? What food satisfies you the most? What are you hungry for? Have you tasted and seen how good the LORD is? “Man shall not live on breadalone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). May the Lord wet our appetite for the feast of the Lamb.
As we celebrate the freedom we still enjoy in America, as we fellowship with our loved ones, let us rejoice over the food He has made, and remind each other of a greater Kingdom and feast to come! The Heavenly banquet invitation has a seat for you as well (one of the back to the land post). Are you coming?
If you have a good appetite, more Food for thought:
Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith. Proverbs 15:16
First of all, where I grew up in China, nobody I knew used a dishwasher.
Second, we had a dishwasher for each house/apartment in the States, before we moved to the country. I rarely used those dishwashers but I thought dishwashers are supposed to be a necessity for American kitchens. It seemed to me every American kitchen came with a dishwasher.
Third, we don’t have a dishwasher in our kitchen now and I don’t miss it much.
Just to clarify a point: I am not against the dishwasher. When we first moved here, we were surprised to find that the kitchen didn’t have a dishwasher. On top of all the fixer-upper, clean-up work, not having this “convenience” seems like a challenge. Even though we talked about adding a dishwasher in the future would not be too hard, the limited kitchen counter space made me question our default thinking.
Do we really need a dishwasher? For the few times I did use the dishwashers in the past, it was usually after a large group gathering. Dishwashers can speed things up to some degree. Before we loaded the dishwasher, we would generally pre-rinse them for food scraps. However, we often ended up rewashing some cups afterwards, since there would still be traces of food or have a foggy look. By the time I was done pre- & post-washing, it wouldn’t take me too much longer to just do the job by hand.
I like to utilize what I already have. My favorite feature about dishwashers is actually to just use it as a drying rack after washing dishes in the sink, especially when I have a lot of jars to wash from batch cooking. I could also use the “sterilize” button without the dish soap. Dish soap usually comes with loads of chemicals and their residuals are not good for healthy microbes. This is especially important if you are going to use the containers for fermentation (sourdoughs, sauerkrauts, kombucha, etc.).
That being said, if the (good) microbes don’t like the chemicals, I will try to guard my family’s gut health by saying “no” to those unwanted foreign intruders. That’s the same reason why we have no need for junk food in our pantry. You see, how a truth-based principle can permeate all aspects in life, if we don’t simply follow the default choice or the mainstream fashion. In this case, it is a desire to feed my family wholesome healthy real foods that has challenged us to think about all the chemicals we have allowed into our daily living without much notice. Not only did we stop using the store-bought dishwasher solution, we also started making our own hand soap, bar soap, laundry soap, etc..
Life has its way to come around to humble us as we mature. The truth is, when I was a teen in China, I fantasized about the dishwasher. Doing dishes was my daily chore for many years. Back then, the faucet in our kitchen didn’t have the hot water pipe. Doing dishes in the summer was not too bad, but on the freezing cold days? No fun at all. I was told the cold water was actually helpful in preventing frostbite. The theory is that the cold temperature can stimulate blood circulation and boost immunity over time, as long as you don’t start cold water training in the middle of winter. We also were encouraged to wash our faces with cold water for the same reason. Some people even went all the way to do winter swimming! I can only admire those brave souls!
Well, I didn’t buy the theory that suffering from cold would be good for us when I was a teen. I grumbled, complained, and did the dishes as fast as I could. Sometimes, I heated up some water on the stove to take the edge off. As a curious learner, I read about this wonderful machine in the west, called “dishwasher”. It was so unbelievable that such an appliance not only existed on the planet, but was pretty common in other, more developed countries. I immediately announced to my brother that “I want one of those when I grow up!”.
Little did I know, my childish wish would be granted years later on the other side of the globe. Even more interestingly, now that I am a parent, I see the necessity of suffering to develop character. Suffering can take different forms in different seasons. I am not saying you should let your children do dishes with cold water in the middle of winter. However, those years doing chores could have played a big role in preparing me for the lifestyle we are living today. That’s probably why many loving parents intentionally take their children out in the cold, to experience the beauty of winter and to toughen them up. You feel stronger as a human being when you overcome obstacles in nature and in life.
Enjoying the big snows in Missouri this year!
Do you know some vegetables, like carrots, beets, even most leafy greens, will taste sweeter after the first frost exposure? I didn’t know that. I just love this sweet reminder from nature to persevere for His glory and our good. Some so-called shortcuts or modern conveniences can start to creep in if I allow a crack, from my own lazy flesh, to open. We have to use our discernment to evaluate our life circumstances and usefulness of the new convenience, and then decide whether having another gadget or appliance or whatever will actually help with the efficiency in the long run, or simply clutter your kitchen.
The fuller our life becomes, the more I appreciate the rhythms in life. Recently, I started reading aloud while one boy is doing the dishes. He is an early riser, so by the time I put the baby in bed, he is already drowsy, half-asleep. I miss bedtime reading with him. As I looked at our busy schedule, I had a hard time finding a regular time block to read with this child. Then, I started to scan multi-tasking possibilities. “Dish-washing!” I had my a-ha moment. I am grateful for this added bonus time with my boy to share a book adventure together. Life is good! Work is enjoyable with company.
Technology is a double-edged sword. I need wisdom and daily mercy to lead my children to navigate this modern Christian living. Not only do we need to know what is the right thing to do, we need to balance the timing and methods for things to be done. This is especially true as we start a homestead with numerous decisions to make, as new situations or opportunities keep coming up. It’s exciting and challenging. A lot of times, the battle starts in our mindset. We may be tempted or deceived to believe “We need X, Y and Z…”, or “Everyone needs this or that”. We can easily entertain our flesh by giving in to seemingly “new” and “easier” solutions.
The older I get, the more I see the value of restoring the old rather than to chase the latest new cool timing-saving equipment. I am more hesitant to purchase the new before exhausting the possibilities to buy used, to repurpose or DIY. Following this pattern of thinking, I am relieved to know a simple fact for this season: remodeling the kitchen and adding a dishwasher will NOT be on the priority list for us right now. It’s a relief to have the freedom to work on other priorities. I am grateful for God’s guidance for each big and small decision! As we surrender our needs and bring our questions to our all-wise God, our Heavenly Father, we rejoice in His “yes”, “no”, or “not yet”. Each prayer is answered! He knows and sees. He has our best interest in mind as a loving Father. He does not always give what we have or the way we want it, but whatever He has in store is surely the best for us in this life and forever more! Perhaps, you are stressed about not having a dishwasher in your kitchen or your dishwasher is broken. I hope you find some encouragement as you are waiting or deciding whether to get another dishwasher.
I am trying to limit to the discussions on dishwashers for this post, but the principle in thrift living applies elsewhere. Things are just things. They are there to help us, at the mercy of our plans to use them well. We are blessed with free will and creative thinking. When the budget is tight, space is limited, and resources are scarce, we are pushed to think through the necessities rather than follow the default answers. We can let go some of the “conveniences” and embrace new normals. It is a good discipline and exercise to set limits even when we live in plenty. Have you ever wondered why do people like to go on camping trips? I believe one of the reasons is to seek challenges either alone or with your loved ones. When you are camping, you are out of your normal routine, comfort zones, you have to improvise and make things work, especially if something is unexpectedly broken. It is those times you are showing your children the skills and, more importantly, the right attitudes when things go wrong. Being able to think is even more crucial nowadays as AI is becoming more dominant all around us. We need the Truth more than ever to teach us to think rightly and to be set apart.
Camping out with friends in our yard
Dear mothers, don’t grow weary of doing what is good. His loving hands are upon you. You are Jesus’ hands and feet to your littles or not so littles. There is a season to do everything for them, another season to train them to work, yet another to cheer them on as they work. All are beautiful! Sometimes, less is more! Perhaps, the problem you are facing is your solution for growing perseverance and character by His design. Know that in due time, you will reap a harvest of blessings if you don’t give up! He will be with you, always!
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8
As a homeschooling and homesteading mother of three boys, I continue to discover the beauty of three on display daily. Sometimes, it is the power and impact of three precious souls who all agree to exercise their muscles, lungs or vocal cords at the same time! For those times, if you have been around boys, you know how much energy can be generated within a short time. Next, I may be inspired to explore ways to better use the sweat equity, like husbandry skill training, sports, exercises, or building projects. I am extra grateful for the extended space outside now that we live in the country. Sometimes, one may take a lead in starting a project, and the other two may happily join. Three on one mission can make a band, a choir, a feast, a party, a performance, an adventure, and many, many more possibilities.
I really don’t want to miss those beautiful moments when brothers are getting along, dwelling together in unity! It’s a good and pleasant scene! When that happens, it is good for my soul to pause what I am doing if possible, to seize and take in those moments. A snapshot to catch the moment serves as a nice keepsake for future savoring. Perhaps, a satisfied smile or a word of blessing-counting will confirm to my children the good and pleasing side of brotherhood. Children, big or small, generally want to please their parents if they know they are loved.
There is no shortage of examples for groups of threes in the Bible. Don’t you just wonder about God’s plan in selecting these trio teams? The three men visited Abraham (Genesis 18:2) to bring him and Sarah a message that the old couple, in their 90s, would soon conceive a baby as God had promised! Jesus took with him Peter, James and John, three disciples, up a high mountain by themselves to see Jesus’ transfiguration (Matthew 17:1)! And these three disciples witnessed the transfiguration of the glorified Jesus, talking with Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:3). And, of course, the courageous trio, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, chose to worship the only true living God by faith, and refused to bow down to the golden image, even under the threat of being thrown into the burning fiery furnace (Daniel 3).
Believers’ lives are supposed to be the pleasing aroma of Christ offered to God the Father. Just like the pleasant aroma when brothers are in unity for a higher purpose, I am often reminded by the pleasing aromas from the trio combo in the kitchen. If you cook from scratch, eventually you may come up with your own trio. What is a trio in the culinary arts? Well, it depends on who you ask, I guess. Basically, trio are your three frequently used popular ingredients to enhance the signature flavors of the foods you prepare. Unlike the spices, they are more substantial and dominant than simply adding a twist to the taste. On the other hand, you definitely can have your favorite spice or herb trios. We are creatures of habits, which makes intentional efforts even more challenging yet rewarding. Most of us settle on a few things over time. One is a bit lonely, and two are better than one. With three, you are starting your cuisine!
Being here in the States, my go-to answer in food prep would be “carrots, celery, and onions”, because they have pleasing flavors together and are more available with a good price weight ratio. In China, the answer would be “ginger, garlic and scallion （生姜，大蒜，小葱）”. I remember back to the days when I shopped at the urban food markets in China for fresh produce, many sellers would offer some ginger, garlic or scallions for free at the end of a deal as a thank-you gift! Although the scallions may not be as easily accessible here in the States, I often can substitute scallions with green onions, which are just older scallions. Now that I grow Egyptian onions and chives, they also make fitting substitutes for scallions. On the other hand, if you ask someone from Louisiana, the trio could easily be “onions, celeries and green bell peppers”.
Garlic, Ginger, Green Onions
The point is there is no standard answer, so whatever works for you is your trio. I am loving the flexibility and freedom as a home cook! All the vegetable ingredients mentioned above are excellent in giving aromatic flavors and work beautifully together! Even better, they are all very beneficial to your overall health! The trio is not to limit us but to give us a jump start in our meal prep. Once you know the principle of using available fresh local ingredients, you can adjust in various circumstances. The same food prep principle has eventually led us to move to the country, being closer to where food is coming from.
With a trio in my mind, I save a lot of time thinking what to cook when life gets busy. Also, if another family member kindly offers to help in the kitchen, I don’t have to pause and think about what to delegate. I wish I had implemented the trio-system much earlier. I can always use more trios! If I have extra trios pre-cut, I can freeze them and use them in the future, either to make a quick stir fry or to make a stock. Personally, batch ingredient prep works much better for us than batch cooking the whole meals, which is another topic. (I will try not to digress here. :)
Back to trio preps, if I desire an Asian boost for Chinese holidays, I may make an effort to obtain the fresh trio ingredients for the Chinese food. If I want to explore Cajun cuisine with my family for a rustic taste, I might incorporate the Cajun Holy Trinity. What if we want to have mixed flavors? By all means, mix things up and keep life interesting! Again, being a home cook, I can improvise and adjust to our needs and pleasures. My three boys have inspired me to come up with the trio concept, but my little baby girl born in my forties, is like the best butter, bringing out the excellent aromas from the trio. Gently sautéing the trio with the butter in the cast iron pan, letting them mingle, wait, and mingle more, and you will be rewarded by the smell. Your kitchen come alive by the inviting aroma. People in other rooms may start asking, “What are you making?” I mention the cast iron pan, not only because it retains heat, cooks more evenly and looks country, but it also serves as a delightful reminder of a dear friend from Ohio. She is blessed with four boys, happily homeschooling and homesteading with her precious family. I wonder what her “trio” or go-to ingredients are. Simple joy is savored one meal at a time. Each family has their own favorites. What binds believers together is our common faith in our Lord Jesus Christ! A lot of meditation happened for me over the thousands of meals I prepared, including the vision for 3rd Cultural Living.
One of our sons has transitioned from making pancakes each week to preparing main dishes… using some of the trio ingredients.
As a cross-cultural family, I have the privilege to ponder on the meaning of the in-between worlds quite often. Even if you spend most of your life with the same people group, you still go through transitions in life. What if you are in a limbo stage? Between jobs, houses, countries, cultures, assignments or even relationships? Do you feel a loss or confusion of identity? Change is not easy. We have been there, and are currently going through a major transition to a very different lifestyle. Perhaps, a little change of ingredients or flavors might help you gain some perspective in life, as they have helped me. A new taste may help connect your past, present and future experiences. Do some study as a family about a different people group and put yourself in their situations and try their foods. Bingo, you can take your family to all corners of the country and even the globe without purchasing an air ticket! Everyday mundane food prep can become your main course learning for the whole family. This course has a rewarding assignment at the end for a family who likes to try new foods! Praise God for the freedom of home education!
Some fun with sprouting garlic on the window sill.
… and onions
You can sort of tell whether you are an adventurous eater by testing whether you are willing to go out of your comfort zone of familiar flavors. Even more so, if you are actually having fun trying different flavors, ingredients or ways of food preparation, you could be preparing your family for a future mission trip. Even if you may never go on a mission trip, Christians, not just cultural believers, are eagerly anticipating the Day for a super-sized wedding banquet with the Lamb (Rev. 19:7)! How about prayerfully considering our earthly meals either as a prep for a missionary mindset or Heavenly banquet rehearsal? After all, there will be multitudes from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God (Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:29).
It is not an overstatement to say food prep is a holy ground. The food industry is fully aware of the power of food control, targeting the young and old with deceiving packages and ads. As we put thoughts and prayers into the prep, we are not only working to guard and promote our family’s physical health, but also reap so much more over time! Thanks to our ESL (English as a Second Language) teaching background, we have been so blessed to share a good number of meals with our international friends. Foods connected us intimately and quickly. Many internationals were thrilled to be invited and even more flattered when we were super satisfied with their home cooked foods. Our repertoire of food combinations have been expanded, and more importantly, our understanding of different people groups have been deepened over the meals.
After all the rambling about trios in different directions, the trios can also do miracle work vertically over time. If deciding on three new things together is too much, you might as well start with one, again, and again. Perhaps, you could try a new way of preparation with a familiar ingredient, like an avocado? The repetition is all that is needed to get our attention or to make a change. Samuel was called three times (1 Samuel 3). Daniel always prayed to God three times every day (Daniel 6:10). Not everyone is a curious eater. I get that, especially if you didn’t grow up with much exposure to other tastes. However, it is just too soon to exclude certain foods after your first unpleasant experience with it. As long as the foods are properly prepared with real food ingredients not against your conscience, they are worth a few more tries.
“Egyptian Walking Onions” – new to us at a plant sale, and fun (and easy) to grow
Dear mothers, your labor in the kitchen is glorious and not in vain. The promise-keeping God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the same God today for you, as you continue to trust and obey our good Shepherd! Who will you invite to dine together and share the perfect King’s wedding invitation? Are you getting yourself ready for the Wedding banquet with the Lion? Yes, you read it right. Jesus is not only the sacrificial Lamb for our sins, He is also the victorious Lion who has overcome death and will come again! Know that you are not simply feeding mouths, but starving souls!
Do not lose heart if you have multiple failed attempts in the kitchen. The “failures” are only your honor badges to faithfully fight the good fight. Perhaps, you have your list of no-way food choices, simply because you don’t like them. Don’t allow your preferences to determine what your children can actually enjoy. Even Peter denied Jesus three times. There is always hope in a new life and a new taste. Christ’s death was the ultimate sacrifice, the most pleasing aroma, to the holy God, our Father. After Jesus’s resurrection, the Lord Jesus asked Peter three times over the breakfast He prepared, “Do you love me? (John 21:15-17)” .
“Do YOU love me?” Jesus asked.
Are you longing for a taste of Heaven?
May the Wedding Day fuel your passion for the nations, for the lost, and for those closest to you! Our good Shepherd is right on your side as you feed your flock! He is closer than you think.
P.S. He is way closer than “The Little Chefs” (a fun read with your children about different food cultures though. :-)
3rd Culture Living 