3rd Culture Living

(Stewardship 12) III. Land – “Inheritance”

What is inheritance? Something received after a previous owner or ancestor dies. We receive inheritance usually after someone’s death. Does God die? Can God die? If God is God, how can He die?

God is spirit, all-present, always living, self-existing. God does not have a body like we do. However, this doesn’t mean God cannot withhold or give up His control for His Holy purposes, such as saving a wretch like you and me. God the Father loves us so much, that He is willing to send His one and only Son, Jesus, to this world. Jesus, God the Son, perfectly and willingly obeyed the Father, gave up His place in Heaven with the Father, to die for our sins. But God has overcome death and rose again!! Jesus now is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him (1 Peter 3:22).

This is why each year Christians around the world celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection. “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. …And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” ( 1 Corinthians 15: 14, 17-19)

Jesus died and rose again so we who trust and fear Him can inherit the promise land above in Heaven. I believe in Jesus not for the inheritance of the land. I believe because He has called me to His Kingdom. As His child, I can inherit His promised land. Most importantly, as His child, I can be in His presece, with Him forever! The inheritance is totally His mercy and blessings. I have no part in taking any credit in possessing this land. This unmerited favor upon me is overwhleming.

The promised inheritance is free but costly. If right now someone offers you a nice property with a nice house on it for free, are you willing to own it? The price is paid in full, no mortgage, no down payment, no agency fees, no repair needed, no inspection needed, all perfect conditions you can imagine with the nicest furniture and appliances included. Will you be interested to check out who this generous giver is? Or will you simply write it off as a scam? Yes, all those offers are too good to be true in our world. We should exercise discernment to be suspicious of those “nice” offers.

But this offer is not simply a nice offer, it is a sure promise for those who fear the one true living God! Are you willing to leave everything behind and come? You can bring your whole family if they are willing to believe this offer and follow. If you don’t know the Giver, no matter how good and real the offer is, you may still hesitate. Until one day, you have received a letter explaining your blood relationship to the owner, how much He has provided and loved you. You are told your brother is coming to bring you home. When you see your brother, you realize right away you are from the same family! What a happy reunion! You learned about more stories of your childhood before you were lost, your real name, your real father.

I guess my point is not to tell you a dramatic story, but to say the inheritance for those who believe Jesus is Lord is real! Jesus is the real deal! Jesus and His presence makes Heaven a joy-filled place. But how about right now before we are united with our Lord in Heaven? God never forsakes us or leaves us. We, as we repent our sins, have the Holy Spirit living in us to guide us to His truth in our remaining days on earth.

Jesus’ disciple, Peter, a former fisherman, but when filled with the Spirit, he boldly proclaimed, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2: 28-39)

The blessing of this heavenly inheritance is generational! Are you called to receive Jesus and His forgiveness?

Here are links to all 16 posts in the “Stewardship” journal from Elyse’s Journal written around 3/25/2023. (The link will not work until the post is posted.)
1. Seeking His will to take back the stewardship of the land (Rob’s Introduction)
2. I. “Who”: Rescued from the System
3. II. “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Shake-up 1: Work System
4. “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Shake-up 2a: Medical System
5. “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Shake-up 2b: Birth System
6. “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Chain of Spirit-led decisions
7. “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Shake-up 3: Education
8. “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Aliens and Strangers in the world
9. “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Freedom
10. Simple, Abundant Living as a family wherever you are
11. Called to the Land
12. III. Land – “Inheritance”
13. Land – “Inheritance” (continued)
14. IV. How (resources)
15. Resources
16. Conclusion

(Stewardship 11) Called to the Land

God’s will is clear to call us to be close to His land, but we still need faith to wait upon Him. It is by many back-and-forth discussions, prayers, reflections, His will has become clearer and clearer. He shapes our vision by His well-designed “blocks” to direct our steps when we continue to do our due dillgience. Our efforts don’t necessarily guarantee His revealed will, but our willingness to follow Him at whatever cost pleases our Father in Heaven. He pushes us to let go of our control and earthly attachments to keep our eyes on Him. This process can look very different for different callings. However, through all the ups and downs, waiting and more waiting, we learn to trust God, His goodness and faithfulness. It is clearly God’s will to train us to always rejoice in Him, pray without ceasing, and to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

We ask questions to continue to search deeper for His will. You may have a totally different set of questions in seeking His will. For us, we have always mostly worked from home and don’t see the loss of a part-time job as something to push us to give up the higher priority to have a home-based work or ministry. We desire to serve together as a family. As we home educate, we don’t want to isolate our children from the world but to reach the world along with them. It is tempting to follow what we knew before and find a job to ease the transtion. Rather, by faith we see this job loss crisis as a great opportunity to push us to do something we already are called to do but lacking the kick of motivation. As a matter of fact, the word for “crisis” in Chinese, “危机”, literally means “crisis” and “opportunity”.

What if we can trust God’s provision with full-time ministry? What if we can grow and raise our food? What if we can produce not only our food but also have extra to share with others so we can continue to produce more? What if we can preserve food the old-fashioned ways so we are more prepared for a time of need? What if we can continue the flexibility to work from home with the Internet and land? What if the property tax is lower so the cost of living is lower? What if our children are not simply mouths to feed but hands to help to multiply the meaningful work? What if we can have a family business and be self-employed? What if we can keep our simple minimum-waste lifestyle, so we can give away more money if the Lord gives us more? What if we can work with other like-minded people, have familial relationships and do life together for His glory? What if we can learn more truths and be set more free living off the city grid?

From reading and researching, we are excited to discover more and more real-life examples for those “what-if’s” to become reality. This sustainable way of living is totally doable! It is an exciting and scary discovery. I am excited about the reality but nervous about another leap of faith. Knowing is one thing but to make deliberate changes is another. Just like homeschool, we had no prior experience or knowledge. I grew up in the center of the city of China and my husband is a greenhand in gardening. God knows our fears and insecurities. With each house-purchase contract signing, we surrendered a little bit more to the Lord. With each failed bid, contract, we gained more peace and strength. We have regained our strength to continue the run of faith without growing weary. Knowing that we are in His will gives us the greatest peace in this search, find, wait, surrender and continue the faithful work. The result does not matter to us much now as we are secure and anchored in His good will.

In the meantime, we have been learning and growing with the resources we have been given. As a homeschool family, there is truly no failed attempt. :-) Each process is a learning opportunity, including the house and property searching! Thankfully, our Heavenly Father is so generous and gracious to us, and we always reap more than we sow. Our recent urban homestead activities included Tower Garden, backyard gardening, sourdough bread-making, daily food prep from scratch, composting, Kombucha-making, soap-making, herb dehydration, seed-harvesting & saving, and much more! (See more resources.) More importantly, we are excited to build friendships and make connections with like-minded friends by hosting or attending Healthy Living Connection events, family farm day, etc.. It is much more fun to learn and grow together with friends!

Not only He has prepared us in the process of seeking and waiting, he has also prepared people in our lives for a change to come. Even though we can’t overlook some attractive points for homesteading purposes in considering Missouri (like lower property tax, longer growing season and more homeschool freedom, etc.,), when God first put Missouri as a destination for us, the almost 12 hours driving distance kept us away from pursuing further for a while. We wanted to start where we are unless the Lord clearly calls elsewhere!

Just a side note: I have just renewed my Ohio drivers’ license for 8 years and joked about next time when I renew my license my boys could be driving! However, after all the arrangements of a series of events, we see His provision in allowing us to finally seriously consider the calling to move to MO with parents’ and friends’ blessings. I will need to renew my driver’s license in MO again before my boys are driving. Life is full of curveballs because it is not scripted. Saying goodbyes is never easy for me, especially when I am in my mid-life stage. I can’t even say our moving across the ocean helps me make another big move. Each goodbye is personal and emotional. The comfort and confidence for me to go is His sovereignty and goodness. He knows all the pains and tears. Costly obedience brings Him glory and does us good. He is trustworthy!

However I am trying to make sense of everything going on around us, I can never fully comprehend His good plans and preparations. I am thankful for what we have learned and excited for what is ahead of us, because I know God will go before us and with us. His plans are higher than my plans, and his thoughts higher than my thoughts. Just because I like to reason and plan, He never owes me a reason, a schedule or an answer. Many times, we simply need to follow even when we don’t understand or can’t explain everything plainly to others. That’s okay! The sun will still rise tomorrow. His mercies are new each morning. His love and faithfulness endures forever. His sovereign plans always reign, despite all human plans for or against His will.

All in all, what are the important questions to ask when faced with numerous decisions in life? Do you fear the Lord? Do you trust His leading, pushing, opening or closing doors for our good? How is life different now looking back one or two decades ago? How do you prepare the next generations under your care for the hard days to come? How has one Spirit-led decision led you to another? How are people in your life being impacted due to your faithful obedience? Praise Him for His mighty works in you and through you! Praise Him for what is yet to come! Wait expectantly for His provision in His perfect timing and perfect way!

He will instruct! If you fear the Lord, you have nothing to fear!

(Stewardship 10) Simple, Abundant Living as a family wherever you are

Even though we live in the city, we are constantly learning to practice simple abundant living as much as we can. By faith and His providential care, we bought our current fixer-upper house (Ohio) with no debt, which gives us flexibility to now go. For a family of five (about to be six), before my husband’s teaching job ended, we had been living on one part-time income for over ten years. Even though we have explored other streams of income, our major source of income was still from hubby’s part-time teaching job. By God’s grace, we have some margin to explore and seek His way of provisions in other ways for the past year. Yes, this means we were able to live out of savings and other small streams of income for almost a year at this point. We didn’t plan to go on this long but looking back we see God’s gentle push for us to continue to seek His righteousness and think outside of the box. Our prayers have become more sincere and intense to seek His will to be done! Isn’t the process more eternally valuable than simply an answered prayer? The Lord knows what we need to strengthen our faith in His care.

As products of consumerism, we had felt the need and temptation to find work to put food on the table. Month after month, doubts can come and confuse our vision. Our savings account is going lower and lower as we shop for basic needs. The pressure is real but not scary. We are confronted with real choices to make. Should we go out of the home and find work after all those years believing and following His lead in ministries as a family? Yes, if that is what a family needs to live. This is probably the only choice many families have to make. There is a time to do something we don’t enjoy as life needs that to happen. But if at all possible we want to plan for how to have meaningful work as a family and avoid just working for the money. I pray we don’t have to go through life desperate enough to just simply grab a job. Just like we don’t want to grab junk food when in a hurry. With some planning and prep, we still can have yummy homemade food with a low cost. A lot of people don’t have the luxury of thinking for themselves and seeking God’s will. Life is simply a survival game.

But Jesus has come to give life, life to the full. We are not to simply survive but to thrive in Him no matter the circumstances. Feeding and taking care of our own family is a God-given responsibility. It will be a sacrifice for a season if needed for at least one parent to leave their children to work. This is especially true when God gives specific callings to certain work. If a parent needs to go for a mission for a time, those who left behind can still pray for the one sent and serve as one team. Serving the Lord as a family certainly does not require all members to be physically present at all times. Even when we are called for one project or ministry as a family team, different members are free to exercise their individual gifts for the well-being of the whole team.

However, just like the overuse of medical care, the default for one or even both parents to go out to work to bring food on the table is happening too quickly. How much food and clothes do we acturally need? What kind of food or clothes? Can we cut down on restaurant meals, or other treats? Can we DIY paid services, like fixing appliances or having a haircut at home? Do our children have to sign up for many programs to keep up with their peers? How do we budget our vacation? If leaving home to work is a necessity, how many hours away? For how long? If we seek the Truth, we need to seek the Truth in all aspects in our lives, not just to get the right Sunday school answers. God cares about our hearts to serve and follow Him as we exercise our free will to follow Him.

So the real question about work is do we make a living around our work, or do we make life to labor in love in serving others by following His lead? A job is supposed to be a holy calling, not simply a money-generator. Another word for “job” is vocation. Sadly, many people nowadays can’t wait for a vacation from their vocation. God has designed work to be a holy worship for His glory as we exercise the gifts He has given. Is your job dehumanizing? Or another way to put it, is your job replaceable by a robot? If so, watch out if you plan to stay at this job long. God has given us creativity to plan, think, will and act. We are to fear the Lord in all we do with our whole heart not to numb our souls.

In seeking His provision and calling for our family, our standard is to consider the work we will enjoy doing even if we are not paid. Even though, in hindsight, I see the past year as an unplanned God-given Sabbatical year spiritually, we never stopped serving or working. It takes faith and discipline to stay pure in our thoughts and deeds. We don’t work simply to get paid. We can lose our soul if we simply work for the money. Don’t get me wrong, it is rewarding and sustainable to be paid for honest hard work. In our case, we enjoyed different roles of volunteering positions as He called. God has provided every need abundantly even without a major income. We attempted to work with a low paid university language program. Even though they wanted us to come, due to outside issues the plan fell through. Through this our hearts are at a better place to know we have the freedom to choose work with lower pay. We chose to consider the university job due to its countryside location, and being closer to where our existing network is. We started with things we know but realized homesteading is still a higher calling. We are delighted by His clear leading and redirecting as we let go of our human plans.

(Stewardship 9) “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Freedom

These days, as a family, we are called to exercise more freedom to take charge of our food, health, work and life choices in general. If we don’t exercise the freedom our forefathers fought for, we will lose those freedoms one after another. Freedom comes along with choices and responsibilities. Not only are we called to be advocates for freedom in Christ, we are to train the next generation to fight for the hard-earned freedom. Many times, we say we want freedom but we don’t really want to think. More and more choices are becoming automatic for conveniences. Where is the hope for this ongoing life dilemma between flesh and spirit? The answer is only in the intervention of the Holy Spirit, for those who trust and believe Jesus is Lord.

From our home education experience, I am exposed to American and world history with Jesus as the writer and focus. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. But God…! Compared to what I have experienced in China or people in history, America still offers MUCH more freedom and opportunities for those who are seeking. Christians in the States are still not frequently confronted with the bold choice to follow God or men, though that situation is changing rapidly here as well. What does a free life with Godly boundaries look like? I don’t know exactly what it is like for you. As a Christian, we are under the law of grace and love, because Jesus Christ has fulfilled what the law requires and what we can’t accomplish by following the laws. We are to love the Lord our God whole-heartedly and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

In this freedom adventure with Jesus, life choices can look different over time from the majority. For us now, the resilient and sustainble way of living in a community is another new territory of blessings and challenges we continue to discover. I have strongly sensed the battle between my own flesh and spirit, which is a good process for His sancitification of my soul. I continue to lean on my Lord for His guidance and strength as we tread on the new adventure with Him. He is all about setting us free, in molding us to be more like Him. The process can take some work, but it is all good and glorious.

(Stewardship 8) “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Aliens and Strangers in the world

I am leaving out TONS of details here to give a quick overview of how He has instructed us from one step to the other. This review of His work has helped me to see His preparation for the next new assignment. Each decision by itself seems strange enough in the world. My past journal states we are becoming one of those weird people but we feel completely normal about being weird now. So I will not be offended if you think we are strange but just stay open-minded to continue the truth-seeking. As Jesus’ disciple, we are called to be set apart.

As an immigrant due to cross-cultural marriage, I had no desire to immigrate to America. Life in China was purposeful and fruitful. After much wrestling, my heart is at peace with the Lord’s plan for us to remain in the U.S.. He has shown me so many times of His faithfulness as we trust Him. However, I always wondered what the Lord’s plan was for me to be used for the Chinese being overseas. I am grateful that He has timely provided different Chinese connections through the local Chinese church, Chinese story time at different libraries and Asian markets, etc.. For the past couple of years, the Lord has miraculously allowed me to share the Gospel freely through short wave radio to Chinese audiences. I am humbled and privileged to be a part of this radio ministry, something I never thought I would be qualified to do. Once again, I am blown away by His way as we trust and obey Him. I am thankful for the freedom to proclaim the truth without compromise and pray for His will to be done in using those radio programs.

(Stewardship 7) “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Shake-up 3: Education

As the children grow, the next real life challenge is to train them in the way they should go. In their most formable years, I simply don’t see myself with the capability to sort through 5-day-week public school indoctrination and peer influence. Year after year, the cumulative effects from outside influence and secular education would be too much work for me and my family to filter through for holy living. I am not saying public school should be banned altogether or homeschooling is for everyone. However, we are living in this free country with options, so I do appeal that public education should not be the default choice for Christian parents. Like any choice in life, we need to seek the Lord and counsel from respected fellow believers to raise the next generation prayerfully for His glory. Most importantly, the husband and wife need to be both actively involved for home discipleship, whatever education choice we make. Passing our faith on to the next generation is our high calling as Jesus-followers.

That being said, I am not implying in any way that home education is easy. On the contrary, teaching my own children has turned out to be the most challenging and rewarding experience I have ever had in life. I feel inadequate (understatement) to educate my own children. He equips those He calls. Where I am weak, I am strong in Him as I depend on the Lord daily to train my boys. The calling to home education goes deeper into my soul. More importantly, it is not just me. The Lord led me to the path of home education through my husband’s initiation, provision and strong support. I can’t imagine doing home education on my own. I admire moms who have done home education mostly alone by God’s grace. However, if at all possible, home education is more rooted and authentic when both parents are on board. (“Why home education, why do we continue to home educate”… This is written, but not yet posted. This link will be updated after posting)

I made many mistakes unlearning and relearning what Christian home education is supposed to be like. I still don’t know all the answers, but I know I can surrender my unknowns to the One Who knows all the answers. In fact, I constantly feel I am only scratching the surface of the heart education God has designed for us from His Word and His World. I need greater faith to follow Him one step at a time. What works for one family may not work for another. What works for one season may not work for another. What works with one child may not work for another child. I have to stay sensitive to His lead and my child’s needs, not what others are thinking or doing, or what I am feeling.

The older my boys get, the more urgent I feel the need for them to exercise what they have learned in the real world. After all, we are homeschooling and we don’t simply need to repeat school at home. Home is first of all home! I am breaking free from the old educational system slowly but steadily. Both my husband and I were in the public education system for a long time, so it takes us a while to unlearn and to find new freedom and natural rhythm in life. Yet, he is faithful and patient in His leading and instruction.

(Stewardship 6) “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Chain of Spirit-led decisions

Christian living is a chain reaction of Spirit-led decisions. Every decision is a spiritual reality. One life and death choice will lead us to abundant living one choice after another. I don’t need to have all the answers. I don’t even need to copy what others have done, even though God can use others’ stories to inspire us. EACH path is unique. Each calling is certain with God’s Unwavering love. Even when we walk astray, He is loving and powerful enough to bring us back on track.

(Stewardship 5) “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Shake-up 2b: Birth System

When it came to birthing choices for my second child, I was more prepared and empowered by what I had learned about natural birth. Comparing statitics of risks, I was able to make a more informed lower-risk choice. God carried me through one natural birth at the hospital and two successful home births. I was 37 when I gave birth to my third child. Age is not a limit to me anymore as I used to think 35 was too old to bear a child. How little my faith was!

(Stewardship 4) “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Shake-up 2a: Medical System

The next shake-up moment was the decision to home birth. That was a challenge with the medical system, a biggie nowadays! I confess it is much easier to go to the doctor and just do what I am told. Don’t get me wrong: there is definitely a place for doctors and medical care. The issue nowadays is the overuse of medicine and surgical practices for quick fixes. I wanted those quick fixes with a short-sighted view of the future. I regret all the shots, drugs I took before I knew better for those so-called quick fixes, which didn’t heal or cure in the long run.

Thankfully, our Creator is so gracious in His design of our bodies. If we feed our bodies the right God-made food along with an active lifestyle, our bodies can generally heal on their own over time. Our family has no need for medical intervention, no need for sick visits for over a decade. Doctors are for the sick. If we take charge of our health and eating habits, we have less need of a doctor. Real, good doctors don’t want to see their patients that often either.
After I was introduced to a whole-food product by my mother-in-law in preparing to get pregnant, I was intrigued by the power of whole food nutrition. All the old-fashioned Chinese holistic healing ideas I was exposed to came back to me with a new light. The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know about the natural healing methods. We continue to explore the benefits of real food, herbs, essential oils, mushrooms, organ meats and fermented foods, sprouts, etc.. We utilize what we learn in our lives one step at a time. I am delighted to continue to discover the power from God’s storehouse of abundance in nature. Thankfully, many resources are made available by holistic-healing-minded experts if we simply have a heart to learn and receive the truth.

(Stewardship 3) “Fear the Lord” and “He will instruct”: Shake-up 1: Work System

Psalm 25
12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their descendants will inherit the land.

Fast forward two decades, now a mother of three healthy happy boys on earth, one child in heaven, one child in my womb in my forties, I am in awe to see how much I have been set free from many worldly-operating systems. Life is full of many big and small changes and decisions. I can’t go into the details of all the decision-making moments, but a few turning-point decisions can serve as bookmarks of His continual and consistent work to bless me with more freedom.

After my first son was born, I gave up my career as a language teacher and became a full-time home-maker. I loved my job and the interactions with adult students. To many of my friends and family in China, my choice to give up my education, degree, and stay at home was out of the norm. Especially these days, as my boys are getting older, they have a hard time time understanding why I don’t go back to “work”. I was in the darkness before and I understand the value system simply doesn’t compute the same way any more. I see my time with my boys as the best career choice I have ever made! This holy ground of home is my primary mission field, a safe place to grow and train disciples, a resting place for receiving weary and wandering passengers with hospitality, a nesting place for growing love and tenderness, a free place to exercise our creativity, and so much more. As my children grow, their talents, personalities only add to the richness and complexity of this God-designed institution.

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