Urban Homesteader

Could we survive another Great Depression?

I got this from over at Deanna's new blog corner and thought it was very interesting.

69% would not be my ideal but it did not take into consideration that we own our vehicles and grow our own meat (pigs, chickens, hunt for deer).  It just hit on some of the basics.  We have several areas of improvement but all in all, I think we are better than most.

Here is the link to go try it out yourselves:

Could You Survive Another Great Depression?

You Are 69% Likely to Survive Another Great Depression

Even though you may not be expecting the worst, you're the type of person who prepares for the worst. You live a relatively modest life. You don't overspend, and you aren't very materialistic. You are also quite self sufficient and independent. You have many useful skills. You can take care of yourself and those you love... which is crucial to surviving another Great Depression.

And here are my answers and comments:

The longing of a sacred place called "HOME"

A Bull Moose Runs Through Our Neighborhood

My daughter Mary received these pictures from her friend Jesse who lives around the corner. The pictures were taken by Jesse’s younger brother and emailed to Mary. I thought it might be fun for you to see how brown in gets in Colorado in the late Fall along with the “wildlife” shot of the bull moose.

Off he goes over the fence and up a nearby hillside.

Encouraging Thanksgiving During the Thanksgiving Season

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and will be a bittersweet celebration for my family this year. Although I usually look forward to the opportunity to take a couple days off before Thanksgiving to focus on making my favorite Thanksgiving foods with my children, this year will be different. My daughter Laura will be getting married January 3, and is making final preparations to not only get married but move to Clarksville, TN to be with her husband-to-be, Brandon. They will be stationed at Ft Campbell. As most of you already know, this will be our family's first Thanksgiving and holiday season without my late husband Duane who passed on to glory in April of this year.

I have decided that instead of focusing on the busyness of the holidays and a wedding, that I want to focus on Thanksgiving, I mean all the ways, large and small, God has met me in this difficult year. I'll be honest, there have been some very rugged challenges and I continue to struggle my way through denial, anger, and grief on a regular basis. I'm determined to begin a "Thanksgiving Journal" to record God's faithfulness through this year and through the holiday season.

Monday, I wrestled with worry and anxiety about some computer/business issues as well as wedding concerns and I really wondered if I was going to get through the day. By Tuesday morning, I realized all three things I worried and fretted over all day Monday had positive outcomes as of Tuesday morning, (yesterday). I knew I needed to record these small victories before I forget.

Just recently I learned that 40% of what we worry about never happens, 30% of our worries is over the past, 12% is over matters of which we have no control, and 8% are legitimate concerns. Well, I may not have the percentages exactly right, but Tuesday morning (yesterday) I realized I worried needlessly and I needed to focus on thankfulness.

I suspect you and I are a bit like the Israelites who quickly forgot all the miraculous things God did for them to get them to the promised land alone! Well, it just seems like the month of November is the time to focus on Thanksgiving more and the food preparations less. Perhaps you will be challenged to join me and begin a little prayer notebook filled with things to be thankful for, answered prayers to unnecessary worries and scriptural promises that we can cling to and claim during difficulties.

Here are two scriptures that have been getting me through:
Phil 4:6-7- "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Psalm 34:8,19 "O taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man that trusteth in him...Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all."

I know I am not the only one who had some serious setbacks in 2008, I would love to hear from others of you and ask that you share the scriptures with me and others that have helped you through trial after trial this past year. Please post your comments or email me at marilyn@urbanhomemaker.com with the scriptures that get you through trials. Let's encourage one-another during this Thanksgiving season.

In Leu of Today's Events....

I thought this might be a great opportunity to share the following clip.

It is a clip of a guy/missionary speaking to a youth conference in Montgomery, Al.  I will tell you that it is LONG.  However, my family watched it last night and it is so powerful you don't even realize that it is that long.  I hope you watch it and enjoy it.

My thoughts on this upcoming election....

We live in Ms. and the first presidential debate is Friday here in Ms.  I have given the topic of this election a great deal of thought.  I have come to the conclusion that neither of these men are who I would want for the next president.  However, I do think America is falling under judgement and we are getting what we deserve for turning so blatantly against God.  I agree with just about everything Sarah Palin stands for but does that mean she is right for our country as Vice President.  Does that mean that God's Word is not God's Word?  Do we compromise?  I still do not know what I will do come Nov. but I am pondering on this topic heavily.  I realize that Obama and his liberal agenda could just put us farther and farther into the pit of sin.  It's a very slippery slope we are on.  I think we need to be on our knees daily.

Have a great evening.

Blessings,

Trixi

I thought this was so incredibly cute....

I saw this over on another forum I am on and thought it was too cute.  If we haven't said some of these then we have probably thought them.

Have a great evening.

Blessings,

Trixi

New Church we are praying about.....

We have been here a year in August.  I can't believe it has been a year.  In that time it seems as if we have visited a ton of churches.  In reality we have visited about 10.  In between we have driven an hour home to go to our old church.  Well, then we moved out to our little slice of heaven and it's more like an hour and forty five minutes to go home.  So the possibilities of continuing to travel home to go to church are not as often now.  Therefore we have really needed to find a church here.  Not to mention the fact that my honey is scheduled to go back to Iraq in March and it would be nice to have a church family.  Anyway, we had been visiting the little Baptist church about 5 miles from our house and it was most definitely not what we were seeking but the people are so nice and a several are our neighbors.  The main problem is they have not had a pastor in over a year and I think there may be some internal bickering going on.  So a couple of weeks ago Dh and I were riding some backroads around us and stumbled on this pretty nice size church.  I mean it is still a small country church but a good size.  I would say it might seat 300, literally out in the middle of nowhere.  Anyway, we visited this past Sunday.  It's a Baptist church but I am thinking not Southern Baptist as they are strictly KJV.  We got a visit from the pastor on Tuesday night.  He is a young guy with 4 small children.  They homeschool and are extremely conservative.  He also has a great desire for reaching the lost.  So in a nut shell they seem to be a lot like our family.  In this area it is really hard to find a homeschooling family much less one that is the pastor of a church.  To make a long story a little shorter, there are some areas we would have to compromise in but this church seems to be the closest thing we have seen since our home church.  It has been a long tough road to find a church where the church is really focused on hearing and doing what the Word of God says.  It's a really sad thing.  However, we are praying about this one!!

Have a great day!!

Blessings,

Trixi

I am up to my ears in putting the harvest by.....

When we bought this place, we knew God had blessed us but didn't really get the full feel of it until here lately. 

Our harvest of pears and muscadines have been coming in daily.....

Here are the muscadines in my sink.  I think I have had about 4 sinks full so far.  I have made bronze muscadine jelly and purple.  The bronze tastes better but the purple is beautiful.

Here's a clothes basket full of pears.  We have picked 2 clothes baskets full.  I have made pear butter, pear preserves, and spiced pears out of them.  I will make a few more jars of pear preserves and then the rest will just be made into canned pears.  I got my recipe for pear preserves fromRegina at Skeeter Creek Farms and we LOVE them.  They are perfect.

Here are a couple of pictures of the harvest on my shelves.  I hope for Dh, to one day make me shelving specifically just for all of my canned items.   So far I have 49 jars of muscadines and pears filled.  I have a lot more to pick and am just about out of jars.  So I will have to purchase some more. 

I am so thankful for all that God has provided.  It has kept me busy and I am worn out with canning but I know when we are eating hot buttered biscuits with homemade canned muscadine jelly, this winter, we will be ever so thankful.

I also worked on my little plot for my fall garden.  I hope to put out lettuce, brocolli, carrots, and cauliflower tomorrow.

Blessings,

Trixi

Budget Friendly supper....