Progress

As we walked along our dirt courtyard my husband responded, it just seems like we are back where we started last year. I wondered what made him feel that way, and yet I knew. Progress is such a powerful emotion. It is so powerful that we have an emotional response both when we make progress and when we don't make progress. We have come a very long way since we started our homestead a little over a year ago, but not being able to make progress on it at this time is emotional. I had this same discussion with my friend who I love and respect very much. We talked about how emotionally difficult it was to feel success with your finances if you are just living paycheck to paycheck even if you are in a better situation than you have been. She had managed to eliminate their credit card debt but was still living paycheck to paycheck, so it didn't feel different even though it was different.

So how do we fight this? How do we feel progress so we can feel the success that comes with progress and the joy that comes with it? I have two ideas. First, we must have gratitude and often. We need to search often for those things that we are grateful and we must than our Father in Heaven for them often.
Second we need to have areas in our lives that we do see progress. Part of the difficulty comes from tasks that we do where progress isn't possible. For example a sink full of dirty dishes comes and goes daily. A pile of laundry might disappear only to reappear in an hours time. For this reason goal setting is not only smart but it is essential to our happiness. We need to set goals for ourselves and work on them. Another dear friend recently announces that she was going back to school. She wasn't sure that it would change very much in her life but she was taking the step nonetheless. However, that is a step towards accomplishment and progress. That step is vitally important to her sense of progress that produces such powerful emotions.  Our goals however don't need to be big (although big is good) small goals can help us feel the same sense of power if we set and accomplish goals. Even though my friend who had paid off her credit cards was struggling there was a sense of progress she was able to feel when they were paid off. Its just hat we have to keep having moments when we win. We need to be always working forward. That is what our Father in Heaven wants. He doesn't want us to stay where we are, he wants us to be moving forward. It is important that in prayer we counsel with our Heavenly Father and ask how we can move forward. Ask for his help in setting our goals. I say this because it is also dangerous ( and way to easy) to do a lot of things that are not important and of little worth, so as we work toward that sense of accomplishment that is so powerful we must also do so carefully. We don't want to get the bigger home if it means in the process we picked up an extra job and now have to miss going to church to pay for it. We need to stretch ourselves and move forward, but we also need to make sure that we do so with wisdom and prudence.

Stepping Stones

Sometimes we get stepping stones that help us to cross a steam that blocks our path. I don't exactly know how we are going to survive financially over the next few years. My husband has not been able to find a job here yet, but we have had some stepping stones that have helped us at this time while we are working to get through this current obstacle and I am so very grateful for all the stones that have appeared before us to help us cross this stream.

Storms

I have almost always looked at trials as blessings and opportunities for growth and learning, but recently I have realized how very much I love some trials. Oh they can be so difficult, but that is where I find my strength and my weaknesses. I don't want more trials right now, but I appreciate how much I learn from them. In fact, if I was asked to go into a store and shop for my trials I would probably pick the easiest trials they had and the fewest I could get away with. I guess it is good that I am not in control because the amount of growth I would have would also be small and not very much. I am grateful I don't get to pick my trials, but I am more grateful that I have the Atonement, the Holy Ghost, and the knowledge of the gospel to help get me through our trials.

Faith

Yesterday our property was flooded something terrible and today we had to leave for the day. Both days we had to milk our goats outside since our milk stand isn't built in our tiny shed yet. Honestly I don't know when it will be built. However yesterday, today and many other days over the past 3 weeks I have prayed that we would have decent enough weather in the evening when it was time to milk the goats. Every day we have been blessed to have decent enough weather at milking time, and I am so very grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has blessed us with a break in the storm clouds when we needed it.

Green Onions

I recently went to a presentation where the speaker told us that she regrew her green onions after using them. The next time I was in the store I saw green onions on sale and I grabbed some. Actually we love green onions and use them all the time, but I don't regrow them. So last time I cut off just the green part and put the whit part in jars and regrew them. I don't actually know how many times I can regrow them, but I will probably do it again just to find out. One online person suggested that just water will cause them to lose their flavor eventually. I might try that out to see if I feel the same way. They suggested hydroponics. I love hydroponics but I don't currently have a system or a place to put one. I might have to try to put together a small system sometime just to grow more things for my family to eat year round. The biggest obstacle is space and money! Ha, isn't that always the case. Well I really like the idea that I can keep growing food that we eat without starting from scratch every time.

Choices

The other day my father commented that the homesteading life my family has chosen is a hard life. I have been thinking about his comment since he made it. It is just a little before 9 am. I have been working for 3 hours on my outside chores and now it is time to start my inside chores. I am taking a short break before starting the inside jobs, and I am thinking about what my father said. My life is a lot more demanding for sure. I have goats to milk twice a day. I dry all my clothes on the clothesline instead of just throwing them in the dryer. Living in a tiny house means going to the storage shed several times a day for items that don't fit inside the house. However, the life we are living right now is also rewarding. We do a lot of things that benefit our family. My children play outside for hours on end and have imaginations that make me envious.
Although it is more difficult, we love it. I am grateful for the opportunity to be here living on this homestead with my beautiful family.