Lesson 9 of Joy of Home

We have talked about a traditional housekeeper, a modern housekeeper, and what a house keeper is.  Have you decided who you are?

We talked about slang terms such as retrowife, tradwife and homesteader.  You don’t need to take on these labels and become these ideals.  You must be you; don’t try to be someone you are not.  We have been given a history that opens doors for us, because it has been tried, tested, and found true.  These doors can be opened by you, for you and your family.  No one said you had to reinvent the wheel, but you do need to keep the tire inflated. 

We have talked about a house cleaning schedule and that it has to fit your personality, time and household.  Doing something every day makes it easier to tackle the house on your days off if you work.  If you have children, delegate some of the chores but remember that you are the moral compass in the home, and they learn by sight more than by hearing.  Be the showcase in the home, not the doormat.

Husbands and wives are equal, and both their roles in the home are important.  Submission doesn’t mean oppression; it means the balance of responsibility falls on the man’s shoulders.  We respect and love each other, holding each one accountable in love, not anger or bitterness.  We don’t talk about our intimate things in our marriages, and we forgive others.

We talked about being prepared for emergencies.  Having a supply for at least three days, seven is better.  We talked about money, and that getting out of debt is financial responsibility and using credit cards that are paid off monthly is sound financial advice.  Having an emergency fund of at least one thousand dollars is an immediate goal and having it in cash is an excellent idea. 

Little by Little Makes it Grow.

Can you accomplish all that in one month?  Maybe not, but you can get started on it.  You personally must decide what is most important to you.  You have to discover how much extra money you have to put towards your goals every month.

Somethings that might help you:  (These are suggestions that may or may not work for you.)

  • Increase your food production.  Growing your own food can include growing seeds in jars in your kitchen, called sprouts.  You can grow food in pots on your balcony.  You can have an in-ground garden, vertical garden, or raised bed garden.  I grow tomatoes and lettuce on my windowsill in winter.
  • If you have the space and live where you can raise chickens, turkeys, cows, and pigs, consider doing so.  Before you rush out and buy the animal, know that you have to be able to afford housing, feed and medications if necessary.   Animals cost money before they provide the food.  If you don’t butcher the animals yourself, add the cost to have them butchered and wrapped.   Buy the appropriate size freezer for your animal.
  • Learn to preserve your own food, or the food you find on sale.  If you find chicken breast on sale and then bring them home and freeze or can them, you are saving your family money.  We will be talking about preserving food in an upcoming lesson.  Canning, dehydrating, and freezing are all extremely simple to master.

Start baking from scratch.  Whether you bake bread in a machine or by hand, have homemade mixes ready to go in jars or just mix as you go, it will save you money.

  • Consider a side hustle.  This might include painting fences or livingrooms, babysitting, dog walking, cleaning the inside of cars, dog yard clean ups, creating something to sell at farmers markets or Facebook marketplace, or maybe you help elderly people by cooking freezer meals for them once or twice a month.  Selling things like Avon, Tupperware or some other product has the potential of making you some money, but honestly, only a hand full of dedicated people really make money from these companies. Research before accepting becoming a member of this pyramid scheme.   
  • I know a few people who make money by using a cash back credit card, although you must be wise about how you use it.  Also, if your grocery store has savings cards, use them.  I don’t use those apps that give you cash back, but if you are considering using them, research the apps.
  • Many people use the stock market to make a little extra money.  This requires research and dedication to watching your stocks, knowing when to buy and sell.   
  • If you really need to save money or are deep in debt, consider a no spend month or year.  Just buy what you really need and put as much as you can on your debt or in your savings account.  It is better to get out of debt as fast as possible, as your interest rates are higher than the interest rate on a savings account.

Sell all your junk.  And if it doesn’t sell, get rid of it.  Donate it to a non-profit thrift store. 

  • Volunteer your time.  The reason for this is the law of sowing and reaping.  Give and it will be given back to you in multiplication.

Read.  Read what you don’t know and want to learn.  After you read, practice what you have learned, otherwise you will lose that knowledge.  Reading activates your imagination and stimulates your mind to come up with concepts and ideas to pull your vision into your life.

  • If you are seriously in debt, it might be time to consider moving into a smaller house, or a place where you get more for less.  If you are paying for two cars, a motorhome, a boat, property on the lake, buying your kids clothing on a credit card, and only making minimum payments on your debt, ask yourself is it all worth it?  It might be time to simplify your life, reduce the stress and let go of some of the things you ‘think’ are important.

Create passive incomes.  A passive income still requires your time, energy, and your money, but it makes money while you are doing other things.  Passive income can be rental properties, selling a book, being a silent partner, renting out a room in your house, lending out money with interest.

  • Canceling anything that you can live without.  For some, you may need to give up Netflix and Prime and watch only free television for a season.  Yes, these services may only save you $25 a month, but over the year that is $300.  Can you go another year with the cell phone you have?  Do you need that life insurance policy?  Do you really need the added expenses of another pet?  Do you need to eat out every single Friday night?  Is it possible to get your hair cut every 8 weeks instead of every 6 weeks? Are you using that gym membership?  Do you spend enough at Costco to have the $120 membership which will pay for itself?  What you do today affects your tomorrow.

Are you too lazy to control your income?  Are you spending because you are bored?  Are you addicted to spending money on useless things?  Are you spending because you feel entitled?   Are you spending money because you don’t have a vision?  

Developing a strong foundation

Do you recall the introduction when I was talking about giving birth and how the pain and tiredness overtakes the woman in labour, and then the doctor says, “push”?  This is how I liken the process:

Victory Garden:  is a time of sowing.  Even before the earth receives the seed, you are speaking victory over the harvest.  You are visualizing the harvest, the success of the planting of seeds.  No one plants a row of pea seeds and expects nothing to happen.  After a few days, you are constantly checking on the garden to make sure it has water, and to see if you see little patches of green popping out of the soil.  Keeping a watchful eye on the garden will keep the weeds at bay and the slightest insect or disease will be dealt with swiftly. 

This is the approach all things in your life should be.  You see a wet towel on the floor, you pick it up.  You see a sink full of dishes, you wash them.  You see a birthday coming up on the calendar, you go buy the gift.  You see your child struggling with their homework, you come along side to help.  You see someone falling into an addiction, you respond with words, but steal yourself not to enable, even if that means you react with removing yourself from harm.

Victory Garden means, you see land, prepare that land for a garden, purchase the seed, plant the seed, water, and fertilize, weed the garden, act quickly if you see pests and disease, wait patiently for the time of harvest, not forgetting the harvest, not pulling up the plants prematurely.  The harvest is seen the moment you see the land.  This is called vision, calling things that are not as if they were.

War Garden means the harvest part.  You have been speaking and acting on Victory for several months, perhaps years, and soon you get called out of the trenches to run towards the enemy and push them back.  You must run, with your weapon in hand, while the enemy fires bullets at you.  Some of your comrades fall wounded or dead around you, but still you advance. 

It is not easy to run towards something you fear, that is trying to kill you, maim you, but you must if you want victory.   How many harvest fields do you have in your life, that are just sitting out there because you have been afraid to get out of the trench and go get them?  Harvest means work.  Harvest means collecting something.  You can go harvest the peas growing on the vine, but they will do you no good if you let them sit in a bowl in your kitchen.  If you don’t put your hand in the bowl and bring the pea to your lips and open your mouth, it is worthless.  Yet, the majority of people are even too lazy to bring their hand to their mouth once their hand is in the bowl.

Have you planted something, and too lazy to harvest?   Are you too full of fear to get out of the trenches and go fight?  Are you speaking against your victory?  “Good things never happen to me.”  “I only have bad luck.”  “It is impossible for me.” 

Have you ever refused to get out of bed because you fear your day?  Have you ever said, “I applied for the job, but I won’t get it.”  “My life is like it is because of this person.”  These statements are crop killers.  Instead, you water and fertilize your seed, “I am so glad to be out of bed because the world is my oyster.  Something great is going to happen today.”  “I know I am not qualified for the job I applied for, but I have favour and will receive the call that I got the job.”  “I may be here today, but I won’t be tomorrow.  No one directs my life but me.  I will make wise decisions for myself today.”   Maybe you will have to fill out twenty applications and go to five interviews for a job, but if you have a fighting spirit that is positive, it will reflect upon others.  Who wants to hire someone who doesn’t want to fight, is not happy and reflects negativity?  You reap what you sow.

I want you to think about these words and their harvest on your life.

Anger

Fear

Depression

Passivity

Worry

Enabling

Are you willing to give into those things?  Will they bring you closer to your vision and goals?  Are these things helping or hindering you?

Again:

Hope

Faith

Determination

Goal setting

Forgiveness

Eagerness

In 2022, our theme for Three Crosses Canada was, I am not powerless over anything, and my life is not unmanageable.  I am sure you either know someone or have seen a video of someone who has lost a limb and continues living.  Mothers who only have one arm or no arms take care of their babies and children.   People who have no legs compete in sports, get married and have children, who go back to school to learn a new occupation.  You probably know people too who have lost a leg and sit in a wheelchair and believe their life is over, their entire life now is focused on the television set and the meal they get everyday from Meals on Wheels. 

I have worked with handicapped children and adults throughout my working career, and I have marveled at many for their determination and many who became demanding fools because they thought the world owed them because they lost a part of their body.  I once helped a blind woman who had two children, baked bread from scratch, who cooked all the meals for her family, did the laundry, and didn’t limit herself from trying something new.   While I dusted and vacuumed, she organized and did everything she could.

Let me give you another example of powerlessness.  You work at your job below your pay.  You just do enough to get paid.  You show up on time for work, but only minutes before your shift.  You complain about your job, your boss, your co-workers.  You are angry because someone else was chosen to manage the area you work in, even though you have worked there longer.  That is powerlessness.  Show up to work 10 to 15 minutes before your shift and be ready to work.  Do the work above your pay grade.  Take the initiative to do more than enough.  Do your work with excellence.  Don’t just complain, find a solution.  Offer advice, but if it is not taken, don’t give into hurt or rejection.  If you want more, give more.

Are you noticing that it all comes down to you?  What you do matters.  What you think matters.  How you respond matters.  If you had a bad day at work or got the news someone passed away, do you reward yourself by buying something to try to make yourself feel better, or do you deal with the emotional turmoil in a mature way?    Every decision you make today affects your tomorrow.  Let me say that again, “EVERY DECISION YOU MAKE TODAY AFFECTS YOUR TOMORROW.”

Visit Victory Campaign 2024 on both Facebook and XAPiT.

To buy “Be in Season, out of SEASON,” please visit, https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/RedWoodlandGate?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

I appreciate your support, prayers, and comments.

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