The Whistling Woodsman and His Family

Early fall of 2018 Mrs. Katie and Little Miss Homemaker were very blessed with a sweet visit in the home of Dustin and Janet Morgan and children, a family who is certainly keeping pioneer heritage alive. They live an intentional life in the beautiful Ozark foothills while earning a living fashioning items useful for the simple life. In fact, we placed an order for an item to be used on our RV.

Visiting and enjoying a hearty meal in their home was truly like receiving a warm hug from home.

You, too, may visit their homestead and learn more about their philosophy regarding living simply.

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The Key to Judging Others

I thought I had it all figured out. I was right, they were wrong and that’s all anyone needed to know.

Have you ever felt like this? Be honest, now. No one is looking at your answer…tell the truth. Have you ever looked at someone, their lifestyle, their language, their weight, their habits, their behavior and decided….well, we in the South would say, “bless their heart”, and just go about our business. We may even shake our heads sadly. “Bless ’em.”

I have. Many times. But..The Lord is teaching me a lot of lessons and HOW to judge others is one of those. May I share with you?

You see, I must not have understood the principle that **everyone** is worthy of His love, grace and mercy until recent years. I suppose I was complacent in my obedience of the Law, the Legalism. I “went to church” when I was told to–“every time the doors are opened”; I was baptized and took Communion; I didn’t sin “too badly”; I dressed, ate, drank, spoke, and basically lived like a good little Christian should. In fact, all this can be said for Mr. Patient, as well. He and I are traveling this road of grace together, hand-in-hand, walking, stumbling, dusting off one another as we….grow.

Somehow along the Legalistic Way we didn’t catch on that Love truly IS what makes the world go ’round. Continue reading “The Key to Judging Others” →

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All in, All done??…..SOLD!!

THAT is when the tears came. I was surprised by them, actually.

Until this point in our story, our lives, I was OK with the idea of selling our ample, beloved home and setting out across the nation to serve and encourage. I had surprisedly shed nary a tear, not even when the auction signs were pounded into the yard. But that phrase, that word, after a few short minutes of anxiously waiting and watching….auctioneer, bidder, auctioneer, bidder, auctioneer, another bidder, auctioneer….

Then, it was over. That quickly. No turning back now. Just one more milestone on our Heritage Homestead Journey. We would have thirty days to vacate, to prepare the home for its next family who would cherish the memories to be made. (And after having met them, we were confident they would do so.)

The auction didn’t go as **we** had planned, had hoped. In fact, if we’re being honest here, Mr. Patient and I had hoped for a bit of extra gravy (higher price) when the house sold. We had a price in mind that we **needed** in order to be able to afford our plans.

Did we come to terms with the selling price??

As with most of this journey thus far, we want to be open to the plans our Heavenly Father and His Spirit have for us, yielding our will to His. We don’t pretend that doing so will always be easy or comfortable or even fun.

Maybe **we** are the ones who are “SOLD!”. Well, we **should be** at least. Are we “all in, all done” for Christ? Hmmmm….that’s not an easy question to answer if we are being completely honest. I mean, for real, how many of us Believers honestly are “all in, all done” for Jesus?

I am still working on my response to that question.

Just something to think about…

Thanks for being here, ya’ll. We appreciate you.

❤️Mrs. Katie

 

 

 

 

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Walking in June and July 2018

Packing up and Heading Out

The summer of 2018 will be remembered as packing up and heading out, or at least preparing to head out.

So much preparation went into preparing the house for the auction that Mr. Patient and I  just plumb tuckered ourselves out. And the littles, too, worked diligently right alongside us completing every assigned task. There were many times when I noted that they would be ready for a well-deserved break just as us adults will be! I am not sure kids these days are expected to work as diligently as ours are, but they should be. We definitely do not buy into that kid-entitlement thing.

Our house received new paint, inside and out, new back deck, necessary repairs, cleaning up and out. We have packed, stored, trashed, shared, scrubbed, tossed, scraped, painted, removed, added and alllll the verbs that go along with preparing a home to sale. Our home wasn’t even in a terribly bad condition. I can’t imagine the added efforts and expense if it had been. Geez.

At one point in the painting process, it was clear that the littles and I could not co-exist with the ladders, drop cloths, and buckets of paint which where necessary for the men to complete the interior painting. We took that week to visit northeast Georgia and meet some Instagram friends. Our family loves Appalachia but we had never had the pleasure of traveling through that part of the region. An overnight stop at our son’s and daughter-in-law’s home was a sweet beginning to our trip. What joy for the opportunity to see how they are turning their walls into a beautiful first nest! Morgan manages the community garden, to boot. Way to go, son!

 

 

What fun times we had meeting new friends in Georgia who also blessed us with a Continue reading “Walking in June and July 2018” →

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Walking in April and May 2018

Reunions and Beginnings

Our family’s Spring of 2018 would most certainly be categorized in this way. The two months which consist of spring in our neck of the woods were filled with adventurous beginnings and precious reunions. The first week-end of April was Easter, the time when most of the world remembers with greater attention the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Easter is the epitome of beginnings, wouldn’t you agree? Although the littles, Mr. Patient and I took a quick trip to Mississippi to check-out the possibility of buying a used RV, we made sure we were back for Easter Sunday. What a precious gift that we were all offered, if we choose to accept! Forgiveness of sins. Although we as believers remember His death every week, isn’t it precious that we can do so with more concentration on what is believed to be the accurate time of His Sacrifice? It is kind of like celebrating that my children are alive every day but giving them extra-special attention on their birthdays.

Here are a few shots from that MS trip and Easter Sunday, as well as the videos regarding that week-end.

Traveling to MS and Update

Results of looking at RV in Mississippi (Update: After it was said and done, we probably wouldn’t recommend this place as they never Continue reading “Walking in April and May 2018” →

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To the Next Owners of Our House

July 27, 2018, the Night before our House Auction

 

Dear Next Owners of our House,

 

Twelve hours from now our lives will have taken a major turn. We will be preparing to move out of our home as you prepare to move in. This is what we wanted, what we want, but the knowing doesn’t make the transition terribly easy.

 

You see, we will have been married 29 years on July 29, the day after our house auction. For all of those years, we have lived in married housing, a small apartment, a starter home, my family’s homestead and now what is to be your new home. We moved to this house just over six years ago when my husband’s job brought us to this area. The Lord gave us the job and the house, which has been perfectly suited for our family and our needs.

 

Each house in which we have lived has been more than a house, but a home. There is a difference, you surely know. A house is Continue reading “To the Next Owners of Our House” →

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