invest in the land

how we find what we need

We sat in the guy’s driveway and put the car in reverse.

“He must be rich,” my son said. “Look at all this stuff. He’s got boats, a Bobcat, a couple motorhomes...” Afton had stayed in the car and he hadn’t even seen the backyard yet.

“Well, he’s older,” I said. “He’s had a lifetime to earn money and do stuff and accumulate things.”

We start with so little, though. My older kids at home are earning and saving, and lately a lot of our conversations are about their future homes and future needs. One of them is passionate about homesteading and self sufficiency. And the thought of learning to be self sufficient right out of high school is pretty overwhelming. I mean, I’m forty-five, and still not quite sure about what to do when someone trips the circuit breaker.

They’ve been buying some stuff for their futures, but mostly we’ve tried to teach them skills they’ll need. How to cook, how to sew, how to shoot, how to heal, how to fix, make, or grow things. Because we start with so little.

But God is gracious to give us time, because I didn’t know any of those things when I was their age. The desire to learn took root, and the skills grew out of it. It never looks like much in the beginning, but growth compounds over time and starts to build upon itself like so many branches on a tree.

God rewards us for stewarding our time, but still, in so many ways, it feels like we’re starting too late. I did not grow up knowing about poultry or gardening, and now I am learning in my forties. If I knew more earlier, this would be easier. I would be better at it by now. Our beloved rooster died last week and we’re still not sure what happened, but it definitely wasn’t expertise that killed him.

And yet the Lord is so gracious to us when we’re humble, learning and growing. He knows we’re not perfect. He knows what we had to start with. He knows the interruptions and setbacks and mistakes in the middle. And He divinely connects us with more when we need it, even when we’re starting over.

Those connections are usually through His people. Because whether it’s about growing in homesteading or wholeness or anything else, the growth we usually need is often met through our connections with others: A friend teaches us about forgiveness, an acquaintance gives us rhubarb starts. A mentor teaches us about boundaries, a ministry partner gives us raspberry cuttings. Our spouse teaches us about being gracious to ourselves, our pastor’s wife gives us strawberry plants. One neighbor prays with us over tea, and the other teaches us about raising chickens.

After a while, we have a little homestead going and a lot more wholeness happening. And we are teaching and giving to those around us, too.

But every year I’ve thought about a greenhouse. And I’ve thought, Ehh, it’ll probably never happen. Not enough space. Windows are expensive. And our priority now is just getting enough fencing around the garden bed to keep the chickens out, since the tiny velociraptors ate everything this summer that wasn’t moved to the protection of the deck.

And it’s priorities that often befuddle us the most in these crazy days. When it feels like time is short, or we’re starting over late in the game, what should we focus on? The analysis paralysis is overwhelming even in ideal circumstances, and these times are anything but ideal. We know hard times are on the horizon, and we’re just trying to prepare and live as best we can.

When Jeremiah was the prophet of Israel, God called them to do the same thing:

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

– Jeremiah 29:4-7

In so many words the Lord told them, Do not shrink back because times are hard. Lean in. Don’t be afraid to grow your family. Even if the circumstances aren’t perfect, use what you have. Bless the bread in your hands.

Invest in the land. Connect your roots deeply with the dirt and the people.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

– Jeremiah 29:11-14

The Lord never meant for us to accomplish any of it on our own, physically or emotionally. If we could do it on our own, we’d take too much credit for it. We’ve always been meant to grow forward and accomplish in community, as we touch and trade with each other.

Like our neighbor, who has two extra roosters that hatched from her chickens this summer. They were destined for culling until we texted her about ours who died.

We hadn’t planned on getting another rooster even though we really needed two for the size of our flock. And we hadn’t planned on getting another coop, even though they really needed more space.

(I know some of you practical types are thinking, Why not just get rid of some chickens? But we don’t want less chickens; we want room for more chickens. It’s sort of like “The problem isn’t too many books, the problem is not enough bookshelves”...which is also a dilemma at our house, but that’s a different newsletter.)

So here we were, grieving a rooster and getting two more, and needing a coop to put them in, because apparently adding new chickens to an existing flock is similar to that Pepsi and Mentos thing. They need time and space to grow, too, just like us.

And that’s why we were in the guy’s driveway.

We had looked at all the used coops online we could find, and there was one in particular that looked like the best shot. Pretty. Not too big, not too small, not too crazy expensive, but not cheap either. It even matched the coop we already had.

As we walked through his backyard, he said, “I didn’t quite hear the last four digits of your number, so I’m glad I found you. I had to try a few different numbers before I finally got the right one.”

I told him I was so glad he was persistent, because if it were me I might’ve thought, Umm, I don’t want to sell the coop that bad, talking to strangers is scary. But here I was doing it, just like we were old friends.

“There’s some other chicken stuff around here that you can have with it,” he said, rummaging in the grass. He pulled out a feeder, and then another one, and a couple of waterers. “There’s a heat lamp in there, I think,” gesturing toward a tote. We wiped old leaf muck out of the containers as he talked about his wife. She loved the outdoors, the chickens were her thing, the greenhouse is falling apart and I’m just going to let it collapse, he said.

The giant greenhouse, full of windows. Some were broken, but plenty were still good.

“Could we…” Be brave. He’s not scary. Ask him, I thought. “Could we salvage those windows from you?”

“Why sure! I used to shovel snow off the roof but I can’t do that anymore.” He looked around. “You see anything else for chickens around here?”

“Well, there’s all that chicken wire and hardware cloth, do you still need that?” Look at me, jabbering away.

“No, you can have that, too. Just gotta disconnect it from this post here and that post there…”

So we’re going back next week armed with fresh bread and garden gloves to retrieve the fencing and windows. Because the Lord connected us to the right guy, providing all kinds of things we did not expect, and would not have pursued or planned. Because we met a new person. Because he did not shrink back from calling a few wrong numbers and starting over again until he got the right one. Because our rooster died, and because we were imperfect, and because the Lord is constantly redeeming our mistakes as we pursue Him in learning the new things He puts before us.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I restore their fortunes:

“‘The Lord bless you, O habitation of righteousness, O holy hill!’

And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and the farmers and those who wander with their flocks. For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

– Jeremiah 31:23-25

And for the record, it’s Iree’s coop, an investment in her future. We’ve teased her that she already purchased her first house...only it’s for chickens.

Bless you, friends,

Shannon

“What course am I to take?"

"Towards danger; but not too rashly, nor too straight.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

P.S. Links for you!

• We’re starting a new book next week for Gaining Ground and it’s a perfect one for fall! Join us for The Fellowship of the Ring – we’ll read it over nine weeks (about 40 pages per week) and our discussion group is here. As a heads up, after that we’ll be doing A Christmas Carol for a few weeks followed by a short break over Christmas and New Year, and then we’ll finish the rest of The Lord of the Rings in the beginning of next year.

• A blow-the-roof-off post by Mr. Guerra that you don’t want to miss: History On Repeat: Why The Church Must Confront The State. The Church has seen this before, but we don’t have to repeat the same mistakes.

• Looking for an online site that supports your values and has lots of stuff you need? We have joined Mammoth Nation, a membership-based online shopping platform with an emphasis on American-owned businesses and products made in America. Our page is here and I'm pretty happy with our company description. 😁 You can also save 30% on membership fees by using this link. The membership pays for itself quickly because every store has significant discounts for member, and you'll get 15% off everything at Copperlight Wood through Mammoth Nation. Thanks for checking it out!

• For those of you who are letter writers (or would like to be): The J6 prisoners love mail and need to know they’re not forgotten. You can write to them here.

• What is the Church facing today? What are the Biblical reasons for being bold in these days? How do we bless people with the truth of God? This is an amazing interview with Eric Metaxas.

• Great security tips for women. I just finished reading the book she refers to in this video (The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker) and it’s now required reading for our high schoolers. But it’s definitely an “eat the meat, spit out the bones” type, so preview first before you give it to your kids.

• Know someone who deals with panic attacks? Great tip here.

• Plantain is not a weed! Know your medicines. Alaskans, this is still green for another week or two here and you should find some and stick it in your freezer. Here’s the video on how I used it to heal my hand after almost breaking it last winter. I was able to sign books the next day.

• Read the US Constitution lately? It’s all here, complete, amendments and everything, for those of you who prefer audio. Listen in your car, or while doing the dishes, no excuses – we need to know this, because when we don’t, many of our elected officials have no incentive to abide by it and our kids will live with the consequences.

• Want all the extra content I write, exclusive for premium subscribers? There is now a free trial option so you can check it out and see if it’s up your alley. There’s a ton of content in there, including two of my books on audio. AND if you want the content but times are tight (because ohmygosh, they are) please let me know and I will gift it to you at no charge, because the more we grow in wholeness, the more we create a Kingdom culture…and the more people will see Jesus. 🙌🏻Your support of this ministry helps it keep going. Thank you so much.