Vaughnshire Farm

Miss. Nathania Tyler has been helping us out around here the past few weekends…amazing how having a capable, responsible 19 year old around immediately makes life a bit easier!  She was a wonderful help to me and was always on top of things!  She even helped us milk our cow which was such a blessing!  Not many young ladies know how to do that!  We were quite impressed with her and are so thankful for the time she spent in our home as my helper!

Many thanks to the Tyler family as well!  They were represented well in Nathania’s hard work and servant heart. 

I have a couple of pictures I will post as soon as I get them downloaded.

Part of the Schultz family came for a brief visit to pick up our New Zealand visitors as they were to off to Alabama for a short time before heading back home soon. 

We met brother and sister; Trey and Lindsay, part of the siblings of the Schultz family, and found our brief moment of visiting delightful as we talked a bit over lunch and took them on a tour of the farm. 

It is always refreshing to meet likeminded Christian families who have similar goals and visions for their family and hopefully we can be an encouragement to those who are seeking a more sustainable lifestyle. 

We indeed were very blessed to have two young ladies come and stay with us all the way from New Zealand.  They have been in the states for a brief couple of months helping Nancy Campbell over at Above Rubies and finished out their stay here in Middle Tennessee here at Vaughnshire. 

What a blessing it is to have two beautiful, servant hearted ladies serve us in our home!  Much appreciation goes out to their parents!  We hope to meet you all one day! 

Allison and Felicity quickly dove into all the work awaiting around here with joy.  They cooked meals, cleaned up, did laundry, played with children, worked in the garden even, took the babies on walks while I homeschooled the older ones, and kept the house running when I was unavailable — they were a huge help to me!  We cooked them some traditional American food:  meatloaf, mashed potatoes, cornbread, peach cobbler and the like.  We even visited our Amish grocery market which they thought was very interesting.  We learned many things about New Zealand and I bet my children asked a thousand questions — I know we wore them out! 

Thanks Ladies for all you did!  Hope to visit you soon in New Zealand! 

We purposed on our recent trip to purchase as much “local” food as possible and steer away from the massive corporate every-thing-tastes-the-same-no-matter-what-city food establishments.  On our 2,700 mile round trip we found many wonderful local places from which we were able to enjoy good food and local culture which made the trip much more enjoyable, not to mention educational,  than if we were to eat at all the familiar chain restaurants. 

Since we avoided all fast food, I did buy food from the grocery store for many of our breakfast and lunch meals.  It was not only cheaper, but obviously a whole lot healthier and helped maintain some sort of consistency with the children.  Their diet wasn’t all of the sudden upset and they were not indulged with the latest, “greatest” fast foods. 

Here are some highlights from our little experiment:

While some restaurants were of no concern, several had me wondering.  Kenya’s was just such a place.  It was the only thing opened in a small town of 1,000 people.  We pulled up to check the menu and found they had hamburgers, BLT’s and grilled cheese sandwiches that would do for us.  The scantily clad woman with the 5 sizes too small Hooter’s shirt was nice enough, however, the aesthetics of the place quickly changed when a small child runs through the kitchen following the wholesome looking grandma and grandpa, who were working in the back.  Grandma checks on us making sure we have everything.  It was obviously a family run business that served great sandwiches even if it did look a bit concerning at first. 

Susie’s Kountry Kitchen in small town Glenwood, Arkansas, proved to be a typical everyone-knows-everyone happening place.   Not only does Susie serve up some old fashion food, her restaurant is decorated with wall to wall, for sale, art from local artists.  As usual, when we enter a place, all eyes turn our way to count the number of little ones tagging along.  One of the local artists came over to us and said he and his wife raised 6 children and couldn’t say enough about what a blessing they are to him today.  This artsy fellow gave us two of his drawings.  Never mind, we would have never bought a picture of Gandalf, we accepted his gracious gift and marveled at his talent. 

However, our biggest, most favored find of the entire trip was the small Lake Shore Cafe.  On one side of the cafe spread a wide open cotton field and on the other side of the cafe, the mighty Mississippi river.  It was a great little place!  

We had the best southern food we have ever tasted: Pink-eye peas, creamed spinach, catfish, ribs, fried green tomatoes, corn bread, sweet potato fries, sweet tea and for dessert, let’s not forget the most wonderful…..bread pudding with whisky sauce.  It was absolutely amazing! 

When we break away from the wheel of “the way things are”; meaning eating fast food when you travel because it is easy, you find a world of culture and experience awaits.  One glaring fault of the mass produced food chains is that they obliterate any sense of local culture specific to that community.  One McDonalds in Maine is the same as the McDonalds in Texas.  Likewise the chain duplicates itself so every city looks and tastes the same.  The curse of modern industrialism: obliteration of unique culture. 

We found that the small towns in Arkansas, those that have managed to stay afloat amidst mass corporatization, had a wealth of educational experience.  We saw local communities that had loads of pecan trees, cotton fields, hardwoods, with all sorts of agricultural potential, however just minutes down the road the landscape was polluted with a massive, smoking industrial factory.  Granted, unfortunately we rely on the factories as Americans, however, I couldn’t help but wonder how healthy our communities would be if we returned to the idea of local culture and local economy over corporate industrialism. 

We saw similar landscapes in Texas.  Lots of Lone Star State pride, art and culture, but heading into the big metroplex chaos, the people, landscape and businesses became a mush pot of chaotic, busy industrialism that leaves that slower paced community way behind in the exhaust fumes.  Even the church is affected by this mass corporatization, fast-paced, buzz lifestyle.  We saw churches touting, “30 Minute Worship Services here!” and you-pick type church services, “Traditional Services at 9:45am” and “Contemporary Services at 11:15″.  

Even with all the experiences on our trip, we were overjoyed to return home having learned a great deal from our trip.  There is something so incredibly refreshing about being able to see far and wide and relish God’s absolutely beautiful creation and enjoy the peace and serenity that simplicity offers.   To put it simply, “There is absolutely no place like home!”  

If you haven’t heard, there is a growing movement of people moving back to sustainable living –what some consider to be an old-fashion idea that “progress” has freed us from.

This is not the organic movement, although sustainable agriculture and gardening can be organic. It is more than that!

The term “organic” has been abused and misused to the point where you no longer can trust a company that says its food is organic as being something that is truly good.   Many of the big name organic companies are deceiving customers into thinking their product is something it is not.  Most of the mainstream organic companies have sold out to the big corporate boys and are nothing but expensive agri-business goods that may or may not even be truly organic and certainly do nothing for sustainable agriculture, the environment or local economies.

A while back, I had an interesting phone conversation with a customer service representative from the well known organic company, Cascadian Farm.  I reached a woman with a thick accent probably sitting in a cubical in India.  I was calling about a bag of organic broccoli that I had purchased from a store in Tennessee.  The package had a nice Washington farm picture with a invitation, “If you have any questions or comments, call us… or come by and see the farm.”  Nice, friendly, home-townish!  The farm was supposedly located in Washington’s fertile valley and had been around for years.  However, the confusion came when I found in small, inconspicuous, black lettering on the back of the package, “product of china” ???

Supposedly from an all-American farm, however, this organic company, like many others has put up a deceiving facade. What lies beneath the fake farm picture is a well-known organic named company run by corporate agri-business giants.  I informed the customer service lady that I was sorely disappointed in the product that I had purchased because it was the biggest, misleading piece of advertising fraud that I had ever seen.

She defended the company by saying that because of lack of fertile growing areas, they are forced to go outside the U.S. to the global market to uphold the high standard of quality organic foods that they sell!  The broccoli as well as other food products are often shipped in from global markets all around the world, yet she assured me that they pass strict organic standards even if they are shipping in broccoli from China!

Our globalized food economy is a big ugly giant that seems impossible to conquer, however, on the horizon greater interests are being heightened of the dangers of this globalized food economy.  More families are researching better ways to gather their food.  The concerns aren’t just economic, but are also for health.  We have seen over the last year, recall after recall on a variety of different foods.  Most recently, news on meat recalls has been hitting the press over the last couple of weeks.  One can just imagine the impact of how incredibly vulnerable we immediately become when we consent to become dependent on consuming food from nations like China.

A growing amount of people are concerned and are changing their buying habits to support local markets. CSA’s (community supported agriculture) are growing and thriving as families move to purchasing their produce from local farmers. Many alternatives are springing up: local family farms with You-Pick services or CSA services or direct produce sales as well as farmer’s markets.  Many local supermarkets are even making efforts to carry locally grown food.  As well, a growing few are becoming aware of the old fashion idea of fresh milk and dairy products.  Dairy co-ops and cow shares are springing up in response to this desire to return to real food and sustainable food sources.  Still other families are simply choosing to grow their own foods and move towards a more sustainable way of life.  A way of life that was once common place, but now is a rarity.

As the big industrial food conglomerates continue to focus on money, all the while destroying the food and land with their un-sustainable industrialism, more people are becoming aware, then concerned and finally purposefully transitioning their food purchasing choices.  It isn’t as easy as the 24-hour-grab-and-go supermarket.  It takes work and effort, but the rewards are far reaching and widespread. 

I was wondering “out-loud” in the post on The Monstrous Regiment of Women what John Knox would think about Hillary and the political women of today.  Little did I know that the Gunn’s had already asked this question in their interviews for the film.  I was thrilled when Emily posted this link in a comment to my previous post.

If you have not read John Knox’s book, “The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women 1558” it is a foundational treatise on the subject of women in civil leadership and well worth the read.  With the coming election potentially bringing this issue to the national stage it is important that Christians understand what the Bible says about this topic.  The challenge in such an emotional topic as this, is to remember that the Bible is the final rule for every decision a Christian makes.  We are not to rely on our feelings, emotions, or even our intellect unless they are conformed to the written word of God.

Our friends over at Franklin Springs have been busy this summer and we have had a hard time keeping up with their pace!  We finally shared our review of the great new movie on Stonewall Jackson - Still Standing. 

What we did not do is share with you about their other project that recently wrapped up.  Inherit The Land is a great new film with a design to help cast a vision for families who are considering or already making a move towards an agrarian life.  We were both honored and blessed to contribute a small part to this work and are excited about it being a source of encouragement for others.

In addition to seeing Vaughnshire, you will be able to hear the stories of great Christian families like the Wilson’s from Full Quiver Farm located in Virginia and the Bradrick Family from the opposite coast in Washington state.

These Pioneer families along with a host of others are featured in the agrarian discussion.  Inherit The Land, will give you a glimpse into the lives of families who are working together on a farm, or tending a garden in their back yard.  Some families do it to provide healthy food for their family and others to do it to reclaim their lives from the fast pace industrial society that robs their time, and still others do it to create a way of life they can pass on for generations to come.

Regardless of the reasons, all of them seem to enjoy the life God has given them and are excited to share with the viewer the testimony that God has created in their family.

As always, with Franklin Springs films, you can’t go wrong with adding this one to the family library.  Once again, the Vaughnshire review board, give a quiverfull of thumbs up for, Inherit The Land.  Check out the the trailer and order your copy here.

Several weeks ago, we had a wonderful evening of fellowship with the Carpenter Family and author R. J. Williams Jr. and his wife.  Mr. Williams wrote the book, Stonewall Jackson: The Black Man’s Friend, from which Franklin Spring’s new movie, Still Standing - The Stonewall Jackson Story was inspired.

The new DVD from Franklin Springs Family Media just released today and we have been negligent, due to our travels, getting this review out.  This is yet another excellent film from Franklin Springs that not only excels in masterful workmanship and beauty, but completely captures the Biblical worldview, the gentle heart, and solid character of Stonewall Jackson during a pivotal time in our nation’s history.  We especially enjoyed the information presented about Stonewall Jackson’s black Sunday school class in which he labored diligently to share the love of Christ with his black brothers and sisters.  It is a fascinating and inspiring story that still lives on today.

The film is beautiful.  We greatly enjoyed the rich cinematography which is remarkably more vivid and complex with many beautiful intricacies that lent further richness to the well-told storyline.

As a home educating family whose children thrive on any bits and pieces of information surrounding the Great War and those involved in it, I appreciate such quality and accuracy in this historical biography of Jackson.  Still Standing highlights a man whose intense love for the Lord, unshakable courage in the face of adversity and stalwart faith in the Almighty still impacts my family today in the year 2007.

Our family will be using the film as an important homeschool tool this Fall.  There is a wealth of historically accurate information from a Biblical worldview that will be used to build the academic knowledge of our children.  More importantly, this film provides yet another reminder of the importance of studying Godly men from the past.  The preparation of Godly men to lead the cultural reformation our nation needs, must include an understanding of our nation’s history.  The character of men like Stonewall is the character of the men that move nations.

Although the film itself did not attempt to tackle the moral difficulties of the time period, it does fully examine the life of a great general who himself wrestled with those issues.  The film discusses some little known facts about a man our politically correct institutions have ignored for far too long.  As such the ”Vaughnshire Review Board”…that is to say dad and mom along with all the children, gave it a quiverfull thumbs up.

We will also be getting the book, Stonewall Jackson: The Black Man’s Friend by R.J. Williams which the movie Still Standing was inspired from.

Checkout the trailer and order a copy for your family at Franklin Springs today.