No.793: Last Week at the Farmhouse // The Beauty of Hope

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There’s something about the beginning of a new year that steers us toward the virtue of hope, don’t you think?  New calendars, fresh resolutions, and a garden resting before an abundant growing season all lend themselves to this feeling of infinite possibility.  Sadly, many of us also quickly fall to despair as sickness, long forgotten goals and just the drudgery of everyday life appear.  Life is messy – the world is messy! – and things quickly don’t go to plan.

This reminds me of one of my favorite stories in the Bible, a short little passage from the Gospel of Matthew:

He got into a boat and his disciples followed him.  Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep.  They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us!  We are perishing!”  He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”  Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm.  The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?” – Matthew 8:23-27

I read this passage over and over because oh man!  I am the disciple in that boat, sloshing around and unable to get my bearings.  I’m focused on the storm and those waves hitting one after another.  I’m coming up with Plans A, B & C…and forgetting about the One who is in the storm with me.  Thankfully, His one simple answer rights me back to center, “Why are you afraid?”  And once again, I’m rooted in the hope that Our Lord has overcome all things and His love conquers all darkness and despair.  Where hope leads, peace follows, even in the midst of the storm.

Pope St. John Paul II once implored, “I plead with you. Never ever give up on hope. Never doubt, never tire, and never be discouraged. Be not afraid! There is no evil to be faced that Christ does not face with us. There is no enemy that Christ has not already conquered. There is no cross to bear that Christ has not already carried for us and does not bear with us now. Be not afraid!”  What a statement.  May I never forget the beauty of hope.

Hoping to document the abundance around me all year long!

Around here, abundance looks like…

+ keeping most of the decorations up until Epiphany.  We fully embraced Christmastide this year!

+ a new way to budget using this printable from The Busy Budgeter.  My husband and I changed the top categories to better fit our needs and are excited to see if we can “game-ify” our expenditures.  Really hoping to find a few extra pennies to put toward our financial goals.

+ jumping in with the Three Rivers Homestead pantry challenge.  I watched the video on 12/30 (so very little prep time before starting on 1/1!) but I’m going to do my best regardless.  My goal is to eat down our chicken freezer as well as a lot of the produce I preserved this summer.  We’ll buy dairy products and fresh fruit at the store, but will try to make do with what we have in the pantry.

+ unsubscribing from many promotional emails.  Less inbox clutter and more peace in staying the frugal course.

+ writing thank-you notes with greeting cards I already owned.  (They were unsold inventory from the BWF Shop days!)  I still love the illustrations and am happy to finally have a reason to get them out of my house.

+ using old Advent candles for some angelic light while I wash dishes.

+ constructing a little junk journal for January.  I used Christmas money to buy a few scrapbook papers and the rest of the materials were things I already had at home.  Can’t wait to fill it with memories this month.

+ selling nine unneeded items: three wall hooks, four books, a boys dress shirt and a small jewelry dish.  After shipping and fees, I made $66.33!

Reading //

• Planting Our Flag in the Real World: Parents Take the Postman Pledge from Front Porch Republic // One group’s endeavor to pull back on the lure of technology.  Where we’re not at the point where we want to remove all smartphones from our home, I did like that the pledge mentions the action is “an attempt to recover goods that can be so easily ignored, forgotten, or lost.”  Beautiful and doable even with a more moderate approach.  Good advice from the interview:

Q: How can we work against the grain of our culture and many of our communities on this issue, without adding to the clamor and division?
A: I think that the answer to this is rather simple. Be hospitable. Precisely because your family is working on habits of attention and presence, exercise them by welcoming people into your home. Do real things together. Celebrate. Take delight in the world—together. Don’t feel compelled to broadcast your views about the dangers of technology. Let your life speak, but be prepared to give an account of why you’re living the way you are. And do all of this in a spirit of humility—knowing that we are all susceptible to the pull of the screen and a myriad of distractions—and do it with gratitude for the good world we have been given by a God who is goodness and love itself.

• Reflecting upon the quiet heroism of winter mornings from Aleteia // “All around me, if I stop to pay attention, I notice my family, friends, and neighbors making daily sacrifices, great and small, for the sake of those they love.”
• two new-to-me reference books for the homesteading shelf: The Doable Off-Grid Homestead and Just in Case: How to Be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Happens

Watching/Listening //

• Are Smartphones Making Us Modern Gnostics? from The Commonplace // Very thought provoking.
• Floriani Sacred Music Chant School // Starting at lesson one – I learned how to chant Ave Maris Stella!

Loving //

• my 2023 favorite Christmas carol, Adeste Fideles, in all its forms!
• my new piano book
• a new notebook to be used as a commonplace/note-taking book for my 2024 Mother Academia work (I’m also using these circle stickers to differentiate what quotes come from where)