Walking Hand in Hand with My Family

Homesteading for Beginners
by Erin Harrison13 wonderful years ago, I married my soul mate, the man I prayed for. Since then, we have been so very blessed with 5 beautiful children. We had a sincere desire to serve the Lord, raise godly children, and be some-what self sufficient. When I first married, I could only make macaroni and cheese out of a box, spaghettios out of a can, and hamburger helper. I knew nothing about animals, or healthy eating, or even how to be a mother. I knew that I always wanted to be like Laura Ingalls on the prairie but didn’t know where to start. I had my first baby boy and I wore shorts and tank tops. I had short hair and I was a sassy wife.My journey began as I read a book about being created to be His Helpmeet. I wanted to be in the will of God and be a help meet to my wonderful husband. I started being sweeter; I started spending time with my grandmother and gleaning from her old fashioned ways. She taught me how to bake bread and how to cook roasts in my oven. I was so excited to try new things as she would teach. Eventually, I ended up moving to the country with our family of three children under 3 years old. My husband renovated an old farm house and we were hoping to get some chickens to raise for eggs. What I was really hoping for was a milk cow now that we had a barn. I knew nothing about chickens or even how to buy them. So, I found a nearby Amish community and started trying to learn from them. They really had a great setup of the sort of life I always wanted. I learned how to sew clothing, butcher animals, milk a cow, can meat, and much much more. I actually felt like I was one of them.

Now, we are doing all of these things and trying to teach others through our Homesteading for Beginners DVDs. These skills have been handed down for many generations and have almost died out completely in our present culture. Moms are out working as well as the Dads while the day care centers are raising their children until the public educators take over. Kids are not learning to work hard with their parents. They are instead more concerned with fads and fashions and friends. The three Fs. Kids really thrive when given a purpose and a desire to serve others before their selves. People seem to be caught up in the money making rat race and loose the most precious gifts of all–their children. Since we started distributing our Homesteading for Beginners DVD series worldwide, we have met many hungry moms and dads that want the same life for their kids-a slower paced, back to basics lifestyle.

We get hundreds of letters from families that have been touched by the DVD series. They are so thankful to see family life in action on the homestead. It is so encouraging to folks who do not even know where to start. Who would have thought that ordinary city-gone-country folks as ourselves could be used to merge the present with the old fashioned ways of yesteryear. Instead of running to the grocery stores, parents are walking hand in hand with their precious children out to the barn to gather their own fresh eggs, milk their own family cow, and canning up all the produce in their gardens. All they needed was a little encouragement.

This is my family, my reason to live. I am so very blessed to have the opportunity to both work with my husband and children to minister to others. I pray that we have been a help to your family while you begin your journey toward homesteading.


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4 thoughts on “Walking Hand in Hand with My Family”

  1. I am so happy to discover your blog!
    I am a young mother of 3 boys under 5 years old, I homeschool, and love The Lord!
    But I’m not yet a homesteader, and I too aspire to live like Laura Ingalls some day.
    My husband and I would love to get a few chickens and start a vegetable garden soon, and I can tell we will find some good tips on this blog! We live in town, but we have a good sized backyard…just big enough for a mini-homestead. : )
    Your family photo is adorable too! I love how you are all dressed old-fashioned! You are truly inspiring, and I thank you for sharing your knowledge with others!

    1. Thank you both for your comments, it really encourages me to write more on my blog. I pray you will get your little homestead going, it is such a joy and fun thing to teach your children! That is very exciting that you may be able to get a little backyard converted to a mini homestead:)

  2. “I knew that I always wanted to be like Laura Ingalls on the prairie but didn’t know where to start.”
    Words that could have come from my own mouth. As a young adult, your blog gives me so much hope for the future. God willing, I hope to one day live a life like yours, closer to the land, and filled with family and community – all the things God intended for us and yet seem so hard to find in this day and age. Thank you for the inspiration, from a new reader. 🙂

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