Homemade yogurt isn’t just about saving money—it’s about freshness, control, and nutrition. When you make it yourself:
Cost savings: A single gallon of milk can yield 8 cups of yogurt for less than store-bought tubs.
Customization: You choose the milk type (whole, skim, goat, raw, organic, etc.), thickness (Greek-style or regular), and flavors.
Fewer additives: No thickeners, stabilizers, or hidden sugars—just milk and live cultures.
Sustainability: Making yogurt at home cuts down on packaging waste.
How Yogurt Works: The Science Behind It
Yogurt is created by fermenting milk with beneficial bacteria. The two classic starter strains are:
Lactobacillus bulgaricus
Streptococcus thermophilus
Together, they convert lactose (milk sugar) into lactic acid. This acid lowers the pH, thickening the milk proteins and giving yogurt its tangy flavor. Many store-bought starters also include additional strains like Lactobacillus acidophilus or Bifidobacterium lactis, which may aid digestion.
The fermentation process not only preserves milk but also boosts probiotic content, supporting gut health.
Ingredients
1 quart (4 cups) milk – whole milk makes creamier yogurt, but any type works
2 tablespoons plain yogurt with live, active cultures (store-bought or from a previous batch)
Equipment
Saucepan
Thermometer (optional but helpful)
Whisk
Clean glass jar or container with lid
Towel or blanket for insulation
Step-by-Step Instructions
Heat the milk Pour milk into a saucepan and gently heat to 180°F (82°C). This denatures proteins so the yogurt sets thicker.
Cool the milk Remove from heat and let it cool to 110°F–115°F (43–46°C). This is the ideal range for the cultures.
Add starter Whisk 2 tablespoons of yogurt into a small bowl with a bit of the cooled milk. Then stir this mixture back into the pot.
Incubate Pour into a clean jar, cover, and keep warm (around 110°F) for 6–12 hours.
For thinner, milder yogurt: check at 6 hours.
For thicker, tangier yogurt: let it go longer. You can wrap the jar in a towel, place it in an oven with the light on, use an Instant Pot’s yogurt setting, or a dehydrator set to 110°F.
Chill and enjoy Once it’s set, refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The yogurt will thicken further as it cools.
Variations
Greek Yogurt: Strain finished yogurt through a cheesecloth or coffee filter for 2–4 hours to remove whey.
Flavored Yogurt: Stir in honey, fruit purée, vanilla, or jam just before eating.
Storage
Homemade yogurt keeps for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Save 2–3 tablespoons from each batch to use as the starter for the next one.
If you would like a video on the process, check out this one on our YouTube channel!
Like maybe some of you, I used to enjoy meandering down the candle aisle in Walmart and smelling every one that sounded interesting. And I’d check every single bottle of soap or shampoo to make sure I bought the one I liked the best.
Now, I find myself preferring, by far, natural scents over commercial ones. In fact, just one sniff of one candle or bottle of soap is often enough to bring on a headache.
Add to that kids who break out from harsh chemicals in most laundry detergents, and we aren’t the easiest people to buy laundry soap for.
So, the other day, I thought, why buy it?
I started checking and soon found a recipe for laundry detergent powder with only 4 clean natural ingredients, one of them being fragrance of my choice. It sounded great to me and we even had most of the ingredients on hand.
Borax for odor control, stain removal, and general whitening. I used 20 Mule Team brand.
Fels-Naptha for cleaning and stain removal. I used Purex brand
Washing Soda for more cleaning power and odor control. I used Arm and Hammer brand.
Essential Oils for a great natural smell. I used one of Plant Therapy laundry blends.
I didn’t have Borax or Washing soda, but a quick trip to our little local store provided Borax and we found a way to make our own Washing soda.
It turns out, if you put regular baking soda on a cookie sheet in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour, you have Washing Soda!
Homemade Laundry Detergent
1 cup Borax Powder
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Fels-Naptha, grated (about 1 bar)
15-20 drops of essential oil, your choice
If you have Washing Soda, put it and the Borax in a jar or container. You will want to use a mask or something to cover your face to keep you from breathing in the fine powders. If you don’t have Washing Soda, you can make your own by putting a cup of baking soda on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for an hour. This changes the chemical formula and makes Washing Soda.
Take the bar of Fels-Naptha and grate it. You can use the fine side of a cheese grater or your food processor shredder disc on the small side. Again, the powder is very fine and not something you want to breathe so wear something over your mouth and nose. Let it settle before you open the food processor.
Put all three dry ingredients in a container or jar. I used a jar so I could just put a lid on and shake it to mix it.
Let the mixture settle and then open and add 15-20 drops of essential oils for scent.
Shake to mix in the oils and let sit overnight.
Use 2 tablespoons for a regular load and 3 tablespoons for a heavy load.
I also have a video showing the process on YouTube at Bringing Life Homestead.
Some of y’all might disagree, but nothing tastes quite like fried bluegill that you caught yourself. Especially when it’s pan fried so nicely and combined with foraged Train Wrecker mushrooms and sautéed green beans.
Tim brought in most of the fish, but Micah managed to land one too.
I cleaned them the night we caught them while Tim made the marinade for them.
Once all 10 were ready to go, Tim placed them in the marinade and we put them in the fridge overnight.
Then, the next afternoon I went looking for mushrooms. We had seen a cluster of them, so I knew where to go.
Train Wreckers, or Neolentinus lepideus, earned the name by their ability to grow on highly treated railroad ties. If they’re ignored, the tie would eventually disintegrate and could cause a train wreck. Thankfully for us, these mushrooms were growing on a pine root which meant they were safe to eat.
They do have some look-alikes, some of which are poisonous, so a positive ID is essential before they go in the skillet.
Fresh green beans were in the fridge just waiting to be used. And so the meal came together.
The results were delicious and filling. We’re already planning our next fish meal. 😊
You’ve probably seen echinacea purpurea before—even if you didn’t realize it. With its drooping purple petals and bristly orange center, it looks like a daisy that tried hairspray. But don’t let the frilly look fool you—this plant has earned its place in herbal medicine cabinets for centuries. And like a lot of herbs, the more I learn about it, the more I find myself marveling at how God packed so much usefulness into a wildflower.
I’ve been looking into echinacea more lately—what it does, how it works, and why people use it—and I thought I’d share some of what I found in case you’re curious too.
What Is Echinacea Purpurea?
Echinacea is a native North American plant, often called “purple coneflower.” The purpurea species is the one most commonly used for medicinal purposes, though there are a few other types as well. It’s been used traditionally by Indigenous peoples and adopted into folk remedies for everything from infections to snake bites.
What Is It Used For?
The most common reason people reach for echinacea is to support the immune system—especially when cold or flu season hits. But its uses go way further than that. Here’s a quick list of what echinacea is said to help with:
Immune support: May shorten the duration and lessen the severity of colds.
Anti-inflammatory: Can reduce swelling and irritation, helpful for sore throats or skin issues.
Wound healing: Used in salves or teas for cuts, burns, or skin infections.
Antibacterial/antiviral: Traditionally used for bacterial infections and to support the body during illness. It works better in larger doses, maybe 3x what you would normally use of dried herbs.
Venomous Bites: Stops the venom from snake or spider bites and helps the body heal.
How Is It Taken?
Echinacea is often taken as a tea, tincture, or capsule. Some folks also use it topically (like in a salve or poultice). Most herbalists recommend using it at the first sign of illness—not as a long-term supplement. That’s because it works best to ‘kick-start’ your immune system when it’s under attack. Long-term use might reduce its effectiveness and may even overstimulate your immune system if taken constantly Think of it like a herbal first responder: ready when needed, but not meant to be on duty 24/7.
A Few Notes to Keep in Mind
Not recommended for people with autoimmune disorders unless you’ve done your research or talked to an herbalist. Echinacea stimulates the immune system which might not be something you want to do in this instance.
Some people may be allergic—especially if they’re sensitive to plants in the daisy family.
Pregnant or nursing? Best to double-check safety guidelines before using it. Though it is generally considered safe, doing your own research to see if something is right for you is always a good idea.
Final Thoughts
Echinacea isn’t magic. But it is a great example of how God designed plants with more than beauty in mind. I like knowing there are things growing in the world—and in some gardens—that can help strengthen the body instead of just masking symptoms. Even if I’m not using echinacea all the time, it’s one of those herbs I like having on hand. Kind of like that friend who shows up with chicken soup when you’re sick—only this one grows from seed and doesn’t need a nap afterward.
When you aim for a gold rush but come up with a souvenir nugget.
Now, before you go scrambling to find your pickaxe and gold pan, the elusive nuggets I’ll be talking about here are potatoes.
This year, we tried a new method of growing potatoes. Well, new to us. We had seen multiple places on YouTube and other places where people used this idea with seemingly great results. So, since our family can go through 5 pounds of potatoes in one meal, we decided to give it a go.
Step 1: buy seed potatoes.
It seemed easy enough. We got Yukon Gold, as those are Tim’s favorite. Not that I have a problem with them, but with living in Idaho as a teenager, I had gotten used to Idaho® Russets and never really branched out much.
Step 2: get a barrel.
We found what looked to be the perfect barrel. It was sturdy, bright blue plastic, with a wide mouth, a drainage hole, and it could hold 50 gallons. Sounded like a great size for an epic potato harvest.
Step 3: plant seed pieces.
We cut the potatoes in pieces with healthy eyes on them and buried them waaaay at the bottom of the barrel.
Step 4: wait.
The waiting was probably easier than it might of been with everything else we had going on this spring, but that didn’t dampen the excitement when we saw the first green shoots sticking up through the dirt.
Now, up to this point, we had done close to everything right. But, unfortunately for us and our potato harvest, there were a lot of things we didn’t know.
Yukon Golds are determinate potatoes. They only produce one round of potatoes and won’t produce more if you keep hilling them higher.
Potatoes need lots of drainage to keep the moisture from getting too high and rotting the potatoes. Apparently the one drainage hole wasn’t enough to handle all the rain we got this spring and early summer.
Potatoes need light fluffy soil and all we have here is clay and more clay.
Mixing half-composted wood shavings into the dirt to break up the clay isn’t a good idea, as it leaches the nitrogen from the soil.
There’s probably more that we just don’t realize we don’t know.
To make matters worse, now that it’s all said and done, the potatoes grew beautifully.
This was how they looked when the barrel was about half full. We thought for sure they were doing great.
The flowers came on nicely and we even had several ladybug larvae to keep the aphids off.
They look sad here, but this was not too long before we dumped the barrel. Harvest is supposed to wait until the stems have all died so we were excited to see what they had done.
How much did we harvest, you may ask? One potato. One little round nugget slightly bigger than a golf ball. And a snail shell. Kaitlynn found a perfect snail shell almost as big as the potato. Oh, and one enormous nightcrawler. At least something liked the moisture. 🙂
If only they had the decency to shrivel up right at the beginning, so we could have known something was wrong right off. Instead, they stayed green and healthy-looking the whole time while producing nothing.
But, in all actuality, I think learning the lesson of how not to grow potatoes will stick with us longer this way. So, you win some, you lose some, but what counts is that you learn some and keep going.
If there is one thing about warm weather that I dislike and makes me start itching for the cold, it’s mosquitoes. With a pond nearby, a stream on the property, and a wetland down the road, we can get more mosquitoes than you can shake a stick at. Or your hand.
After our flood earlier this year, we had clouds of biting pests so thick that someone actually put their vehicle into the ditch trying to swat them out of their face.
Needless to say, bug repellent became a top priority. No one enjoyed being a buffet for bugs while feeding the dog or working in the garden or checking the mail.
So I did what I do. I started researching and experimenting. I found the essential oils that are supposed to repel mosquitoes and went to work. I diluted them with carrier oils and water and added some vanilla to emulsify them or help them all mix together. Then we sprayed it on and ventured into the fray.
A vicious fight ensued in which we came out the losers. Maybe even sore losers. We retreated indoors to apply lavender to our wounds and discuss strategies.
Now, if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s coming up with ideas. I don’t guarantee them all as good ideas, but they are ideas, nonetheless. So, a few days later, after the itching calmed down some, I tried again.
This time I took three of the essential oils most known for repelling mosquitoes, mixed them with non-scented lotion, and applied the concoction liberally. The kids and I noticed a definite difference. We could now boldly leave the house and work outside while the mosquitoes kept a respectful distance of 6 inches or so. This blissful triumph lasted about 15 minutes. Once the lotion was all absorbed, we were right back to square 1.
So far, it was Mosquitoes 2; Rachel 0.
Then, to add insult to insect injury, Tim noticed a definite difference, too. Everywhere he used the anti-bug lotion, he had broken out in a rash. Apparently, he can’t handle essential oils on his skin unless they are extremely diluted. This brought the score to a lovely Mosquitoes 2; Rachel -1.
That put an effective stop to my experiments with bug repellent for a while. And thankfully, the majority of the flying hordes moved off or disappeared, making life much more manageable.
But then, Tim started taking walks almost every morning and night. He’s been given permission to even do some off-road exploring in the wetland, which opened up a slew of new opportunities for him and his camera. This brought insect repellent right back to the forefront though, since he and sometimes the kids were tramping through brush and weeds. So something had to be done for the bugs.
I tiptoed back to my research, unsure if I could find anything that would help without causing side effects. Finally, I found a recipe that looked promising. It called for beef tallow as the main part of the base since that stays on the skin longer than lotion or water. It also didn’t rely on just essential oils for its potency.
No Thyme For Bugs Cream
2 T Tallow
1 t Beeswax
1 T Vinegar (White or ACV)
1 T Thyme Tea*
10-15 Drops Lavender Essential Oil
1/4 t Ground Clove
Melt the tallow and beeswax in a double boiler or heat-safe bowl over simmering water. Once it is all melted, remove from heat and let cool 2-3 minutes.
Stir in remaining ingredients and pour into a jar or sealable container.
Shelf life at room temperature should be 6-9 months.
*To make the thyme tea, put 1 t of dried thyme in 1 c of boiling water, and let steep at least 5 minutes. The longer it steeps, the more potent the tea.
Now, I know I said Tim cannot have essential oils on his skin, but that does not apply to lavender, which is how it made it into this recipe. If you know you’re sensitive to oils, feel free to test this on just a small patch of skin to see if it’s safe for you.
I’m sure there will be more posts in the future about the efficacy of this anti-bug cream and any tweaks I make. But, I’d love to hear what worked for you and, as always, thanks for stopping by.
I had big dreams for this year’s garden. Rows of thriving vegetables, plenty to can and freeze, a handful of Instagram-worthy harvest baskets, and maybe even one of those adorable pictures of a toddler holding a sunflower twice their height.
Instead, I have crabgrass that’s warring with horseweed over prime acreage, tomatoes that can’t decide if they’re dying or just being dramatic, and pea plants that look like they got in a fight with a thunderstorm.
Things started off so well. Tim and I were finally going to be able to work on the garden every day without spending 20 minutes loading kids in the van for a 7 minute drive. We had planned the work in detail and were all set to work the plan.
And the plan took off beautifully. We got our seeds, starter trays, and starter soil mix ordered in plenty of time, and were ready to go. In one day, we planted 80 tomato seeds and when it came time for the first transplant, a whopping 75 tomato starts were healthy enough to move into something bigger.
Things were looking so hopeful. We had a plant shelf set up with heat mats and grow lights and our peppers, tomatoes, and basil seemed to be taking off.
That’s when things started to change. First it was too much water so I cut it back. Then things started wilting from drying out. To start hardening the stems off, I would carry all the trays outside to sit on the deck. Then one of my helpers tripped on the stairs and spilled a tray of tomatoes and the cat dug up our starter sweet potato.
Meanwhile, out in the garden, radishes, turnips, and beets were popping up like weeds. That alone was enough to keep us going. If we could just get these plants in the ground, surely that would fix a lot of the problems.
Only nature had other plans. Rain set in like you wouldn’t believe, and before we knew it, the river had moved from a quarter of a mile away into our backyard. A new record for flood levels here. We literally had ducks swimming in our garden. Only they were wild ones, not ours.
Finally, everything dried out enough to put plants in the ground outside. Our dirt here is terrible with high clay content, but we mixed in fertilizer and shredded cardboard. Things were looking hopeful.
Sadly, there weren’t 75 tomato plants to put outside by that point, but we planted what we had. Over the next several days, we planted 3 kinds of tomatoes and 5 kinds of peppers. We also slowly gave up on any kind of harvest from our beets, radishes, and turnips. I think the heat was too much for them this year.
The cucumbers seem to be thriving, but I haven’t even planted beans yet, and if weeds could run, I’d probably see some doing victory laps around the garden. It’s been humbling, honestly — all the things that didn’t go according to plan. The truth is…this isn’t the garden I imagined. But maybe that’s okay.
Some things are growing. Some things are struggling. And so am I. At 40 weeks pregnant and counting, some days I feel wider than I am tall. (Thankfully, feelings can be deceiving.) But buried in the weeds and bug bites and lopsided rows, I’m starting to find a few quiet lessons — ones I didn’t plan to plant but probably needed anyway.
I’m learning that just like in life, we don’t always get the season we planned for. Sometimes we plant in faith, water with tears, and wait — not sure what will come of it. But God isn’t just after straight rows and full baskets. Sometimes He’s growing patience, trust, and perseverance where we only see crabgrass and chaos.
Maybe the real harvest this year won’t be measured in jars or baskets, but in grace — grace for the process, for the setbacks, for myself. Every weed I pull and every crooked row reminds me that growth isn’t always pretty, but it’s still progress. This garden might not be picture-perfect, but it’s real, it’s ours, and it’s still doing its work — in the soil and in me.
And thankfully, there’s always a fall garden — and next year.
I don’t know about you and yours, but in this house, we like tortillas. And I mean like tortillas.
If I want kids jumping up and down while screeching in delight, all I have to do is casually mention that we’ll need tortillas made for supper. Whether it’s tacos, fajitas, enchiladas, or burritos, those tortillas are always a big hit.
In fact, with how much Tim and the kids (and I) love tortilla-based meals, you’d think he had Spanish roots instead of Italian.
We started out always buying our tortillas, because making them seemed too daunting. While we really enjoyed fresh tortillas when we went out for Mexican food, it made my eyes cross and my brain itch to even think about making them.
Then, health problems started pushing us to switch from buying everything to trying to make more food from scratch—especially things like bread and tortillas.
Bread felt like the easier place to start, but one can only go so long without tacos or fajitas. Right?
So I went hunting and digging and found a tortilla recipe that I decided I’d try. I gathered the ingredients—and my courage—and dove in.
While the recipe wasn’t difficult, I worried the whole time that it wouldn’t work. And talk about time-consuming!
Mixing the dough was easy; separating it into portions was trickier. Letting them sit, covered, for an hour or so was simple, but I stressed about them the whole time.
The hardest part by far was rolling them out and frying them up. That first batch took over an hour—maybe two—before they were even ready to eat!
Were they worth the hassle? Yes, definitely.
One thing I struggle with is the temptation to balk at trying anything new. And for whatever reason, tortillas just seemed like one of those things.
Now? Tortillas feel like one of the easiest things to make. Funny how it works like that, isn’t it?
Except… I hardly ever have to make them anymore.
Alayna, our oldest daughter, has done her best to establish herself as the “bread-maker” of the family. Whether it’s sandwich bread, hamburger buns, or tortillas, she practically begs to be the one to make them.
She’s pretty pleased with herself for being able to make tortillas from memory now—and I’d say that’s not bad at all for an 8-year-old!
I still do all the rolling myself. Micah and Alayna have both tried, but between not enough height and not enough upper arm strength, it just works better if I handle that part for now.
They do, however, claim the job of frying the tortillas—and they do a pretty good job of turning out lightly browned deliciousness every time.
What happens to leftover tortillas, you ask? Well, they rarely get left. But when they do, one of two things happens:
Either the kids decide they want a snack and clamor to eat them plain, or Tim gleefully makes himself a cheesy quesadilla.
Either way, tortillas around here have a short life—but one joyfully dedicated to making our family happy and full.
Our Go-To Tortilla Recipe
I don’t remember where I found this recipe, but it’s become a staple in our home. One batch never cuts it for us, but it’s a great place to start!
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup lard (or oil or butter)
Instructions:
Mix the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer or by hand.
Add the water and lard, and mix until well combined.
Knead (in the mixer or by hand) for at least 5–7 minutes—longer kneading makes better tortillas.
Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Flatten slightly on a lightly floured surface.
Cover and let rest at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Roll out each piece on a floured surface.
Fry in a dry skillet on medium to medium-high heat until bubbles form and the underside has golden-brown spots. Flip and cook the second side (it takes less time than the first—usually about 30 seconds).
Keep warm in a low oven (we use the “Warm” setting) on a cookie sheet until ready to eat.
I mentioned a few posts ago some of my ideas on decorating the house. Today, I thought I would tell you my plans for the garden adornment. After all, it wouldn’t do to neglect the garden. Once again, ceramics will play a big part in decorating the garden area. They will not all match, but each one is a piece that caught our eye and felt worth keeping.
One piece is a large raccoon that Tim recently painted.
Didn’t he do an excellent job? And it only took him a few hours, too. Since it is life-size, I’m sure it’ll look great tucked away somewhere out there and be sure to snag the attention of passers-by.
I also have a fox figurine that looks pretty realistic. It’s curled up with its tail over its feet. After seeing how well the coon turned out, I told Tim he could paint the fox as well. It might go well in the orchard under a peach tree. Definitely not too close to either the rabbit hutches or duck coop, though.
A sleeping bunny will be sure to find a cozy little spot to nestle. I’m not entirely sure where, though. Maybe in the carrots? Or the lettuce. We’ll have to see.
Since we are starting ducks, and hopefully a few geese, we thought we should keep a pair of geese we came across while sorting ceramics. They aren’t really detailed, more country goose-style, but I think they’ll look really neat anyway if done right.
A ceramic frog and turtle would make charming additions too, don’t you think? The frog was already nicely glazed when we got it. Actually, I have two large glazed frogs. One is tan with light green and orange spots, and I call him Puddleglum. The other is a mottled purple and cannot lay claim to any name.
The turtle is rather large and detailed and I’m really looking forward to painting it. Alayna has painted a small snail, but we might not want it in the garden—I don’t want it to sneak off and nibble the tomatoes! If we still have any of the alligators we had listed at one point, I might keep one of them too. Thankfully, they aren’t life-size!
We even found a squirrel willing to sit under our rambling rose bush and look cute. Maybe having a nut to hold makes him more docile, you think?
Besides different animal figurines to work into our garden layout, I also plan on using some large planters, like the owl and raccoon ones I mentioned in the other post. They will have to be treated carefully to avoid breaking them, but I think it is doable. I can use them for herbs and such that have to be brought inside for the winter.
Then I found this tile or stepping stone and just had to have it. I adore dragonflies and I am thrilled with how this turned out.
It has four small holes in the back to allow for easier anchoring to a fence or something similar. I also have a small glimmer of individual dragonflies to place around it once they are painted.
While it might seem silly or childish to some to take the time and effort to decorate a garden I see the garden as an extension of our house in some ways. It’s a place the whole family can spend time in and makes up an extremely vital part of our livelihood. I’m interested in having the garden be a fun place to work and not just a bunch of boring plants and pesky bugs like it was to me when I was little. So these are some of my plans to make the garden my own and give it some pep and character.
These quirky little touches turn our garden into more than just a food source—they help make it a space where memories are made, laughs are shared, and beauty grows right alongside the veggies.
Welcome to one of my musings—thanks for stopping by!
Ever have one of those days where you can’t quite decide if it’s a good day or a bad one? When the pendulum swings wildly between frustration and happiness without warning? Well, I had one of those days.
One of the best things about a wood stove? On cold mornings, you get to start a nice, blazing fire and make everything toasty. One of the worst things? On cold mornings, you have to start a fire just to get things toasty. The latest cold snap made for plenty of chilly fingers and toes while waiting for the warmth to catch up.
Then there’s running water. Don’t get me wrong—I’ve lived with and without it, and I definitely prefer with. But when temperatures drop, pipes can freeze. Thankfully, we installed PEX piping in our new house, so they expand without breaking. Still, waking up to no water is… well, waking up to no water. Not exactly the best start to the day, even if it was confined to the upstairs and not our living area.
To make matters more interesting, my washing machine must’ve taken offense to the cold and flat-out refused to run. And when you’re cloth diapering, laundry isn’t just a nice thing—it’s a must. But today? Nope. Not happening.
And as if that weren’t enough, most of the kids must have secretly conspired to wake up on the wrong side of the bed at the same time.
So I did what any mom of six kids does in a crisis. I kicked it into SuperMom Gear, ready to conquer the chaos with lightning speed. In my mind, I was about to whip up gourmet breakfasts, negotiate peace among the grumpy troops, fix the laundry situation with a single touch, and maybe even defrost the pipes using sheer willpower. It was going to be legendary!
Only… not exactly.
I did manage to get breakfasts made for all concerned and that did help out childish dispositions. But there was one more issue—a truly dire one. Coffee. Or rather, the lack of it. In a well-intentioned attempt to save money and cut back on caffeine, Tim and I had decided to limit coffee to Saturdays and special occasions. This decision, unfortunately, affected not just us but also Micah and Alayna.
So there we were, facing a morning of freezing temperatures, broken appliances, grumpy kids, and—perhaps worst of all—no coffee. The realization hit me like a cruel joke: This was a special occasion if I’d ever seen one.
Well, I looked around and surveyed things and decided something had to change. No day goes well when everyone is feeling depressed and discouraged.
Somehow the conversation got onto nutmeg and I decided to see if there was a way to make nutmeg tea. So I whipped out my phone and sure enough, a delicious-sounding nutmeg tea recipe!
Out came the mugs, the tea kettle, the grater, and the fresh nutmeg. Soon all four mugs had a quarter of amazing-smelling grated nutmeg and the tea kettle was whistling on the wood stove. We all crowded around the stove to watch impatiently as the tea steeped. Then, after adding a little cream, we each had a steaming mug of liquid joy. Finally!
It honestly didn’t take very long for the mood-boosting qualities of nutmeg to kick in, and we all started feeling like we might actually make it through the day. All too soon we finished our mugs, with even the kids drinking the dregs so as not to waste a single drop. As I was cleaning up the mess, I read the rest of the recipe article and down at the end, you know, where everyone puts the disclaimers, it said that nutmeg tea is not to be drunk by pregnant women.
To be completely honest, I got a little miffed at that. I mean, who were they to tell me I couldn’t drink this wonderful, mood-saving potion? I had just discovered a cheaper, tastier alternative to coffee—a rare thing in the world of budget-friendly life hacks—and now, apparently, it was a forbidden elixir of doom because I was pregnant. Of all the nerve!
So I started researching to see if nutmeg was harmful to pregnant women. The first five or so articles all said that nutmeg in excess was indeed harmful but didn’t give any reasons why or even explain what they meant by excess. Finally, I found an article that said nutmeg contains something called “myristicin,” which can cause nausea, hallucinations, and in the worst cases, miscarriage. Well, there went that excellent idea. Now the day felt worse than ever. I stared at my empty mug, mourning the loss of what could have been my new morning ritual. With a sigh, I determined not to let the day completely unravel and decided I needed to find something—anything—to lift the mood again.
That’s when I noticed them. Not one, not even two, but three little bursts of unexpected joy.
The day before, while shopping, we found that the cut flower arrangements were all one dollar. So I grabbed three and put them in vases around the office area. When I say vases, I mean my style of vases. One beautiful bouquet was in a glass pitcher, and the others looked stunning in two vintage silver-plated ornate footed teapots. They might have seemed inconsequential to some, but I love flowers and beautiful things and even knowing I had managed to arrange them so nicely helped. I made sure I noticed them every time I walked past my desk for the rest of the day.
And just like that, the day took a turn for the better. Did the washer magically fix itself? No. Was everyone else in a more encouraged mood? Again, no. But I realized that having a “good” day or a “bad” day was not based on circumstances but on my choices. How I reacted to frustrating things made the difference in how the day went.
That was honestly pretty eye-opening. I knew it in my head, but knowing a thing and putting the thing into action are two very different things. Intentionally choosing to have a good day regardless seems to go a long way toward making any day work smoothly.
Two verses from my devotions that morning really stood out and helped me keep my focus where it should be as well. I had just started the book of Psalms and the fifth chapter ends with these two beautiful verses.
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.
For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield. –Psalms 5:11, 12
By taking these verses to heart, I found joy in God’s loving care—even when circumstances offered little else to be thankful for. And God’s blessings are an awful lot to be grateful for. Tim and I often try to run through every blessing we can think of. In just the ten years we’ve been married the number is staggering.
At the end of the day, nothing about my circumstances had really changed. The pipes were still frozen, the washer still wasn’t working, and we were still coffee-less. But my perspective had shifted. Instead of focusing on the inconveniences, I had chosen to focus on the little joys—flowers on my desk, a warm wood stove, and the simple fact that despite the chaos, we were making it through.
Life on the homestead (and life in general) isn’t always smooth sailing. But I’m learning that joy isn’t found in perfect circumstances—it’s found in gratitude, in choosing to see God’s goodness even when things don’t go as planned. And hey, if nothing else, at least I got a great story out of it.
