My Hearts Cry

There is a burning in my heart for unity. Not a sort of unity brought about by compromising principles, morals, and values based on the commands of YHVH, but a unity that happens because people are merciful, gentle, slow to anger and are not quick to give or take offense. It’s bigger than that, but I am just trying to wrap my head around it. I can see a picture of a sort of holiness that walks in love and patience and mercy and it is so beautiful. Where brothers and sisters in Messiah, regardless of denomination, affiliation, or level of understanding of scripture can walk together, learn together, love together, worship together, and grow together. My heart so longs for that.

Since coming to the truth of Torah and having it revealed to me by the Holy Spirit, that YHVH’s commands have never been “done away with” and that they are important instructions on living holy lives, I have had a peace that I never had before. I want to please my heavenly father, bring glory to Him, and show Him how much I love Him, and I know that I can do those things by being obedient to His words, and that His words will guide me in this life to a path that is full of life and blessing. It’s a good thing. It’s an amazing thing. I love this walk.

However, on this walk I have been separated from Christian brothers and sisters. I separated myself for sometime because it was easier to follow what I was finding to be truth without opposition constantly barraging me and making me question, over and over, something I knew in my spirit was truth. It was not that I didn’t love my Christian brothers and sisters, I love them very much. But, for a time, it was the right thing to do, leave the church, learn what it truly meant to worship in spirit and in truth, and walk it out.

Now, after walking it out for a few years, I find myself longing for fellowship with other believers, but am finding that believers in this camp like to keep to themselves. There is no fellowship. When there is fellowship it is superficial and has no purpose. Not that fellowship with my Christian brothers and sisters was any different. People, in general, do not like to talk about deep spiritual matters; at least that is what I have found. It happens occasionally, but it’s few and far between.

But, in the Messianic, or Torah observant camp, I have found out the reason why there is little fellowship. It’s because people are afraid. People are afraid because they were fed lies for so long, and are now so afraid of being corrupted again by those lies or at least being “tainted” by those lies. People are afraid that they will have to compromise the truth in order to maintain fellowship with others, because, sadly, everyone has their own form of truth, and if your form doesn’t line up with my form, well, if two are not agreed, they cannot walk together… But agreed on what? My husband and I do not agree on everything, even scriptural matters, does that mean we can no longer walk together? My closest friends and I do not agree on everything, does that mean that we can no longer walk together? I don’t think that’s true.

There are so many reasons why people don’t have strong fellowship, but the most blatantly obvious reason I have seen is that people, including myself, are quick to offend, quick to take offense, and are lacking in the basic fruits of the spirit, gentleness, kindness, patience, goodness, and love, and judge others with unbalanced measure. The very things we were once guilty of in our own lives are now the biggest most awful sins in other peoples’ lives.

Since when did we start judging sin differently for different people? Since when did we think it was our job to define varying degrees of sin and shun those who exhibit the sins that, on our list, are greater and more sinister that our own sins?

I am NOT saying that we should not be discerning and always testing spirits, but that is part of the point I am trying to make. Test the spirit…why are we so quick to judge others that are still in Sunday church, still eating pork and other unclean foods, who don’t wear blue fringes on their garments, don’t say grace after supper but before it, don’t understand that the feasts are a blessed thing for them to keep, and generally don’t walk in what we see as Torah?

We then walk in a spirit of arrogance, pride, and self-righteousness, forsaking mercy and love, and the fruits of the spirit, and still think that somehow because we have had our blinders taken off by YHVH HIMSELF and we no longer eat swine’s flesh and we wear blue fringes on the edges of our clothes and we know Hebrew dances and words, and we keep the feasts of YHVH, and we know torah inside and out, that somehow because we are obedient in those areas, but not in the weightier matters such as mercy, that somehow the sins we DO commit are less than the ones our Christian brothers and sisters commit? Who are we? What in the world are we thinking?

Do we not know by now that mercy trumps judgment? YHVH made a way for us where He didn’t have to. Even after our blatant sin and disobedience to His commands HE made a way for us to enter into divine communion with Him. Did He have to? No. He could have done away with the whole idea of humans in the first place. Didn’t He want to time and time again? But, His anger and judgment was held at bay and His mercy was given in place of that deserving judgment.

Brothers and sisters, we are all in Messiah. We are all walking a pathway that we have been put on. Is YHVH sovereign or is He not? Does He not have His hand on the lives of His people? Are we not to trust in Him in our own lives and trust that He is working in the lives of others? Did He not open our eyes when we were blind? Did He not extend mercy to us even though we were walking along a partially lit pathway? He loved us. He spoke kindness to us. It was His kindness that led us to repentance. Were we NOT blind? Were we NOT lost? Did we find the path ourselves or was it by the Spirit that we were lead out of darkness and into the light? Are we not still being lead out of that darkness or have we attained perfection so soon?

Be merciful. Do not believe that because you have had your blinders removed that the sins we now commit are somehow less than the prior ones. Do not believe that those walking with their blinders on are all willfully disobedient. Most are ignorant, and yet the Father loves them, has mercy on them, and is leading them down the path HE has willed for them, for HIS glory and HIS purposes. Let us be merciful, gentle and patient with them while YHVH does what He does. Let us show them how perfect this walk can truly be. We will never be able to show them the perfection of His law when we do not allow it to penetrate our hearts and souls and our spirits and change us from stiff-necked, uncircumcised, stone-hearted people into a people that love so much that it shines light in dark places by the very presence of YHVH in us.

Unity is needed, and we are not to compromise and disobey the commands we have been directly given, but we have been given much more than “you shall wear fringes”, we have been given the command to walk in mercy, grace, love, gentleness, patience, goodness, kindness, joy, peace, and self-control.

Walk your walk. Be grieved by the sins of others and be grieved by your own. Take your grief to YHVH in prayer, and love as He loved, walk as our Messiah Yahshua walked. Be angry about sin, fight it, but know that you fight powers and principalities and not people. Be a warrior against sin, but know who and what and how you are to fight.

This is my prayer for me, too. I so easily forget. Father, help me to remember to be merciful, to be slow to anger, and to not be easily offended. Help me to speak the truth in love, teaching, rebuking, and edifying the body of Messiah for your glory and your purposes. Let me be a light in a dark world.

HOLINESS DOESN'T HAVE A HAIRSTYLE

The Danger Of Turning A Good Thing Into A Moral Thing

I read the article above this morning and thought it spoke directly to feelings I have been having lately. So often in this pursuit of holiness we can find ourselves searching after outward appearances of what we think holiness should look like, after all, have we ever really seen what real holiness looks like outside of the image we have in our minds of Messiah? I haven't. I have never seen truly holy parents, truly holy women, wives, men, husbands, children, pastors, teachers, etc. Or have I seen truly holy people but they didn't fit my idea of what holiness was supposed to look like, and therefore I judged them?

I think there is a fine line of distinction there that needs to be drawn. I am sure I have met truly holy people but in my own faulty perception of holiness, I judged them based on that perception and not that of a scriptural basis for what "holiness" is (And by judge I mean "make assumptions" not "condemn"). I think often in this pursuit we form opinions and ideas about what it means to be holy. We think that holiness is abstaining from entertainment, alcohol, sports, secular music, etc., and it is also a particular way of dressing, wearing our hair, wearing head-coverings, having make-up-less faces, unadorned with jewelry, or even how many biblical studies one completes in a week and what particular words one uses in referring to the Creator and His Son. None of those things are a sin. There are however, boundaries with each of those examples that a person who is pursuing holiness needs to live within.

As believers, we are to dress in a modest manner, but does that mean skirts all the time? Whose rule is that? Yours or the Father's?

Likewise, as women we are to be aware of how our body might tempt men into sexually immoral thoughts, but does that mean we are required to wear head-coverings or to not wear a lick of make-up? Whose rules are those? Yours or the Father's?

When it comes to television, movies, music, and the like, are we to abstain completely from these things? Should we only listen to "Christian" music or watch only movies about the Amish, or movies put out by Christian producers? Is all television bad and therefore immoral? Whose rules are those? Yours or the Father's?

If I read my bible twice a day and have devotional time with my husband every evening before bed and my children are in their bibles multiple times a day, does this mean we are doing it right? Have we attained that mark of holiness? Whose rules are these? Yours or the Father's?

I hope you get my point. While there are indeed boundaries we use when deciding things like this, we use our own discretion based on principle but that does not mean they are necessarily commandments. In our family, we allow movies with realistic war-like violence, because it's real. It happens in the world. We have a history and we do not shelter them from that. We have seen movies where Jews by the thousands have been beaten, starved, and then gassed and subsequently burned. For us, this is not something we need to abstain from. For some, it is. I do not judge those that abstain from all forms of violence, be it real or fictional. I expect that you would not concern yourself with the discretion we have chosen to use in our family, and that you would not condemn us for that discretion, even if it doesn't match yours.

When we start placing rules on other people and ourselves that are not commandments from YHVH, we start putting ourselves back under a man-made legality and we then start to become self-righteous. There is nothing worse than a self-righteous spirit. It condemns others, places heavy burdens on the person and those around them, and ultimately does nothing but build up pride and the spirit of division. And believe me, even when a word is not spoken, that condemning, self-righteous, legalistic spirit can be felt and it sucks the joy from a person. I am walking in liberty because of Messiah, don't place burdens on me that were not placed there by YHVH Himself. There is freedom here. I am bound by the Laws of my Father, and they are freedom. Freedom to learn, freedom to grow, and freedom to walk this walk that no one else but me will be held accountable for. If I want to pop in a little Bob Marley, who speaks of love, mercy, kindness, and joy, what is the problem? There is none.

There is a line to be drawn between the sacred and the profane, but for me to give you that line that we use for our family and to say that anything to the right or left of that line is then immoral, is wrong and does, just as the article above says, place guilt on a person and creates shame. Are we walking with the Father or are we not? If we are, and we know our friends are as well, then each should be subject to the authority above them and the Spirit within them that convicts them of sin. Placing our ideals on others, even if it is only done in thought, creates division and sets standards for people that the Father never placed on them, and if He intends to place those standards on me, I assure you He will.

Walk your walk. Mind your own business. Do not judge others according to your own convictions regarding what is right or wrong for you based on your own judgments and your own walk with the Father. Don't even think the thoughts in regard to those judgments and how others might be walking. It will lead you into a dark pit of seclusion and self-righteousness.

I will follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life. I will follow the commandments of YHVH. I will walk in love, minding my own business, and attending to my own family. Father forgive me if thoughts arise in me, and a spirit of self-righteous condemnation takes hold. Help me to recognize it, battle it, and overcome it. I do not wish to walk in the same sins over and over again in a continual battle. I want to overcome. I want to have joy. Help me to see the eternal and not the temporal.

Walk in a pursuit of holiness, people. But, know that each of us has our own walk. Trust YHVH, that He is the one that is control of man's life, and not us. Thank you, Father!

Now go and walk in joy!

My daughter...she's the epitome of this post. She loves her dork glasses, loves her braided hair, T-shirts and converse sneakers, and she has the biggest servants heart of any child I have ever known. She is always there to help when help is needed. She never complains about the work she has to do. She loves people, even if they are not walking in a right manner. She walks, at a distance, with her worldly "friends" and shows them who God is, sends them encouraging words when all around them is hate, fear, and emptiness. She is a light that shines in the darkness. You could judge her by her appearance, but you'd never get to see her heart.

*disclaimer~ I am not talking about disobeying the direct commands of the Father and that we are to ignore that in our friends and family, but even then, trust that if they are in a pursuit of truth and holiness, that the Father will deal with them accordingly. Love them on their journey. Now, one who is in rebellion...that is a different story.

Truth or Tradition- Should Christians Celebrate Christmas and Easter?

If you have any amount of love for the truth, PLEASE watch this video.

Truth or Tradition- Should Christians Celebrate Christmas and Easter?

Core Shopping List

Quite a few years ago my husband quit his casino job for ethical and personal reasons, and we had to really be creative about the money that was coming in. He took a part time job at a local fishery, smoking fish, and the money was NOT even close to what it was at the casino. (BUT we did get all the smoked salmon, trout and chubs we could eat!) We had to cut corners everywhere for him to be able to quit the casino job, and after years of being a spender, I had to learn to make do with what I had. I stopped buying pre-made food, and made everything from scratch. Eventually I got our food budget down to $250 a month. I am happy to tell you that I stuck with that and we are still only budgeting $250 a month for food. People think I am crazy when I tell them how much we spend. I know families that spend close to $800 a month to feed their family of 5-6. I can't IMAGINE having that much money to spend on food. I can tell you where it would go...into food storage!

Anywho...

This is my core monthly shopping list for our family of 5. With this list, I know that I can feed us all well for an entire month. Now, granted, I have a well-stocked pantry full of assorted whole grains, beans, rice, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and huge cans of tomato sauce and whole tomatoes which I purchase every few months. With this list and my pantry items I can whip up a ton of different meals, all fairly simple, and feed my family of 5 for about $250 a month. What you won't see on the list is fresh fruits and veggies. We eat them, but they come out of the "extra" money that is left over after I do my core shopping. When we want bananas, oranges, or a big container of salad greens we buy them, but we don't have a continuous supply in the house. We also don't buy a lot of seasonal foods when they are not in season. When salad isn't in season, we don't eat a lot of it. We eat lots of potatoes in the winter, and much more fresh fruit and veggies in the spring and summer.

I do buy bulk items from Azure Standard, such as spices, grains, and big huge bags of oranges or other fruit that's on sale. I also am trying to get to Costco every other month or so to the majority of my shopping. The less time I spend in Walmart, Safeway or Albertons, the more money I save. There are certain things I know are cheaper at Walmart, so I do buy them there, but for the most part, I am trying to stay away from that place :-) 

I look for sales on meat and only buy meat that is as natural as can be. Our local Warehouse Market has great all natural chicken that goes on sale every now and again. This past month I picked up 5 whole roasters for $20.  Last month I picked up 4 or 5 packages of drumsticks and thighs for about $18. I also buy our ground beef from the local meat market. It's all grass fed and is delicious. If I can't find a good sale on natural chicken, we stick with the ground beef or go without. I refuse to buy factory farmed meat. 

With all that said, here is the list with costs and location:

4 whole chickens ~ $24 ~ Warehouse Market

2 packages of chicken (breasts/drums/thighs) ~ $20 ~ Warehouse Market

4 lbs ground beef ~ $16 ~ Sackett's meat market

8 lbs cheese ~ $24 ~ Albertson's/Costco

6 gallons milk ~ $18 ~ Safeway

4 lbs butter ~ $10 ~ Costco

10 lbs organic sugar ~ $8 ~ Costco

15 lbs potatoes ~ $6 ~ Costco

5 lbs onions ~ $5 ~ Costco

Peanut butter ~ $5 ~ wherever 

Frozen fruit to make jam and smoothies ~ $7 ~ Walmart

Frozen veggies (any combination) ~ $15 ~ Costco/Walmart

5 lbs whole wheat flour (wheat montana) ~ $5 ~ Walmart

5 lbs all purpose flour (wheat montana) ~ $5 ~ Walmart

Sour cream (the big tub of Daisy) ~ $5 ~ Walmart

4 dozen eggs (until my hens start laying) ~ $12 ~ Safeway

5 lbs raw honey ~ $15 ~ health food store

20 lbs pinto beans ~ $15 ~ Walmart

5 lbs raisins or craisins ~ $10 ~ Costco

Organic beef and chicken "better than bouillon" ~ $12 ~ Costco

Total Cost ~ $237

I haven't been buying the bags of flour because I have so many wheat berries in my pantry now, but I do like to have flour on hand for making gravies and sauces or just to whip up a quick pan of rolls or a cake. I like easy :-) 

With this list I can make everything I want for dinners throughout the month...chicken pot pie, sloppy joes, soups of all sorts, scalloped potatoes and onions, chicken and dumplings, etc. I have a huge assortment of pastas in the house from my last few Costco trips, but normally, if we wanted pasta I would make my own. Since moving to Wyoming, I had to leave a ton of stuff behind...my pasta maker was one of those things, so I don't really care for rolling out pasta by hand, although it's not so bad for making big ol' noodles that will just go in a soup. We also don't buy bread (usually). We make our own English muffins, rolls, pizza dough, sandwich bread, flat breads, tortillas, etc. 

We also make our own breakfast foods, like oatmeal, granola, cornmeal mush, etc.

Lunches consist of leftovers, eggs and toast, peanut butter and jelly on tortillas, steamed veggies, etc. Basically whatever is on hand and quick. 

I also save all of my chicken bones (yes from every meal) and carcasses and put them in the freezer after all our meals throughout the month. At the end of the month I will make a big pot of stock, usually about 4-6 quarts, and that goes right in the freezer for the next months meals. (I could really do without the "better than bouillon" that is on my list, but I love having it on hand.)

The one thing that is not on my list is COFFEE and tea. I love coffee, am probably addicted, and will not go without it. It's not in my grocery budget because it is just for me, so it comes out of the money that is not allocated to bills, gasoline, or food. We drink water from our Berkey and sun tea throughout the month, and if you don't like those two things, well...tough patooties, drink it anyway :-) We have special drinks on sabbath, like Hansen's soda, but that does not come out of the grocery budget, it comes out of the "extra". 

So, there it is...I hope this helps you in some areas, and if YOU have a tight budget for food, let me know how you do it. I am always looking for ways to save money.

(We also purchase 5 gallon buckets of expeller pressed coconut oil from Tropical Traditions and use this as our main cooking oil, for frying, baking,etc., and  also for making deodorant and toothpaste)

The Confessions of a Wife

The following was given to me by a friend a few years ago when I was struggling with KNOWING who I was according to the word of YHVH. She told me to read it to myself every morning, believe it, and act accordingly...well, I haven't read it every morning, and if I were writing the true confessions of this wife, mother and keeper of the home, I would have to tell you that I fail in many, many areas. BUT, this is my blessing and this confession has found it's way back into my daily routine. I will speak this blessing over myself daily and rise to the challenge and calling of biblical womanhood, finding joy in it!

The Confessions of a Wife

{Philippians 1:6} Being Confident that He who began a good work in me will continue until the day of Yeshua Messiah.

I Confess That:

{Proverbs 31:10} I am a capable, intelligent and virtuous woman, worth far more than jewels.

{Proverbs 31:15} I rise early and get spiritual food for my household.

{Matthew 6:33} I seek first the kingdom of Yehovah and all good things are added unto me.

{Proverbs 31:30} I reverently and worshipfully fear Yehovah.

{Proverbs 31:31} I give of the fruit of my hands

{Proverbs 31:13} and my works praise me. I am industrious.

{Proverbs 31:16} With my savings I plant fruitful vines

{Proverbs 31:25} Strength and dignity are my clothing and my position is strong and secure. I rejoice over the future, knowing that my family and I are in readiness for it.

{Proverbs 31:26} I open my mouth with skillful and Godly wisdom, and in my tongue is the law of kindness, giving counsel and instruction.

{Proverbs 31:27} The bread of idleness I do not eat.

{1 Timothy 3:11} I am worthy of respect and serious, not a gossiper, but temperate and self-controlled, and thoroughly trustworthy in all things.

{1 Timothy 6:11} I pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and gentle-heartedness…

{Nehemiah 8:10} and the joy of Yehovah is my strength.

{Ephesians 5:22-23} I am submissive and adapt myself to my own husband as a service to Yehovah. He is head of me as Messiah is the head of the church.

{Ephesians 5:33} I respect and reverence my husband. I notice, regard, honor, prefer, love…

{Proverbs 31:11} and admire him exceedingly. The heart of my husband trusts in me confidently and he has no lack of gain.

{Proverbs 31:12} I comfort him and encourage and do him only good as long as there is life in me.

{Ephesians 5:2} I walk in love with my husband, esteeming him and delighting in him.

{Proverbs 31:31} My husband praises me above all women.

{Proverbs 31:28} My children rise up and call me blessed.

{Luke 1:38} May it be done according to YOUR WORD. 

~~~

Awesome Episode of Glenn Beck

Chickens!

Our chicks are growing so fast! In the top picture are two of our White Wyandottes the first day we had them. The other three pics were taken yesterday and BOY are they getting BIG. We had to build a new pen in the garage because they outgrew their first one. This is where they will live until they are ready to transition to the coop...which still needs to be built.

We have 15 chicks: 4 White Wyandottes, 4 New Hampshire Reds, 5 Black Australorps, and 2 Buff Brahmah Bantams.

We love having the chickens, but they have been somewhat difficult in the three short weeks we have had them. We have had one Wyandotte and one New Hampshire Red die within days of arriving. Two ladies have gotten pecked and started bleeding, both were Wyandottes. One of the ladies (whom we have named Coral) has a hole in her neck and was healing nicely until she jumped the divider and the others attacked her again. We now have her isolated FAR away from the others and while she is healing nicely (we hope), she is lonely and seems depressed. The other Wyandotte had her little tail feathers pecked, but she healed within days and is now back with the flock. I can't wait until Coral can join the others, but for now she must remain alone.

This chicken adventure has been interesting. They are stinky and dusty and very cautious about us humans. Coral is the only one that seems to really like us, but then again, we are the only company she gets.

I am excited for spring and loving the sunshine and warmer weather. We have been so blessed since moving here and continue to see the Father working in our lives and our childrens lives. Farming has been something we believe the Father has put on our hearts and it is awesome to see how He makes what HE has determined, become a reality.

Planning my Urban Homesteading Adventure

My back yard...the blank canvas. Approximately 1/4 of an acre to work with. 

Spring is right around the corner, and I am going nuts waiting for it to get here. I know that  time is precious right now, as there is so much to be done in preparation to start our first year of "urban homesteading" if you can call it that when you are renting...

Here are a few things we have planned:

Chickens- We moved to Wyoming 4 months ago, into a city that allows chickens! I have been wanting chickens for years, but have never been able to. To say I am excited is an understatement. Along with chickens, we have tons of other plans, but chickens and raised beds for a  garden are at the top of our list. 

In front of the red shed there is a frame that must have been used as a garden or something, but we are building our coop in it and fencing it in.

As far as what kind of coop...I am still leafing through books and magazines, and checking out websites to find the perfect one. Chickens start arriving on March 1st! I have to get BUSY! 

Raised beds and square-foot gardening- Last year was my first attempt at square-foot gardening, and for the time that I was there to tend to the ONE bed I had, we were harvesting quite a bit of food. We were a part of a community garden, and at the end of the summer decided to move here. I gave my bed to the local food pantry, and have NO idea what the final harvest looked like. I bet it was intense. We had 20 tomato plants in an 8x4 bed. I WILL NOT do that again. It was nuts. 

This past weekend my good friend stopped in at Home Depot and gave me a call. They had a bunch of  culled 2x6 boards. Each board is about 4 feet long, so instead of doing 8x4 beds, I am going to do as many 4x4 beds as I possibly can. Culled lumber is only $.51 a piece! 

Here is what I am planting:

beets

spinach

red carrots

radishes

a bunch of leaf lettuce

chard

Hubbard squash

Sweet meat winter squash

cayenne peppers

jalapeños

5 different kinds of tomatoes (including yellow pear and cherry)

bell peppers

bush beans

zucchini

summer squash

sweet corn 

and a bunch of herbs

It's the biggest garden I've ever had and I am really looking forward to preserving food for the first time as well! I think I will do a lot of dehydrating and some canning. 

These beds are filled with marigolds and mums. I think I am going to leave the marigolds that are on the bottom bed, and plant herbs in the top two. 

Angora Rabbits- IF I can find any, we are going to raise Angora's. I would really like start this spring, but it may have to wait until next year. Angora's are hard to find in these parts. At least from what I can tell. 

This will be an awesome adventure in harvesting our own fiber for knitting and crocheting projects in the winter. 

The rest is just a list at this point:

Vermiculture bin for kitchen scraps

Compost 

Grey water recycling 

Outdoor oven of some sort- cob, solar, etc. 

So, those are the plans for this year and we feel so blessed to have a place to carry them out. God has truly blessed us. 

Happy homesteading, folks!

My Opinion on the Ugly Urban Homesteading Trademark

On my own path to freedom I am going to start my urban homestead this spring; a little homestead in the city, per se. Oh wait…I can DO it, I just can’t talk about without giving credit to The Dervaes Institute.

Many of you have probably heard the news about the Dervaes family of Pasadena, California, and their recent (started in 2008) trademark of certain terms like urban homestead or urban homesteading. This has frustrated the urban homesteading community and has a lot of people wondering what they can say and what they can't. I don't offer any advice really, this is after all, just my opinion, and quite honestly, a rant that has been brewing for the past 48 hours. 

Their registered trademark will not stand a chance in court, if it ends up being challenged. ( Here is a petition to challenge the trademark )You can not lay claim to an idea that started prior to your use of it or implementation of it.

Can I trademark the term “homeschool” or “homeschooling”? I do not have exclusive rights to that term. I did not “coin” it nor was I the first one to implement the idea of homeschooling in my own life.

I am disappointed in the Dervaes family. In casting off the bonds of corporate America, they became a corporation themselves.

As for using the terms “urban homestead” or “urban homesteading” and having to put a big fat ™ after each of those generic terms used by people all over the globe, I will not do it. Nor will I put a big fat ™ after the word Meijer or Blackberry when making reference to them. Will those trademarked companies hunt me down and force me to give them credit for using their “name”…no, I really doubt it.

I think the following letter from the Institute of Urban Homesteading to its students (after receiving one of the “letters” from the Dervaes family, is great. It proves that the Dervaes family is in fact sending out those “letters”.  Response letter from the Institute of Urban Homesteading

What it boils down to is this: Registering a trademark is not the issue. There are many trademarked phrases or words (that the Dervaes family points out here Path to Freedom- "The original urban homesteaders") that we as a community of “simple living-backyard garden folk” use every day: “hobby farm”, “square foot gardening”, and “gardener”, to name just a few. The issue is not whether or not these terms are trademarked, the issue is whether or not the “owners” of those trademarks are going to hunt down every organization in the nation and put them in a legal headlock to try and stop everyone from using “THEIR” word. It seems counterproductive to the urban homesteading movement itself. If I want to have a little farm and name it Monica’s Hobby Farm are the owners of the magazine “Hobby Farm” going to care? I don’t know, maybe they would…but I highly doubt it.

The Dervaes corporation wants us to link back to them every time we use the phrase urban homestead because they started the concept and were the "first" to implement it…sorry to tell them, but urban homesteading was in my vocabulary long before I happened upon their site a year ago.

With that said…I am really looking forward to getting my chickens and planting my garden this year. I hope to one day have an urban homestead of my own…or should I say non-rural yard garden. Maybe I’ll move out to the country and trademark the word “Farm”.

If I seem a little perturbed…I am. I shall move on, I shall continue on my path to freedom and venture into my own urban homesteading adventure, but some things are just not right. 

For the record- the path to freedom, the original path to freedom, is Yahshua our Messiah, the Word of Yahweh, and the Spirit of Truth.  So now, every time those words are used..."path to freedom" do we have to link back to The Dervaes Institute?

One more thing- The Dervaes family states that they wanted to trademark the aforementioned terms to keep it out of the hands of greedy corporate giants, and for that, I commend them. What happened after is what most people have an issue with. They became the greedy corporate giant. 

“ We didn’t come up the name but we came up with the application.... We didn’t mean to bully anyone. These marks are what people do to make sure no one infringes on their ideas – they’re to give people who develop something protection. That’s why people like Apple and Nike do it. We did what other normal people would have done.” - Jules Dervaes

(You came up with the application? I think they believe they are the only urban homesteaders in the world. What else could you possibly mean by that? And for the record...Nike ain't normal people. They have possibly one of the worst enslavement, er...manufacturing practices in the world.)

Trademark the phrase, then let others use it just as they have been all along. Then, IF some corporation that does not have a clue about urban homesteading comes along and uses the phrase to sell one of their over-priced products made in China, just to bank on the name, THEN send one of those letters. THEN you can try to protect it. But, don't try to protect it from the people that are trying to move it forward and make it an every day common term, and more than that, a common implementation. 

Who are you?

If you are a believer in Jesus/Yahshua the Messiah, what do you call yourself? Who do you say you are? What does the bible say about you? What does the bible call you? Do you know?

You should.

This is the stepping off point. Once you grasp this fact, your life will never be the same. I promise you. Spend an hour watching the following video, PLEASE! If you call yourself a Christian, WATCH this.