Building the Agrihood

The idea of building an agrihood can be intimidating. There are offers to be made on properties and with that comes rejections. In this episode, I'm sharing more of my story with you and sharing about what's happened in the last 6 months on this journey. Listen in to hear who I met the day before recording this and how this introduction is changing my course some.

In the most basic terms, agrihoods are residential neighborhoods that incorporate agriculture in some way, whether that's with garden plots, farm stands, or an entire working farm. But more than that, agrihoods foster community and connectedness. Listen in today as I answer the question; what is an agrihood?

Welcome to season one, episode one! I'm your host, Jennifer Ross, and on today's show I'm excited to share with you my story on why I want to develop an agrihood. You'll hear why I believe the idea of mixing suburb life with country life is not only achievable, but fully worth pursuing, and you'll hear why I'm taking on such a monumental task of building a small village! If you've ever had any interest in ditching the city life for life on a small farm (without all the work of a farm!), don't miss your chance to peek in on my journey.

My guest this week is Veronica Flores from Nurturing Connections. Veronica once worked a thriving, lucrative full-time business. Yet as her business grew, her marriage, her health, and her children began to suffer.

Veronica shares her brave and bold story of giving up her career, her (misplaced) identity, her income, and her status amongst her colleagues. Instead of a generous salary, they now live off of one income. Instead of the fancy clothes, she now has a simpler wardrobe. Instead of airports, flights, and hotels, she now cleans bathrooms, folds laundry, and washes dishes. Listen in as she shares why she left her career and how her obedience to God, has changed her family's life.

*Spoiler alert: This is my last podcast.  Listen to the end for my reasons why.

My guest this week is Bethany McDonald, wife and mom of two girls. Bethany recently wrote a post on Facebook that went "viral." She titled her post, "You can pour from an empty cup." This post caused quite the stir amongst fellow mamas.

Our culture highly encourages mothers to "pour" into themselves first, so that then they will be able to "pour" into their families. However, when we search God's Word, we find that this mentality is a slippery slope. In fact, self-care can quickly turn into selfishness.

As 2 Corinthians 12:9 states, "but He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me".

My guest this week is Carolyn Thomas from Homesteading Family. Carolyn and her family share about the homestead lifestyle. She shares, teaches, and inspires other homemakers to create a more sustainable home. One of those aspects is the use of herbal medicine.

Carolyn reminds us that God has truly provided us everything that we need, including giving us resources to help heal our families. Herbal remedies are one of the resources. Herbs heal cuts and scrapes, as well help fight off an on-coming cold with something as simple as a cup of herbal tea!

It may sound intimidating, but for beginners, growing herbs can be as simple as a small pot of basil on your kitchen counter. In this podcast, you will learn the importance of herbal medicine, where to begin, and how to get your kids involved. I think you will be encouraged.

As Christian homemakers, it can be challenging to keep a tidy home while juggling homeschooling, cooking meals three times a day, keeping up with the laundry and running to the grocery store.

In today's interview, we chat with blogger, author, speaker and decluttering expert, Dana K. White. You probably know her from her blog A Slob Comes Clean and from her bestsellers  Decluttering at the Speed of Life and How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind.

Dana gives us practical advice, tips, and tricks on how and where to even begin decluttering, how to keep your house clean even amongst the chaos, and how to get rid of the clutter without feeling the overwhelm.

My guest this week is Elizabeth Prata and we are discussing whether or not God speaks to us audibly.

Elizabeth warns us of false teachers claiming, “God told me…” and teaches us how to listen to the Holy Spirit while being careful not to claim direct revelations from God.

Time management. It's one of the crucial ingredients in Biblical home management.  Guiding our homes well, for the glory of God, is difficult if not impossible to accomplish without learning how to govern our days and hours.

On today's show, my guest will share what time management is and why Christian women should even attempt to budget their time.  We talk about how a woman "fits in" all she needs to do and what that looks like practically.  I ask her about different life seasons. What works for my schedule today will likely change when summer comes, or when a new baby comes along.  And she also share some resources for anyone who'd like to dig a little deeper into learning how to manage time.

Find all the show notes and more episodes like this at www.confidentlycalled.com