The Kinnard Homestead

Tired of searching for the perfect bar of soap to meet your family's specific needs?  In this episode, Amy explains the step-by-step process of making your own soap using the simplest recipe from the beginning steps of purchasing ingredients and needed tools all the way to learning how to formulate your own recipe using a Saponification chart.  Once you understand the basic process and mathematical equations, the skies the limit on what soaps you can make as you craft new recipes by applying further research on specific ingredients and techniques.

Resources:

Saponification Chart - https://www.thekinnardhomestead.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Saponification-Chart.pdf

Those who live on a farm are mindful of the threat of predators that lurk in the shadows and wait for an opportunity to pick off a stray chicken or lamb. Hungry coyotes, venomous snakes, and stray dogs, however, aren't the only threats to watch out for. Far more dangerous are the hidden spiritual attacks happening in the heart and mind of an individual and his or her family. In this episode, Tim discusses the kinds of sins that threaten to pick off a Christian homesteader in their well-intended work of homesteading.

If you feel lost between the  cubicle walls of your work and everyday seems like a repeat of the day before with no real sense of progress, there are a few things that can help orient you to where you are and where you’re trying to get.  In this episode, Tim gives three suggestions that, in his experience, can help a person navigate the proverbial rat race of life.

 When you're faced with a problem that's beyond your ability to resolve, it makes sense to call the professionals. Whether the issue involves advanced math, special therapy, home improvement, Christian ministry, or health care, those trained in a particular field are usually the best people to help. However, it doesn't take a degree on your wall to learn how to handle the basics in any field of practice. Despite what you may have heard, that applies to healthcare as much as it does to algebra, therapeutics, carpentry, or any other field you're willing to learn to do yourself.

In this episode, Amy discusses the importance of having a humble, yet confident, attitude in taking an active role in caring for your family’s health by researching and applying reputable healthcare methods at home. 

The mystery of the incarnation as it is described in John 1 is "one of the richest quarries for mining wonderful truths about Christ in all the Bible."  In this episode, Tim shares a Christmas sermon he originally preached at Crystal Valley Baptist Church in North Little Rock, Arkansas where he has the privilege of pastoring.  Focusing on v. 14, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...," he gives attention to the profound significance and life-changing affect Jesus' birth has to mankind in general, and to the believing church in particular.

If you've ever been a tad bit curious why farmers often have large families, there are studies that point to several different reasons.  In addition to the fact that the farming profession provides more flexible opportunities for a husband and wife to “grow the family” than most other professions,  there are both practical and fundamental worldview explanations that shed additional light on this historic trend.

Referenced Resources - 

“People working in this profession have the most sex”
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/people-working-in-this-profession-have-the-most-sex

If you're an aspiring entrepreneur in Arkansas with a desire to sell your homemade food items without a permit, you need to learn about the state’s Cottage Food laws.  In this episode, Tim explains his understanding of the Arkansas law as it’s written, and shares some of his personal views and experiences regarding the subject. 

 C.S. Lewis watched his country embrace a socialist welfare state, despite the efforts of Britain’s conservative party, led by the great Winston Churchill, to stop it.  In a post-World War II era, those who had sacrificed so much in the fight to live free and independently were themselves faced with an increasing dependence on their own government to take care of them.  In this episode, Tim talks about the example of free and loving Americans who extended generosity to men like C.S. Lewis whose socialist government was unable to live up to its promises. 

 In addition to providing fun entertainment, the classic Star Trek franchise has delivered episode after episode of thought-provoking material to spark the synapses.  Included on the transporter pad of ideas ready to beam into the viewer’s imagination has not only been shimmers of science and philosophy, but of economics and everyday business as well.  In this episode, Tim discusses three lessons he has learned about small business while watching the example of a Ferengi Bartender on Star Trek Deep Space Nine. 

Fundamental to education is the formation of good habits, whether your child has special needs or not.  For children with special needs, establishing a set of daily routines and responsibilities is especially beneficial to development and learning to live independently.  In our family, we’ve found an ideal place to foster such life skills is on a farm where “routines” are a normal part of the morning to evening grind. 

Resources:
Bob Domain - NACD Video, "Should My Child Do Chores?," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E0YFJtQawY

Dennis McGuire - "The Groove" https://www.dsamn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/TheGroove.pdf https://youtu.be/BqcxUxd9htg