Friday, December 30, 2011

Heralding in 2012

new years resolutions, we all have them right?  oh, i bet you do!  even if you don't admit them to anyone, there are things you are wishing and praying that you will do better this year than last.  i certainly do!  and for me .... it's a bit about taking stock of what the last year held and building on that.

2011.  wow.  what a year!  who would have thot when i took that course in March from the good folks at Milkwood Permaculture that our lives would have been so extraordinarily changed by the venture into a sustainable lifestyle.  it has been an amazing journey .... some ups and some down ... but we have certainly leaped off the deep end into the journey of a lifetime!  it has been a journey both of change in our hearts and a change of location.  and as we finish 2011 ... we aren't done yet.  infact, i reckon, the steep learning curve is about to hit big time!

2012.  dreams are big in our household right now ... and it is easy for us to dream because we well and truly started down that road towards a creation care life of sustainable living that we believe, honours God.  next year two kids will be in school and one in preschool three days a week, which means more time for me to get my head and heart around what God would have our lives be, from a sustainable perspective!

and now the hard part... 
acknowledging that this is a year to grow and learn
i'll have three days a week to myself ... something i haven't had in a very long time!
i have personal goals ...
full of promise and perseverance
family goals ... 
where i crave the best for my family and their own ownership
of creation care stewardship

my dreams / goals for 2012 ... in a nutshell (not in priority order, btw!).
  • learning how to make cheese.  i want to start exploiting our access to good milk in this area, and to learn to make a variety of different cheeses and do it well!
  • get my PDC.  this is a Permaculture Design Certificate, and the principals and framework knowledge that you get from this course about land management, water use and contouring are invaluable when it comes to living on the land.  truth be told, both hubby and I should get it .... but realistically, don't even know if i am gonna be able to do this.  would require two weeks away, a few thousand bucks of   investment and not sure that exists in our lives right now.  this may be more of a dream than goal .... but we have to try!
  • learning how to preserve properly.  from berries to beetroot and beyond .... preserving as a means of shoring up our larder and preserving those yummie tastes that we have enjoyed fresh.  i reckon it is an art ... and i am keen to learn!
  • learn about beekeeping .... specifically warre' hives.  apart from soil, i reckon i am coming to terms with just how important natural beekeeping is.  we have lost far too many of our hives to chemicals and pesticides.  the role that they play in pollinating for our future crops and sustenance is undeniable.
  • have a passata party!  and of course, this requires the "getting" of a passata making machine (do i sense a birthday present request coming on???).  what to do:  invite all your friends over, requirement being that they have to bring their end of season tomato's .... the good, bad and very ugly please and some jars to bottle in.  the tomato's all get stewed up with some yummy herbs, onions and whatever! and then passed through the passata machine where all the skin and seeds are removed.  the resulting liquid magic is then bottled and the friends can take it home.  
  • work with Rehoboth Children's Home and help them move towards sustainability.   this is the amazing place in the Philippines that  our children come from and that cared for them in their first years.  they are in a unique place to affect real change for God, and for health and community in their corner of the world.  i will be making two trips over 2012 that will hopefully, along with amazing staff on the ground there, help them to form a real foundation for change and development in the area of sustainability and self-reliance.
  • honestly .... just keep learning about how to live a richer and more fulfilled life from a creation care perspective.  to continue to seek out how i can serve our Lord and care for this world that He has given us.
... so that's where i am heading in the new year.  nothing over the top, but certainly a commitment towards the hard work that is ahead of us.  i look forward to continuing this journey with you and sharing my continued growth and failures!

what about you?  personal goals?  family dreams?  dare to dream big!  challenge yourself and be willing to give up all the security you have now (or think you have now!) for a great new horizon!  go on ... i dare you!  and may 2012 be for you and yours more than you ever dreamed and richer than you ever imagined.

blessings as we ring in 2012 .... BRING IT ON!

1 comment:

  1. just been catching up on your posts, Maggie. It sounds like you have an incredible year planned. I love that you are such a seeker of knowledge.

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