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Gather & Grow

Rebuilding the Family Economy

Gather & Grow
  • Events
  • Our Story
  • What We Do
  • The Family Economy
  • Resources
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  • Family

What is Your ‘Family Economy’?

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    It was a hot and humid September day our first time vendoring at our town’s Farmers’ Market a few years ago. Crayons were melting in the Black Walnut crayon holders I made earlier in the week. Our main product was free-range chickens that were raised on our farm, but we also offered a selection of homemade crafts. We ended up rotating the crayons with frozen chickens in the ice chest to keep them from melting. As a way to trial the Farmers’ Market business concept, we signed up for two weekends at the end of Summer. “What do you want to bet next time we’re here we’ll be in winter jackets?” Becca asked me as we sweated and enjoyed our Hawaiian Shaved Ice from the neighboring booth.

    Sure enough, two weeks later all six of us sat bundled in our winter gear like undaunted Minnesotans, enduring hours of bitterly cold winds and constant rain. The Shave Ice vendor didn’t show that weekend. “Why are we doing this again?” was the question everyone was thinking. Despite the uncooperative weather, we came home beaming at the end of each market. We were doing it! Little by little, brick by brick, we were building our Family Economy.

    The Family Economy

    In our modern, specialized, individualistic society it takes extraordinary intention to do what came naturally to our forebears. In a typical American family, Dad commutes 45 minutes to work, mom works full-time outside the home, and kids are bussed to multiple schools where they file into to age-segregated classrooms. Elderly parents re-locate to “independent living” facilities. Even our entertainment options are heavily skewed to age-oriented, individual tastes. Nearly everything in modern culture is geared toward segregating the family unit. Yet only a few generations ago, and for millennia prior, practicing the Family Economy was not only natural, it was a necessity.

    In his book Family Life, Kevin Swanson likens the Family Economy to an ax and handle.  “An ax head by itself is of little use to take down trees. Place an ax head on an ax handle, and the capability for useful work has increased a hundred fold. This demonstrates the basic elements of the family economy as designed by God.” He continues, “The basic economic unit is not an individual and it is not a corporation or the government. According to the creation mandate and 5,900 years of historical practice, the basic economic unit is the family.”

    The Family Economy encompasses more than family business and entrepreneurship, though that is an essential part of it. It also integrates education, discipleship, worship, and recreation. It is the melding of individual aspirations into a common purpose. More importantly, it has been the context by which parents pass their faith, culture and values on to their children for most of human history.

    “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deut 6:4-8)

    Swanson asks, “God’s intention for family discipleship is plainly stated, but what happens when families do not sit in the house or walk by the way anymore?”

    Durable Families

    A few years ago Becca and I started talking more seriously about this concept of a family economy and what it means to us. For many years we have felt the pull to combine forces someday, but never settled on what that focus would be. Now we know. It’s not one thing, it’s everything. We began praying and seeking to be of one mind when it comes to our family’s education, discipleship, worship, business, recreation and ministry. Little by little, the Lord has been answering our prayers and leading us in new directions.

    I began researching what I call “durable trades”–those professions that have proven resilient over time, are not easily displaced by mass production, and lend themselves to family economies. It can take a lifetime to build a business. We didn’t want to put our energy towards something that would quickly fade or become obsolete in a few years. It seemed to us that if we were embarking on this path, we should build something that would last.

    One of the paths we are currently exploring is raising animals for food. We are uniquely set up for small-scale livestock production here at the Grovestead. We don’t have enough land to mass-produce anything, nor would we want to. It just so happens that the kind of animals we can raise here, pasture-fed, organically raised chicken, lamb and pork are in high demand right now. We shared the idea with a few friends and within days we had an interested list of buyers.

    We’ve also experimented with hosting camps and workshops, summer internships, and writing and publishing a print newsletter.

    We continue to talk and dream about what may lie ahead. It can be challenging, I’ll admit. Giving up individual personal ambitions in favor of the family’s best interest cuts against the cultural grain. But I can also say the rewards are far beyond anything I’ve found in careerism. Our family is learning to think, then act as a single unit. And no matter where this path leads, we’ll be walking it together.

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    I do not know a joy more thrilling than the first I do not know a joy more thrilling than the first snow of the year! What fun, what fun.
    This is the first cut bouquet I made all season. I This is the first cut bouquet I made all season. It took the threat of frost to get me out there! Elsie is good about cutting flowers to bring inside, but I think I had this in the category of ‘not-totally-necessary’…you know, with lots going on with kids and a farm. But that was the wrong category! I enjoyed cutting the flowers and arranging them so, so much (which shouldn’t be a huge surprise since I’m my mom’s daughter…) Anyway, we were suddenly motivated to keep these beauties alive a little longer so we covered the tall celosia late last night and woke to a site very much like ghosts in the garden. But it was just flowers tucked in for the frost.
    Elsie said to me, “mom, my history text book has Elsie said to me, “mom, my history text book has ideas for family projects and usually I just read about them and move on, but this one wants us to make a model of Stone Henge with Rice Krispie bars and I think we should probably do it.” I told her this was a good catch. Her education would suffer if we missed this project…
    It was discovered a few weeks ago that the same Sa It was discovered a few weeks ago that the same Saturday Alden turned 7 was the same Saturday we were butchering 90 chickens. Obviously a chicken birthday party was coming our way. 🎉🐓🎉 I blogged about the whole thing: family-scale butchering and this epic hen cake. www.thegrovestead.com
    My very favorite part of our Gather and Grow Farm My very favorite part of our Gather and Grow Farm dinner fundraiser was my dad praying before the meal. Which is saying a lot because the night was without a hitch, the kids played beautiful music, the people gathered were salt of the earth and the food was fantastic. Rory and I gave a presentation telling stories and sharing pictures. But man, when my dad prayed I could feel a peace fall on the room. He was asked in the moment, mostly to get him to stop talking to the caterer…but then he started to pray and you know, I grew up hearing him pray every Sunday at church, each time we ate, and every night when he tucked me in. But it had been a while. And it was so special to have his blessing over the whole night. I just don’t want to ever forget that.
    Tonight we have our annual fundraising dinner for Tonight we have our annual fundraising dinner for Gather & Grow, and I thought I’d extend the invitation to give and support this two-year-old ministry. The Lord is doing a mighty work, turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. We are going toe to toe with the some@pretty huge cultural giants saying the trade of relationships and intact families for material wealth and consumption was a poor trade. It has left us yearning for community, friendship and meaning. Which is where the family economy comes in. I could write a book right here- but Rory already has! 😅 So just know that we need partners in this work. You will  be joining an effort that is just beginning. It’s exciting! Go to gatherandgrow.us and on the Give page you can join as a Giving Partner. (And I’ll send you a copy of that book!)
    Gather & Grow
    Rebuilding the Family Economy

    P.O. Box 326
    Northfield, MN 55057

    Gather & Grow Ministries is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible.

    “We urge you, brothers . . . to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”

    —1 THESSALONIANS 4:10-12

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