Have You Considered Your Family’s Self-Sufficiency?

One of the purposes of our blog here at Squash Patch Farms Ministry is to foster and help develop a sense of self-sufficiency. One never knows what tomorrow will bring and the knowledge of not having to totally rely upon others for your family’s care could sure make one sleeps a little better at night. In this day and age, for the vast majority of families to be totally self-sufficient is neither really possible nor practical. Any thing you do however is better than nothing.

The simple act of growing a portion of ones own food can be a great beginning. Some think that to have a garden requires endless hours of work and a large expense. The reality is that a simple 20 Ft X 20 Ft garden can generate a surprising amount of produce for your family table. Depending on your family size, you could save $300, $400, $500 dollars or more a year on your food bill, wouldn’t that make you think twice? Sure, you are going to need a garden larger than 20 Ft X 20 Ft to see that kind of savings but everything has to start somewhere.

Here in Chino Valley, I see day in and day out untold numbers of property and homes where there is absolutely nothing growing but Chino Grass. Now I realize that some folks simply are unable to have gardens. Most however could, it’s just that they don’t want to. Actually, they haven’t had a good enough motivational reason to have one. If saving money isn’t a good enough reason, think about this. As Christians, we have an obligation to be good stewards of what our Lord has given us. In 1 Corinthians 4:2 it says “In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.” NAS and the King James translates “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”

I’m not saying that every family should have a huge garden, a flock of chickens, some goats and sheep, cattle and the like. The work alone just caring for a really large garden and livestock can easily become a full time job in itself. Just from a practical standpoint, most will find having a nice size garden all they really either want or are capable of handling. What I am saying here is that the simple act of having a nice size garden, one that actually provides ones family with wholesome, nutritious food is simply a major benefit to any family. There is a whole host of other benefits a family can achieve with a garden but I won’t go into them here. Not the least of the benefits is the ability to have a way of helping those in need as the Lord directs you.

One of our goals here is to see many more family’s in the Chino area with gardens of one size or another. I ask the reader to pray about this.