As mentioned previously, we are a very Conservative Christian family. We look at our faith as a lifestyle, not a "religious practice".

"Love does no harm to its neighbor.  Therefore is the fulfillment of the law."  Romans 13:10.

Everything we do is out of love for the Lord our God.  It is out of this love we follow the commandments laid out by Jesus and Paul.  We follow these commandments, not to be saved.  For there is only one way to salvation.  We follow these commandments out of love for God and our neighbor.  This is why we look at our faith as a lifestyle.

We believe that you only can receive salvation (be saved) through accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior.  We are led to be baptized as a result of our salvation.  After accepting Jesus as your Savior, you are also led to obey the commandments and to do good works.  But the works you do are not what "earns" you salvation.  Salvation is a gift from the Lord.  We believe that to say that your own works help you to earn your salvation is equivalent to saying that the sacrifices made by Jesus Christ in Gethsemane and on the cross were not enough to save you.  If you have the Lord in your life and in your heart, you feel the need to act in love and to do good.  It isn't a condition for your salvation, but a result of your being saved. 

Living a homesteading lifestyle, our life is much simpler in some ways, yet harder in others.  We focus our days on the basic needs of our family and in doing so, we are also focused on the Lord.  We are able to feel Him with us as we work in the garden or do other tasks.  He is the great provider in our lives.  We know that all blessings come from Him.

Joe and I have each seen how the "trappings" of life can interfere and create chaos in people's lives.  By living simply, our attentions can be directed to the important things.  Being able to spend time as a family, knowing the blessing of working hard and feeling the accomplishments of your efforts.

This is not to say that we do not enjoy the blessings of technology such as the Internet, which provides us the method, to stay in touch with others who live a distance away.  But we see these things simply as tools that can be used to make things easier and faster.  Thus giving us more time to spend on other things.