Why Homemade?

“Homemade is best” has become a common mantra around my home. My kids often say it as we are turning apples into applesauce, pressing pie dough into pans, or making zuchinni bread from the giant zuchinni that my son grew in his garden bed. There is something about homemade that gets to the heart of who we are. Somehow, in those small actions, life feels real, meaningful, and right. We have become a society of convenience, but at what cost? There is less time spent with those we love most, more brokenness in relationships than ever before, and people who are unhealthy and stressed out. We wonder why there is so much depression, divorce, substance abuse, and loneliness, but fail to see that relational bankruptcy is a leading culprit. I firmly believe that getting back to a “homemade” way of life will help cure many of these ailments in our lives. So, what does that mean to live life “homemade?” It can look very differently from one person to another, but ultimately it means living out our values and priorities, building relationships, spending time on those things that bring meaning, and getting back to some honest-to-goodness down home livin’! It is a lifestyle…. a way of weaving homemade into the day to day that leads to consistent, small, meaningful actions that make life full and the heart well. For those of us who are parents, we have a unique and vital opportunity before us. We have the chance to create and define the definition of home to our children. This “home” for them shapes who they become, how they view the world, and is a foundation on which they stand for life. There is no greater way to impact the world than to influence children with whom you live on a day to day basis. Someday they will go beyond the home and take those lessons and leave their own mark in the world. Children live homemade naturally, and this way of life feeds them as much as their daily bread. They love planting their own garden, baking their own cookies, and roasting the pumpkin seeds that they picked out themselves from the middle of the pumpkin. Children make it easy to live homemade if we allow the time necessary to make it happen!
 So….why “renegade?” It rhymes and is catchy, but what does it mean? I am pushing back on the modern idea that homemade is reserved for days gone by or for people who live on farms. Simply put, the renegade part is going against the grain of our media-obssessed, fast food, consumer oriented, play station-nation culture. In my blog you will see what this homemade lifestyle means for me and for our family. Most of all that I do has purpose behind it. The purpose may be to build a relationship, serve others, to share an experience, to teach, or sometimes just to have fun, but there is purpose and intention. Life is too short not to live our days well!