Welcome! This blog is totally about you! It’s about helping you learn new skills, especially those areas that women haven’t traditionally ventured into. I’m talking about pursuits like hunting, fishing, wilderness survival, woodworking, and home improvement, etc. You’re here because you like the same things that I do, and my hope is that we are going to learn and practice these together.
I love the sense of accomplishment I get from doing things on my own, from having the knowledge and skills to take care of myself and my family. And not surprisingly, I guess I was always like that. According to my parents, when I was a child I was stubbornly against letting them tell me how to do something I was struggling with. I’d whine, “Don’t tell me!” I was determined to do the task at hand all by myself!
My dad starting taking me backpacking in the wilderness when I was 8 and hunting when I was 6. My mom was always a crafty person, and instilled those DIY skills in me at an early age. I grew up reading adventure novels and dreaming I was Laura Ingalls Wilder on a homestead. It’s not a coincidence that I dabbled in Equine Science and Outdoor Recreation Leadership in college.
Flash forward lots (and lots!) of years….My husband and I recently moved from a tiny 3rd floor apartment in the city of Denver to the foothills of the Rock Mountains. We now live at an elevation of 8,300 ft. in a fixer upper a-frame cabin that backs up to the National Forest. It’s not everyone’s dream, but it sure is ours! It’s a lot easier now for us to learn and practice those skills of self-sufficiency, wilderness survival, and hunting and fishing in our backyard. And I’m going to share everything I can with you about what we learn and know.
We are at a place in our lives where we are paying, quite literally, for the financial mistakes of our pasts. We are learning to live with less, to be more discerning with needs versus wants, and to be good stewards of the income our Lord Jesus is providing for us. We are starting over, putting good spending habits down as our foundation. We know that with diligent practice over time it becomes easier and more natural to always make the right decision, and not repeat the financial mistakes we used to make.
In the Bible, in the book of Proverbs, there is a verse I love, Proverbs 31:25, because it talks about the kind of woman I’m working on becoming. It says,
She is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”
Now to understand the context, you’d read the verses before it, too. They tell about how the woman is a hard worker. She is skilled with her hands, and in making money in the marketplace. She sells and trades the things she makes. She is respected and takes good care of her family, just like her husband also does. So knowing this about her helps us understand the verse that says, “She is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” Because she works day and night and makes good financial choices, she doesn’t worry for her future. Even more than that, she can laugh at the days to come. In other words, she has a future to joyfully look forward to. It’s not that she will never experience sadness or hardships in her future, but she probably will experience fewer and less devastating financial hardships because of her wise choices.
Knowledge is power, ladies, and the more you know, the more prepared you are for whatever life may bring. The more skills you have, the more resourceful and resilient you will be in times of trouble.
That’s why it feels good having an arsenal of skills at my disposal. It alleviates fear and worry of the unknown in relation to our future. The more I know how to do, the better my skills in other areas become. They cross over and support each other. It gives me confidence after I’ve achieved and learned one new skill to go out and learn anything that I put my mind to. We are more able to help others with our many skills as well. So I encourage you to learn as much as you dare.
Are you ready to start improving your life with your own two hands and that clever brain of yours? Let’s get started!