The Deliberate Agrarian

No, you didn't reach the wrong blog....I just wanted to talk about the latest book that the Deliberate Agrarian has written. He was kind enough to send me a copy (thank you Herrick!) and I have devoured it!

Now, I have been reading Herrick's blog for a long time. Somehow I had the impression that he had taken a lot of his postings and put them together into book form......boy was I wrong! Herrick did so much more than that! Herrick was brave enough to uncover and reveal his heart....

This is an amazing book! If you don't have it you are missing out on a truly inspiring message. Herrick has the ability to paint a picture and place you in it. I felt like I was walking through their garden with him,
I was there at their table when they ate a meal produced by their own hands and those of other local farmers and again when Annie got the raccoon.

But this book is so much more than that.....this book is about living the agrarian life from the viewpoint of a man who is doing it on a small piece of land and with one foot still in the corporate world (how many of us are there!) It is about the joys found in living the simple life. In this book, Herrick celebrates the joy found in family life, in watching children grow, learn and mature and the joy of simply gazing with awe at this creature called "my child". He celebrates his relationship with his wife "the lovely Marlene" whom it is plain to see that he adores! He shares joys, heartaches, victories and struggles. It is truly an honest look at a family trying to fulfill
God's mandate to steward the earth.

This book encouraged me at a time I have really needed encouragement! There are some wonderful spiritual insights in this book...."plain truth" as my Grandma used to say! I have read it through once and am now going through it with a highlighter....to note both great agrarian ideas and those spiritual nuggets. I love books that make me think and reassess ideas....this book did that for me....and continues to do so.

I have decided that nothing would be better than to have this family over to share a homegrown, home-prepared meal and then to sit outside under the stars around a campfire while we talked late into the evening under a sky filled with stars....I know this may never happen in this life but am thrilled to know that in eternity we can experience that close fellowship!

Folks, I read a lot.....a LOT.....I rarely read a book twice......this is one book you should not do without if you are at all interested in agrarian living. Visit www.thedeliberateagrarian.com now to get your copy....I am sure it will encourage and inspire you as much as it has me!!