This past year I needed to take a steep back from content creation and running the market as I found myself in a very busy part of life with little ones. In that time I kept trying to see if there was a purpose to continuing Acorn & Oak. To be honest, the idea of completely closing that chapter is one that I've battled with throughout the years, and even struggle to see if it is part of what God is calling me to do. Through time, prayer, and taking a step back I have come to see a few things. I have missed having a creative outlet, a place to share the beauty of the ordinary days and the beauty I find within my personal journey of growth. Yet, I have acknowledged that I am in a season of life that is very demanding of my attention as a mother, wife, and homemaker. All in the best possible way of course. With this point, I knew that to continue creating content it needs to be in a way that is balanced and not taking from my first and most important vocation.
The other point has been understanding what God is calling me to do with Acorn & Oak. I'm still waiting for a clear answer! However, I have seen that there is still fruit that can come from this passion project and there have been many moments throughout the years that He has allowed me to see it. From the encouraging words of followers to seeing how Acorn & Oak has helped me grow, even if it has been small, it has been impactful. One thing that He made clear was closing the market. After giving it two years, God let me see that was not where my attention should be. The items I created, while I am proud of, required too much from me and that was becoming a challenge. Closing the market after pouring so much time and attention to it was hard, but as the months followed I realized it was for the best, and my heart was filled with peace. But, I believe God has another purpose for the market.
The final point has been what is the focus of Acorn & Oak. Well, in the simplest sense it has always been to inspire others to live a life where there is growth. That growth can come in many different ways. It can be virtuous growth, spiritual, personal projects, building a loving home, or building a lifestyle that is centered in natural living. Growth can come in many forms, and our life will always require us to grow in not one aspect, but hundreds. I started Acorn & Oak with the focus of virtuous growth, something I have always been passionate about, but writing about virtuous growth actually requires much study and preparation in order to write and promote content that speaks God's truth and properly forms others. While I hope to one day be able to do that again, right now it is too much for the season I am in. That doesn't mean I can't help others grow in virtues in small ways. That's the thing with growing in virtues, it is meant to be formed in every aspect of our lives, not just one way of living. This is where a new era for Acorn & Oak begins.
One of the biggest aspects of my life has been ranching. I grew up in it and that lifestyle helped shape and form me to the woman I am today. My past has been rooted in living a life that connects with nature and growing up I always new I wanted to maintain that lifestyle. Thankfully, that is a dream my husband and I share and one that we are getting to live now as we live and help on my parents ranch while we also work to build our own homestead where we can continue stewarding the land and animals in our care. For now, we are savoring that lifestyle as we help my parents on my childhood home where we continue to learn and grow. All of that growth, both the agricultural and the personal, we will carry with us as we also build our own homestead and will pass that legacy on to our children just as generations before me have passed it on.
Acorn & Oak has always been about growth, and now it will be focused on sharing the growth that comes from ranching and living a life rooted in nature, along with one more thing. Tallow! Why, tallow? Well, that is simple. I've always sought to live a natural lifestyle, from the food we eat to the products we use in our household. Clean living is an important aspect of our daily life and one that we continue to learn and grow in. Yes, we are crunchy though I wouldn't say extremely crunchy, though my husband tends to be more crunchy than I at times. Last year, I got fed up with finding a lotion that I felt was clean for our family and decided to give tallow a try. I didn't want to pay the heavy price tag so like any good crunchy mom, I decided to make it myself. Well, I began sharing little jars with family where I was very encouraged to sell it. It felt like it would be too much to add to my plate at the time, but God kept whispering.
Well, fast forward to this summer where my husband and I were having a casual conversation about things we want to do on our property and growing our own agribusiness some day. We want to build something where we can steward the gifts nature has to offer for our family, but we also want to share those gifts with others. But starting that endeavor felt ages away, then God handed me an answer. Tallow! Tallow was the answer to starting that dream. Instead of waiting till we had the homestead and animals all perfectly settled, why not sell tallow now and allow that to begin building that whole project. Well, here we are taking the first step to a dream and sharing one of nature's gifts with you, because we believe living a life rooted in nature should be obtainable to all. Yes, I am adding more to my plate, but it is in a way that is balanced and compliments the life I am living. So, welcome to the new era of Acorn & Oak, where we hope to bring you fun stories, lessons, and adventures of life on the ranch along with some amazing tallow, and who knows maybe more in the future.
