Keeping an Old Farm Journal

Library of Congress: Farmer's Wife at home, 1940, California.

Quiet days of homemaking used to be recorded in a journal. Farm wives would write down the weather, how the garden was doing, the food she cooked or baked, the company that visited, and many other little details.   These would be moments of reflection that others might find boring. But in these pages one would find the simple, ordinary life in which she lived.  It was a world centered, and focused, on home and family. 

The old farm life is like a world in itself. The family is mostly self-sufficient. They work on the property and spend most of their time there. They will venture out for supplies and church and little visits. But mostly they spend their time caring for their farm, their home, and their family. They have just about everything they need there. The old time farm wife would sew, in the evenings, or embroider beautiful mottoes to decorate the walls with words to live by. She would clean and tidy the home, making it look inviting and pleasant. Keeping an old time farm journal would remind her of the joy and happiness of an ordinary life. 

Homemakers without a farm can still do much of this today, whether we live in a small apartment, or a spacious house.  In moments of reflection, she can record these happy days in a farm journal. 

I have kept a daily journal for many years. I use one of those calendar planner books.  Instead of writing down appointments, I use the space for a diary.  I write about who visited that day, and what I served for lunch or dinner.  I write about illnesses, blizzards, and cold temperatures. I write that we went to Church, or that I went to the market. I can look back and see when all my grown children have called me on the telephone, so I know they have checked-in and are okay. This little journal of mine is like the old time diary of a farmer's wife.  It is all about my quiet little world of home.

My station in life is as a homemaker.  This is where I daily practice the domestic arts. This is where I keep my focus. It is a safe haven.  It is a retreat from the world. I do not need to fret or worry or wonder about what is going on in the outside world.  My Father in Heaven will take care of all that.  I trust Him.  This faith, that the Lord is taking care of me and all that concerns my family, allows me to rest with a great sense of peace and contentment.

Each day I will keep bustling about the home, making meals, cleaning, creating a safe haven of rest for those who enter this place. I will gratefully serve, with love and contentment, as I care for my husband, children, and grandchildren.  And I will keep writing little notes in my journal about my days - though it may seem boring to onlookers.

I will keep doing this, until the Lord calls me home.

Blessings

Mrs. White

From the Archives -

A Graceful Lesson in Manners and Faith - Waiting for the Door to be Opened. 

Inspiration from the Mother of D. L. Moody - Poverty in the 1800's.

Learning Thrift from History - Adapting to the High Cost of Living. 

 

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

  For Encouragement in Christian Homemaking, order Mrs. White's book, "Homemaking For Happiness: Wonderful Days at Home."

In this book, you will find essays, articles, and diary entries about life in a Christian home.

Entries are arranged by season, and include:  "Keeping a Frugal Kitchen;" "Missing the Lilacs;" "An Evening Walk in the Garden;" "At Grandmother's House;" and "Chores for Grandchildren."

You will also find a few photographs showing a little of the local landscape.

Paperback, 307 pages.