I really enjoyed reading your stewardship story! I can relate to your first house because as we moved around growing up, my parents always bought fixer uppers and left them in FAR better shape than they bought them!
What you mentioned about being stewards of our kids and their childhood really resonated because it's the driving force that turned us down the path of moving further out into the country to do the homesteading life. We want them to both 1. have chores and responsibilities and learn practical skills and how to be self sufficient and 2. just simply have pure clean fun running around the property being free! So, we have to be good stewards of our property (and our belongings on it) in order to model good stewardship for the kiddos.
So far we manage to have all kinds of fun playing with pets and riding the four wheelers and wading in the creek. In summer it'll be picnics and catching fireflies :) It's simple fun and we love it.
What a great, thoughtful comment! Thanks! I appreciate it so much. It's always nice to know someone actually READS what you write!
I figure that MOST homesteaders probably see themselves as stewards and caretakers of what is in their care right now.
I love the saying that Planting a tree is one of the greatest acts of hope in hopeless times.