Whether the search is for fast food, employment opportunities, or a home church for our family, society today surely sends the message “Bigger Is Better.” If biggie sizing everything is really the answer, does the small family farm still have value to offer to our society? Our family would answer with a Super- Sized “YES!”

Like many families, my husband and I felt the yearning to return to our roots. We moved to a more rural location and began what many would consider hobby farming or homesteading. After some job transitions, we found God calling us to begin farming as an occupation.

However, the call wasn’t simply to produce food to be put into the mainstream food sources of our nation. Our hearts were moved to specifically operate a small family farm that would connect the farmer with other families. It was all about relationships, meeting people’s primary need for wholesome food, and reaching people with the Gospel. It didn’t take long for God to burden our hearts with the knowledge that it wasn’t just a calling for my husband and me; it was a calling for our whole family.

Initially, we attempted to keep our life divided into neat little packages. School was something that was in its own block of time and was given the royal blessing of being “a time when learning happened.” How narrow our vision was!

A farm like ours that deals directly with the consumer on a regular basis is truly a microcosm of the larger business world. Incorporated into our daily lives are not just animal care and maintenance of the farm and its grounds; we also are faced with marketing, accounting, and customer service issues, as well as the challenge of keeping abreast of the legal and political forces that are shaping our world and business. How blessed our family is to have built-in internships for our children in each of these areas.

It is quite normal for the kids to go with my husband when he is scheduled to meet up with those who get food from our farm. On these outings, the kids have the opportunity to sell eggs and work with money, exemplify a servant’s attitude in helping load a person’s order into his or her car, and extend hospitality through a warm greeting and inquiry into how an individual’s family is doing. Also, as we hear of other families’ struggles, it’s a wonderful opportunity to reinforce with our children the power and effectiveness of prayer.

Back on the farm, stewardship of all that God has provided is taught daily. It may be through tending to the family garden and then preparing these foods for winter storage. It may come in the form of feeding and watering the animals each and every day in order to keep them healthy and strong. At other times, it is the cleaning of the barn and equipment to keep it in working order.

Last fall, my husband was asked to provide testimony before the Joint Committee on Agriculture for our state, in regard to the demand and profitability of farms that have direct consumer contact. Our children were afforded the opportunity to see the state capitol from an insider’s point of view, witness actual proceedings of our politicians in their elected roles, and see that a small local farmer like their dad can make a difference. Of course, on the trip home, this opened the door for a very thorough discussion about how laws are made, how politicians get elected, the powers of the different branches of government, and how the average citizen can get involved. What a day of learning—and we never opened a book. However, when we got back to “school,” the children had a whole new perspective as we went back into studying our nation’s history. It all became so real!

After having worked side by side with us on the farm for the last couple of years, our girls, Rucia, 11, and Michaela, 10, are beginning their own farm-related businesses. Rucia has decided to raise goats and sheep. Her business will require a daily commitment to animal care, financial planning and budgeting to feed her animals, and eventually marketing them for sale. Michaela has decided to follow her natural flair for beauty. She and I have been working at remodeling the original milk house on the farm into her new facilities for her natural milk-based soap and body products. Her business venture will require the creation of the initial products to be sold, labeling and packaging designs, marketing and sales, and product pricing. Her new line should be available this fall.

Our boys are on the horizon. Zechariah, 8, works side by side with his dad. He is learning the daily operations of farm life and often offers suggestions for new equipment designs and building projects. Although his calling may never be in the area of farming, the experience Zechariah is having in seeing his dad in action is preparing him, in a way like no other could, to be a man, husband, and father some day. What a remarkable testimony to a young boy to witness his father depend on the Lord for good weather (through prayer and faithfulness), wisdom in business decisions, gentleness and kindness in dealing with customers, perseverance in the hard work of farming, and peace in knowing that God is sovereign in all things.

Let us not forget about little Joshua, 4. He is diligent in learning to count as he gathers the eggs each day. Like his older brother, he stretches his little legs as far as he can to walk right in his daddy’s footsteps. In the midst of all this, his invincible spirit keeps us all on our toes as he takes on any job he takes a notion to—in spite of his size, age, or strength.

We are truly blessed as a family and are now enjoying the opportunity to bring other homeschoolers into our fold as young entrepreneurs. Visit our website at www.doubleofarms.com to see what Mikael, 13, has been able to do with his own dreams of being a website developer. With a definite yes, the Oaks family believes that small family farms still impact our mega-sized world in a huge way, one touched life at a time.

Dawn Oaks lives in central Kentucky with her husband Gary and their four children. Dawn also enjoys reading writing and is working on her doctorate in naturopathic medicine. A major focus of their home is “doing things the way God designed them to be,” whether in homeschooling, farming, or providing for their family’s health care. For more information about their farm, please visit their website at www.doubleofarms.com.