As I see my son and his wife struggle with the challenges of having 4 children under the age of 4, I am in awe of how well they are doing and yet I also yearn for them to have more support. They are so dedicated to raising their children in an environment where they feel safe and loved, and I feel happy to be with them as Chris’s father, Cliff, and I go weekly (at least) to spend time with the children.

I see such a need for support for such families. Since my son and his wife are not vegan, at this point they would not want to live in the community I am creating. But I can still dream! And I can see so clearly how nurturing it would be for vegan families who share the Wilberforce Village values to have a home where they can be supported.

When our daughter was 4 and our son was 11, we were very fortunate to find the neighborhood where Wilberforce Village is located because many homeschooling, Christian families lived here and wanted to raise their children in an atmosphere which was quite counter-cultural in this day and age.

When my children most needed an environment where they could have wholesome activities where they made life-long friends, learn life skills, be supported in their education, and learn basic Christian values, we found Living Springs. This is the neighborhood where Wilberforce Village Project is located. For that I am so grateful. My children found their spouses first as friends who they met when one was five, the other thirteen. That’s pretty unusual and wonderful.

I want to create a co-housing community especially welcoming to families and singles or childless couples who love children and want to be connected to families.

In the common house, people can organize a school, share whole-food, mostly raw organic vegan meals, and gather to worship.

If you read previous posts, you will see the vision I have for so many things including food forests, growing food using vegan permaculture principles, gathering and cultivating wild edibles, living simply and close to nature, finding joy in little things, and singing and celebrating together. Being part of the larger community of Living Springs, Kingston (the nearest tiny town), Huntsville, (the nearest medium sized town) and Madison County is extremely important so that we are service-oriented and not isolated. Governing with shared power using Sociocracy 3.0 which also insures that there is transparency and integrity is extraordinarily important in this time where so much corruption is being exposed.

Fostering the cultivation of virtuous living and placing emphasis on character building is one of the priorities for raising children in such a way that they can be future effective, compassionate leaders.

Maybe there is only one family on all the earth who shares the vision that I have been establishing in this entire blog, and in this one post. I will search for them. I hope to describe the family, or individual who shares this vision and values in such a way that they will approach me and we can establish trust as quickly as possible so we can move forward.

I perceive that my whole life has been about creating this vision and the reason I have not manifested the community I have so wanted to live in, is because our wise Creator God knew that I needed to learn so much before I could be the vision-setter and leader of a community.

Am I ready yet? Only God knows! But I will keep praying and each day becoming, with Jesus help, more like Him in my thoughts, words and deeds. I still fall way short, but when I think of where I was even a year ago, I see how much I needed to change. I am so grateful for that. I think those who are close to me would agree that I have made some profound changes and that I am willing to grow even more.

Love to all! Thanks for reading this, and I would enjoy your comments. I just have to remember to look for them!