What is Sisters of the Wooden Spoon?
It’s the women engaged in the skills, vocation, and craft of cultivating home; a guild of homemakers.
And Sword and a Song is the quarterly letter of encouragement to these the women of these far flung outposts.
In a day when the meaning and reality of love, family, home, hope and so much more have been lost, skilled homemakers have the opportunity to re-enchant, re-establish and re-form the community around us. But, when I once again have failed at whole wheat tortillas and dinner is on the line, that reality eludes me. It’s hard to keep the long game in sight. Homemaking is a radical tool for the building of the kingdom of Christ and a means to give glory to God on the earth. I want to voice that truth; I want us to voice it to each other, to reach into what is often lonely isolated work with encouragement and truth.
I have been writing and mailing letters to the frontline of woman engaged in this work, to the Sisters of the Wooden Spoon, since 2020. Over the years I have gathered other women with a heart to do the same, through writing, art, poetry, quotes, and personal letters from the home-front of homemaking. Most portions of the letter come to you in our own handwriting. I desire to create something real, tangible, which actually leaves you encouraged and refreshed.
Quarterly, I mail out a letter of encouragement called Sword and a Song, full of art work, quotes, and poems to the Sisters of the Wooden Spoon with much prayer that it would refresh and encourage. If you too are a homemaker, this is for you.
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Founder and creator of the Sisters of the Wooden Spoon. I have a passion for sharing: books, information, plants, resources... I only half jokingly say that book recommendations are one of my spiritual gifts. I am throughly convinced that we can never individually become all we could while refusing to be readers; it’s a huge path to growth. I have a passion for homemaking and homemakers- the kind of passion that paints it’s face blue, beats it’s shield, and yells for others to run towards the fray. My homemaker’s exterior hides a warrior’s heart. I’m blessed with (and sometimes overwhelmed by) days full of children, cooking, gardening, fiber arts, farming, books and friends, and lots of small works, like sweeping, wiping, and mucking.
I’m Mrs. Burks…
Click here to see my favorite homemaking books.
Don’t be fooled, though there are plenty of flowers and beauty in my day, there might be even more poo, literally and otherwise. Composted poo makes beautiful flowers…that’s how our good God works, beauty from ashes. Though I am called to this small area of public work, I do desire to mind my own business and work quietly with my hands for the glory of God.
I know I could grow this letter faster with social media, I know I could produce this letter quicker if I didn’t write each one by hand. But maybe I don’t need to grow fast…maybe I can be an oak instead of a weed. I’m learning to be patient, faithful and enjoy the process, and when I fall in all those things to get up and swing again.
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The biggest piece is seeking God for what to write about, what would bless, serve, and encourage. I usually write in the early morning while the children sleep. Sometimes it flows like water and other times it’s like milking a stone.
I communicate with contributing writers and artists on deadlines, scans, formatting and edits to their work. All the writing goes through several proofreaders for markups and corrections.
Here’s an inside look at what goes into each letter…
Then there is the mysterious process of copying out my writing by hand for an unknown future formatting. I scan that work, choose photos from my days here on the farm and begin laying out my pages using the open software Gimp and Scribus- which I still struggle to learn better how to use. When I have all the pages done, I upload the pages to the printing company. Then it is proofread again, changes made, corrected pages uploaded again, and I hit print with a deep sigh. Some weeks later a box arrives with all the letters, and the process stuffing envelopes, stamping and addressing, sealing and sending to you begins.
In between I purchase needed supplies, do a small amount of book keeping, and work on website, and promotion, and before I know it, it’s time to start the next letter.
