Who We Are

The Burrell Family

Hello - we are Paul and Angelia Burrell and daughters: Haley, Sarah, Erin and Olivia. We are a Christian family of six who live in a rural setting in Alabama. Our goal is to raise our four girls to be loving wives and mothers and to minister to the community in whatever method our Lord leads.

We have a strong desire to build a working farm to preserve traditional crafts and skills for future generations. With every move of technology, skills and talents that have been “common knowledge” for hundreds of years disappear.

While God expects us to “put our hand to the plow” and to “occupy until He comes”, we also know that “in due season, we will reap if we faint not”. Angie and I have found that our family has been drawn closer through the work of our farm. The children love each other and work as a true team to get things done.

Our prayer is that, if you don’t know Jesus as savior and close personal friend, you will be brought to Him. If you already know Him, you are part of our family and we’d love to hear from you. Either way, write us!

Why This Website

For a long time, we have prayed about preparing a website to share with folks who are interested in our family and lifestyle. So here it is.

In preparing this we were concerned that someone might think that we are prideful about our lives or family. After much prayer we realized that this was a tool in which we can share our beliefs and daily life.

While many may think our way of life is unusual, we would like to remind everyone that farm life and simple living was normal and not the least out of the ordinary up until about 100 years ago. Sometimes "progress" is not a good thing.

We enjoy a pleasure in our faith, home and family that surpasses anything man could make. As we work together at our little farm, we find great joy in the simple things. Whether it is all of us in the garden picking beans and singing silly songs or seeing new baby chicks coming out from under their mom for the first time.

There are few things that can give you sweet tranquility like sitting on the porch swing in the early morning, having a cup of coffee and watching the sheep grazing in the field. Or late in the afternoon walking through the garden with the kids to find the first pumpkin on the vine.

Our prayer is that through this confession of our faith, that you and your family may take a step closer to those things that may help bring more peace and joy into your life. A faith in Jesus Christ and an understanding of the plan of God for His children. Maybe even a step back towards "The Garden" and the basics of simple living.

Plain Life

We believe that the Holy Scriptures tells us that it is God’s desire that we should live modestly and simply on the land that the Lord has given us. It is also our understanding that it is God’s best for us to dress in a manner that would be clear evidence of our relationship with the Lord. We base this on 1 Peter 3 and 1 Timothy 2. Therefore our family dresses in plain clothing and the females wear headcovering as prescribed in 1 Corinthians 11.

In our study of the Church, we've found that God's people have always dressed differently than the rest of the world. In the early days of the Church, Christians dressed plainly and modestly. They did not dress with the style of the day (the Roman culture) and did not participate in the cultural activities. It is our understanding that the Holy Bible is not a cultural book. God's precepts are not pick and choose, depending on where you stand in time.

We do not believe that our salvation rests upon our outward appearance but on a change of the inward man. God has blessed us abundantly as we have been obedient to His Word. Inward changes always produces outward changes.

People often say that it's what's on the inside that counts. We look for fruit. You wouldn't cut a tree down to see if it's an apple tree or not. You would look for the fruit! Likewise, we believe that inward changes produce outward fruit.