Recent Posts

yellow marigolds in a garden bed

Gardening, Year 2: What I Improved and How I Planned, Planted, and Harvested My 200-square-foot Garden

Could I replicate year 1's magnificant tomato harvest? Here's what I planned, how it went, and what I learned.
big beautiful red tomatoes in a wooden bowl

Gardening, Year 1: How I Planned, Planted, and Harvested a 200-square-foot Garden and What I Learned

I used the square foot gardening method to grow flowers, herbs, and tomatoes. I was most excited about tomatoes. If I grew some, the garden would be a success!
Hardcover edition of the book Live Not By Lies by Rod Dreher

Book Review: Live Not by Lies by Rod Dreher: A Manual for Christian Dissidents

This book argues that communist totalitarianism is coming to America, soon, and we have to prepare now if we're going to survive. But Dreher isn't nearly worried enough.
Paperback copy of the book The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher

Book Review: The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation

This book presents a strategy for Christians living in a post-Christian nation: namely, that we've lost the culture war and need to focus on preserving the light.
Our first son as a newborn

Only a Parent Can Understand Love

I thought I knew what love was. Then I had a son and it changed everything. I felt love for the first time, and it was that day that I really grew up and became a man.
Randy and Jacqueline sit on a mountain in New Zealand

How We Live Debt-Free in a World of Chronic Debt

Debt is ingrained in the modern economy, but it’s not the best way to manage money or build wealth. We live debt-free, paid cash for a house, and can maintain our freedom on $20k/yr. How? Read on.
the sun rises behind the steeple of a church

How We Are Intentionally Building Strong Community Ties

Before moving to Idaho, I'd never been part of a strong community. Now, my friends are people I can truly rely on—which is how it's supposed to be! Why is strong community so rare? And how can you build your own?
Shoreline by Couer d'Alene Lake in North Idaho

Adjusting to Life in North Idaho

How I began switching from being a full-time academic in Boston to some mishmash of stay-at-home-mom, scholar, gardener, and writer. Change is a process; here's part of the story.
Baby Elian stands on Randy's lap and types on his keyboard in front of three monitors

Opting for Flexibility in Work

Self-employment enables me to achieve the work-life balance I want. Here's why I love the flexibility—and how you can get the same flexibility in your own life.

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About

We're Jacqueline and Randy, a blogging duo with backgrounds in tech, robots, art, and writing, now raising our family in northern Idaho.

Our goal is to encourage deliberate choices, individual responsibility, and lifelong curiosity by sharing stories about our adventures in living, loving, and learning.

Learn more about us.


Connect:

whoo@deliberateowl.com

Start here

Curious about our life and journey? Here are some good places to start reading:

Jacqueline and Randy leaning their heads together smiling at the camera

A Blog About Education, Lifestyles, and Community

A brief history of how the Deliberate Owl came to be and why we're writing a blog about us, our lives, and how we're living out our values.
Priests in red and gold celebrate a traditional Latin Mass

Discovering the Traditional Catholic Mass

How I discovered the traditional Latin Mass a few years ago, why that discovery changed everything for me, and what was wrong with the Novus Ordo Masses I'd attended.