A Brief and Un-Exciting Family Update

Welp, my parent's house has now been on the market for 6 months, and we have been in this process as a family for 18 months.  The last report was that we had an offer, but her financing fell through so she was going to try to jump through some necessary hoops and make another offer.  I'm not sure exactly what happened, but for whatever reason that has fallen through altogether.  

We are back to square one.  It's a little disappointing, and frankly, the whole process is a bit confusing.  We have packed up and stored boxes of stuff, listed unwanted furniture on Craigslist, and put important purchases on hold in an attempt to be obedient to what we believe the Lord has asked.  His timing is so different than what we would choose.  It encourages (and also scares) me to remember that there was a gap of at least 15 years between the time that David was anointed King of Israel and the time that he actually became King.

We don't know what will happen, or when, but we cling to the hope that He knows what He's doing, and He knows the best way and time.

Brooke Fraser sings, " As I wait for You, maybe I'm made more faithful."  May that be true of us.

Big Blog Announcement

A new name and a new look, and a new store coming soon!

Why a new name?

I know I'm the one that chose it, but I was never thrilled with the original name.  Mostly I just wanted to get started blogging and I couldn't think of anything better and I didn't want to wait to start until I did think of something better.

Why Rehoboth?  

Rehoboth comes from a story in Genesis.  Isaac's herdsmen dig two wells and end up quarreling with other herdsmen about who they belong to.  They dig a third well and no one quarrels over it.  Isaac named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the Lord has made room for us and we will be fruitful in the land."  When I read this passage about a year ago, I connected with it so strongly because it's precisely what my family is asking the Lord for.  This word has come to symbolize for me and sum up our family's vision to multi-generationally reconnect with the land.  If we name our farm, I'm sure we'll choose the name as a family, but I hope to call it Rehoboth.  In the meantime, Rehoboth is what I ask the Lord for (nearly) every day.

Why Herbal?

I have loved plants and gardening for many years now, but if you had asked me not so long ago what my opinion of herbal medicine was, I would have scoffed and put it in the box labeled weird/new age/hippie/folklore/waste of money.  As I started to become more interested in a more natural lifestyle, I read a sentence somewhere that stuck in my mind like a thorn.  "Why wouldn't God have given us everything we need?"  It's a good question, and in pondering it, I believe it's more likely that He did.  This is not to say that I don't believe in doctors and modern medicine or that I think any or all plants are miracle working wonders.  I do think that many Americans (myself included) have outsourced their health, are disconnected from creation, and too often medicated for profit.  I think there's a time and a place for each, and a balanced middle ground.  I think there are vast, untapped resources that God has given us, and I'm enjoying learning more about them.

Why a new look?

The new look is to go with the new name.

Why a store?

The idea for the store was an organic process, no pun intended.  I'm excited about the products I'm making and using, and in talking to other people I realized that many are interested in natural products but not as excited about making them.  I've mentioned before that I hope to someday earn a living from the farm, and this could be a stepping stone.  It could be a way for me to earn income from home while moving toward eventually transitioning out of my job, and someday maybe I'll grow my own herbs to use in my products!  I don't know what will happen, but this has become part of the adventure for me, and I'm excited to try.

Thank you to my many dear friends who have supported and encouraged me and my family through this process!!  I appreciate it more than you know.

Houston, We Have an Offer!

Just a few days ago, while half the family was out of town, we received an offer on our house.  Yay!!!   :::Panic:::   Pray.  

We had 24 hours to make a decision: 24 hours in which we would not be able to be together to discuss and process together, so all interaction had to take place via phone and text.  As usual, we had a variety of responses ranging from reluctance to, "What are we waiting for??"

Ultimately, we thought it was a good offer and didn't feel any "red lights" from the Lord, so we accepted.  Now we have less than 2 months to find and close on a new house.  I believe that because the Lord sent a buyer, He has a place for us to go.

If you would like to agree with us in prayer, this is what we are asking the Lord for specifically:

• wisdom and sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit 
• agreement and unity among family members
• no more than 20-25 minutes away from the church building
• in the Yukon/Mustang area
• at least 5 acres with some trees and preferably water
• in the price range we have agreed on as a family

There are many other things on our list, but those things are the most crucial.  We appreciate your prayers, support, and encouragement.  We are trusting Him.

Thank you!

This Circular Thinking Is Making Me Dizzy

When we first began considering this process, we sought counsel from a good friend who is already doing much of what we're hoping to do and is much farther down the road.  His advice was to have someone take care of the farm full-time and to read the book You Can Farm by Joel Salatin.  I was immediately interested in being the full-time person, so I bought the book and read it.  It was fascinating and incredibly educational.  I was a few chapters in when I realized that the author was the man I called the "profound farmer" featured on Food, Inc., a documentary that was influential in our family's process.  Joel Salatin is now one of my favorite people, and I'm currently in the middle of Family Friendly Farming: A Multi-Generational Home-Based Business Testament.  Wow!

I guess I'll be a bit vulnerable here and tell you that the reason I was interested in being the full-time farmer is because, while I mostly enjoy my job, it's not exactly a meaningful career, and I don't have a family of my own, so I struggle sometimes with investing the bulk of my time and energy in doing something that isn't really meaningful to me.  For a season is one thing, but for nearly 15 years is another.  I've always had a soft spot for animals and several years ago I discovered a love of gardening and the outdoors.  This seems like an opportunity to invest my time and energy in something that will be more meaningful and ultimately fulfilling.  Now, I'm sure I'm romanticizing it in my imagination, but I'm just as sure that I'd still like to try it.

So I have a plan.  I think I'd be glad for the Lord to interrupt or rearrange my plans (famous last words), but I'd rather have specific goals than vague hopes.  In very simple terms, my plan/hope is to work at my job for another 1-3 years while I pay off all of my debt (other than my mortgage which someone else is paying anyway) and save enough to have a healthy sized cushion while I transition to working on the farm and possibly building a business out of it.

Here's where the circular thinking comes in.  I'll have a moment of frustration that the process is going so slowly, then I'll think, "Okay then, what can we do right now while we wait?"  Then I sigh deeply and think, "Not much.  I can barely keep up with my life as it is."  I want to start learning as much as can now instead of waiting until I can actually do it full-time, but I don't have much time for learning until I can quit my job.  Similarly, in reality, we have a relatively large yard and we could grow a lot of food in the space we have...possibly even have some laying hens and rabbits.  But we're trying to sell our house, and not only do I "not have time", but an attractive lawn is generally more appealing to potential buyers than a yard sized vegetable garden and animal poo.  Not only that, but we're interested in emergency preparedness (New York City is a prime example of why this is a good idea), but we don't want to stockpile things that will only have to be moved eventually.  We're trying to get rid of things before the move, not add more.  I feel a sense of urgency that it would be wisdom to do this sooner than later, but the process is not going quickly at all.  So I'm caught in this tension of wanting to do as much as I can as soon as I can, but feeling like I can't effectively do much at all.

 

I guess what's important is to continue doing what we are able to do as we are able to do it, and realizing that we have actually done quite a lot.  While I don't know that we've made much progress in the area of sustainability (other than learning, which really is valuable!), we are continuing to learn and make healthier choices in our food and health and beauty products.  Things like organic apples, cloth napkins, and homemade moisturizer are simple changes, but not insignificant ones!

Now an update.  The offer we made on the house in Mustang was a consignment offer, meaning their house stays on the market while we try to sell ours, and if they have another offer we have 3 days to come up with a plan to buy it even if our house hasn't sold.  We didn't know what kind of response we'd have to our house or how easy or difficult it would be to sell, but it looks like it's not going to be easy.  We haven't had a single official showing of our house.  Some neighbors across the street came over and asked to see it one day and said they might be interested but they'd have to sell their house first.  There has been no interest other than that.  I think houses in our neighborhood generally don't sell quickly, and our house is unique on top of that, having 5 bedrooms, etc.   Well, another offer was made on the house in Mustang and accepted.  We considered taking on 2 mortgages to make it work, but felt like that wasn't what the Lord was saying.  I think I'm equally relieved and disappointed.  While it was wonderful in so many ways, I think ultimately it was too far and too expensive.  I do feel a little sad if I think about it, but at the same time, I really haven't thought about it that much. We haven't processed it as a family yet, so I'm not sure where everyone else is, but I think I can confidently say that the bottom line is: we trust the Lord.

 

 

 

Leap of Faith: A Progress Report

Obedience to Someone intangible can be tricky.  Obedience to Someone intangible when 6 adult opinions are involved can be even trickier, but we're doing our best. 

A couple weeks ago we looked at a monster house (over 6000 square feet!!) on 7.5 acres in the city about 15 minutes away from the church building.  It was very impressive and very grand, and somewhat practical.  On one hand, we could have all fit (shyeah!), but on the other it would be very hard to be sustainable in a house that large.  On one hand, it was easy to love the idea of that house, but on the other I think everyone loved it but me.  I crave more open land in the country, and I'm fascinated by the notion of tiny houses and very seriously considering living in a bus.  Nonetheless, we were on the verge of making an offer.  Our concerns ultimately outweighed our enthusiasm, however, and we never followed through.

A few nights later at the dinner table my dad asked the family what we thought about going ahead and listing our house.  He had felt a release from the Lord a couple weeks ago that it was time, and that morning felt like the Lord told him we needed to be ready for quick action.  We went around the table and shared our responses to that idea. They were mixed.  I thought it made sense: it would force us to complete all the little projects we'd been putting off until we found the right place, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if God asked us to step out in faith before revealing the answer. 

The following Saturday, I thought about checking the real estate listings for anything new.  I've been the one that's done almost all of the searching and deciding what properties to go see.  Instead I decided to focus on being ready by working on some projects around the house, rather than investing time looking at listings.  The next morning I received an email about a new listing that I knew could be one of the strongest contenders yet.  We went to look at it three days later and learned that the house had been shown 20 times in four days, and there was talk of other offers, so we knew it would indeed be important to act quickly.  In response to what my dad had heard from the Lord and in agreement as a family, we made an offer that night.  Two days after that our offer was accepted, and two days after that our house was on the market.  In between Thanksgiving and Christmas isn't when most sane people try to move, so now it's really up to the Lord to send a buyer for our house.  I'm glad it's in His hands.  If this house is His will for us, He'll send a buyer and we'll be grateful for His provision.  If He doesn't, we'll be grateful that He prevented us from moving where He didn't want us to be.  

Because it happened so quickly, it's been interesting to see how people are processing the decision.  One of the reasons this house seemed so great is because it's already set up for multi-generational living.  The current owners were a family that lived in the main house, and one set of their parents who lived in a second, smaller house built into the workshop behind the main house.  The reason they're selling is because the couple that lived in the main house are divorcing.  When we looked at the house, the parents living in the smaller house were there and said they had thought that was going to be their forever home, and they weren't sure where to go from there.  This has been really difficult for my mom to process.  She feels like she doesn't want it at that expense.  

To be honest, I've had second thoughts as well.  I know my dad is willing to live there, and had peace about making the offer, but I also know that he really wanted to be closer to the church building and the people in our congregation.  Plus, while there's a workshop that appeals to Tim and John, a pool that appeals to me, a nearby small town that appeals to my mom, and a nice house that appeals to my sister, there's no catfish pond for my dad.   For his sake, I think I wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't work out.  I also have started to feel sentimental about our house.  My parents have lived in this house for nearly 17 years!  Part of me wishes we could sell it to someone we know so we could come back sometimes.  

I've been plagued by other doubts as well.  What about being incarnational?  Can we do what we feel God has called us to in the city where the people are?  Should we?  Is selfishness behind my desire to live in the country, or regarding the current political climate and decline of society is it wisdom and discerning the times to be somewhat removed from the city and more self sufficient?  Is it okay to be a Christian and live in the country?  That sounds like a silly question, but I've pondered it.  This house is so close to being exactly what we wanted, and yet...so far.  Literally.  Did we make a hasty decision or are we truly being obedient?

It does feel good though, to have finally have taken a significant step forward.  It will be interesting to see what happens.  Whatever the outcome, I'm glad it's in the Lord's hands.

Poor, Neglected Blog & New Beginnings

Readers, forgive me.  It has been four months since my last confession blog post.  A lot has happened since then.  I will now attempt to update all 7 of you in as entertaining a fashion as I am able.

1.  I got a new job.  Yay!  I had been thinking for the better part of a year about applying for a job at a local publishing company.  They seemed like they hire creative people.  I finally decided to apply for a part-time entry level job.  I didn't hear anything for over a month.  Then I got an interview.  Yay!  Then I didn't get the job.  Boo.  Then I got a call from a manager in a different department offering me a job without even meeting me.  Yay!  I accepted.  I really enjoyed my new job!  Yay!  But I had much less free time and flexibility to do things like blog, for example.  Boo.  After 3 months I got promoted to full-time.  Yay!  And now I have even less free time...but I've gotten rid of most of my old extra jobs so I'm going to make a renewed effort at blogging.

2.  There have been some major life changes for most of the rest of my family.  Without going into a lot of detail, about half of my family was involved full-time in a ministry of our church called Master's Commission.   My last post was about pruning, our church's theme for 2012.  We don't know why, but the Lord has pruned Master's Commission.  What we do know is that He is sovereign and good, and He knows what He's doing even if we don't.  So now the rest of the Family On a Mission crew are pursuing other exploits.

3.  Progress on making our house ready to sell and hunting for a new one came to a near halt for several months.  In the Spring, the people involved in Master's Commission travel as much as they are home...maybe more.  So half my family was out of town half the time, and I was busier.   Now that Master's Commission is done, we are making significant progress on our house and beginning the search again.

4.  My sister had a baby.  Yay!  Meet David Vincent Jeffrey Port (I think).  Or is it David Jeffrey Vincent..? 

These developments have caused an interesting shift in our family mission and vision.  When we were house hunting in earnest several months ago, we were under the assumption that almost everyone would be commuting back and forth to our church building every day.  Now no one will be.  We don't know all the implications of this yet, but it is significant.

Though we don't yet have land or goats or a big garden, we are still learning more and more about sustainability and a more healthy, natural lifestyle.  We are gradually making more and more changes, and I am excited to share our lessons learned with you!

A Paradigm Shift

Thanks, Linda for inspiring my next blog post!  I want to talk a little more about our vision.  The prevailing cultural paradigm about growing up is that children turn 18, go to college, and then make their own way in the world...perhaps never to return.  

Our multi-generational vision is a little different.  "Generational transfer" is one of the terms frequently used in our network of churches.  We believe in multi-generational families building a multi-generational church.  In fact, that was what our sermon was about just this morning...fathers raising sons who become heirs, becoming fathers who raise more sons.  It's a pattern we believe in.

It's not that we don't believe in college or leaving the nest.  I am a college graduate and the three oldest children in my family have each lived on our own and in other parts of the country separate from the rest of the family for a period of time.  Those were important times.  But ultimately my vision for my life is bigger than myself.  It includes my parents and my future grandchildren and beyond.  I "feel called" to build generationally with my family.

Lest I wax too philosophical, what does this mean for us when we house hunt?  I said in my first post that the goal was to live all together in one house.  Well, this is one of multiple options we are considering.  Basically we're looking for the situation that is right for our family's needs...whether that be two mobile homes, a house with a garage apartment, or one house that's big enough for all of us.  We don't know exactly what it will look like.  We're just trusting that whatever it is, we'll know it when we see it.  

These options are also the immediate goal as a means to an end, not the ultimate goal.  If we can live together sustainably and be prudent with our spending now, it will expedite the ultimate goal which is having enough land that all the sibs can have our own space and build our own homes someday...still ultimately living and working together.

I think we each have a sense that this is rare and special - that we like each other enough to want to live together...long term.  It's evidence of a generational blessing in our lives.  We as children get to reap the benefits of parents and grandparents who have served the Lord and sacrificed for the benefit of future generations.  We're grateful to reap the blessing and desire to continue serving and sacrificing for generations to come.

-Kendra