A Decision

Years ago, when we began this dream of building our own home in the woods of NW MT, we soon became aware of a decision that would have to be made, which would affect many other facets of our life, for decades:

To mortgage, or not to mortgage?

We could build our house little by little, over the course of several years — even decades (!) — only as (or if) the cash became available.  We’d probably be living in an old single-wide trailer on-site as we built the house piece-by-piece.  Perhaps by the time our children had grown and had children of their own, our house would be finished…

-OR-

We could assume a construction loan/mortgage, take on the responsibility of paying it back over the next few decades, and enjoy the privilege of spending those next years in that house with our children, having made not only the house, shoulder-to-shoulder with our dear family and friends — but also having made many memories, and having given them a crash course (pun not intended) in home construction.

————————

Now, perhaps I can hear the cries of “go debt-free!” from all the Ramsey-ites.  I don’t disagree that being debt-free is a blessing.  Still, under the circumstances, the mortgage — and finishing construction in under 1 year — was the way to go, for us.  It was no small feat to bring our family of seven (now eight) from SoCal to NWMT.  We did it, in part, to pursue all the things we couldn’t afford in the uber-inflated economy of California:

• wide-open spaces
• agricultural pursuits like chickens/bees/high-volume gardening
• no HOA telling us how to use our land
• hunting & trapping wild game on our property
• even the simplest thing of owning a dog, with room for it to run around on.

All these things center on having a warm, safe, dry and secure “home on the range.”  To be constantly pushing back that dream of a “clean, well-lighted place” would undoubtedly frustrate and exasperate my family (Ephesians 6:4, Proverbs 13:12).

So wisdom was sought after… and received.  And then we acted.  We secured the most trustworthy General Contractor & Carpenter that the Flathead Valley has to offer, and we are currently pursuing a construction loan.  Please keep us in your prayers as we move forward, by faith.  I will post as much of the process as as I am able, here on this blog.  Thanks for taking the time to read, and may the Lord bless your days, as you trust — and rest — in Christ.

Spring is looming…

Photo from JDPayne.org

…Yes, Spring is looming in the near future, and today I am feeling like a deer in the headlights.  For starters, I have a monstrous head-/chest-cold, that makes my head feel like it’s in a vise, and my torso is tired from cough spasms.

But more notably, there are a LOT of things heading my way this Spring:

• The home birth of our 6th child.  All of our other children were born in hospitals, so this is a bit of a leap out of our comfort zone.
• The beginning of construction of our home in the woods near Whitefish, MT.  I know virtually nothing about house-building.  I’m very nervous.
• Both of my jobs really tend to ramp up in the Spring, Summer and early Autumn months.

I know I should be extremely excited about all these things, and I truly am, but it does feel a bit overwhelming at times.  Your prayers for health, wisdom, provision and protection would be greatly appreciated.

Happy New Year!

Moving Forward!

(Our Future Driveway.)

Good day, dear friends and family!  Many apologies for the lapse in time since my last post.  So much has been happening, that I have been admittedly intimidated by how much writing I’ve needed to do, just to bring you up to speed with what’s new with our dreams and goals.  Let me start with a little background…

Since my dear bride and I were married, we have dreamed of having a home in an area full of what we like to call “Wide Open Spaces”.  However, in the many years that we lived in Southern California (for a multitude of reasons that could be summed up, in hindsight, as Providence), that dream was never realized.
Then we moved to NW Montana.  And we started to get our bearings.  I found work (I now have employment in Kalispell and Martin City), and our family found encouraging relationships with genuine Christ-followers here, people of all different kinds, with wonderful histories.  During that time, my parents and my Uncle Dave had followed suit in relocating to the Flathead Valley.  After he had purchased 10+ acres of “raw land” just west of Whitefish, Uncle Dave invited us to consider purchasing a portion of his land (given some pretty amazing & unbeatable terms), and to build our future home there, adjacent to the one he was planning to build.  After seeing this beautifully-wooded place and dreaming a lot, we agreed to “partner” with Uncle Dave, who was repeatedly proving to be an instrument of God’s grace and provision.

Now, he was waiting for his home in Oregon to sell, before he could “pave the way” in developing that land for use in construction (bringing in an electric line, digging a well, septic, etc) and beginning to build his “mountain house”.  So, we waited too.  For over a year.
Then, suddenly, Uncle’s house went into escrow!  So, for the last couple of weeks, my Bride and I have been putting our heads together — and praying a LOT — over plans to build our home in the woods.  We have staked out the dimensions of what will become our South-facing house…

 

(This is pretty much the exact spot where our home will be built.)

…and have found an amazing local draftsman/engineer/designer who is consulting with us over the continual floor plan revisions and “tweaking” necessary before we build.  He never complains about our barrage of questions and changes; and, he never charges us a penny.  “Who is this guy?”, you ask.  Well, we like to call him:
“Uncle Dave”.  That’s right.

(Uncle Dave, on the left, with us — visiting an Off-grid friend in Eureka last year.)

And now — drum roll, please —  Uncle Dave’s escrow on his former Oregon home closes tomorrow!  Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!  We are planning to celebrate his “ground-breaking” this Saturday morning.  Of course, our home will probably not begin construction until next Spring, but lots of our prep-work (Septic system, electrical decisions, excavation, etc) will be going on this Summer and into Autumn.

Please continue to pray for us.  Here’s what we need prayer for:

• God’s divine protection, provision and direction.  (John 15:1-17; Philippians 4:4-13; Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 37:4)
• Friends to help us with the labor, when construction begins
• Cooperation from Ric’s employers as we work out a harmony of schedules that will accommodate our home-building
• That we will keep Christ at the center of all we do.  (Psalm 24)

Keep this blog bookmarked in your browser, so we can keep you up-to-date on our progress.  May the Lord bless your efforts to serve Him.

–Ric

 

(Clockwise from Left: Chloe, Jenna, Ric, Emily, Caleb, Cassandra and Sophia)

An Open Letter to My Younger Self — Part 1

A while ago, I heard a song that (barring a few crass references) got me thinking about the last couple decades of my life.  Now, I’m only 44, and that hardly qualifies for large quantities of reminiscence.  Still, since I can’t change my past, the best I can do is pass on what little wisdom I may have acquired.

I must first make a few disclaimers:

• I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and I believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God.
• I grew up in a broken home.
• I am a veteran of the U.S. Army.
• I have never been financially wealthy.
• I spent the majority of my “career years” as a pastor of worship for modern evangelical churches.
• I have willingly left that line of work, nearly 2 years ago.
• I have never started or maintained my own business.
• I have spent most of my life in Southern California, but am now a grateful “transplant” to Northwestern Montana.

OK, on with the program.  So as to refrain from the appearance of judgmentalism, I will address this letter to my 18-year-old self.  Some of these points, I have done.  Others, I wish I had.  Those of you who know me will know which is which.

Without further adieu…

________________

Don’t even think about going into debt for a college education: Unless you’re going after becoming a corporate attorney (perish the thought!) or hit the lottery, that monstrous obligation will haunt you for DECADES to come.  (Notice how I didn’t say “become a doctor”.  I’d sooner go through life with my hands tied behind my back and a leash around my neck.  Same thing.)  No, spend your youth EARNING a living.  Even a modest income, properly stewarded, is better than spending buckets of borrowed capital on a slip of paper (a “degree”) which probably won’t mean a darn thing in the world you will see unfolding.  Don’t pay to learn… GET PAID to learn a business or trade.  Then, become the leader.

Learn to MAKE or BUILD things.  DO something with the energy of your youth.  Pursue a career and life-path that will allow to you to step back from your efforts and say, “Look at THAT.  I made that.  I’m responsible for that coming to be.”  There is a world looming in the distance which will not be friendly to those who cannot build a dwelling, cultivate a vegetable garden, hunt and prepare one’s own meat and stitch up a wound.  Spend a significant amount of time and energy learning how to survive in the wilderness.  Be willing to do things, to solve problems, which most other people will avoid.  There is tremendous value in that.

Stay in shape.  Don’t let yourself become lazy or complacent in the area of physical fitness.  Stay strong.  Create a lifelong habit of physical exertion.  You never know when you’re going to have to run harder, swim farther, climb higher, or carry more than you ever thought you could.  Be ready.

Buy fertile, wooded land as soon as you possibly can.  Build a modest, simple, small and smart home on it, BEFORE you marry.  If you can do this, without getting bogged down in debt (preferably debt-free), you will alleviate yourself of the “life of quiet desperation” which Thoreau warned against.

Marry a woman whose Bible is worn out from use, and who is beautifully contented with the simple life God gives her.  A woman who spends very little on the things which mean little, and who is not afraid to pay cash-on-the-barrel for things that will last for decades (Proverbs 31).  Pour all of your manly love and affection into her alone, and don’t waste your character on pursuing anyone else — not even the thought of anyone else (Matthew 5:28).  And marry young.  Start having children (lots of them) as soon as possible.  Do not ever say something diabolically foolish, like “I don’t know if we can afford to have any more than 2 children.”  Be fruitful.  Multiply.  Trust God that He is better at providing for you and your family’s needs than you will ever be.

Don’t get comfortable in this life.  This world is not — I repeat, NOT — your home, if you have wisely and rightfully put your trust, your very life in the hands of King Jesus.  Be ready to say, “Where He leads me, I will follow.  What He feeds me, I will swallow.”

Learn how to get along with all kinds of people.  Make the Golden Rule your life’s theme.

_________

Well, it’s getting late and I’m getting sleepy.  Perhaps there will be a Part 2 to this post.

What would you say to someone much younger than you?  Leave a comment below.

Frenetic Blogging Fricassee

 

Here’s a new recipe: I like to call it…

“Frenetic Blogging Fricassee”

• 1 lb. of scattered thoughts
• 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep (maximum)
• 1 Allergy Pill
• 102 Pictures of my current Dream
• 2,376 Projects that need starting… or finishing
• 1 anticipation of pizza and ice cream on Fathers’ Day

Mix well and sit in bed with a computer in your lap.  Serve promptly.

Anyway, I’d love to be coherent and concise, but I can’t, so I hope I don’t scare anyone off.  Here goes…

——————

We have been spending lots of weekends working hard (probably harder than some of our kids would like) to gather all three acres’-worth of “firewood” that’s been laying all around the property.  One of our favorite meals in the Airstream that has become our “base camp” is Macaroni and Cheese and Wienies (or “MacWienies”, as I’ve heard it referred to).

 Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few…

At the entrance

Showing off their walking sticks

Studying the local flora

We love Montana in the Spring!

Hoping to build a “starter garden” just to the right (South) of the shed, using its roof to catch rainwater for irrigation.

(Unfortunately, my dear Bride was behind the camera for these shots.  Oh well.)

————

Looking forward to doing some boating this weekend, with Grandpa and Grandma, maybe out to Whitefish Lake.

I miss the presence of some dear family and friends back in SoCal.  I so wish they could be here, to see all of this breathtaking beauty.

Both my PC’s battery and my body’s “battery” are running low.  Please leave a comment if you’re so inclined.  Looking forward to hearing from you!

–Ric

Sunday afternoon

 
Sweetpea and Buck (Ages 15 & 12) are in the kitchen whipping up a double-batch of choco-chip cookies — for which I’m sure I’ll need to make a “milk run”, later this afternoon.  Munchkin and Puff (10 & 5) are making crafts on the coffee table — looks like some get well cards for Mama, who’s napping after a nasty tangle with the stomach flu this morning, during our church fellowship.  Cass-a-frass (2) is down for a nap, my “Yellowjackets Fav’s” playlist is helping me to tune them all out, and I think I’m finally free to put electronic pen to ink, so to speak.

Where to begin?

I ache to begin building a house in a wide-open space.

Not some 4,000 sq-ft showpiece in a ski-resort town, that will appreciate in value until the point where I can sell it off and make a killer profit and then go buy an even bigger house or two, etc, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.  No.  That paradigm never existed for me, and I believe that ship has long-since sailed for many other people as well.

The house I envision — this divine vision, placed in my head by God Himself, I’m convinced — is small, and is glaringly devoid of some of the many ecoutrements so common to “city” life.  It doesn’t have a dishwasher, nor a 60″ flatscreen, nor an electrical outlet on every single wall… but it does have a root cellar.  It does not have another house placed 4 paces away from it, nor a postage stamp-sized excuse of a “backyard”… it has a barn and a chicken coop.  It uses the earth surrounding it for insulation, staying warm in the winter, cool in the summer.  It is made from salvaged or reclaimed materials, but is classy and warm nonetheless.  Now I have it on trustworthy authority that such a house doesn’t have to cost an arm-and-a-leg to build.  Lately, it seems the Lord has been having our family’s path crossing with that of several other families who have varied experience in these areas of life, learning and building that we are pursuing.  I find this very encouraging, and this encouragement is vital to our journey…

…’Cause let me tell you, the details surrounding our available tangible resources can be quite discouraging at times. (I briefly considered listing some details here, but decided against it.  Email me if you’re curious)

However, none of these things (nor the many other “faith-foes” that I do mental battle with every day) can trump the fact that God is watching out for us, providing for our every need and surprising us in ways we could never invent.  Just this morning, we got in our car to go home from our church fellowship, someone had placed an envelope full of dollar bills on our console — anonymously, of course.  (Thank you, Lord!  Please bless the people who sent it!)  During the writing of this post, I made my first sale on Ebay.  I was able to salvage and cash in some building materials last week.  And dig this — I have a good friend in Washington who seems to have made it his own personal mission to send me more medical and preparedness supplies than you can shake a walking-stick at.  For Pete’s sake, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had my countenance lifted by his “surprise packages” in the mail!

So, what I’m finding is, that trusting in the supernatural provision of Heavenly Father is a whole lot more adventurous and exciting than just having everything all figured out in my own head.  We sure could use a lot of prayer for wisdom, direction and providential favor.  We are going to be looking into acquiring land to build on, but doing our best to adhere to the Lord’s way of going about it, and NOT getting locked into a 30-year mortgage.  Also, if you are interested, our oldest daughter has begun blogging as well.  You can read her posts at IShunpike.blogspot.com.

May the Lord bless you in your going out and your coming in… Psalm 1.

WOS-dom

There’s a thread that seems to run through a life lived among wide-open spaces (WOS).  The WOS-man (or -woman) knows how to hunt most wild game, and has the trophies to back up the claim.  He has an assortment of hand-made trout lures, which he uses every spring off the banks of the [insert river name here].  He has the ability to deal productively with every season of the year — snow or shine.  Spent more than half his days on the back of a horse, or driving a John Deere, or some other studly activity.  The WOS-man owns a 300-acre ranch at the base of the Northern Rocky Mountains, which has been in his family for 4 generations.  He can survive anything, build anything, learn anything and be trusted.  Makes his (very lucrative) income by being his own boss.  Above all and in all and through all, he honors his Maker by living a life of wholehearted faith, simplicity and humility.

Well, as much as I want to be the WOS-man, I’m not there yet.  And given the legacy that I was born into, I may never be.  But that’s OK.  Because you can’t attain WOS-dom living in a large Southern California city.  You have to pull up stakes and move.  And even then, it may not be possible for you.


But it just might move your children toward WOS-dom.


Yes, they can learn to hunt!  (–Together with you, of course.)  They can learn to fish and plant and grow and build and sacrifice and save and dream and lead.  And by you having the cajones faith to trust God’s promises (in places like Joshua 1:9), you can bring about A Different Legacy, for generations to come.  And faith can change the course of history, one generation at a time.

(Thanks for sitting in on my little pep-talk to myself.  🙂

Now that we’re here…

Well, as far as the Columbia Falls post office is concerned, we are now officially Montana residents.  Truth be told, we have moved into a house where, because the postmaster hasn’t seen their way clear to put a mailbox at our residence, they feel compelled to give us a free PO box:

#171.  Zip=59912.  Feel free to drop us a note. 🙂

Anyway, we finally have our own place, after camping out on the Tams’ backyard for nearly 3 months.  Good thing, too.  We had had our fill of the “Frosty Coleman Tent”, with many a night below freezing.  (Many, many thanks to our dear friends for hosting us as long as they did… much longer than any of us expected.)

So now, as we hunker down for the long Winter, we must remain focused.  For we were called by the Spirit of God to this region, to make it our home, to establish a different legacy than the one we grew up in.  We do not know what He has in store for us, but we are becoming sure that there are things to be studied, proficiencies to be gained.  Spring will come again, and with it, the further study of even more ways of making a life here, perhaps even gaining the land necessary for practicing what we study.  That is our hope and prayer.

I heard it said —  no, predicted — that the next twenty years will be completely different and unrecognizable from the last twenty (or more).  I believe that is true.  And so, a different legacy is necessary, on a very grand scale.  I only hope that I can lead my family into it.

How about you?  What will be your legacy?  What will you trust God to accomplish through your lifetime, by faith?

Lots to catch up on

“Part of the difficulty of blogging is that it requires so much writing.”
–Anonymous

..OK, it’s not really an anonymous quote.  I said it.  Or rather, I typed it.

Today marks our 72nd day in Montana, and much has happened… and much has not.
Happenings:

• Found a job, with the most scenic commute I’ve ever had.
• Got snow tires for the L-O-N-G winter
• Found a place of our own to live for the winter.  (And no, it’s not in our big Coleman tent.  That novelty wore off some time ago.)
• Met some good friends
• Visited Glacier National Park in the summer
• Went river-rafting with the kids (except the smallest 🙂
• Kids got to milk a cow, ride horses (prepping for our own), and just generally completing their metamorphosis into “country-folk”.
• Helping to build a friend’s house (also prepping for our own)
• Had relatives over for a visit (Dad, Uncle and Cousin)
• Discovered the blessing of these local and highly-organized thrift stores… we even know some folks “on the inside” 😉   (Nice pants for $3!  Who knew?!?)
• Bought the Mrs. a gun and a knife… it’s legal in this state to carry both in her purse.  Boo-ya!
• Checked out some scary properties
• Made use of an outhouse.  More than once.
• Slept outside in 30-degree-ish weather.  Regularly. (Don’t worry Mom… we’re safe and warm at night!)
• Performed “surgery” (so-to-speak) on fire engines, ambulances and heavy construction equipment

OK, on to the [drum-roll please]…

“Not-(yet)-Happenings”

• Buy a homestead of our own
• Own a dog, and various and sundry other domestic animals.  Some for milking, some for laying.  Fill in the blanks.
• Build our own house.
• Feel like we are prepared for winter… Brrrrrr!
• Acquired a pickup truck with a full gun rack, a metal grille and a winch.
• Earn as much as we did “B.M.” (Before Moving)

WON’T Happenings

• Losing faith, or losing heart.  Won’t do it.

Keep praying for us, as we continue to see the Lord’s provision more clearly, in the most mysterious ways.  Pray that He uses this time to make us more like Him.

Oh, and a very happy birthday to my dear Bride.  She is truly the most amazing creation I know.  “Thank you for saying ‘yes’!”

Moving Day looms large in the near future

I’ve always said how much I hate moving.  You know what I mean — all the junk-purging, box-labeling, dust-bunny killing, muscle-wrenching, BenGay-smelling madness.  It’s enough to convince even the most nomadic wanderer to plunk down roots FOREVER!

(OK, I went away there for a while, but I’m back now…)

Anyway, all that angst aside, it is gloriously invigorating to imagine our family in a completely different life.  And perhaps this “imagining” is a clue to my greatest struggle during this season of my life.  You see, by design and default, I am what I call a “realist”.  (My DW jokingly refers to my “pessimism” as the providential opposite of her optimism.)  Not only do I see the glass as half-empty quite often, I often take it to the extreme (another of my wife’s wise assessments 🙂 by brooding over such other related topics:

• How in the world am I going to procure the H2O necessary to fill that glass enough to hydrate my entire family?
• How can I make sure that the water in that glass is a refreshing 60°F in the summer, and how can I be sure that I don’t freeze my glass off in the Montana Winter?
• What if I can’t find employment or a source of revenue sufficient enough to afford the glass rental?
• When will I be able to afford a down payment on my own little 10-acre glass?

My only hope, my only anchor is my Sovereign, King Jesus.  As I look back over the course of my life — and my family’s — I know he’s had me covered, all along.  So, I have no reason to entertain and nurture the fear that He will all-of-a-sudden just up and desert me.  He does love me, after all, and even good old Apostle Peter says I can throw all my cares on Him, ‘cuz He cares for me!  (1 Peter 5:6-11)

So today, I’m going to take one step at a time.  I’m going to do what I can do, and leave the rest (and there is a lot more, let me tell you) to God.  I’m going to IMAGINE the BEST.  I hear Him speaking to my heart, “Go ahead and move forward, I’ll never leave you, I’ll never forsake you.  Be strong and courageous…
…and go ahead and jump in the glass, the water’s fine.”

And in the words of the Reverend James Cleveland:
“I… don’t… feel no-ways tired!
I’ve come too far from where I’ve started from
Nobody told me the road would be easy,
But I don’t believe He brought me this far
to just leave me!”