The Cat Is Out of the Bag

The Hotel on Block 46, in Whitefish, MT (photo credit:  Flathead Beacon)

Well, a few months ago, I hinted that “Something New” was coming.  Now that my current employer has been notified, and my new venture has an inked contract, I can tell you, too:

I will be leaving my current employer as of January 15th, 2016, in order to pursue a new career in Finish Carpentry with my dear friend and pastor, Charlie Frederico of Berean Bible Church of Kalispell.  Over the last 2½ years, having been in very close contact with Charlie and his lovely family, I have learned that he is truly a man after God’s own heart, a skilled “tent-maker” in the ministry, who pours all he has into every relationship, every task that the Lord sets before him.  I look forward to furthering our friendship and brotherhood in Christ as we labor together with our hands.  This will also represent a major shift in another area…

For the last 4+ years, I have been working in vocational fields that are somewhat outside of my personal interest.  In 2016, I will begin to get my hands on WOOD on a regular basis… and get paid to do so!   🙂  (See my portfolio here)

Those of you who know me well can imagine how elated I am at the thought of this.  Charlie and I — and a few others — will be installing all the doors, windows, cabinets and trim for the 89-room Hotel, pictured above.  We should be done in the Summer, then moving on to the next project.  My hope is that this line of work will afford me (God willing) the flexibility to begin building our house in the Spring.  I will admit that I am a little nervous about doing carpentry for a living — I really want to do it well!  But as we are fond of saying: “It ain’t rocket surgery!”  🙂

I praise God for every opportunity He brings… and for every trial He allows.

A Decision, part 2

(Image from StoneMill.com — posted here for inspiration’s sake 🙂

Well, in my last post, I mentioned that Something New is coming, and it is.

But this is not that.

This is something else.  This post has to do with our home building plans.

In my post back in February (“A Decision“), I wrote about the decision to take out a construction loan to build our home.  Well, it seems that we may have to go a different route, given certain financial obstacles that are proving repeatedly difficult to overcome.  And so, we are grateful to God for this “trial” (James 1:2-4), for it will compel us to build with little-to-no debt, but requiring great resourcefulness.  I am truly thankful for the necessity of having to go this route.  Why?  Because once our house is built, we will own it free and clear.  We will not be beholden to a 30-year mortgage.  And in America’s current economic landscape, that may be vital.  (Perhaps I will not be enslaved to the 40+ hour work-week, for the rest of my life, after all?  That’d be good.  🙂

A few things of note:

• Montana’s “building code” requirements are extraordinarily minimal; so while we will strive to build everything “to code”, we will only be bound by excellence of craftsmanship, within the bounds of frugality.
• We already have water (a well), electricity and phone/DSL going to the property.
• We have always had our sights set on heating the home with wood, since that resource is abundant at the property site.  That decision remains.

In summary, here’s how I see things unfolding, Deo Volente:

1. We will install a septic system and a (mostly-finished) basement.
2. We will temporarily roof the basement and live there, while we plan to build our timber framed home above it.  The basement will be 1,280 sq.ft… which is at least 200 sq.ft. larger than the place we have been renting (!) for the past 4 years.
3. All former rent payments (and all other available resource$) will go toward purchasing building materials, prioritized by immediacy of need.  Building materials (both purchased and gathered/salvaged) will be stored in a timber-framed barn, which we will build on the property (near the 40’x80′ garden), as a “test build” in preparation for building the home.
4. Once the Timber Frame House Plan is complete, and the timbers designed and fashioned, the frame will be constructed, clad with SIPs and roofed. (Timber material will have been harvested from our property, milled and stacked.)  Basement occupancy will continue, until…
5. When interior walls and flooring have been framed and clad, the family will “move in”, and continue with the “finishing touches”.
6. Estimated completion time: 5 years from start date.

This is all I have time to write… thanks for reading, and we’ll keep you posted.

Something New

 

Something new is coming.

Something completely different, but longed-for.

However, I must wait to announce it until all is “official”.

Keep watching… I’ll post the news as soon as possible.

Clearing the Land

A few weekends ago, we found ourselves trudging through the light mud and melting snow to fell a few trees that were either too close to our “house-pad” or causing too much shade over our future garden location.  Most of the larger trees (12″-16″ diameter), we merely felled, de-limbed and cut into 14′ sections, which will be laid together and “seasoned” until we decide how to use the timber.  More than likely, we will “mill” them (if we can find an economical way to do so — maybe this), and then “sticker” them for drying and later use.

Here are some pics…

Starting the Log Pile

“Working Smart”

The much-needed arrival of a necessity.

The Pile gets bigger…

This is where the house will sit.

I installed a tree swing for the kids.

We’ll be doing lots of this, I’ll bet.

Where the pavement ends, our bliss begins — 1.7 miles down the dirt road.

Everyone’s working together (except my dear and very pregnant Bride.  She’s supervising.  🙂

Pulling up roots…

…So we can “put down roots.”

 Have a great weekend!

What in the world is a "Frolic"?

 Photo from AmishAmerica.com

I was talking with a couple of my brothers in Christ recently, when the subject turned (OK, I turned it 🙂 to the building plans for our home in the woods, beginning in the Spring/Summer/Fall of this year.  I told them that it became clear to me LONG ago that there was no way I could accomplish this endeavor with my pea-sized knowledge of construction (or lack thereof).  I then asked them, if I put a date on the calendar (say, over the course of some upcoming three-day weekend), would they come out and help us “raise the roof” and eat a bunch of food?  One of them, who’s had extensive interaction with the Amish in both Montana and Maine, said, “Absolutely!  The Amish call it a ‘frolic‘ or a ‘work-bee‘ “.  They were both quite enthusiastic about the possibility of helping building our home, which came as no surprise to me, given the reality of the love and Spirit of Christ operating in their families’ lives.  (Not to mention that they both have some serious labor forces in their families!  🙂

Then I got to thinking.

God has blessed me with such dear family-in-Christ in other locales as well, several hours’ drive away, but reachable nonetheless.  I suspect there may be many who would like to visit Montana in the Summer (a gorgeous time to visit here; isn’t it always?), and perhaps swing a hammer or heft a saw in productive fellowship on the outskirts of beautiful Whitefish, Montana.

So, here it is:

If you’re interested in being a part of our family’s biggest project to date, a labor of love that will represent the culmination of a lifetime of prayers and dreams, please consider joining our “Frolic” this Summer.  If you are seriously considering making the trip to join the effort and fellowship, please leave a comment on this post, or send me an email, letting me know when you might be available.  If you are unable to attend, please pray for the Lord’s protection, provision and wisdom as we build.  This will undoubtedly be a very long project, overall, but we would be honored to enjoy your company for even a small part of it.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Is Safety an Enemy?

Photo by history.howstuffworks.com

I checked this book out from the public library today:

 

Now, it’s no surprise to anyone who has even scanned this blog, that I would want to devour a book like this.  Just the very title encapsulates a life-dream of mine… an “item on the bucket list”, if you will.  However, I wonder if my de facto familiarity with conventional modern housing construction — as well as my fear of failure at such an intimidating goal — represent significant obstacles to my getting serious about actually building such a home?  In other words…
Is safety an enemy?
Not safety as in, “don’t run with scissors”; but safety as in, “I don’t want to fail in a highly-embarrassing, financially devastating way, so it’s safer not to try”.
When/if the opportunity presents itself (whenever that may be), will I have the guts to try, to persist?
I hope so.  Safety schmafety.

The most wonderful (solid) substance on earth

I’ve been thinking a lot about wood.  Heck, hardly a day goes by that I don’t.  Anyway, as I’m thinning some trees today around the shop where I work, I can’t help but laugh at how hopelessly infatuated I am with the stuff.

It bends.
It burns.
It builds.
It stacks.
It floats (with few exceptions).
It is at once remarkably simple and wonderfully complex.
It is used by every culture on every continent throughout all time, world without end.

Some have found some very unusual ways to employ it:

And here’s an aspect of wood that continually blows my mind:

It was “invented” in all it’s complexity, by the God of the Universe (YHWH), which He preordinately provided for the atoning crucifixion of His One and Only Son — ineffable.



Not much more to say, except:

“Thank God Almighty for wood.”

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.


     Refrain:
     So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
     Till my trophies at last I lay down;
     I will cling to the old rugged cross,
     And exchange it some day for a crown.

Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.

(George Bennard 1913 — Public Domain)

Crowded Cabin

Lately, I’ve been checking out every possible library book about owner-built dwellings.  You know: log cabins, “pole-buildings“, even off-beat stuff like cordwood cabins and yurts.  In nearly every case, these manuals are written by people who have successfully built their own home… for a family of three or less.

What the heck?

Is there some unwritten rule that says: “In order to be able to build your own home from scratch, from sustainable resources, without paying an arm-and-a-leg, your birthrate must be less than the average for say, Russia.”???  Come on, authors, aren’t you aware of the Demographic Winter we’re having?

Well anyway, My wife and I are the proud and vibrant (albeit often-harried) parents of five (5!) incredible children.  And yes! —  we fully intend to build our own home, on a strict budget, big enough to accommodate our family and the occasional visitors.  This is a major part of the vision that the Good Lord has planted in our hearts, decades ago, and we believe that He will see it through.  We have a goal of accomplishing this task without debt; for debt, in the economy-to-come, will become the enslaver of hundreds of millions of people.  (Look what it’s done to our nation’s well-being, thus far!)

So, if you are wandering through your local book retail store (if they even continue to exist apart from Amazon :-), and you happen to spot a title that looks something like “How To Build A Sustainable Cabin for a Large Family Without Completely Losing Your Sanity or Family Unity”, buy it on the spot!

After all, it’ll probably be mine.

Have a blessed day, friends.

What’s Next?

(View from the top of The Homestead)

Yesterday, my dear bride and I celebrated our 19th year of marriage.  I don’t have to tell you what an incredible person she must be to put up with yours truly for nearly two decades (longer, if you count our entire relationship)… if you’d like details on the kind of woman she is, look up Proverbs 31:10-31.

When we first began our life together, we both had the seeds of desire for “Wide Open Spaces“.  And as long as we lived in the city, dog-gone-it, those seeds just would not stop sprouting, in our minds.  So, while still living in Metropolis, we dreamed about our Homestead:  40 acres of half-timbered, half-pastured land, with a year-round creek running right next to our home site.  We’d build our log-home from the trees on the property (without so much as making a dent in the forest’s aesthetic appeal), and live happily ever after.

Well, it seems our Provider has revealed His own set of details.  Like, “Move to the country FIRST, by faith, and watch for Me to unfold the remaining details.“

After nine months of getting our footing in NW Montana (the first 3 months, we lived in a tent — no joke), and after much prayer and consideration, we have resolved ourselves to purchase (from a dear relative) three+ acres of gently-sloped, well-timbered land in Whitefish.  Not “pasture land”, in the purest sense.  No creek.  No electricity yet.  However, with the provisos offered in the deal (no interest on the loan and free rent in an adjacent home for the duration of our construction, among other providential features), it woud be foolish and discontented to pass it up.  We’ll be planning and building our home as frugally as possible, with an eye toward warmth and dryness.  🙂  Though we have not yet entered into the official (legal) agreement, we have begun, by faith (and with the land-owner’s permission) to clean up the deadwood around the property, cutting it and sorting it into either “firewood” or “construction material”.  All the kids are excited to help, and we have had many a picnic there, building up sweat equity.  Here are some pictures of our work, thus far.  Enjoy!

Dandy Lions

This week, I’ve been assigned the monumentally important, earth-shaking task of… cleaning up around the shop.  You know — spray weeds, demolish old fences, etc.  Now I must confess that my thinking is being radically altered in the way of re-purposing old materials: I’m attempting to always think outside the box (“O-T-B”) when it comes to “de-comissioned resources”, so to speak.  But make no mistake: I’m not a disciple of the Anthropogenic Climate Change movement (AKA “Global Warming”).  Too many slippery slopes into pantheism and too much bad science, yessir.  However, I do try to practice what Yahweh commands humankind to do in Genesis 1:28 — “…replenish the earth, and subdue it…” (KJV).  Perhaps “replenishing the earth” implies that in order to continue to enjoy the earth’s natural resources (water, wood, plant life, minerals, etc.), we ought to squeeze every bit of good that we can out of whatever it is we’re working with, and not be quick to discard things, as is the custom of our wildly-consumerist culture here.  Anyway, back to our story.

I was getting ready to spray the unwelcome “weeds”, when I realized that the plants in question were mostly dandelions.  Now even a cursory search for the health benefits of dandelions will reveal that they are far more useful than they are given credit for.  And these particular dandelions had the healthiest, most perfect leaves I have ever seen on such a plant.  I mean, they grew en masse back in North San Diego, but they always seemed a little dingy and dirty — not something you’d want to throw on a salad.  But these… well, they were Montana dandelions.  ‘Nuff said.

Before spraying the doomed shrubbery, I clipped the leaves and soaked them in some hand soap for a while.  After I tackled that pesky fence for a while (recovering about half of those 2×4’s and 2×6’s for building a square foot garden, later), I came back and rubbed, rinsed and dried the dandelion leaves.  Man, are they pretty!  Check these out:

The Dear Wife and the kiddos will be joining me for lunch today, and I plan to impress them with my scavenging/gardening/re-purposing “skillz”.  Now, what will YOU do today, to think “O-T-B” and re-purpose something?  “Leave” (pun intended) a comment, if you will.

Have a blessed day, friends.

Update:  I just ate a couple of the leaves, and they are a little on the bitter side, at first, but the after-taste mellows quickly, leaving the satisfaction of knowing how happy my liver will be to receive them.  😉