This blog post has taken 37 years to write. It's been a goal of ours, since before we moved, to write more - to journal more. And yet, as I write this first blog post, I'm at a loss for words. It's so hard to put into words what we have experienced these last two years and just how special this place is to us, and to so many more...to all who step foot on it. Joe makes it a point to pray with everyone before they leave here - even the Amazon delivery person when we see them. We've seen God's hand upon this place since the first time we stepped foot on this property. He's protected and provided at every turn. The perfect Father. But we didn't always know Him...
The year 2020 was life changing for so many - our family is no exception. Our oldest son was in kindergarten. Joe and I worked full time corporate jobs. Teaching a 6 year old how to login to a video chat (even once a week) for his kindergarten lesson while managing working from home with a 5 year old and 3 year old to care for was trying to say the least. Henry, our oldest, was enrolled at the local Catholic School. We attended mass faithfully and dutifully every Sunday at 10:30 - front pew - in our khakis, polos and skirt/dress for me. For seven years with babies in tow we were sure that faith was important and this was the only way we knew how to practice it.
[[...DETOUR: I come from a divorced home, my father committed suicide when I was 14, my teenage years were plagued with drug and alcohol addiction, rehab, sexual assault and expulsion from school. I managed to skate by with straight As on an independent study program while my future husband was winning golfing tournaments all over the country and about to attend college on a golf scholarship. I can't speak to his experience with faith or God growing up but mine was certainly tainted at best. Fast forward to my early 20's and I had been arrested twice in one year for DWI and a failed suicide attempt found me in the psych ward of a local hospital on my knees crying out to God. When I got out, God had placed three amazing men in my work place who took me to my first AA meeting and by His grace I've been sober since May 2010. I met Joe just one year later. We married a year after that, Henry was born 13 months later, then Jacob 15 months later, then Isaac 27 months later. We were blessed and we were living the American Dream. Until 2020 when we realized that the American Dream was overrated compared to God's plans...]]
Back to 2020...Joe had completed the RCIA program the year Henry was born because he felt it was important to be practicing the same faith in which we wanted to raise our boys. We were faithful Catholics. But that one Sunday in June of 2020 when the church reopened at 25% capacity - we were told by an usher we couldn't enter the building due to the mask requirements for us and our children. We decided not to force our 6, 5 and 3 year old sons to keep masks on their faces. We don't judge anyone for their own choices - who are we to judge - we just wanted to be able to have the choice for our own kids. That was a devestating moment for us.
The search for a new school for Henry for 1st grade began. Jacob was starting Kindergarten in the fall as well and we wanted a school that would allow masks to remain optional but also was faith based. We enrolled them both (and Isaac in PreK) at a local Christian school. The first week, Henry came home and said "Mom, I like this school - we're learning about who God is and not just about his rules". My jaw dropped. How simple kids make it - faith like a child. That year and the next were so impactful for our kids and for us.
But while we were researching options for schools, with mask mandates and closures and protocols constantly changing and a heated political environment, we were still searching for a place to practice our faith - our Christian faith. You see, part of my story includes an abortion at the age of 19. I'll blog on that another time. But the Catholic Church told me my penance was to raise my children Catholic. Our decision to leave the Catholic Church weighed heavily on us, me especially. I knew that if that was "God's House" then all would be welcomed. I couldn't reconcile the experience of being turned away with the loving God I knew.
I had become close with the mother of Henry's from Kindergarten. She wasn't Catholic but had chosen the Catholic school for her daughter because she too valued a faith based education. She not only walked with us in our journey to find the right school for our kids but also in introducing us to the Living God. She led me to my first Bible. When she asked if I had one and if I read it - well, like most Catholics (at least in my family) I had a Bible - and no, I didn't read it ... it was read to me. Every Sunday. Interpreted for me. Applied to me. I didn't know it was a book that was written FOR me...
... putting the kids to bed... come back again for more!
The journey God had launched us on was going to be life changing. As Joe and I continued to remain faithful in our prayer and devotional life, we began visiting churches with friends. We spent a year at a methodist church where we both were baptized in May of 2021 and then began attending an Assemblies of God church near our home in suburbia. In 2023 we began attending a Mennonite chapel and we continue to go where God leads us.
Spring of 2021, Joe and I decided we needed to reprioritize our lives in a way that aligned with what God was revealing to us - we both came to the decision to buy more land. As we searched for 20 - 50 acre plots that we could camp or learn to hunt or go four-wheeling on, we realized that what we wanted was a place to experience closeness with creation - a place we could cultivate and become self-sustaining. This wasn't going to happen on any vacant land or a "second home". We decided to put our dream home on the market after only being there for 4 short years and live somewhere we didn't feel the need to "get away" from. Little did we know how impossible it would be to take a "vacation" from a farm! (We found an amazing farm sitter for the farm while we went on a mission trip to Mississippi May 2024 - Dee's Farm Sitting if anyone is interested! She even came over "after hours" to help wrangle our cows back into the pasture after they escaped through a loose piece of fencing!)
We put an offer in on an house on 7 acres - a generous offer at that. The offer expired one night in May 2021 and as we went to bed that Sunday evening, having had no response from the seller, we felt defeated. I checked Trulia one more time before going to bed - a little OCD probably - and another listing had come up at 10pm. I sent it to Joe and went to bed...agreeing to discuss it in the morning. That night, for the first time, Joe stayed up all night in prayer. When we came together to discuss it the next morning, he said he was convicted that it was the property for us.
As a man who had grown up in suburbia, caddied at country club, went to college on a golf scholarship and worked in corporate America, I know how hard it was for Joe to share that conviction. It came with fear of the unknown. But as a wife, a Christian wife, I believe it is our responsibility to encourage our husbands. And all it took was my faith in him and the commitment to learn all these new things together, and we put an offer in that morning.
As we drove up to the property to see it, the tree lined street had me wondering if the photos were photoshopped...as we expected sweeping views of the mountain and the surrounding farm lands...but as we neared the end of the road, the trees opened up and as teh property came into view, so did the majestic views of God's glorious creation! We knew we were about to see our home for the first time. We were blessed to have the homeowner on the property. He walked us through the house and the grounds, all of the out-buildings and explained the impressive (antique IMO) coal furnace to Joe. We absorbed probably 15% of what he said in that initial walk through! I can't express how grateful we are now for this beast of a furnace that heats our home and our water!! Plus, the kids love watching the coal delivery and the coal chute flowing through the side window of the basement into our coal bin.
As we continued to look around, we came to the "Man Barn". It was currently being used to house a combine - the owner farmed hundreds of acres of other peoples' land "on the side" and had an opportunity to move within 15 minutes to an 80 acre property. Otherwise, I doubt this property would have ever been for sale! Joe stood and looked into the vast "garage" (with the three car garage and bay for lifting cars/trucks etc. attached) and had an overwhelming vision of men gathering in that space to experience fellowship, support and God's amazing power through people! We had no idea the amazing work He was planning for that space.
We moved in October 2021 and every morning is brand new. Waking up to the views reminds us each day of God's goodness, blessing, favor, omnipotence and faithfulness! We decided to name the farm "Waymacres" (credit to my tiwn sister) because it was one of our first favorite Christian songs and God certainly led us to this place.
When Joe found himself being called away from financial sales in April 2022, I was offered a position in October 2023. I left the company I had worked for for 14 years after being heavily recruited for a position that seemed too good to be true. It was. After 6 short months, I quickly learned that the higher up the ladder you go (especially in the world of finance and within publically traded companies) , the more you are expected to conform to the world - and that meant checking my faith and my beliefs at the door. I was let go in May 2023 from
By this time, we had homeschooled our 2nd and 3rd grade sons for one year. We spent the summer renovating our second story. We learned how to drywall, do plumbing, electric, install insullation and flooring, PAINTING, install windows etc. We had a good friend at WESCAR HVAC do our HVAC (Nick Ezolt is amazing!) but other than that, with the help of a few good friends, we finished a 900sq ft space. Another blog on that maybe down the road - it tested our patience, our will, our faith and our marriage but it all came out stronger in the end!
It was during that time that we decided to devote our talents and our LIVES to God - to creating. I'm the creator in this relationship to say the least! Poor Joe, I'm always bringing home new animals, starting new hobbies (crochet, sourdough, goat milk & tallow skin care, painting barn quilts, gardening...). But Joe is my rock. He is consistent, stable, strong and safe. We've slowly but surely settled into the natural roles God intended when he created man and woman. I don't envy men. The pressure of being head of household, provider and protector is not to be underestimated. But as his wife, I'm responsible for encouraging, supporting and respecting him - as a husband, the father of our sons and as a man. When we realize these roles obediently, we find harmony, peace and lasting joy in all things. His design for living truly is perfect.
As we continue to pray and place our future in His hands, trusting Him to MAKE A WAY for His plans, we are reminded of the power of obedience to His calling. We devote 100% of our time to building up this land into a place where community can gather, experience God's presence and the fellowship of others and a place where we can provide for the needs of anyone and everyone...whatever they may be.
Thank you for getting to know us and sharing this journey with us! May God Bless You!
Logan
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