Changes in Plans & Trusting Yahweh God!

No home school co-op for us this semester. I have to admit that I am disappointed for both of us. Yet, I do know that our heavenly Abba knows all that we truly need. He apparently does not think we need this, as He has not provided for the gas for us to be able to go.

We are praying that He will some day provide a good fairly economical small truck which would enable us to sell our van. We had to borrow on our van to put in the septic. The plan was to sell the van and keep the car. When the car got totaled, we got stuck with a van payment we never planned on.

It is one of those Catch22 things. We cannot sell the van unless we have another reliable vehicle. We cannot get another reliable vehicle unless we sell the van. In the meantime, we just keep plugging along and have to accept that we simply cannot go much of anywhere. Even our church is in the next town about 12 miles away.

Rural living = being far away from everything! Yet, it also equals nature and privacy and lots of room for our son to run around outside in. Pros and cons. Of course, it would be nicer if we actually had a house to live in! That would at least take some of the sting out of not being able to go much of anywhere.

Learning to be content in difficult situations can be a definite challenge...but it is not impossible. Through all of this, we have had to really keep our eyes on Yahweh God...and our hearts. If we are living for Him...and keep that perspective...it really helps. If we are living for ourselves, then it gets really tough.

Still, even in the best of times, there is so much to do here just to try and have a somewhat healthy living environment that it often does feel very overwhelming. There is only so much that one couple in their fifties and one 12 year old boy can do. So, we have to keep on working on being content with life being a struggle and a challenge.

Struggles and challenges are not bad...they make us grow! Boy are we growing! *laughing*

From our little RV on the hillside to you in your home, I hope that you are not running from the struggles and challenges that can make you grow! Embrace them and trust Yahweh God to help you through it.

The Forever Creek Crossing & Stuff!

Lately, Dave has been working on the creek crossing. It is hard without a backhoe of some sort. He has to manually dig it out. Of course, all it takes is one good, hard rain and a lot of work is washed away. I really feel for him. He keeps trying to get something done, but no matter how hard he tries, something always prevents it from getting done. I know that he is frustrated. It seems like he will never get it all done. It would be nice to be able to drive up to our RV, especially when there is rain and lightning!

A friend of ours went to visit Jamestown. He said that it didn't look like pioneering would really be all that bad. We agreed with him...IF you did not ALSO have to work away from home five days a week. The pioneers had all day every day to build what they needed. If Dave had that, he could get a lot done.

He really only has one day a week to work on anything. With an hour commute each way, he does not have much time left in the evenings, even if he has the energy. When he has to work late, which happens quite a bit, it cuts into that little bit of evening time. When he has to work some Saturdays, well, that is gone, too!

I wonder how much of what we do in this life is futile. How much do we focus on the temporal things of this world and miss what is really important. This life is just a temporary state. The eternal, the permanent, is yet to come. The really important, the spiritual, goes way beyond what we can see and experience here in this life.

We do not want to be tied down to things. We made the mistake of bringing a lot of stuff out here with us. We should have left it behind. Now, we are weeding through our stuff to get rid of everything we can. That is very OK with me. I don't require much.

The one thing I really would like to have is a room built off of the RV. It would be nice to have a bedroom and some privacy. However, Yahweh God has gotten us this far with three of us in this tiny RV. He will continue to do so. It has been over two and a half years.

We choose to keep trusting Him and loving Him, knowing that we do not do so in vain. He is trustworthy, regardless of the struggles we have. He never promised that all things would work out for us. What He promised is eternal life with Him, a cross and to never leave us or forsake us.

High Winds, Leaky Roofs & Torn Tarps!

We had really high winds Sunday night. It tore the tarp on our roof, which still leaks. We really need to clean and seal the roof, but that requires a few days of good weather when Dave is off work. In the meantime, we have the ongoing expense of replacing the tarp. We would also like to actually put a wooden roof over our RV roof, but that takes time and manpower, neither of which we have.

The tarp covering our laundry room also needs to be replaced. It is wet in there again. Of course, the best solution is to finish the laundry room. It is one of those things that really needs to be finished once it is started, though. It is one and half stories high and difficult to cover with a tarp, especially given the high winds we seem to keep having off and on. We cannot leave it exposed to the weather once it is started.

So, that, too, requires enough days of good weather and time off work. With extra manpower we could get it done much faster, but everyone is either unavailable, or physically unable, to help. Whenever Dave does take off work, the weather switches around on us! It either gets so hot it sucks the life out of you, or it rains. Such is life.

So, we will just keep on tarping both the RV and the laundry room for now and pray that the wind, the weather and our budget hold up. What fun!

If anyone out there is thinking of living on their land in an RV, make sure you have enough money to pull it off. Of course, if you are like us, you may not have a choice. In that case, do the best you can and trust Yahweh God for the rest. That is all we can do.

I am reminded that we do not live for this life. If we did...forget it! No, we live for Him. This is but a shadow of what is to come. Now we see through a glass darkly. Reality is in the spiritual realm. That is where real life is. That is what we look forward to.

In the meantime, it is our desire to be able to connect with people and encourage them. It does get frustrating when it seems like we have to spend so much time just trying to maintain the ability to live in this little RV. We would much rather be spending our time with people.

We will choose to keep trusting in Him. We know that He really is leading us and guiding us, no matter what things look like! He refining us. Our faith is much stronger now, even in our frustrations, than it was when we first got here! *smile*

Major Storm & Driveway Washout

I have so many thoughts in my head to share. Our trip was pretty much a whirlwind one. We are still trying to readjust to the time zone difference.

Right before we left there was a good sized storm. It made our driveway a little bit rough, but we held up fairly well over all.

Right after we got back, though, we had another major storm. It was a downpour for hours. We could barely see across our little meadow because of all the water in the air. We had a gully at the end of our meadow to try and divert the water from the hillside to the creek, but we ended up with a mini river going through our meadow of about 4-6 feet across.

We thought the storm before we left dropped more rain than we had seen in our time here, but this second one was even more rain. Or at least, more in a such a short period of time.

Unfortunately, the neighbors' hillside also drains into our meadow, along with our hillside. This was SO much water, though, that it appears that their creek crossing might have plugged up. Most creek crossings are built lower so that, if it plugs up, the water runs over the top. Theirs is built level to the ground. So, if theirs plugs up it does not just go over the top, it goes to the side, too, onto the property. After it goes across theirs, it can go onto ours. We heard them working with a terramite, so hopefully, they are working on diverting the water back into the creek so it won't come across to our side.

There was a storm not long after their crossing was built where the water ran over like that. Some of it went back down into the creek just on the other side of the crossing and some of it went across their property and onto ours. We really need to dig a deeper trench in the end of the meadow to try and divert the water from the hillsides, plus any other water coming in, back into the creek. But that takes either a lot of man hours and labor...or a small backhoe. We are short on time, energy and money. There is only so much a couple in their fifties and an eleven year old boy can do.

The river of water running through our meadow really messed up our driveway. The water was running with such force that it washed away the gravel and left the bigger rocks beneath exposed at all kinds of angles. There are two sections that are not driveable right now. Plus, there are other sections where we got gullies that need to be filled in.

The water going through the creek was so hard that it washed a large concrete block, plus some bigger rocks cemented together, into the trench Dave had dug in the creek. He and Elias managed to get the concrete and the rocks back out using leverage.

I have pictures, but we left our camera cable back in California. Dave's mom mailed it back to us yesterday. I will get all kinds of pics up once we get it back.

Some of the gravel from one washed out area is still in our driveway. But the gravel from the other is washed away down the creek. These two areas of washout are areas that were packed solid and hard. There was almost no loose gravel on them at all before the storm. The driveway is so bad that, if we had been able to cross the creek and park on this side, we would not be able to drive back out. Not without risking some damage to the van. *sigh*

It is very discouraging when, every time we make any kind of progress, something happens - usually weather related - that sets us back again. My advice to anyone who wants to tackle this lifestyle...make sure you have enough money to get yourself set up to at least a certain minimum.

We did not really have much choice about whether to live this way. However, we have learned SO much in the process. I would still like to semi-pioneer some day. BUT, I want to start off with a small cabin and finished driveway! We bought supplies for a workshop when we moved onto the land, but the weather never let us build it. Now, we are not even sure how good any of the supplies are. They have been out in the weather for almost two years. We protected them as best as we could, given the weather here.

God is leading us on a journey. I am sitting here smiling. Go figure! He knows what we need and where we need to be refined. Even though the lessons learned here have been hard, we would not trade them away.

We are looking at what we can do to better our situation. It could mean a move off the land. We are not sure. Living this way temporarily is one thing...but at this point...it appears to be permanent. Dave has not had a raise since the major layoff. Gas prices are going up. We are still in our little RV with no room off the side. The laundry room is unfinished because other things keep happening to divert us from it, including the weather and driveway.

It will be interesting to see what God does...and how He does it. Some things I know...Yahweh/God is in control. He loves us. He cares about details we don't even see...in addition to the mountains we do see looming over us. We can trust Him. He will never leave us or forsake us. He has a purpose in allowing us to go through all of this and He will use it for good. These are all things I know are true!

From our little RV on the hillside to you in your home...I hope that you, too, are trusting Him to lead and guide you. He is the only One who knows the future...the only One who holds it in His hands. He helped me to survive things I never could have survived without Him. He is trustworthy. He has a plan.

Moaning and Groaning!

Well, what we thought was a pulled muscle in Dave's back just might be a broken rib. He went to the doctor yesterday because it was getting a lot worse. He has had broken ribs in the past, and this feels just like one. However, how he would have gotten it is a complete puzzle. He did not fall. He does not remember being hit with anything.

Normally, they don't bother to confirm a broken rib because there really isn't anything they can do about it. They treat it just like a pulled muscle. In this case, however, because there is no clear event to cause it, the doctor wants him to go down this morning and get an x-ray to confirm it. The doctor cannot think of any reason for this to happen. It concerns me that he might have a broken rib with no obvious way of it getting there.

So for those of you who pray...prayers are appreciated. I am placing Dave into Yahweh's hands...the best hands to place him. Of course, that is not the only thing I need to place in His hands. Clearly, not only does this interfere with work, but also with his ability to get anything done here. The creek crossing is being worked on, so we cannot drive our van across it. There is much to do around here that only Dave can do. So, that just means that Yahweh will have to provide in a greater way.

I know that He will not ignore us. He loves us and wants us to have what we need. Sometimes, though, it gets difficult to discern what we need versus what we want. Do we need a big room off to the side so that we can separate our sleeping quarters from our living quarters? It would sure make a HUGE difference in what I am able to do and how I am able to do it. Yet, here we are...without it. We have survived it. So, technically...do we really NEED it?

I feel very stretched by our living situation. We all do, actually. When we moved the RV here I had this picture in my mind of open space, everything in the box, building a workshop with a small apartment at one end and everything becoming accessible. What I ended up with was radically different from that. I have worked very hard to adjust to what is, but there are times when it does feel like it is starting to get the best of me.

The weather has really wreaked a lot of havoc on us. We have never seen it rain so much...and usually on the weekends when Dave was off work. On the weekends when he worked it was typically nice and dry. I have actually seen him plan on taking days off when the weather was supposed to be clear and then have it rain for most of those days. It sometimes feels as if we are intentionally being thwarted. Our faith is definitely being tested. There is no doubt in that. In spite of all we have not been able to finish, or in some cases even start, Yahweh has gotten us through it. We have made it through three winters in our RV now.

Our experiences have taught us a lot. In fact, it was Dave's having to keep repairing the creek crossing every time it rained hard or long (which seemed to be almost all the time) that made him decide that he needed to work on that first. Every time he had to work on that crossing, it took time away from the other things he could have been working on. Plus, if we ever do have to sell the land, the creek crossing will make it more valuable. Although, with the price of gas, the property values around here are not likely to go up. We are too far away from everything.

It sure would be nice to have access to a Terramite, or some other small earth mover. We could get weeks worth of work done in a day or two. But they are expensive to rent...not in our budget at this point. Although it takes a lot longer when you have to do things by hand, on the upside...it helps to get one's body in shape!

We have had to alter our plans many times, but nothing seems to work out the way we hope. So, maybe our plans are not Yahweh's plans? It would seem so. Maybe we are just not supposed to get a room built? Maybe we are not supposed to get the laundry room finished so that I can get some clothes and things out of the box? I really miss my dresses and jumpers. Maybe I am not supposed to have access to the curriculum that I know I have but cannot find? Perhap, we are not supposed to have the privacy for communication and adult things that I so miss because our son is always around, especially in the winter and at night all year long? I so miss Dave and I being able to talk after we get into bed.

At this point, I am even becoming more open to renting some place closer to Dave's work, but seeing as how we do not have the income level to afford that, it really is a moot openness. Besides, if we rented something somewhere else, how would we get anything done here? We would be too far away. No, it seems like our only option at this point is to just stay here.

I have many questions for which I have no answers. But this I know. I am Yahweh's. He does not promise a life of ease and luxury, despite what some false teachers would have us believe. That is NOT what Yahweh says in His word. Maybe they use a different bible? My bible says that we will have trials and tribulations. It says the rain falls on the good and the bad and the sun shines on the good and bad. It also says to count it as joy when we encounter these difficult things for God is doing good things through it.

So, that is my choice. As best as I am able, until my final breath on this planet, I will praise Yahweh. I will do my best to rejoice in these trials, knowing that He is doing something with them that is causing me to grow. Even when I feel overwhelmed and unsure of how I will take my next step, I will praise Him and I will love Him. What can this life be compared to an eternity in darkness? This life is short...although it seems long.

From our little RV on the Hillside...I hope that you are able to see Yahweh's provisions in your life today.

Water Leaks & Continuing to Trust!

We still have a water leak. The thing that spins and tells us we have a leak has started spinning faster again. We did take care of one secondary leak, so we are not sure if we have one or two leaks. Today, we are going to turn off the water and go back onto our tanks.

We are pretty sure it is two. We are trusting Yahweh to provide for this water bill coming up. We already know it is going to top $200... and that was before we continued leaking. We do have the name of our trustee, who we are told might be able to help with it; however, we are not sure what his phone number is. There is no number next to his name, so I am trying the numbers above and below his name (for other trustees of other townships) to see if they have his number.

*sigh*

Gotta keep trusting in Yahweh. He works through all things! We praise Him and thank Him in all things, and for all things.

Abba, we know that You are doing something in all of this. Help us to see it and to always keep our hearts and minds focused on You. Amen and amen!