Community Update

Long time...no blog....

Time for a community update.

Today we are getting a camper set up to stay in on the land. We have reached the point where it is just insanity to try to run back and forth to try to accomplish anything and just need to be there full time. It is going to take us a few days to get set up though. There is power run to the barn now, but no outlets to plug into. That needs to be taken care of. The nights here have been rather chilly and I don't want to wake up to below freezing temperatures every morning in a camper. I know..where is my sense of adventure. Have no doubt I have already been on an adventure. Our water use will be limited to what can be stored in the tank as we have not yet dug a well or had county water run to the land. But we know that God is going to bless every moment we spend there.

We have chosen a layout for the lots. All of the lots are between nearly 3/4 acre and 1 1/4 acre. There are eight of them. There is a circular area in the middle of the field of about a half acre which will comprise a community park area. Around this circle will be the residential road, around which the lots are situated. All the houses will face this park area (and each other). All of the area which is currently being leased to purchase will be community land and will contain the garden, orchard, barn and pasture land, and community house.

There is so much to be done, but it is becoming very real. We meet with our first builder Monday and are planning meetings with at least two more. The surveyors are going to head out and put up stakes to designate boundary lines. Then we will be able to get the health department out there to do the perc tests. Then......a well! Then we won't have to head to mom's house to shower. Woo hoo!

I just wish you could see the multitude of confirmations God has sent our way. This is most definitely what he desires for us to do. It's not easy. I does take sacrifice. But he is creating something absolutely amazing, and allowing us to be a part of it.

We have a few purposes at the forefront of this project. We want to promote fellowship because fellowship with each other not only encourages us on this journey, but it makes our lives more meaningful. But even more importantly, it strengthens the bonds of our fellowship with our God. He created us for himself. We want to grow closer to him. Secondly, we want to promote sharing because sharing is the key to abundance...an abundant life, abundant relationships, and an abundant heart. Truly understanding that God is the owner of our possessions changes how we view things. It shuffles the priorities in our lives and frees us from bondage to stuff. Lastly, we simply want to feed the hungry. We intend to grow food for a dual purpose. We want to use it to feed the hungry, and to feed ourselves so that we can direct the money God has given us to govern into different areas. We want to be able to leverage our resources for something, not just use it to meet our own needs.

So many people are in a panic over the state of the economy. Their retirement funds are quickly disappearing. The price of living is rising. Well-paying jobs are becoming harder to find. How will we survive? Not by trying to find a way to make more money to fund their current lifestyle, I assure you. But by standing in unity we will survive. By sharing our resources, and living more simply, and by giving away to those in need. We will not only survive, but we will live in abundance, blessed with a heart overflowing with love and thankfulness.

I will be offline temporarily once we get moved to the land...until we get wireless service. I'm not so sure that is a priority though, so for now...good day.