"Where there is no vision, my people perish"...Proverbs 29:18
Pictures of our log cabin and the little story behind it is not what I imagined sharing as my first post on this new blog, but for some reason, it is what I am being led to do. Maybe because it is what we are currently doing, all while my husband is changing jobs, we are selling our dream farm we have owned for twelve years, and God is calling us into a new thing! We are called to be faithful in the day of small beginnings. To some, our downsizing to this cabin would not be appealing, especially leaving a large gorgeous historic home with all the bells and whistles, but the Lord has given us such a joy at doing this, even an excitement. This downsizing will enable us to close up doors when we need, and travel to wherever the Lords leads us or needs us. It will be a debtfree lifestyle we have sought for many years. It will be a change, but we are willing to change. We have learned that change is growth, and we seek to grow in our relationship with God. My hope is, in sharing our current vision, it will inspire you to believe for what God has for you, a life better than anything you can create for yourself.
Five years ago my husband and I were on the way to our farm on Hannah Gap. When we rounded the turn off of the highway, and saw this cabin in it's original location, my heart lept inside me. The cabin had been a home with asphalt shingle siding, and until they decided to sell it, the shingles had hidden the logs completely. Now, there it was, all stripped down and the logs in all their glory, two separate cabins joined by a dog trot under one roof. My husband and I talked about it as we continued the mile down the road to our farm. We sought the Lord about talking to the owner, and before the day was over, we found ourselves talking to him about buying it.
We had always dreamed of a log cabin on the farm, but thought it would come years later, after we retired, and from a purchased kit from a log home company. This antique version was much better; however, when we inquired about the cabin, we found it had already been sold.
After some discussions with the home owner we found out the buyer was a man from a log cabin construction company, who had also seen the cabin when passing by on the previous day. He had beaten us to the purchase, but that did not stop us. Phone calls and meetings later, we had the logs tagged, and were being disassembled and delivered to our farm by the same log construction company.
That began a series of events that put us in motion to reconstruct our cabin over the next six months. We knew it was important not to allow the logs to stay in storage, or on the ground for very long to prevent decay and termite infestation. We did our best not to let that happen. It was early February when we began, and mid-summer when we finished. Every evening, after my husband put in a full day at work, we would work on the cabin until dark. The two of us reconstructed the entire log portion by hand until the logs were up higher than our heads. Then, using a beam that we borrowed to mount on our tractor to hoist the logs, we completed the top up to 14 feet high. We widened the dog trot area between the two cabins and filled the front of it with extra logs creating an entry, and on the inside, a foyer. After our months of work, we turned the project over to a builder friend, who put on the roof , the porch and the gable ends. There it has sat for the past five years.
The chimneys and chinking were also subbed out, after we tried chinking for a few days, and knew it was a bigger ordeal than we estimated. We knew it would take us months more to complete, and by that time we were into our busiest season of the year with work. I was so glad we made that decision. Chinking was slow and tedious with continual mixing of mortar. Before that, we had done all of our foundation stone masonry, but chose to turn the chimney construction over to the experts too.
We have the original stone steps that will be set soon. The interior has a rustic staircase and 2" rough sawn poplar subfloor for the upstairs. Soon we will be finishing the interior, as "soon" as we sell our home. We are waiting on the Lord for the sale, and we know he is ALWAYS on time.
The vision the Lord gave us years ago is coming to fruition. Our little cabin will soon be our permanent home. Later, I will have some pictures of finishing the interior, and landscaping the exterior. When we first envisioned the cabin on the property, we thought it would be a retreat, or a hunting cabin for retirement. God knew our future, and our desire in later years to downsize. I am so excited to be going the direction He is taking us, and can hardly wait until we are living there full time. I hope you will write me and share some of the visions the Lord has given you!!
Found this old wood crate at a local antique market held in our town for the first time last Saturday. About 25 to 30 dealers turned out on the chilly morning, but that did not stop the show. 
