House of Serenity

Our move from Little Shouse on the Prairie was somewhat bittersweet.  Although our move was an amazing answer to prayer, it did come with a cost - our two eldest daughters.  Maid Elizabeth owned a home and Miss Serenity had secured a job and made a 5 month commitment.  As we drove down our driveway for the last time, I watched our daughters grow small in the distance.  With tears streaming down my face I prayed for their protection.  And I prayed that God would do His will in their lives.  

Maid Elizabeth and Miss Serenity have spent their summer making the trip from their home to ours.  They have helped us get settled.  They have cleaned and painted and built right along side of us.  And then they've made the trip back home.

As Miss Serenity's job came to a close, she began anticipating the next chapter in her life, whatever that might be.  As she prayed and thought, her mind kept coming back to home - the home where we now lived.  We talked about job prospects and house prospects and what she wanted to do with her life and things began to fall amazingly into place.  Within the span of a week, Serenity had a new job lined up (for next spring), and had purchased a house! 

Following her house up the mountain

Miss Serenity's house is not a typical house, it is a former Potlatch (timber company) scalers shack!  It is 8 feet by 20 feet and is on a 5 ton military axle.  It is sturdy and solid and is going to be oh, so cute when she is done fixing it up!  

Serenity chose to "park" her house behind our new butcher shop.  She has privacy, a yard and a year around creek running in front of her home.  Not only is it a wonderful place for her to live, she will also work at the butcher shop in-between other jobs.

Sir Knight bringing the forklift to set the house into place

Picking it up and moving it to line up properly with our building

Getting ready to block it up

Cutting the dunnage

Our chicks are coming home to roost!  We are so grateful that our children choose to be nearby and we thank God that He is providing a business not just for Sir Knight and I, but for our children as well!  

And now we get to be a part of the House that Serenity built!!

Abba, Father!

Abba, Father!  That is the cry of our hearts every day as God leads us on this adventure of faith.   We are terrified, we are excited, we are expectantly hopeful.  We are learning to walk in the knowledge that God has our every footstep measured.  He has filled our cup with blessings, pressed them down and caused them to overflow, leaving us in awe of His mercy, His grace and His everlasting faithfulness.

For years, our family grew and learned and toiled in the classroom of Little Shouse on the Prairie.  While hauling water and lighting lanterns and coaxing generators to life, we were learning life's true survival skills, falling on our knees in dependence on God.  We prayed and cried and praised.  And we trusted.  And now, in the blink of an eye, our lives have changed - our prayers have been answered and our tears have been turned into dancing.  And all we can cry is Abba, Father!

Getting ready to pour concrete

Sir Knight working on the pad

Guys from our local lumber mill using their forklift to hang our sign!

Getting it done

The first sheet of FRP goes up

Sir Knight and Miss Serenity working on the wall

Beautiful!

10 x 4 foot sliding door

Plumbing going up

One of our grinders

The office (the beginnings anyway!)

Painting done - still awaiting the final metal touches

Although we are not open, every day we are getting closer.  We have installed FRP (an FDA required wall covering for food processing facilities) on the walls, removed garage doors and scrubbed every square inch of our building.  We have poured concrete, built doors and painted inside and out.  We have rebuilt equipment, acquired equipment and cleaned equipment.  We have pulled wire, plumbed sinks and cleared drains.   We have hung signs, off-loaded a HUGE cooler door and are expectantly awaiting our cooler and freezer delivery.  And every step of the way, we have watched God do the impossible, paving the way before us and causing us to sing His praises - Abba, Father!

And so, we wake up every morning in anticipation - with the cry of Abba, Father, on our lips!!