Barn Renovation - A Name (Part 4)

Miss the first part of the Barn Remodel saga? Catch up here: Part One. Part Two. Part Three.

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Maybe we are stubborn optimists. But really, if we are filled with faith, how can we not be? God promises to work ALL things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. We do and we are and we live in trust that He guides our steps when our hearts are fully His. So though it seems crazy to be building up and finishing a project when in transition, sometimes you just have to finish what you start.  And the in-between times are the best opportunity to prepare for the next thing.

I’ve learned not to live in fear of what people think. It’s not as if we could have known the future. When we first decided to take on this project, we made the best decisions we could with the information we had. We just walk step by step. His light for our path only reaches a few steps in front and we don’t have an inkling what wonderful sort of plan He’s dreaming up for us.

We wait with expectation. We have our ideas of how God works or how He MAY work.  A big barn with an attached finished space holds a million possibilities.

For now, it is a space of quiet and counsel and relationship building, a haven to share hope and encouragement. And if that’s all it ever is that’s OK with us. Our heart is for people and healing and guiding others to walk in His steps because walking with Christ is the greatest adventure!

So we have a space in a barn that's finished, and we wait. We walk down the road to our room beside the barn and we quiet ourselves and our hearts and our lives.

A place like this needs a name.

It's been called a man cave, the men den, the barn room, the shack. But it is really none of those things.

And what do we WANT it to be?

It's not to be a place to escape reality, and it's not for men only.

It is a place of quiet. Away from dishes and mess, noise and demands. A place to think. Or to read. Or to talk.

We like to talk. To each other and to our friends. About life. About Love. About grace.

What do we call a space like that?

Picture taken from Loft. It's not furnished, or pictured.

A room that is to be an oasis in the deserts of our everyday. A place where we drink from the Living Water, and come away refreshed and renewed.

It is our En-Gedi.

So it is. So it shall be called.

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Barn Renovation - {Part 3}

So, we had sold our business. The inventory in the barn slowly disappeared and the haymow emptied as the new office was bolstered and filled with a level floor, a stairway, a loft. 

Sometimes we start things that seem like a good idea and then along the way, 

circumstances change and we wonder – what was THAT all about? 

How’d we get HERE? 

But we knew our history of business and adventures and we were convinced that somehow, God still had a purpose for this project and we hadn’t just started this thing on our own. And along the way, our lives are remodeled too. He's been bolstering our supports, tearing out the rotten boards, preparing our life structure for what is to come.

As we go about the busy bits of life and work, we feel we are in a waiting period, a not-quite-settled-in time of learning to be empty of ourselves and full of trust and praise and worship. He has brought us this far, and we are waiting for his purpose to be revealed.

Are you waiting too? What are you doing while you wait?

Barn Renovation: Before
Barn Renovation : Part 2

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Barn Renovation - June/July (Part 2)

As we looked at the structure and available space and thought about our options, we began to get excited. Envisioning a heated office/man-cave with access to all our business inventory in the barn, we contacted our landlady, discussed what we hoped to accomplish, and she was all for it. We love her family, they tolerate us kindly, *cheesy grin* so it's a great arrangement for everyone!

We have a good relationship; I have the ladies out for tea, Christmas visits, and photo shoots in the woods. They are welcome anytime. I love to hear the stories of the girls growing up together in this house, and all the history of the farm. And they love to share! We have a mutual love of these acres, and they are satisfied to see kids enjoying the farm. 

So, with their blessing, we began.

First the interior wall board was removed, along with the ancient insulation, wiring, drop ceiling and plumbing. The windows were removed, and the last thing to come out was the beast of a milk bulk tank. Much thought was given to the process of removing it, as it had to be lifted a few feet off the floor and slid on runners out the window. Without denting it. Because who wants a dented milk tank? All that shiny-ness marred? No thank you. Forget that it now sits in a storage building. It must not be harmed!

The bulk milk tank is removed.Without so much as a scratch. Thank goodness.

Of course, a renovation is never completed without the unexpected appearing. In our case it was a sporadically rotten support structure. Worse in some places than others, many of the boards needed replacing. We reused boards as we were able.

We also intended to reuse the siding, but as it was pulled off, much of it splintered or crumbled. New siding was in our future. But that was OK. It gave Robb the perfect opportunity to discuss the merits or lack thereof to pre-painting siding.

Larger windows were framed and purchased,  an interior wall was removed, and the project moved right along, notwithstanding a mosquito plague.  

 New support walls to replace rotten boards.

Things were looking up, and then we sold our business...

Barn : Before (Part 1)

Barn Renovation: Before

 
See the little "house" protruding from the barn?  This building has been our most recent project. And by "our" I mean Robb and his friends that have have been hired to do all the work. This is to be Robb's space and I have been banned from even suggesting paint colors. Thankfully Robb has excellent taste and I am pleased with how the project is coming together. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The main part of this space, the room with three windows, housed the milk room, the place where all the milk was stored in a huge stainless steal tank until a truck came to pick it up. If the calendar on the wall was any indication, it hadn't been used for it's intended purpose since 1993.

The door on the left opens to a storage space that is butted up next to the silo. You may remember we used this space as a temporary locker room for Robb's birthday party. A hallway leading to the cow stalls, still complete with name plaques for cows that were called Pizza, Lollipop, Bonbon, & Sowflake)  separated the silo room from the milk room.

The second level? Well, I'm not sure of the original purpose of that space. It only had a floor the breadth between the little windows, and a tiny, crawl through door leading into it from the hay loft.  When we saw it, and how easy the ceiling above the milk room would be to remove, our imaginations were captured and we began to dream of what this space could become...

Stay tuned for answers to questions like, "What's it to become? Aren't you a little crazy to remodel a rented space? I thought you sold your business; why do you need an office now? What colors did Robb choose anyway?"