~~Abbynormal Turns the Page~~

As far back as I can remember when thinking about my future…..it always had something to do with living in the country or woods. It was my life dream. (See my first blog “Abbynormal Peace”) It was a big part of what Linda, my best friend in junior high and I talked about. We were going to be roommates and live on the little farm I was raised on in Oregon. We were going to have horses and goats and chickens, and, and, and….
Tick Tock....

Then later on in high school I thought more about becoming a hermit, living in the woods alone and studying wildlife.


Tick Tock....

This desire to live in the country showed up in how I raised my children, how we bought a little house on a small piece of land surrounded by the city, and we had a couple of horses and raised farm animals. (See my blog “Abbynormal Family Farm”)


Tick Tock, Tick Tock...

Yet, there is something that never stops moving forward, tick tock....it is called TIME, my children grew up, one moved to Hawaii another to Alaska, and some to the other side of town. I was alone in my house in the city and I really wanted to be back in the country. My kids encouraged me to JUST GO..... part of me thought that they would follow, but they had their own lives and most had put down roots.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the desert, I miss the desert, I just don’t like the city part of Las Vegas. I was ready to move. I put my house on the market to sell, and I was going to go visit and stay with family until I found a new home.  Then my sister told me about a Christian online dating site, I decided that I would give it a try for two weeks. Just two weeks!
Tick Tock...

My profile write up was harsh and to the point of who I was and what I was looking for and not looking for!

A man from Oregon found me, he seemed to have the same life dream that I had. We talked, and then he flew to Las Vegas to meet me, then 5 months later we got married at my moms place in AZ.
Tick Tock...

I told my friends at “Dancing with the Seniors” good-bye and that I was a mail-order bride,  hahahahaha they were old, they understood.  Then when the whirlwind settled I was in NW Oregon married and living in an apartment.
Tick Tock, Tick Tock...

We spent his days off from the job hiking along the ocean trails and gathering driftwood and rocks.

In the evenings we read the Bible, other Christian books and we rented video biographies of the lives of many Christians from the past. After a few months of this routine and with our apt garage getting pretty full of driftwood and rocks we felt it was time to start house hunting. With both of us having the same life dream we looked for a home in the country.
Tick Tock...

After much hunting we found a very-in-need-of-work-house on 24 acres with a year round creek. The price was right. We were bored and jumped right into all the cleanup and repairs. UG. The past owner must had been a hoarder...there was so much junk to take to the dump! What were we thinking!!!
Tick Tock...

During that time we also came across a Christian video series called “Gods Generals” . We would rent one at a time to watch, then look up more information about each person covered in the series. If you are a Christian you will understand what I am about to share. Sometimes something happens and you feel a burning desire within your Spirit and you just know, feel, that something is the truth. We were watching another “Gods Generals” when this happened. This one was about John G. Lake.

He had been in the Portland area about 100 years ago. Unlike many of the “Generals” that when they died, so did their ministries, yet, John G. Lake actually trained people and his ministry is still going on today in Texas. We watched, we read, we prayed, we found truths that we had never heard before! Our eyes were opened and everything that seemed so important before, land, solitude, farming… became second. I felt like I was born-again, again. I also felt like I had wasted so many years hunting for paradise on earth.  What an elusion that had been! We connected with the John G. Lake Ministries in TX, we ordered books and CD’s, we studied, we had found truth!  
T   I   C   K      T   O  C   K . . .


But, we also had a broken down farm that still needed a lot of work. So we worked hard, replaced two roofs (rooves), built animal barns, fences, remodeled the kitchen and bathrooms... we were tired but we had a new focus, a new timeline, a new life dream.
Tick Tock...

Daniel was close to early retirement, so this became our deadline. We wanted to go, just as Jesus said “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”  God has put a love for people into my heart that had never been there before and I wonder how I could have ever thought to be a hermit. God had never told us to try and find paradise on earth or gather up treasures while here. Jesus said, if you have two tunics, give to one in need, not have a closet full of tunics.... not that we can't have homes, He also said as you go, which could also mean while at work or in the store if you see a need take care of it. Think about it.....


Tick Tock...

So, here we are at our deadline…almost 6 years working on the farm, it has at times been joyful and other times very hard. I have struggled with loosing my focus, and at times thinking my new life dream was never going to happen even though we were right on schedule…But, patience’s is one of God’s virtues. As a newly married couple the extra time has been good, allowing us to build more of a foundation and work through our differences. It was also fun having the kids and grandkids visit the farm and help with the animals or just hold a soft bunny. The hardest part of my move was not seeing the kids as much.....they were my biggest encourager's with moving, yet none of us thought through the missing of family times. I have lost many tears and hours of sleep over that one.  Tick Tock....

I have learned a lot on our farm, like gathering wild plants for food, raising goats, pigs, chickens and rabbits for meat and tanning hides.

Life skills that I can teach to others if needed. One night I was laying in bed, not able to sleep, so I started counting rabbits not sheep, 56...63.…72.…84.….92.…92! I had 92 rabbits in my Rabbitry…Hahahahaha I knew I had a few but not 92.
One will never be low on meat if they raise rabbits! And YES, they do taste just like chicken!

So all the work on the farm is done, and it is on the market!    

                                                     
 Our new little “home” on wheels is ready to go.

We have been selling stuff, then more stuff. Packing and giving things away. We will travel around first and spend time with family before heading off to Texas.


We may not be the most qualified people,
but we are available and we are ready to go! Here am I...send me Lord.

Lets turn this page and start a new chapter!


Tick Tock Tick Tock....