What's In a Name?

The name for this blog came in a sort of round about way.  I knew I wanted something from Scripture.  And it had to relate to what I wanted to write.  After days of mulling it over in my head, asking my family, checking out other blog titles, and waking in the middle of the night thinking about it, I finally sat down with my Bible.

"Okay, God, we're closing on the house in a couple days and I want to launch the blog.  I need a title.  Please help me!"

Ruffling through the familiar, highlighted pages, glancing at old favorites and new, I landed at Psalm 16:5-6.

The Lord is my chosen and assigned portion, my cup;

You hold and maintain my lot.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

yes, I have a good heritage.

"That's it!" I thought.  This verse has a special place in my heart.  I discovered it at a time in my young life when I didn't feel that the lines had fallen for me in pleasant places.  In fact, I resented my boundary lines.  However, the Lord had lead me to chapter 16 in the book of Psalms and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt those words were for me.  Verses five and six may not have been a reality for me in that moment, but they became my declaration.  Over a period of time, although my lines hadn't changed, my feeling toward them did.  I found peace.

A quick search took me straight to another blog already using not only the verse, but the phrase "pleasant places" in the title.  So, I checked other versions of the Bible.  Most say "pleasant places."  New Living says "pleasant land."  But it was The Message paraphrase that caught my attention.

My choice is you, God, first and only.

And now I find I'm your choice!

You set me up with a house and yard.

And then you made me your heir!

My eyes became misty and at the same time I laughed.  I knew that had to be the title, but from The Message?  Really?  

A comedian we enjoy, Tim Hawkins, does a funny bit about The Message Bible.  He spoofs that Jesus turned the water into wine coolers, the recipe for Rice Krispie Treats can be found there, and that the part of Joseph is played by Johnny Depp!  

I'm sorry, but sometimes I tease about this particular paraphrase of the Bible.  I find it rather - well - fluffy.  However, I will admit that there are times when the paraphrase reveals a nice turn of phrase and The Word speaks in a new way to me.  So, The Message it is for the title of my blog!

Just for fun, here's a clip from Tim Hawkins on the Sermon Series.  He didn't offer the clip on The Message Bible, but this one is from the same dvd, "Insanitized."  Enjoy!

Why Am I Here...Blogging?

We are buying a house.  A house we want to change.  I thought this would be a good way to keep track of the progress and share it with family and friends.  That’s it in a nutshell.

When we are ready, we’ll move twenty-one years of stuff out of the house that Brian built.  We brought into that house two kids and two cats.  We added three more kids and welcomed other cats after the first cats died. 

Our first daughter married, moved out, and started her family.  They are up to four kids now!  Our second daughter married, moved out, and started her family.  They have one and counting.  If you add it all up, including our unofficially adopted daughter, her husband and extended family that join us often for birthdays, holidays, and simply being together for BBQ and wiffleball games in the backyard, we can have up to 25+ people in our place!  That number is going to continue to climb.  It’s getting a little crowded.

I’ll never forget a couple Christmases ago when Brian looked at me across our 14’ x 18’ living room, eyes wide, shouting over the noise of everyone talking all at once.  The little kids were playing with the wrapping paper in the middle of the floor which could no longer be seen.  Toys were strewn about. Half the room was occupied by our lovely Christmas tree.  The grown kids were sitting shoulder to shoulder, on each others laps, laughing over stories and jokes.  He said to me, “I think it’s time to find a different house.”

So, here we are.  We’re buying a different house.  It is a house with more living space inside and out.  And we have ideas.  We have great plans.  That’s what this blog is about.  The house.  The yard.  The projects.  Most likely there will be a little bit of us and our lives thrown into the mix.  Find a comfy place and sit awhile.  I hope you enjoy it.

Won't you join me for a tour around the new yard?

Here's what you see as you enter the driveway.

Looking SW from the end of the driveway.

Are  you ready for some wiffleball?

Row of trees at East boundary, looking north.

Let's walk through the yard and look at it from west end.

See that tree in the middle of the yard?  Look how big it is....

Shelby & Silas posed to give us an idea of the enormity of this grand old tree.

There's a shed in the back.  Notice the ramp leading to the second story.  Silas has claimed the loft for his Nerf gun arsenal.

There's the front of the shed.

And here's the little play fort that sits behind/beside the shed.

Looking down the driveway from the NW corner of the property.  Notice the carport and location of future garage.

What do you think of this old fashioned cellar?  Scary, huh?  Actually, it's not too bad in there....

The rod iron must go!  Just sayin'.

Last but not least, this is the view from the front porch, looking East.

Welcome to my world!

Welcome to my soon-to-be-launched blog!

Launch Date:

Tuesday evening, October 4, 2011

Why should you care?

If you know me, you might be interested in what I'm going to do here!

If you don't know me personally, you might be interested in home updating, 

yard work, decorating, and things of that sort.

What am I going to do, you ask?

The reason for this blog is to track the process of the house we have purchased.

Built in 1890 and sitting on a short-acre with trees at least as old at the house, 

this place has the potential to be our "dream home," 

but now it is a blank canvas.  

White walls, minimal trim, no landscaping.

We have big plans and a modest budget.  

Much of the work we will do ourselves with the help of a few willing souls.

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