Seasons of Pain become our Opportunity…

Seasons…

Seasons come & seasons go. And seasons also return. There are always lessons in every season of life that we face if we are open & aware. And with their return, it’s as if there is an opportunity to put to practice what we have learned. To put to the test the truth we have been given.

Sometimes, a season is composed of the difficulties & the trials of life, when hard things come upon us; pain & lack of comfort, as well as a lack of understanding in the matter. It’s a refining process, a season that purges us by the fire of affliction...

As I enter a returning season, I am reminded of the truth that God has given me on the issue of pain…

Rather than focusing on the discomfort & how to get out of it, instead changing my perspective to view it as an opportunity to go deeper with God. An opportunity to experience things with God that could not be experienced otherwise.

With trials & the pain of life, it opens us up to the depths of our being, revealing parts of our hearts & ourselves that we cannot always see & that may be hard to bear. But if we will yield to the process & let God do what He wants to do, letting pain produce fruit in our lives, it becomes a beautiful opportunity to experience a depth & an intimacy with God, that only comes from trusting God with the pain…

By trusting God, that He is Sovereign & that He has allowed the hard circumstances to enter our lives, we are trusting that there are things He wants to accomplish through it.

By trusting God with our trials & hard circumstances, we choose to stand. We choose to believe in the character of God & who He says He is, instead of choosing to believe what we are feeling or even what the world around us may be saying…

As I walk through the journey of my life, I see seasons come & go. And I see the seasons return again… It’s as if the roots of truth that were birthed through the lessons & trials are getting another chance to grow deeper; to go deeper…

God wants our roots to go deep, reaching into the depths of His Love & His purpose in our lives…

I’ve taken notice that it’s not when times are good & comfortable that we grow or gain the most understanding; it’s when times are hard & there is pain. It’s then, when pain becomes our opportunity…

An opportunity to stand firm on what we know to be true of God’s character, no matter what kind of turmoil surrounds us. An opportunity to see what we are really made of & how much we truly believe what God says in His word. An opportunity to let God reach into the deepest corners of our hearts & purge us of anything that doesn’t reflect His image. An opportunity to press into God, going deeper in intimacy with Him, letting Him speak to our hearts & teach us, giving us His perspective on the trials & hard circumstances we are facing…

There is always a choice of how we will let the pains of this life affect us. Will we let them destroy us? Make us bitter? Make us run from it or numb it with denial & earthly pleasures?

Or will we trust God & stand & yield?

Thanking Him that He has a purpose for allowing the pain to touch our life & it is GOOD.

Will we open up & let God take us deeper into our own hearts & let Him touch those places? Will we use the trials we are facing as an opportunity to grow, to change & to heal?

I am challenged by the opportunity to let a returning season take me deeper. I am challenged in the midst of turmoil & pain to stand firm on what God has spoken to my heart, instead of believing the many emotions I may be struggling with.

What does God’s word say? What do I know to be true of my God? What do I really believe about His character?

It’s in the season of trials & pain that we ask these questions; that we go deeper into the core of our faith. That we press into God & gain a deeper intimacy with Him.

So in reality, not only do seasons of pain & hard circumstances become our opportunity, but they also become our blessing…

"Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

As they go through the Valley of Weeping,

they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

They go from strength to strength..."

Psalm 84: 5-7

Boswell Family Drywall Party!!

And so the drywall begins...

It seems every time I mentioned to someone that I was about to start the drywall, people would say, "oh. I hate drywall."

All the more reason why it is totally awesome that the Boswell Family has come out to help me complete it!! Thank you so much to all of you Boswell's who have bent over backwards to help me with the cabin. We thought it might take 3 days to complete the drywall in the garage, but instead it has taken 3 weekends so far with more to do!!

It doesn't look like much, but cutting around curvy logs has made it a bit more time consuming.Even so, we have had a blast & I have certainly enjoyed the company & the new friendships! This fall weather has been amazing & the cool temps have been perfect for the first ever bonfire that we had!!

This blog entry is comprised of several different weekends of the Boswell's coming out to work on the drywall.

Adam & Zack hanging drywall

Landon, putting insulation in the walls for sound proofing

Adam is cutting out the hole for the stain glass in the bathroom wall

Connor with his oxygen mask on

Adam doing a fine job cutting drywall

Zack smiling big for the camera (I think he likes having his picture taken)

Wayne & Landon, who have both helped me out so much!! Thanks guys!

David spraying foam around the windows & at the base of the gable

Cutting drywall

David & Karen Boswell

David, doing a great job hanging drywall around the Ridgepole

Karen, who is the best "mudder" ever! Thanks Karen for all you have done to help

Landon hanging drywall & Karen sanding the first coat of mud she has applied

A great brotherly photo

Lance cutting drywall

David taping up the logs along the edges.

Part of the reason it has taken so long to do the drywall is because it is being fitted against a curvy log wall. David & Lance did a fine job scribing a pattern from the logs to transpose onto a piece of drywall, then cut it to fit the wall. It's going to look great!

A picture of the drywall coming along & the RPSL log we had to scribe to make it flow together

Landon up high putting a coat of mud in the gable

Me taping up the logs before we mud it with a little mud on my face...

Another thing we are working on is the entry door to the cabin. David built this really cool barbaric door for me out of some left over cypress logs I had cut into boards.

I'm putting a coat of stain on the door.

Lance hanging drywall by the loft. It's coming along!!

Another great brotherly photo (Lance & Landon)

Some of the Boswell boys mudding the entry way up the stairs to the apartment

Me & Lance; of course when you're mudding you gotta put a little mud on your face!

Well we are just one step closer to completion on the drywall. One more coat of mud & we'll be finished with this portion. Stay tuned!!

Eating the Elephant...

I'll never forget the times just after Stewart's death when I was thinking about this cabin project & contemplating what I was going to do & how in the world I was going to make it happen with Stewart gone. As I have said before, a great friend told me, "Rachel, How do you eat an elephant?... You can't look at the big picture, but you have to eat that thing one bite at a time..."

It has been 19 months since my new journey began. It feels quick & it feels long all at the same time, but it feels really amazing that I am actually really eating this elephant!!

I have learned so much in the last 19 months. Not only about building a log cabin, but about life! It's as if the journey I am walking through of tackling this project is a reflection of what God is doing in my life as I continue to move forward, face hard things & tackle the unknown territories... It has been so good for me to push though the intimidation I have felt to keep going, all the while chipping away, learning all kinds of new things & every week getting one step closer to completing the creation that began as just a dream... What a cool experience this has been... Difficult & challenging at times, but cool.

I have been getting so much done on the cabin lately, it feels pretty fantastic. I feel so blessed for the awesome new people I am meeting along the way who have been helping me. God has brought some new friends into my life that have helped me so much! I am humbled by how God is blessing me in this adventure!

And now on to the work I've completed since the last blog:

After the chinking was complete, I got gutters installed.

Then I had spray foam insulation installed in the gables using the company AIT Foam.

Loving the spray foam!

Then Kennon came out & helped me finish framing the closet & the loft wall.

Loft Framing complete

Will & Jamie out to help for a day

Will & Jamie installing the exterior portion of the LG mini-split system

Will running the interior pieces to the mini-split system

Haley, Will & Helen working together to run the tubing for the mini-split

Work crew for the day to install the mini-split system from Left: Sandra (Stewart's sister), Helen, Will, Haley

I also just got the gas lines run in the garage & the tankless hot water heater installed. I got the propane tank out here & the gas lines run to the cabin. Then I had a bunch of inspections!

We are definitely moving along!!!

Up next, dry wall!!! Stay tuned....

The Chinking Party: Once Again, A Huge Success

Well, I finally was ready to have another chinking party to chink the interior of the garage. It was a gorgeous weekend once again, as we move into this perfect October weather.

I have to say, I was a bit intimidated about doing the chinking without Stewart here.

Actually ever since I started working on the cabin after his death, there have been many things I was intimidated to do. But the cool thing is, that as I keep the saying, "just eat that elephant one bite at a time" in my mind, I have continued to move forward through those things that have intimidated me, one step at a time, one success at a time.

As I have continued, my confidence is growing & I just keep moving forward. It has been a beautiful growing experience for me to tackle this cabin head on!

It's a good thing I like puzzles, because it was one big puzzle figuring out all the tools & materials I would need to get the chinking going. I got on the log home builders forum to read up on the details of chinking, I talked with Dan at Russell Building Supply, & I was able to blow up some pictures from the last chinking blog I did to make sure I had the right nails & to figure out the nail gun attachment Stewart rigged up. I can't believe I actually found that attachment! But, we had everything we needed to insulate, nail, & chink the interior, and once again, it was a huge success!

The chinking party was a pleasant surprise in that some really neat people I had never met showed up to help. There was an awesome family from Georgia that showed up & even brought a delicious homemade coconut cake! I feel so blessed for the new friends that have come into my life!

A warm & special thanks to all the peeps that came out on Saturday & Sunday to support me & help chink the cabin: My dad, my brothers Jackson & Taylor, Andy, Clete, Ward, David & Karen, Landon, Zack & Danielle, Jerry, Dan, Sherry, Laurel, Ray, Patrick & Kristyn, my mom, David, & Charles.

Thank you all SO much!!!!!

And here we go!! Everyone worked together to cut insulation, stuff the insulation, put nails in the logs, bend the nails back, mix mortar, & put the mortar up.

Danielle cutting insulation into 1" strips to stuff in between the logs

Below, Zack & Landon stuffing insulation

Below, David & Ward (Fellow LHBA member) each using a nail gun to shoot 3" nails into the logs to hold the insulation in place & so the mortar has something to adhere to.

Danielle & Landon stuffing insulation & nailing up the corners

My brother Taylor working that insulation & nailing the corners

Taylor & Landon using the nail gun in a really hard to reach area

Below, Clete & Andy (Fellow LHBA member) nailing nails in the corners & bending them down

Dan (Russell Building Supply) bending down those nails to prepare for the mortar

Well, we were making good time. We got all the insulation cut, stuffed & most of the nails in before we broke for lunch.

After lunch, we began making the mortar. Below, my dad going to town. He is the best mortar maker ever! The mortar is made of a mixture of sand, lime, water & portland cement, all mixed to the perfect consistency.

Danielle did a great job keeping everyone supplied with mortar. She is helping Karen & Laurel get some mortar.

Zack, doing a fantastic job chinking. Way to work that trowel!

Above, Andy (Fellow LHBA member) & Below, Sherry are chinking away!

Above, Landon chinking a corner & Below, Jerry (Fellow LHBA member) working a hard to reach area

Saturday work crew: (From Left to Right)

Zack, Danielle, Landon, Laurel, Ward, Karen, David, Andy & Jim. (Up front) Ava, Rachel, Cody & Sherry

Not pictured: Taylor, Jerry, Dan, Jackson & Clete

Guys, thank you So much for coming out!!!!!

So, at this point my brother Taylor was taking pictures of the crew. He used my camera to take pictures, then set it down. Sunday, I was looking for my camera & it was nowhere to be found. I called Taylor to see if he remembered where it was. He didn't. Of course I was really bummed, I had tons of pictures from Saturday's festivities. He called me back a bit later & said, "this is going to freak you out, but I found your camera." Taylor had driven my truck back home an hour away with the camera sitting on the back bumper the whole time!! Wow.

Well, I am super glad to have my camera back, but I didn't get to take any pictures of the crew on Sunday. But thanks to Charles, I did get some pictures.

Below, Patrick gets the ladder ready to do some chinking, & my beautiful momma chinking the closet!

Charles, doing a great job chinking! Charles wins the prize for this party. He stayed & helped me all day Sunday until 10pm that night. Thanks for your help Charles!

My mom & I chinking the closet

It took a total of 25 hours to do the interior chinking! Wow, what a job. I would say the hardest or most tedious jobs of the whole cabin building project are peeling the logs, stacking the logs, staining the logs, & chinking the logs... It's all about those beautiful logs... But when it's all said & done, it is well worth it. Oh, then there's cleaning the logs after the chinking party is over. It took about 25 hours to clean the excess mortar drips off the logs as well.... Thanks Landon for your help!!

And the finished product...

And on we go... Next we have the Gutters up, HVAC system in, framing finished, gas lines in...

Stayed tuned!