In the beginning, the struggle is real.
This first post is going to seem confusing. I know it will be. You don’t know me, but I’m not the greatest story teller. My mind is usually a jumbled up mess trying to be put in order. So for everything to make sense, I have to try and fill you in to get you caught up .
The old office.
Daddy stapled all of these to the wall. It took quite sometime removing them.
For the past 17+ years, my family and I have been traveling as a bluegrass gospel band all over the Southeastern United States praying, singing, ministering, and helping people. My family is a family of ministers. Daddy is an Evangelist who is constantly “Go! Go! Go!”. Mama is the “voice of reason crying out in the wilderness” who prays and minsters to people at the drop of a hat. She also writes a devotional every morning on her Facebook and currently has a large following. My sister and me are praise and worship leaders, as well as Children’s Church ministers for our weekly Thursday night Prayer Meeting.
This was when Daddy pastored Main Street Tabernacle in Acworth. Definitely the 90′s.
This past year I have been growing so much as a person. At the beginning of the year though I thought my life had fallen apart. I had to let go of one of my biggest dreams I had held on tightly to for the past 4 years. I quit my day job to pursue being a full time photographer that was chasing her other dream and was working non-stop on her business. I broke up with my boyfriend that I thought I wanted to be with for forever.
I had no close friends that I saw everyday during that dark time and I had no one to relate to as far as my lifestyle went. Everyone was either married, a parent, or a combination of both. Which I’m not knocking in anyway and I’m so thankful that my friends are highly blessed, but it’s just really tough to see happy families when your own personal potential plans come to a halt.
That is when I went soul searching. I became super invested in my relationship with Christ. Which is worth everything to me. I started going to a church consistently called Momentum and I joined a small group. I’m soooooo not a joiner, but I made some of the greatest friends by putting myself out of my comfort zone. I also went to Honduras for a missions trip and realized that the people there might not have much but they are super happy when they’re with their families and friends.
My house is the only house I’ve ever lived in. It’s about 800 square feet and was a sharecropper’s home in the 1890′s. It sounds really awesome and historic(which it is), but it’s also full of ornery character. We haven’t always had running water, heat, AC, lights, or cable… The roof still leaks and it’s really drafty, but home is home and I appreciate it for what it is. Daddy paid it off when he was 29, so I’ve grown up in a home that was debt free with people that truly loved and cared for each other. I consider myself rich.
Since I was about 19 I’ve been paying for everything out of my own pocket besides rent. I’ve been SUPER blessed with the world’s greatest parents who see that I work hard in everything I do and don’t force me to pay rent. Daddy is a financial fanatic and has been teaching me and Tristan the difference between asset vs liability since we were 4 and 9.
A lot of people ask me “Why I don’t you just rent a place?” The answer is: I haaaaate renting. I hate wasting. I hate throwing away money especially when I can invest it.
Then many people ask me “Why don’t you just buy a house?” The answer: I don’t have that kind of money. I also don’t have a clue where I want to live for the rest of my life. I have way too much gypsy in me to stay in one place. I love to travel and so I don’t want to be paying for a mortgage for a place that I’m hardly ever at.
Earlier this summer I knew I wanted to for sure have a tiny house. I wanted it to be a permanent structure of 500 square feet, but since I don’t know where I want to land in life, I’ve decided to build a tiny home of 160-260 square feet. The problem? I had NO idea what kind of trailer I needed to look for. The second problem? I had no kind of money to put towards a trailer.
I’ve been praying for guidance and wisdom throughout this new phase of my life. And to be honest, this is the first time I truly have been seeking for that. And while “seeking” is truly a rewarding phase to be in and to do, I was feeling discouraged about my lack of trailer, lack of knowledge for what kind of trailer I needed, and my lack of funds for a trailer.
Meanwhile, my parents have been planning to build a new bathroom on to the house where the old mobile office building is currently sitting. It wasn’t until 2 weeks ago that I realized that the office is actually built on a trailer.. So I went to Daddy and asked him if he would sell it to me. He told me “No. You can have it. I’ve already gotten my money’s worth out of it.” (Now I know what you’re thinking, “Perfect! She can just use the shell and customize inside it!” Well, I wish. Kinda. I’m going to completely destroy the shell. It’s rotten. The whole thing is completely unusable aside from the trailer function.) When Daddy told me that I could have the trailer I completely lost it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt THAT happy from a gift(that also required so much effort) and I couldn’t believe how something I had been so worked up about had fallen into place. Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely an eye-sore, but I’ve never been afraid of hard work. I was freaking out, and the whole time God was preparing a plan and I just had to continue to pray, seek, and trust Him.
SO to give you that HUGE backstory, I’ve brought you here today to document my Day 1 of this huge project. It’s overwhelming, but I’m so excited to see what happens throughout this journey. I’m excited to see the final project, to learn whatever the Lord is trying to teach me, and to grow even more deeper in Christ.
Today’s mission consisted of:
- Clearing out Tristan’s side of the office that she used to teach music lessons out of.
- Making sure I didn’t further damage all the photos, Thank you Letters, newspaper clippings, and boxing up my family band’s ministry documents.
- Starting this blog.
Day 1’s mission to box everything away in this little side room. It took about 3-4 hours.
Here are a few photos I ran across today.
Mama and Daddy in the early 2000′s. Check out their western wear, y’all.
That Jeep took us everywhere. This was in Tennessee when we stopped in Cade’s Cove. Mama is so beautiful and Tristan has the thickest braids I’ve ever seen. Even then she admired Pippi.
This used to be a picture of Tristan. Apparently if you print a photo on regular paper and leave it exposed to the elements, the ink curls up from it. How weird and cool is that?
This used to be a picture of Tristan. Apparently if you print a photo on regular paper and leave it exposed to the elements, the ink curls up from it. How weird and cool is that?
I love this photo Daddy took of us with his 35mm.
Thank you for putting up with my long windedness. I will try to become a better story teller in the future, but I hope despite my terrible-tale-telling you follow along with me in this journey.
Thanks for reading!
-Kate
Kate's Tiny Living 