Category: THE121

Everything you wanted to know about tiny house living

Quiet Dreams

I can remember as a young child pondering in my mind if God created me to be a nun.

I’m not Catholic but I’ve always admired the life of nuns and monks (I’m not Buddhist either).

I’ve always been drawn to the slower life.

In my profession I see the extreme hurt so many carry. The scars of the world are real and deep. It is a privilege and honor to bear witness to those scars and to help others on their journey of healing.

The work can feel heavy.

And so, perhaps, my dream of starting a solitude retreat feels more needed with each passing day.

I am dreaming and longing of land, next to nothing but God’s country. Dreaming of a few yurts and THE121 where you can simply come.

In silence or in longing.

To talk or not.

Several times in my life, I have had the immense privilege of attending solitude retreats at a local convent. Each time, my visits have been truly impactful towards my walk.

I imagine a day where I could give that gift back to others. To those who are hurting, weary, tired and worn out.

To those who have been carrying more weight than one is meant to bare.

I can imagine a greeting of tea and a warm bed. Perhaps even a crazy cockapoo who may or may not be sleeping.

These are the longings of a tiny house girl who dreams of living an even simpler life and maybe…perhaps, inviting you into that life, even if it’s only for a moment or two.

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

0

The Good & The Bad

Thanks for journeying with me. What a journey 2026 has been so far!

If you’ve been journeying with me, you know that in the middle of January I had a pipe burst and have been without water ever since.

In my last post I wrote about how each day I’ve been without water, the Lord showed me that HE had indeed, provided water. I just needed to go outside and scoop it up.

Which leads to this weekend…

The Bad News:

Another leak.

The Good News:

Friends who showed up. Friends who sacrificed several hours of their weekend to help this tiny house girl with a super basic need: water. They were able to repair the initial break and patch the secondary

DRUM ROLL PLEASE….

This amazingly glorious liquid poured forth from my faucet yesterday! Which also means the melting snow IS filling my tank!

I may or may not have sent a video to a select few of me singing the Hallelujah Chorus…!

If you’ve spent any time here or with me, you know I’m passionate about one word “REMEMBER.”

In Exodus, God said to Moses & Aaron

“Get a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then put it in a sacred place before the Lord to preserve it for all future generations.””
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

While we clearly don’t live under the law, there are so many Old Testament principles that serve as beautiful Reminders.

And so…

This morning I found a jar and poured in the remaining melted snow I had reserved and marked the top

Manna 2026

I set the jar in a place reserved for the things I need to Remember

When you come to visit THE121, you can ask,

“What’s with the jar of water?”

And I will say

“It’s the manna God provided.”

0

Manna for today

If you’ve listened to K-Love radio lately, you’ve heard Annie F. Downs quote her pastor, “God hasn’t forgotten the recipe for Manna.”

I’ve been pondering that a lot lately as I just finished reading Exodus.

Shortly after reading about God providing manna for the Israelites, I sat on my couch and was complaining to God.

“God please give me water.”

“God, did you bring me to tiny house living to allow me to fail?”

I was in full complaint mode.

And then…

I lifted my head and looked out onto Teaberry Acres…

“I’ve given you 2 acres of manna….”

Sure enough. 2 acres of all the water I could need.

And so each morning, I collect enough for the day.

I thank God for the VERY TANGIBLE reminder that HE has given me what I need for today.

I believe fully that when the “manna” melts, the rain will begin.

Today Manna also showed up in the form of friends coming to replace the pipes…more on that in another post.

Today we focus on the manna.

He had given us what we need, for today.

0

When words run short..

I’ve been silent lately because truly words have fallen short.

My last post was on Jan. 26. Two days before that was when my pipe burst…20 days ago. For 20 days, THE121 has sat dry. Here in the mountains of Pennsylvania, the winter has been BRUTAL. Temps well below average including multiple days of negatives…

I sat with some friends last week with tears streaming down my face.

I. Am. Tired.

Literal survival mode had taken its toll.

The next morning a text came through from a good friend.

A warm house, family away. Come.

I took the gift.

Gratitude.

So I’ve been able to rest this week away. To regain my strength.

Please pray with me as friends come on Saturday with the hopes of fixing the broken pipe in warmer temperatures.

During the sitting with friends, our task was to write a name of God and pray around that name for our situation.

The name I wrote down was

El Roi

The God who sees.

He has indeed seen me. My distress. My discomfort. My cries.

He has seen me. I have seen Him.

Such a loving and gracious Father in the midst of one of the hardest times at THE121.

Tucked in tight enjoying the gift of a warm home with water 💧.
0

A little drama at THE121

Let’s start at the beginning shall we?

Saturday morning I woke up to start my generator (like always) and NOTHING. No start.

No start =‘s no power (off grid living).

I phoned my amazing neighbor who suggested I bring it inside to let it warm up.

I hauled my 100+ pound generator from the back 40, up my stairs and into THE121.

After a conversation with the Lord, I hauled the generator back down the stairs, back to its outside dwelling and sure enough…she started!

I had been wanting to make a shelter for the generator for some time and figured with the storm coming, Saturday was THE DAY.

I have a friend who says “before you go shopping for supplies, shop at home first.” Brilliant quote.

I remembered that I had some leftover 2 inch foam board under my house and some leftover insulation tape. I pulled it out and got to work.

Beautiful? No.

Worked? Yes!

As I was putting the left over foam board under my house, I noticed some water dripping.

Water dripping UNDER THE HOUSE!

I inhaled deeply.

Exhaled deeply.

Sure enough…I opened my intake box and a water pipe had broken.

I phoned my generator guy who is also my plumbing guy. He arrived very quickly. I HIGHLY recommend him. I told him, I felt like I was hemorrhaging and he was there to save my life.

Long story short. There was no save.

On Saturday afternoon my 500 gallon water supply was emptied on Teaberry acres.

Of course, here in my neck of the woods it’s been single digits and lower. Fixes like this, can’t happen on a tiny house until the weather is above freezing.

And so…where does this leave this tiny house girl?

Grateful.

Grateful that my generator “just happened” to not start Saturday morning. I have ZERO doubt that I would not have been under the house had I not been building a snow shelter for my generator.

I am grateful that the water went outside not INSIDE my house.

I am grateful we got 13 inches of snow because now I have a LOT of water supply right out my front door!

When will I get running water back?

Only God knows that answer.

Until then…

You’ll find me collecting snow and boiling it 🙂

Disclaimer: MANY kind friends have offered shelter and showers. I truly am Ok!

Stay tuned for more stories and adventures which may or may not include several men at a hardware store and one tiny house girl…

0

But…

Have you ever heard that if you speak a sentence and then add the word “But,” it negates everything that comes before the word?

I would let you know this has been my week…

Wednesday I woke up to frozen pipes…

BUT GOD.

Thursday I took another trip to Danville as my GI tract continues to struggle…

BUT GOD.

This morning, I woke up to no power and a frozen generator

BUT GOD.

I could be tempted to despair. I am tempted to complain.

BUT GOD!

Each and every day, He has allowed my nervous system to reset to the point where I could sit with Him and ask him two questions

1.) What do you want me to do about this?

2.) What do you want me to KNOW about you in this?

I am so tempted so often to panic and think that it all depends on me.

God wants me to know that it all depends on HIM!

Each time something has gone awry at THE121 this week, God has told me what to do and He has revealed himself as El Ro’i – The God who sees.

While it may sometimes feel like I am all alone at THE121 at Teaberry Acres. God has used this house and this land to teach me that I am not. That HE IS HERE.

So I do not fear the impending storm. I do not fear the cold.

Because God is in control and so much more powerful.

0

37 Days

Without hot water.

Yes, you read that right.

Living tiny isn’t always luxurious. Most of us don’t go tiny to live a cushy life. Although, I would advocate that my chores are far less than the average house size.

That’s a post for another day.

My supervisor laughingly told me that she wouldn’t be seen without a hot shower, to which I responded, working from home has its perks! (Insert, no sniff feature on zoom!)

Also, living tiny has taught me how to conserve water, so fast showers have been my norm.

I just didn’t realize that EXTRA FAST would be my new norm for 37 days.

How does one lose hot water when they live tiny?

Great question.

THE121 has a tankless water heater run by propane. There are just a few settings to adjust depending on outside temperature (i.e. summer/winter or somewhere in between).

I can also adjust the flow of the water. Somewhere… in some class, I am sure that there was some sort of lesson about flow rate to heat rate…

Nonetheless the flow rate was too much to keep up with the heart rate and cold winters equals …equally as cold water.

To be honest, starting a new job, navigating my new body and the holidays…I hate to say it but the hot water wasn’t a priority!

Once things calmed down (and to the urging of my supervisor), I did decide it was time to phone a friend. I also thought (there has to be something I am missing!). I sat on the couch and prayed.

What am I missing Lord?

FLOW RATE!

With one turn of the knob…the hot water was back.

Yep. That’s all it took.

Really what mattered was that I quieted my heart and the Father told me what to do next.

How often I let the noise crowd out the one voice that matters most.

0

Martha Stewart Called

One thing I miss about the motherland are the amazing thrift stores. The current homeland, lacks SEVERELY.

When opportunity permits, I enjoy visiting said thrift stores in the motherland.

Upon my most recent visit, my mother mapped out exactly what time we would arrive at said thrift store. I found some lovely jewelry and upon check out, the cashier said, “we enjoy seeing your mother here every Monday!”

Really mother? Every Monday?

Yep.

So the following day as we planned our day, to no surprise…where did we go?

You bet. Another thrift store.

If you have read other previous posts, this Holiday Season is the best I have felt in several years. Actually, it is the first Christmas since living in THE121 that I have felt well enough to decorate not just the tree but the outside as well!

THE121 has beautiful window boxes (thanks so my amazing builder). I have dreamed about what would fill the window boxes at Christmas time since I moved in.

With finances being tight between short term and my first paycheck from my new job, I welcomed the thrift store shopping!

On day two, what did my eyes behold…an entire box of sparkling beautiful ornaments on sale!

C’mon you know that thrift + sale =‘s an angels voice beckoning from above!

I did a little skip from the counter to our car with my new found treasure in hand.

Saturday morning the weather was just right to practice my outside decorating skills.

I opened the shed, found my pruning sheers and off to the woods I went.

The woods here at Teaberry Acres sure do ground me (that’s another post). With each step, finding the perfect pine boughs to cut, my heart of gratitude welled, thanking the Lord for this free provision of fresh pine!

I laid out my branches and my ornaments and got to work.

I can neither confirm nor deny that Martha Stewart called and invited me onto her show for a special segment with Snoop Dog.

I then sent her pics of THE121 in a snow storm and she expedited my segment!!

All kidding aside, it may not look like much, but to me, it’s everything. It’s everything that God has provided for this year and that my friends, is enough.

0

A whirlwind leads to change…

Mel Robbin’s is famous for her Let them Theory. Her famous quote, “Let them show you who they really are and then YOU can choose what you do next.”

I listened to this audio book in just a few days. Such a simple quote with such profound and deep impact.

You may remember a post about a certain employer not playing nice. This came just after I finished Mel’s book.

I knew I had a choice to make.

Sometimes the choice is no choice and other times, the choice is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

In my case it meant…hang on tight, here we go!!!

After 2 months of praying, waiting and listening, last week I had a series of interviews that led to a job offer this past Friday.

God opened one door after another and in two weeks, I will begin a new adventure as a therapist with an intensive outpatient organization working completely remote.

God and I have been having conversations about my concerns returning to work. I believe this new opportunity is His compassion on me.

Please join me in prayer for smooth transitions, as well as opportunities to share the light and hope of change.

0

Never did I ever

Never did I ever imagine an America where citizens didn’t have access to food.

Here we are.

I have volunteered in food distributions.

I have donated to food distributions.

This past week, I was given food at a food distribution.

If you have never struggled with food insecurity, you are one of the very few.

I am a masters level, associate licensed therapist who was served at a food distribution this past week due to the circumstances of my current life.

For 28 days, government employees have not received a pay check (barring special circumstances or generous banks).

Beginning this Saturday, many Americans will lose their food benefits completely.

Can you imagine a world where you couldn’t eat?

Close your eyes for a second and try.

What lengths would you be willing to go to in order to feed your family?

It doesn’t matter what side or middle of the isle you straddle. Humanity is humanity.

I pray that we would rise up, rise above politics, pressure and power to come along side of our fellow Americans who will and are the victims of said politics, pressure and power.

If we wonder what will happen when people lose access to food, we are about to find out.

It’s time for us to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑