Acacia Acres Finally Found!

About 12 years ago, my husband, Scott, and I began dreaming of having an acreage.  We have searched all that time to find something that felt right, was affordable and had the right mix of wooded and cleared areas.  Over the years our idea of what the perfect place would be has changed.  At one point, Scott was hoping for 140 acres!  I wasn't sure how we would mange that since we can't even take care of an 8600 square foot lot to the standards of our neighborhood!  As the search evolved and we had a better idea of what we did and did not want, as well as what we could never afford, we got comfortable with the idea of 10-20 acres.  (Though Scott was always hoping for at least 20.) 

Every good acreage has some sort of name, like the Flying W Ranch or Peaceful Rivers, so I decided that our acreage would need a name too.  My mom and I would often talk of what we could do with an acreage to bless others - specifically missionaries home on furlow, or others in need of temporary housing.  The idea of small cabins that would allow us to help others while still maintaining everyone's privacy seemed a great endeavor.  Because of our faith, we want this land to be filled with God's love and used to bless others.  Independent of one another, my mom and I both came up with the name Acacia Acres.  In 1997 I had produced a CD which I named Acacia and I explained in the jacket notes why, so it seemed natural to use the name Acacia for our land.  This is what the CD said, "Acacia is believed to have been the type of bush that contained the presence of God in the form of fire when God spoke to Moses. (Exodus 3)  Acacia is also the wood that was used to construct the Ark of the Covenant, which too, contained the awesome presence of God.  (Exodus 37)  My simple prayer for this project is that it will contain the anointing and presence of God, bringing that presence to all those who listen.  It is my desire that, like the wood of the acacia, we would all be filled with the fire and presence of God."  I want God's presence anywhere I live, hence the name Acacia Acres for our homestead. 

The past two years we really intensified our search since we were finally in a position financially to maybe, finally buy something.  On December 22, 2010, we closed on Acacia Acres and are now beginning the process of renovating the house and making the place our own.  The budget is very tight, so I will have to really think outside the box when it comes to design decision.  I will be posting before and after pictures as well as writing about the progress and what products we use.  It is an exciting journey for us and I hope you enjoy following along!

Acacia Acres is 20 acres in east Broken Arrow, OK, located conveniently to both sets of grandparents.  The house was built in 1975 and one family had lived there for over 30 years.  We became fast friends with the owners and had a connection that can only be described as a "divine appointment" by God.  We have adopted them as our third set of parents.  They are wonderful Christian people, and meeting them is actually what helped us know that this was the place for us.  They had been praying that a family would buy the place and raise their kids there and love it like they did.  It was a miraculous series of events that even allowed us to find the place and it was neat to see how God's hand moved in the whole thing.  (I'll tell the story of how we found the place in a subsequent post.) 


Right now, I have work to do!  We have one house to sell and one to renovate and move to, so I need to get going.