Category Archives: Life

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beulah….. our home, our sanctuary

 

Beulah … our home, our sanctuary, our place of respite….. The name Beulah is taken from the Bible and means married to The Lord, land of permanent-bearing fruit!  Everyone who enters and spends any time at all here feels the Holy Spirit all over the place, feels blessed to be at Beulah and don’t seem to ever want to leave.  We feel blessed to have Beulah, which we believe is on loan to us from The Lord, and we feel even more blessed to be able to share it with those who visit us.  We pray that the Peace that is found on Beulah spreads through out our community, that our neighbors and their neighbors feel the peace and the calm that encompasses Beulah….. so that more and more may be given the opportunity to live in the Blessing that we believe we’ve been given here at Beulah Ranch.   Peace.

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Revelling In Peace, Joy, & Happiness … fun is where you are, & where you find it!

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As we all reflect on life, we can find Joy and Happiness in most everything we do…. we just have to want it, first and foremost.  We can find it in the simplest of things….we only need to reach out and receive it!!!  From the smallest of things, like water on balloons to the people with which we share life’s moments, it’s everywhere we are, everywhere we look.  We are grateful for the smallest of things!!!  We are extremely grateful for all of God’s blessings…… how about you?  What are you grateful for today????

 

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Reach Out, Rejoice in sharing

 

As we look at our lives, and all the blessings we have, from a loving relationship our spouse, our children and grandchildren, to a great home, a satisfying job…..the question to continually refocus upon is “what’s really important in Life?” If our days here were over, would we really spend today doing all the things on our to-do list?  For us, what’s most important is always time spent with family, loved ones, especially with those we love the most.  As we reach out and touch loved ones today, we hope that you also reach out to a loved one and share some special moments, some joy.  So, Who will you reach out to today?

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Really – What do you say when God shows up?

As we Live A Repurposed Life, we have God as our central focus.  We attempt to pray about everything we do, or plan to do, to get direction and guidance from the Holy Spirit.  So, a question for today…..As you pray throughout the day, going about your normal routines, what would you say if God showed up, physically by your side? Probably would be a major wow!  Probably be THE major wow.  Would you believe, thanking Him for answering your prayers, or would you doubt?  Would you accept fully and completely, or be in shock that He actually came to see you, saying Oh My God?  Or would you just feel blessed and highly favored, saying Oh My, Thank You God, Thank You God?  Bridgette and I have never had that physical experience, with God showing up at our side.  But, we do believe he’s always there for us, always guiding and protecting us, always trying to show us His way.  We can feel His holy spirit around us, sometimes filling the room we’re in so fully that it brings tears to our eyes.  When in His Word, we know He’s speaking to us, through us, communicating as best He can His will for us.  So, as His voice is often not totally clear and direct, we ask each of you to open your hearts, to hear Him, to receive Him, to feel His love.   And, seen or unseen, we hope that you will say “Oh my God, my holy father, my redeemer, I love you and am so grateful for you”.  REJOICING in the Holy Spirit.                                                                    What do you think you’ll say when God shows up?

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Prayer Walk – an event in support of The Farmstead at the Quarry

A Prayer Walk will be held Saturday May 30 to pray over and bless the land that will become The Farmstead at the Quarry, where the historic Anderson Farmstead will be saved.  This event is coordinated by 360grassroots, a non-profit organization focused on community revitalization.  The Walk will start at Vitovsky Elementary School parking lot (333 Church Street) at 9:00am and following prayer over the Farmstead land, will proceed by walking down 9th street to downtown Midlothian, picking up trash along the way in conjunction with Keep Midlothian Beautiful, and ending at Woodrow’s Coffee Shop.  Please join us for this time of prayer, fellowship and celebrating community!

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Student Housing Design Concepts

Andrew Wommack Ministries called us to Colorado to generate some quick idea sketches for new student housing at their Woodland Park campus.  We went out on a Friday, spent the evening and the next morning getting a download of wants, needs and desires from Andrew for their proposed facilities.   He was basically wanting renderings done to communicate the vision to his partners and potential financial supporters.

We generated several alternatives for both student housing as well as a student center, and presented the concepts the following Monday morning.  They liked the plans and elevations, and have asked us to proceed, to generate the 3d renderings of three student housing options and one rendering of the proposed student center.  When completed in late March, they will take these and put them into a 3d visualization program, so they can be seen on the mountainous site in context with their other campus buildings, and then used by their TV department for fundraising campaigns.

Stay tuned for continued development of this fun project!  We’ll keep you posted!!

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The Farmstead at the Quarry

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We have been silent for a few months, focused on several projects.  The largest and most significant of these is the saving of the Anderson Farmstead, utilizing these significant buildings in a development we are calling “The Farmstead at the Quarry”.  The Anderson farmstead located north of Midlothian, Texas, was typical of many farming operations from the 20th century.  It is however atypical in the character of the historic house and barns.  These were magnificent structures, and, while no longer viable as a farmstead operation, with some help they are to be saved, revitalized and repurposed to live again .  The house, shown above, was built in 1896 by J. P. Anderson, and was supplemented by an extraordinary barn, as well as another smaller barn and other out buildings.

360grassroots, our non-profit organization, has the opportunity to spearhead this revitalization effort, creating the Farmstead at the Quarry and needs your support.  So,

…. If you want to keep our our quality of life, preserving our rural character and heritage, seeing structures like these saved and reused, this message is for you.

…. If you want amenities like:  unique restaurants, walking trails, wildflower fields, artisan shops and event spaces, a rural wedding venue, etc., then The Farmstead at the Quarry and this message is for you.

We need your help and support!  If you would like to be a part of this revitalization effort, please let us know by using the “contact us” button at the top.


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rejuvenation with family!

IMG_0817In the daily hustle and bustle of life, you often think that you are too busy with work, job and family to take off for a brief respite.  You’re not alone, most Americans think this way….even us.  So, as our California and Hawaii trip approached, we were saying we have too much going on.  We need to postpone.  We need a few extra days to keep on keeping on. Well, thanks be to God, we didn’t postpone.  We didn’t reschedule.  We went, as planned and as scheduled.  And, we are ever so grateful that we did!  Just seeing family, being with children and grandchildren, sharing in their daily lives….there’s nothing else like it!   Sharing in children’s passions, whether it be granddaughter Lucia’s passion for soccer or granddaughter Makena’s love for swimming, or daughter Kehmay’s love of Kauai outdoor life, or our son Heath’s passion for wine and winemaking in Napa….. it all renourishes and replenishes.  We have been so refreshed, revitalized and had our souls restored to a greater sense of wellbeing!  A greater sense of peace.  Hallelujah!

As we leave Kauai, heading back to Napa, the small things that seemed to be major irritants and consternations in our lives, don’t seem to be as important any more.  The major issues before us seem clearer, much more redefined.  Our path has been refocused and our priorities have been restrengthened, providing us with a greater sense of being!

So, when did you last take time for you and your spouse, to recenter yourselves?…. Taking time for you and your spouse to do some self-care, to do some rebonding….. to seek a greater sense of being.  We’d suggest now is as good as time as any!  Go for it!!!  (one way you can help yourselves, like we did, is to make your tickets / reservations non-refundable!!)

Aloha!  Please enjoy the following pictures from California and Hawaii!!  Mahalo!

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Preservation or Adaptive Reuse?

Have you ever visited an area that was rich with Historic Preservation?  Have you ever visited a cool/hip place that marries history with what is going on today?  Two different approaches to vibrant communities, and usually both fun places to visit; just that one is focused on pure preservation and involves philanthropy….  the other is focused on creative adaptive reuse that involves investors and economic revitalization.  What is the difference, and what does it mean to you and where you eat, live, and play?

A truth is that just about EVERY place has some history…. according to scientists, as much as billions of years of history.  But how much of it do we get to experience today?  In this country, not nearly as much as we’d like.  We lose buildings and historical places each and every day, usually not because people don’t care, but because there is not a viable plan to save and reuse the buildings, a plan that people are willing to support with funding.

Anderson House

Anderson House

In an ideal world Historians, historical societies or any individual with a passion for history would rather preserve the town or the structure just the way it was originally designed.  Unfortunately, that is not a viable solution in many cases.  Often, without a philanthropist willing to fully support the preservation, buildings targeted for this endeavor just sit, waiting and waiting, slipping into further disrepair and decay.

An alternative, and often a more practical approach to save historic structures is to find a new use for them, and if necessary, maybe even a new location…. Adaptive Reuse.   The needs for some buildings diminish; the needs for a great many others change. Families grow, so they add onto their historic homes, work functions change with the times, and so must the structures that support them.  Even such historic buildings as the Sistine Chapel have had to be modified to meet the number of tourists that visit every day.

Such is the dilemma with Anderson Farmstead in Midlothian.  Ashgrove Cement owns the farmstead, would like to see it saved, but needs it moved off of their future quarry site.  Ashgrove is a great corporate citizen.  They have been willing for the last 14 years to donate the buildings and some land for relocation….to save this small portion of Midlothian history.

The local historical society has been involved for the last 7 years trying to save the historic farmstead home and large barn. Unfortunately, they have not been able to secure funding, not even enough to help weatherproof the deteriorating structures.  Even today, they are still clutching onto their preservation dream.

360grassroots, a local non-profit focused on economic revitalization of communities, has a plan to save the structures.  It includes relocating them onto the Ashgrove-donated land, renovating them to serve new viable uses (see the 95 second movie above), basically saving the structures through an adaptive reuse to live again for all to enjoy.  Best of all, 360grassroots has 4 investors who are willing to support this plan….The process of saving these historic structures could begin soon!

Show your support by letting the city leaders and the local historical society know that you support 360grassroots efforts, and want these buildings saved, revitalized and reintroduced into the Midlothian community.   Please comment, share or subscribe here on this Living A Repurposed Life page and like us on 360grassroots facebook page.  Thank you for your support!

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Saving history by repurposing Anderson Farms, Midlothian, Tx

IMG_0426 The Anderson farmstead located north of Midlothian, Texas was typical of many farming operations from the 20th century.  It is however atypical in the character of the historic house and barns.  These were magnificent structures, and, while no longer viable as a farmstead operation, with some help they can be saved, revitalized and repurposed to live again .  The house, built in 1896 by J. P. Anderson, was supplemented by the extraordinary barn shown above, as well as a smaller barn and other out buildings.  360grassroots, our non-profit organization, has the opportunity to spearhead this revitalization effort, creating the Farmstead at the Quarry and needs your support.  So,

…. If you want to keep our our quality of life, preserving our rural character and heritage, this message is for you.

…. If you want amenities like:  unique restaurants, walking trails, wildflower fields, artisan shops and event spaces, a rural wedding venue, etc., this message is for you.

…. If you want quality job creation in our hometown, this message is for you.

We and 360grassroots want to Build a Better Midlothian.  If you do too, please support us here, support us on Facebook at 360grassroots, or contact us.