Why I Don't Blog Very Often

Because this happens and sometimes this happens... and this... and this... and sometimes this happens... So...

Opening Night

I usually run into events like a girl running with her head down - there is so much to consider in each moment without having to look up and consider what is ahead, too. For the past several months and years, I have been walking out a scenario that began to take shape a while ago. We felt a call, 'Art House,'and followed leads for a long time, and then found 793 Armstrong, and then sold our place, and then moved, and then started to repair it, and then... *Konk* All of a sudden it was opening night. All of a sudden I was picking up Charlie and Andi and Allison from the airport for our first Art House North event. At the last minute I was plagued with fears that you might not come, or that you would come and not like it, or not care. But you did come, and it seemed like you liked it, and had some similar dreams of your own, and that you actually care a great deal. I wish all of you could have been with us over the last couple of years so you could know what it felt like to walk in and watch this night unfold. My favorite part of the night was realizing that many of you have been carrying a similar dream, and that we might be on the verge of something fun.

We Get By With a Little Help From Our Friends

Our original plan for the Art House North was to have someone come in and, viola, do the renovations! But we got some sobering news at the beginning of the year about the sale of our house, and some other unexpected things, that reduced our renovation budget. At the same time, acquaintances, close friends, and friends of friends were offering to pitch in. Troy just jumped in and started fixing things himself... but miraculously, he was never working alone! Everyday people would materialize, seemingly out of nowhere, to help. The lock would break, and a locksmith would call or e-mail, "Let me know if I can ever help you with locks!" For over a month, Troy has been over at the church working all day, everyday. Thank you to all of our friends who came out to work with us to get this place up and running in time for our first event. We could never have done it without you!

The Little House in St Paul

We've decided to not live in the church. We want to share the space with others and feel like there is not enough room to host events the way we want to if we are taking up so much of the building. It makes sense, and feels right. The first day we saw the church, I walked down the street a bit to the house because it had a for sale sign in the yard. I started when I saw it because it looked exactly like a run-down version of a house I had seen just a few months earlier in Ocean Grove, NJ. That house was tiny, almost like a dollhouse, and I thought to myself, "I want to live a simpler life." The house sat dwarfed between two giant beach houses, but it was loved and cared for, and everything about it said enough. As we drove by it, I said out loud, "That's my dream house." It wasn't something I had remembered until I was standing in front of it's little twin in St Paul. I looked at the house, and then the church and said to Troy, "We are going to live here, and work there." So, now our plans have come full circle, and I am not surprised, and it is enough.

Long over due post: The Move

It has obviously been a long time since my last post. Just looking at the picture, it is strange to think about how different my life was when I wrote it! I can remember sitting at my desk in my 'piano room' trying to get that font error at the bottom of the post corrected - oh well. In the fall I took up homeschooling since we weren't sure when we would be moving and had a full touring schedule. We hit the road for The Reason To Gather Tour with Audrey Assad and Jenny and Tyler, and kept dropping the price of our house. At the end of that tour, we sold with the condition that we would be out by Christmas. With a Christmas tour already taking us out of town, we had nine days to be out. We filled three storage PODS with stuff, and moved just the bare necessities into our new little home in St Paul. It was important to Toby that we all say good-bye to the house in Burnsville, so we all went over for that last load. This is the only house my kids have ever known, and each of them were grieving. Toby was sobbing, sobbing, and Ruby kept looking at me. I told her that Toby was just grieving, and it was okay. "I will probably cry too," she said. A few minutes later I heard her trying to make herself cry, but it was fake, and she knew it. She looked up at me and shrugged her shoulders as if to say, oh well, I tried. With the help of many amazing friends, we cleared out the last of our belongings at 10pm, boarded the bus and headed to Chicago.

Art House North

In May 1998, I requested a year leave from the school where I was teaching - I actually tried to quit, but Principal Clausen offered me a leave instead, a grace-time that made the transition from high school teacher to troubadour sound more reasonable. Troy left his job a few months later, and we were off. There are no words to describe that time. If Troy and I were Hansel and Gretel, the breadcrumbs were loaves, plentiful and littering the path. I still managed plenty of fear and doubt, but the signs were unmistakable - This Way!

A couple of years ago it dawned on me that my children did not get to witness this season in our lives. To them, we have always been out singing and playing music. I wanted them to understand the journey that brought us here, so I climbed up into the top bunk of their bed and recollected every miracle, and every moment of divine assurance along the way. The boys asked questions, and cried when I cried remembering the generosity of God, and so many friends. So, when the loaves started to show up again this winter, we did not hesitate to bring them in on it - Remember the stories we told you? Pack your bags and get ready!

But before I get to where we're going, I have to revisit one more place we've been. In 2003 we recorded a portion of The Other Side of Something at The Art House - home, studio and much more to producer Charlie Peacock and his wife (and author of one of my all time favorite books, Real Love for Real Life) Andi Ashworth. We were finishing up a much needed maternity break after the birth of our second son. We were in desperate need of a vision, a template for the whole artist life. A bit heart-numb and recovering from new-artist-itis I remember the surge of joy I felt at first seeing the Art House, church and gardens - place cultivated. Our initial conversations there left us feeling challenged and validated at the same time - it was as if something in the air was transforming our weary stories of life on the road into stories of the blessing and stewardship of storytelling. I remember walking to the car after our first visit saying, "I get it, I get it, I get it..." I'm not sure I could have recited the mission of the Art House at that moment, but Troy and I had caught a vision of the revitalization of church/place, the open-door life, and the ongoing dialogue about the way of Jesus, faith, and art.

ART HOUSE NORTH

In 2007 Troy and I came across a church for sale, and in passing I joked, "Art House North?" But it wasn't a joke, and we both started to think about what that might look like for us, and for our family. A year later we ran the idea by Charlie and Andi, who were already starting to develop ideas for an Art House in Dallas - their enthusiasm was encouraging to say the least, and we started to look for properties in earnest. It was another three year process of walking through houses, dilapidated mansions, old schools, and warehouses before finally, in January of this year, we found it - a 100 year old church in St Paul with all the right bones to become Art House North!

While the specifics of our work will be unique to this community, the heart of this Art House will be the same as the others - cultivating creative community for the common good! We have more ideas than we can bring to life, and have such an incredible group of friends and fellow artists here that will be collaborating with us as well. We are excited to add this local endeavor to our work on the road.

Of course all of our friends and neighbors want to know - what is it? What does an Art House North do? I don’t know – what can it do? I’m excited to find out, and we hope you are too.