My great grandparents (Mimi & Gramps) lived in a little pink house on "U" street.  It had a front stoop that connected the front porch to the sidewalk, a single car driveway and garage, a cellar, and a back yard with a garden, a huge apple tree and a gate that opened to the alley.  It was cozy and warm, smelled like fresh cooked comfort food and old people.  It was safe and practical and well attended to in all its parts. 
People need places like that. 
Houses should be like that. 
Too much space gives way to self-reliance instead of interdependence.  Homes are for people.  The life of a structure comes from the care that goes into creating it and caring for it.  It absorbs the spirit of the people and relationships and their activities within its walls
That's what "Little Pink Houses" is all about and the back porch is the best place of all...

Thanks Uncle Brian, Uncle Brad, Dad, Mom, Chiquita, Cody, Emma, Mark, Loren, Kent, Pat, Rob, Andrew, Ryan, Travis, Quincy, Corey, Taco Bell, Moose, Maryann, Braden and all the others who have listened, helped, prayed, fed, modeled and appreciated the renovation process.

Don't get hung up on pink - why does it bother you anyway?

We raised enough money to replace the door on Phebe's house!  We closed the bidding on the Sitting Bear painting and the winner picked it up.  Kudos to the Old Town Battle Grounds community.  All those of you who contributed are greatly appreciated.  This local family (our neighbors) will benefit from your generosity, your time and your energy.  Thank you so much.  We will now order the new door and get it installed.  Keep your eyes and ears to the ground for more opportunities to help each other out.  Let me know...

Here is what "Pink House" projects are going on right now.  If you are participating in one, you can check here for what is coming next and when, what skills, materials or equipment are needed, and where to bring the tacos... If you have any questions,  send me a note below.

In conjunction with the SW Washington Community Land Trust and ABC (Americans Building Community) as well as Front Porch Solutions, we are working to create some affordable housing at 4912 Nicholson in the 4th Plain Corridor.  This is part WWII era home that has been moved up the hill and an addition from about 25 years ago.  We are looking to involve and impact the community as we renovate this place using volunteer labor and donations.  We are currently looking for the future home owners so they can be a part of the project from beginning to end.  When complete it will be an efficient, warm, beautiful and affordable asset in its community.  Please call Kevin Hiebert (360-904-5150) with ABC if you or a group you are part of would like to spend some time on this great project.

In moving towards a simpler, more local-mission mindset; I needed to shrink my shop.  This is the result, and yes, it is pink.  I turned the old PCR/Darby display building into a mobile shop complete with a pass through window for the table saw, a fridge, a microwave, shelves, a work bench, a sound system and even an alarm.  It's wired, insulated (mostly) and filled with tools and materials.  I used it as base camp for the OTBG move and it worked great!  I still need the rest of the insulation and I want to put a roll out awning on the garage door side to make a dry outdoor work area.  I'd love a little porch off the back and a hammock - that may be pushing it.  Now, where do I put my big table saw, the planer, dust collection system, etc...?

Recently, my efforts to make the world a comfortable little place for myself have been coming up empty. 
I chuckle as I stand with my hands upturned and a bit of a scowl on my face.  I am curious and certainly not in control.  I'm tired of scrabbling and sweating to make my ends meet.  So, I gave both ends to God and threw my tools in my little truck.  I've been working on a house for some friends of mine and realizing how much more I enjoy helping than selling. 

My theory is this:  If I bring what I've got and trust Jesus with the results, he will take care of me.  Something like, "do not worry about what you shall eat or wear for life is more than food and the body is more than clothing.  You can't add to your life by worrying so just live today.  Seek first the kingdom of God and all the rest will be given to you.  Invest in heavenly treasure..." (please excuse the paraphrasing).  
Anyway, I better not worry about a fair exchange because of two things:  (1) If I got what I've earned, I'd be separated from God's goodness, dead, a grease spot with no hope.  (2) What he is offering for free is unimaginably better; not even comparable to what I can offer (post babel words do not suffice).  So, it's better for me to just jack into the Jesus matrix and be the part of the program he designed me to be. 

I love fixing things, especially broken ugly things.  That's probably a reflection.  I love figuring out problems with people who really yearn for solutions.  I love getting involved in the mess of people's lives and discovering their coolness.  It seriously makes me smile.  And I love to show young men how to do stuff, including the above mentioned.
Fortunately, I've got a full compliment of DeWalt tools and all the neat gadgets a recovering contractor would expect to have. 
All I can say is - it adds up to something that sounds like a adventure with lots of great stories to tell afterward. 
For my personal trip into this idea, check out my blog (it's on this site).

One day I was on the running loop I've been running for 12 years and I ran by this broken down house that is obviously abandoned.  I started thinking about how great it would be to fix it up and wishing I had a way to do it.  I remembered all the young guys I've worked with over the last 15 years who wanted to learn craftsmanship, participate in adventure together, do something useful with their efforts and learn what it means to be a man in the image of God (PCR Man School).  In my endorphin plagued mind or between the 150 bpm of my heart an idea emerged... just to have something to call it - little pink houses.

I thought:

• Find out who owns the house and what their situation is
• Work with owners to develop an objective - ideally, turn the house into something beneficial for them and the community: a co-housing situation, half-way house, recovery house, etc.  Even just getting it back in shape to go on the market.
  
• Trade labor to fix up the house and property for six to twelve months of housing for three or four of those aforementioned pcr man-school guys
• Get the materials from the owner - set up deals with suppliers.  Get donations
  
• Join together with a few of my construction buddies who have a heart to bestow masculinity and share life with the younger generations and disciple the young guys while we teach them how to restore a house and restore their own lives.
• Fix it up over the next six to twelve months
  
• combine work with a focus on lifestyle discipleship in a monastic/missional approach.  Find ways to reach out to the community and invite them in.  Bring in men who are at a low point (out of work, broken marriage, recently out of jail, etc.  Give them a second shot within a community that provides accountability through shared mission. 
  
• Study the word, worship together, tell stories, pray, seek the kingdom of heaven, wait on Jesus and see what happens...

That's the idea - anyone interested?

John Mellencamp, Pink Houses Lyrics

There's a black man with a black cat
Livin' in a black neighborhood
He's got an interstate
Runnin' through his front yard
You know he thinks that he's got it so good
And there's a woman in the kitchen
Cleanin' up the evenin' slop
And he looks at her and says, hey darlin'
I can remember when you could stop a clock

Oh, but ain't that America
For you and me
Ain't that America
Something to see, baby
Ain't that America
Home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses
For you and me
Oooh, yeah
For you and me

Well, there's a young man in a t-shirt
Listenin' to a rockin' rollin' station
He's got greasy hair, greasy smile
He says, Lord this must be my destination
'Cause they told me when I was younger
Said boy, you're gonna be president
But just like everything else
Those old crazy dreams
Just kinda came and went

Oh, but ain't that America
For you and me
Ain't that America
Something to see, baby
Ain't that America
Home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses
For you and me
Oooh, little baby
For you and me

[Instrumental Interlude]

Well, there's people and more people
What do they know, know, know
Go to work in some high rise
And vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico
Ooh, yeah
And there's winners and there's losers
But they ain't no big deal
'Cause the simple man, baby
Pays for thrills
The bills the pills that kill

Oh, but ain't that America
For you and me
Ain't that America
Something to see, baby
Ain't that America
Home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses
For you and me
Oooh
Ooooh, yeah..