A little history can go a long way...

Who am I? I will let you know when I figure it all out. Till then, here is some background to get you started.

Welcome to my journey. The road that got me here has already been long and daunting. Not much to look at really. Just a normal girl going through life.

“I feel grand in my own mind. Destine for greatness. I have million-dollar ideas, I can cast a great vision of the future & I possess faith that can move mountains. Yet, I remain not so rich and nameless.”

October 6, 2022, at 5:00 pm

There are a lot of factors that have gotten me to where I am today. Even this blog entry is one that was written long ago (May 4, 2012) & I am reclaiming it & rewriting it. It's hard to know where to start in my own history. Go back too far & no one would make it passed my childhood. It was normal and loving, no crazy up brining to shock & awe anyone. Just a simple mid-west family with normal everyday things going on. High school blah, some collage here & there blah blah blah. Wrong crowd as I got older, brooding artist with better thing to do then study, couldn't pick a collage or the course of study I wanted so I hurled into adulthood clueless.

Fast forward to a dull life drinking with friends every night & working jobs I found pointless. I think the best place to start is at what I call my turning point. I finally figured out I was my biggest problem & I couldn't "fix" it (me) alone. I got sober (the first time) for three years. It was wonderful and full of friends & the beginning of my faith journey. But it wasn't my turning point. That came years later, after a relapse, a failed marriage & real surrender to God. If you're thinking here, she goes, brace yourself for the Bible thumping, you honestly don't know me well enough yet. Keep reading, I promise I won't lose you. I started this journey as a devout atheist with a chip on my shoulder and an axe to grind.

After being sober once and going through a divorce and trying yet again to "find myself" I found myself drunk and miserable and living in a way that wasn't making me happy. My creative side was there but the drive to do anything with it was Nill. I had a job and sort of cared about it but it was stressful and like that movie Ground Hog Day every day. I still had some faith from my time sober and still prayed and wanted to be "in a better place".

One day it all just came to a head. A scooter accident became my turning point. This wasn't a major life-threatening accident or anything. Like I said I'm just normal, no crazy extreme violence or injuries in my life (yet, thank God). It did break my foot badly and the recovery time was long. And in that time, I feel I was found and restored. During that time my faith grew and became stronger than ever. I moved into a crazy warehouse alone and that is where we will begin. The following is part of the original blog I wrote back then.

May 4, 2012 at 5:00 am (Uncategorized)

There are many things that lead me to the building I am in right now and a lot of different ideas have crossed my mind as to why I am here. Here as in, in this building and also here as in, in this world. I believe that God has put us all here for different reasons, some great and some small. Sometimes we know exactly what we are doing and feel like we are “supposed” to be doing them. At other times we feel like we have no direction are lost and have no idea what is going on with our lives.

Se7en Missions (the unofficial ministry I started) started in the space somewhere between those two trains of thought. I had a desire to do something with my photography but not sure what. I also had an irresistible pull in my heart that told me I had a higher purpose. So, I prayerfully went about my days sort of in this limbo between what I thought I wanted to do and what I thought God was telling me to do. I followed leads that I got from people to start a business and in the process, I found this building that I now call Se7en. I thought it would make a great place to live and work but never thought that I would have such large ideas attached to it. The place is not even half finished. But there is a very energetic feeling and a comfort that made me want to be there from the first day I walked through the door. I found it online, called the number on a whim one day while driving around and the owner was available to show it to me right then and there! So, I met with him, and he showed me the building.

It smelled like dust and wet tile I guess would be the best way to describe it. The stairs were steep, very steep as we walk in and I had no idea what to think. We get to the top of the stairs and the floors were uneven and missing spots, there was no kitchen, no bathroom, no dry wall just framing and wood and dust and who knows what all over the place. The plumbing and electrical was all exposed and looked a little frightening. But my mind quickly filled in the spaces, and I could see Se7en as it would look completed. I tried to hide my smile as the owner showed me around. I could not believe how cool the place was. Even in its current condition.

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We talked about a lease and a deposit and rent, and it all seemed do able. So, I left excited and feeling half crazy. Was I really thinking of moving out of my very comfortable 2-bedroom apartment with working kitchen, plumbing and walls. Was I really considering doing all that work and living in conditions less than normal… I was.

I prayed about that situation and sort of felt crazy. I didn't have to move. I was very happy where I was. So, next day I just had to go see the place again but the owner wasn't available I had to wait two more days till I could see it again. Those where a long two days. Every thought was of that place and me talking to God about what I should do. Even when I closed my eyes I would dream of the place and me working on it and it open for business. Every time the answer was the same GO.

40 days later and more anxiety than I can possibly explain (just ask my family I drove them nuts) and I was moving In. I was thankful to have electricity on the day I moved in, but the shower had not been installed yet. It didn't get installed for 10 more days! I had no hot water, no fridge or stove and no clue when I would be getting any of those things. So, I moved in and got my stuff sort of settled.

During that time God also gave me good company and much needed help. From a very amazing person. Who helped me get most of my stuff settled into a room on the first floor for storage and the furniture and everyday stuff to the 3rd floor. Which is 1/2 the amount of space I was used to living in. All though I will tell you it is plenty of room for me.

It is hard for me to remember and go back and write all the awesome things that have happened to lead me to this place. I wanted to start a blog for Se7en because I believe God is at work and he is using me and that place to do something great for him. I want to make sure I have the story/ history of Se7en written somewhere. What better place to do it and what better time than as it happens. I can’t guarantee it will be exciting to anyone but me, but I feel I need to have it written down somewhere. So, Here goes nothing. Let the journey of Se7en begin.

Back to now October 6, 2022

Even more twists and turn have occurred over the years. I will be grabbing blogs from long ago and rewriting them as I go. But these thoughts right here are the spirit of this blog. I don't know what I'm doing, my ideas are always bigger than me and with enough faith they always seem to come together somehow. Back then I was a grass roots ministry leader that no church recognition or official support. I was questioned at times about how I tracked money (easy I don't have any) I was questioned about my doctrine (what's doctrine I would say). Back then I was a reluctant leader, and I still am to this day.

The spirit that lives in every entrepreneur is a larger than life visionary just trying to make it happen. Either for themselves or their loved ones or in my case for God. We dream big we plan vigorously we fall flat on our faces and can laugh at ourselves and start over or move on to the next thing. People call us weird or crazy or eccentric (my personal favorite). But when it comes down to it we are just people with a little something inside us that cannot rest until we get there (wherever there is) and to be honest sometimes we don't even know. I think that is why I call this Lifestyles of the Not so Rich and Nameless. We don't care how much money we make or don't make in some cases and we don't care who knows who we are. We do what we do for the thrill of the challenge.

Se7en Missions (the building) was bought out and I never got to see it in its full glory as I envisioned it. But it's still a thing (the time in history and the ideas and heart that went into it), it still lives, and I didn't fail. Taking a step back, pausing, and reconfiguring are part of the process. We only fail when we stop altogether.

Writing as I go reminiscing, or relenting is all part of the creative process and also part of my faith journey. God is with me every step of the way. And again, this is a collection of my thoughts and hobbies, my wonderings and whoa. My hope is to create a community where other Not So Rich and Nameless people can learn from each other and have a common place to vent and morn the days that don't go as planned and celebrate the ones that do.