About Us
Our vision
AVODAH
(ah-voh-DAH)
A Hebrew word meaning work, service, and worship. In the Scriptures it describes the kind of labor that is offered to God — not only in temple worship, but in the faithful work of one’s hands and life.
Avodah carries the idea that ordinary work becomes sacred when it is done in devotion to God. Farming, building, crafting, teaching, parenting, and every honest trade can be an act of worship when done with faithfulness and excellence.
In simple terms:
Avodah — work offered to God as worship.
“The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”
Meet the cleveland’s
The Cleveland family lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where faith, family, and craftsmanship shape daily life. Rooted in a deep appreciation for the land and the heritage of Tennessee, they spend much of their time building, growing, creating, and learning together.
Jay Cleveland has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of agriculture, technology, land, and stewardship. He studied agriculture at Tennessee State University and worked with the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative, partnering with farmers, agricultural businesses, research laboratories, and suppliers across the United States and around the world to solve complex agricultural challenges.
Later, Jay founded and built a nationally distributed agricultural snack company, Tennessee Peanut Co. growing it into a brand carried in hundreds of stores before selling the business. Throughout those years, one thread remained constant: helping people better understand, cultivate, and care for the resources entrusted to them.
Outside of his professional work, Jay has spent years immersed in the outdoors through beekeeping, gardening, woodworking, wildlife habitat improvement, upland bird hunting, and studying the rhythms of healthy land. Those experiences continue to shape the way he approaches every property—not simply as a project to complete, but as a living place with history, purpose, and long-term potential.
Today, through Avodah Family, the Cleveland family designs and builds handcrafted cedar gardens, stewardships estates and legacy properties, creates enduring structures, and helps families care wisely for the places entrusted to them.
The name Avodah comes from the Hebrew word meaning work, service, and worship—reflecting their conviction that meaningful work done with excellence, humility, and integrity can itself become an act of worship.
Their goal is simple: to help families cultivate places where faith, beauty, craftsmanship, and creation are woven together in ways that can be enjoyed not only today, but for generations to come.
Discover our Story
Before Avodah was ever a business, there was a story of faith and transformation.
In this video I share my personal testimony, how God has worked in my life, and why our family approaches work, craftsmanship, and life the way we do.