House Update

Quick update folks-- we are closing on the house tomorrow morning. I know for some people this is no big deal at all. For me, this is huge. I feel the need to celebrate and freak out all at the same time. We don't plan to move in for a while because we want to do some renovating to the inside and we are blessed to be able to stay in our current location until that work is done. I know the next few months is going to be filled with decision-making, first experiences, and eventually moving which may all be stressful but it will be worth it to enjoy our first home together. We are truly blessed. Hopefully as the summer moves on we will be able to post updates on our progress. Keep us in your prayers!

Easter

We celebrated a wonderful Easter Sunday with our families this past weekend. Our minister and song leader were used by the Holy Spirit to deliver an outstanding worship service and I was literally moved to tears as we sang Worthy is the Lamb. I am thankful that he who had no sin was sent to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)....the righteousness of God. When I think of myself and my inadequacies, I cannot imagine being the embodiment of the righteousness of God. But that is the amazing gift of grace that God gave us through Christ, his sacrifice and his resurrection.

Thank you for the cross, Lord.
Thank you for the price you paid.
Bearing all my sin and shame
In love you came
And gave amazing grace

Thank you for this love, Lord.
Thank you for the nail pierced hands.
Washed me in your cleansing flow
Now all I know
Your forgiveness and embrace

Worthy is the Lamb
Seated on the Throne
Crown you now with many crowns
You reign victorious
High and lifted up
Jesus, Son of God
The darling of Heaven, Crucified
Worthy is the Lamb
Worthy is the Lamb

Update

I know we haven't posted in a while. This month has been CRAZY. Spring is busy for me in the semester at work, but we have also been busy personally and had to take care of a few things. I do want to say this-- thank you for your thoughts and prayers on the house situation. We found one. :)

This past weekend, Jack and I were out working in the yard. While moving trucks around we missed 4 phone calls from our realtor. She left a message on both of our phones. When I did get back in touch with here is how our conversation went:
Realtor: "Are you in town?"
Me: "Yes..."
Realtor:"I have a house you need to see. It has some great features for you and a huge outbuilding that Jack will love. You need to come see it."

So Jack and I talked briefly and we asked her when would be a good time to come by.
Realtor: "Now."
Me: "Well, we've been working in the yard all day, we aren't cleaned up at all."
Realtor: "Doesn't matter. No one is here. Come on over. You've got to see it."

So Jack and I got into the car with the faint smell of our outdoor workmanship and headed off to see this house. Part of the reason the realtor was in such a hurry was because the house was priced very well. Very well. Her concern was that if we wanted it and we didn't move on it soon that someone else would make an offer before us.

So we went to see it and it was great. We brought our families in and they loved it too. While we normally take a long time to make these kinds of decisions, we also knew that other people would be seeing the house that afternoon. So we went ahead and made an offer. By Sunday afternoon, we were on our way to buying a house! Now we are in the process of inspections, securing the loan, etc and it is wonderfully distracting. If everything continues as hoped we will move in sometime this summer after we have done some updating to the inside of the home.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. We are very excited that we have found a home and we pray that everything moves smoothly from here.

With this ring...

Our Wednesday night Bible class at church (which is aimed at college students) is about Christian marriage this semester. It has been interesting for Jack and I as we are called on from time to time to offer insight on the subject. Last week we were asked to participate on a marriage panel. Other couples also participated. The couple who was married the longest had been married for over 50 years which is no small thing these days. There was a "newlywed game" which Jack and I lost and then some time for us just to answer questions. Getting different perspectives from different couples who had been married for different lengths of time was eye-opening, even for me.

Tonight I went out to dinner with 3 other wonderful Christian women. Two of us were married and the other two were single. As usual, part of the conversation dealt with men and those of us who were married found ourselves talking about the adjustments that marriage brings to your life. Issues like where to squeeze the toothpaste tube and which side of the bed to sleep on can become sources of stress like they never were when you were single and had complete control of your own toothpaste. Shortly after Jack and I were married I accidentally gave him a black eye with my elbow when I turned over in bed. Oops. We went to church that week and everyone gave me dirty looks. I had alot of explaining to do.

I am thankful that God created marriage. Being married to Jack has richly blessed my life. That's not to say that we don't have challenges...all marriages do. However, with God's help we have been able to work together through tough times and I believe we will continue to work through them as they arise. We've got the toothpaste thing figured out (with a handy little tool that you put on the end of the tube). We're still working on some of the others. :)

What is God Saying? - Your input is requested

For those that know us well, Francie & I try very hard to listen to what God is telling us. Without giving too much of us away, on every move/career change/etc we have striven to listen to what God was trying to tell us in the situation. And for the most part, we feel that He has guided us (or for this blog post - told us) through various incidents, "signs", etc as to what we needed -or what He felt was best for us - to do.

So we find ourselves again at this crossroad and we are trying to listen to what God is telling us to do in regards to buying a house where we now live. To try to help you understand what we mean, without giving too much away below is a timeline.

1. After accepting a job, we started looking for houses to potentially buy. Know that we have never owned a house before so we are virgins at this and trying to not make mistakes as we go along. In looking at houses, we got in touch with a real estate agent and a financial broker (both we know personally and consider friends).


2. We didn't initially buy but continued to look over the period of several months while we have been renting from a family member (a HUGE blessing that we feel so blessed to be able to use). NOTE: We have enjoyed where we are living but there are a few things that we miss that are kinda driving the desire to buy a home.


3. After several months of searching we just did not find anything that we loved. Because of our current housing situation we weren’t willing to "settle" for something. We really wanted to find something that we loved and would be happy in for several years. Doesn't have to be permanent but we’re looking at least 5+ years of living there.


4. While we were looking, both our real estate agent and our financial broker left the business because of the current economic times. We by no means fault them for making the career change, just a part of life and taking a while to buy a home.

So in all of this we started to think that maybe God was trying to tell us to wait on buying a house. After all we really didn't have 20% to put down on a house in the price range that we were looking in. Besides this we had several other family issues that we were having to deal with (some that have been documented on this blog and Jack's Prayer Requests).

So we were just waiting. That is until this past Thursday night.

Since we have started looking we have had family members occasionally tell us about houses that they have come across. This has been very handy in the housing search as both Francie and I have been swamped with other issues but it allows us to know about houses that we might have missed.

This past Thursday night my mom sent me a house that she found online that we were interested in and I was very interested in (and for those that know me best this is a rare event). So since our agent had resigned from the business we decided to just contact the person selling the house in order to at least look at it.

Well the house went under contract LAST NIGHT!!! WHAT LUCK! AUGH!!!

So my question to everyone out there is.......What do you think God is trying to tell us? We would like to finally get “settled” in the town that we live in, however we don’t want to make an unwise decision and would like to continue our history of listening to God in these life changing decisions. But we are just SOOOO confused. And if God is trying to tell us to wait, how long do we wait? Or is God trying to tell us that we need to move on this more quickly because we might miss out on what we need? The last three times we have been semi-interested in a house by the time we asked to see it, it was under contract. Are we too slow on the trigger? What is your perspective?

Distance

Jack and I went out of town this weekend to the place where we used to live. We hadn't been back since we moved last summer and it was wonderful to see old friends and drive around in the town we lived in for 4 years. There's alot to be said for distance. While distance can be difficult if you are separated from someone you love, distance can also be healing. Getting away from difficult situations can begin to heal you. Even when you have to return to those places of hurt, leaving for a short time can give you new perspective. I'm thankful for distance, not just because it has helped me to move forward from a difficult couple of weeks but because it has helped me in other ways and other parts of my life too.

Thank you for all who have been praying for me and my family. God is good.

Complicated

When Jack and I started this blog I hoped it would be a light-hearted way to share our lives with people we know and occasionally people we don't know. I often find myself laughing out loud when I read blogs from Mandy or smiling when my friends share stories about their children. Unfortunately, our life has not been as light-hearted as I would like it to be recently and that is why I have really avoided posting anything.

I have had a personal experience recently where one of my family members has found himself trapped deep in complicated, messy, addicting, and stigmatized sin. It's the kind of thing you would never expect to happen in a "good Christian family." Many people, myself included, are still reeling from the news and while I am mostly able to move through my days as if everything is well and normal I do have emotional break-downs from time to time. The whole situation has had me thinking quite a bit about God and Satan, the world and eternity. To God, we are all broken, fallen creatures. Suffering through our weaknesses whether they be private or public. No sin, whether it be jealousy or murder, is worse than any other in the eyes of God. And ending your life in that sin will cause you to face eternal punishment regardless of what it is. In this world, our sins have consequences. And those consequences create levels for us that make us feel as though one sin is worse than another. What's worse, at times the consequences we face for our own sins have drastic effects on those we love even though they had absolutely no control over our actions. Sin and Satan are two powerful forces.

I'm not writing this to draw attention to myself. Although what has happened is in my family, it is not an immediate family member and the effects on me personally are really going to be relatively minor. My concern is more for those who are going to be deeply affected for the rest of their lives. Romans 8:26 says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." That verse holds a great deal of meaning for me right now on multiple levels. Please pray for this situation and take time to consider your own weaknesses. If you are struggling in an addictive sin and need help to get out of it, please get the help you need before it is too late. Let us allow our Christian brothers and sisters to help us through our weaknesses and follow the words of Galatians 6:2, "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."