THE TEXAS HOUSE SOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No more paying for a house we aren't living in...
No more hassles with renters, will it sell, etc.....
No talking to realtors!!
No houses in other states!
No electric bills or water bills for an empty house!!
Praise God! It has been a long, long, long journey on this road. A hard one! We have had doubts about many things and have questioned God's purpose through this. Now, at the near end, I look back and ask what I've learned and what God has taught us.
We have grown in our marriage, in our faith, and how much bigger of a financial crisis can we face? I imagined the worst case scenario and stressed out at the first thought of it. Once I put my faith in God for those fears, even the worst case scenario wasn't scary. God is bigger.
I have learned a lot about money and feel we've been less materialistic only because we've had to be. When we lived in the Dallas area, it was very easy to get caught up in who has what. The culture there is VERY materialistic. Even at our church it was hard to not get caught up in it as they had almost unlimited funds to work with. A huge blessing for the church to have that freedom to do ministry as they desire, but I think I at least developed a mindset that there wasn't anything we couldn't do! At church, there really wasn't, but I think it slipped into my personal mindset (and spending) as well. I have often called Dallas the "shiny" city. There was a lot of glitz and glam and plastic surgery. Fashion was/is huge. I remember moving away from Dallas and being shocked at how different the fashion trends were. It was so easy to slip into those surface things! It was a fun place to be for a while, but just not a good place for us personally.
Paying two house payments nipped that in the bud quick and being on a strict budget now has continued that. Our Bible study last night focused on greed. I'm not saying that I never struggle with greed anymore, but I can see that I have grown in that area over the past three years. I used to be very much a "I gotta have that" kind of person, and I'm just not now. Again, there are still some things I struggle with in that area - just not as much as I used to. It's a blessing to be freed from a lot of that.
I could go on and on with the lessons we've learned. The biggest and most important lesson though is that even if things are not going as they should, when bad things happen to good people, when you are seeking to serve the Lord and sacrificing but there doesn't seem to be any answers to prayers, when everything that could go wrong does, GOD IS STILL GOD.
Our faith should not be constructed and based upon our circumstances. Our circumstances change, but God does not. He alone has the perspective of our past, present, and future in His view. He alone knows what areas I need to grow in, what experiences I need now in order to minister to someone else in the future, and what experiences I need to make me more like Him.
So many people quoted the verse, "All things work for good for those that love Him." That's true! But, when I first heard that, I expected everything to just work out. A miracle would occur for our house to sell and pay off debt and just be set. Now that happens to some people, but it's not what the verse means. I think people (including myself prior to this experience) get caught up in the word "good" and equate it to financial success, the situation working out as we think it should, or everything having a peachy, rosy ending. That's not true. The best things in our life here on Earth is to come out of a situation where we are closer to God and more like Him - even in the smallest ways. That means things will not always work out, and there is not always a happy earthly ending! "Good" may mean that I learn a lesson, someone learns from my example, someone comes to Christ through someone else's bad experience, or just that God's kingdom is furthered in a way I'll never see here on Earth. We should never lose our faith!
That's been a VERY hard lesson for me to learn! But, it's one that I will cherish forever. I've always known that in my head, but knowing it in my heart through a life experience is more precious to me than 100 billion sold houses and trillions in the bank!
Keep us in your prayers as we seek to stay on budget and pay off debt. The storm has passed, but there's still a lot of debris to clean up! I'm excited to see how God will work through these lessons as well. Many thanks to all of you who have prayed for us through this and been a huge support. The situation was made easier with your love, concern, and prayers.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Well, it's 8:46 am, and I should be teaching how to add and subtract fractions with mixed denominators.... BUT, I am at home!!!
SNOW DAY, SNOW DAY, SNOW DAY!!! Whoo-hoo!!!! It's a snow day, I'm staying home, whoop whoop!!! (Ok, who cares that there actually is NO snow and today is a huge freebie day - I don't care about the snow necessarily, just the day to get some things done...It's ALWAYS Sumner County that gets out for even one flake of snow - just glad it's Metro's turn for once! We always go when everyone else is out!)
One of my students made me a magic snow wand the last time it snowed. It didn't work on that Thursday, but it worked on Friday. That time we had also taken all of the kids outside to do the snow dance. Again, it worked two days later...
This week, I used it on Tuesday to be out on Wednesday, but it worked on Thursday. I also see consistency with "ta-da-ing" the wand TWICE instead of just once. I did it once for Wednesday and twice for Thursday. Just a snow wand tip... Hey, it never hurts for your kids to think you are magic, right???? :)
Kids are gone, and I have a to-do list that is a mile long of EVERYTHING I want to catch up on. We'll see how much I get accomplished. I hope to update my blog template to show some more blogs of note. I got halfway through that process last time when my computer stalled out so it's only halfway done. We'll see if I get to that today. I have a jillion things to do!!!!!!!!!!!
Whatever you are doing today, enjoy it!
SNOW DAY, SNOW DAY, SNOW DAY!!! Whoo-hoo!!!! It's a snow day, I'm staying home, whoop whoop!!! (Ok, who cares that there actually is NO snow and today is a huge freebie day - I don't care about the snow necessarily, just the day to get some things done...It's ALWAYS Sumner County that gets out for even one flake of snow - just glad it's Metro's turn for once! We always go when everyone else is out!)
One of my students made me a magic snow wand the last time it snowed. It didn't work on that Thursday, but it worked on Friday. That time we had also taken all of the kids outside to do the snow dance. Again, it worked two days later...
This week, I used it on Tuesday to be out on Wednesday, but it worked on Thursday. I also see consistency with "ta-da-ing" the wand TWICE instead of just once. I did it once for Wednesday and twice for Thursday. Just a snow wand tip... Hey, it never hurts for your kids to think you are magic, right???? :)
Kids are gone, and I have a to-do list that is a mile long of EVERYTHING I want to catch up on. We'll see how much I get accomplished. I hope to update my blog template to show some more blogs of note. I got halfway through that process last time when my computer stalled out so it's only halfway done. We'll see if I get to that today. I have a jillion things to do!!!!!!!!!!!
Whatever you are doing today, enjoy it!
Monday, February 12, 2007
Did anyone else watch the Democratic National Convention last night? I'm sorry - they called in the "Grammy's"; it just SEEMED like the DNC with Al Gore and the Dixie Chicks there... ha ha! Anyone else disgusted by the Dixie Chicks??? Let's put aside the fact that they spoke out against our president at a concert in London (I'll get to that in a second...) and the content of their videos and music (in one video, they have a woman being abused by her husband kill him. Great message to fight back and stand up for yourself, but murder isn't the answer to domestic problems obviously).
What SERIOUSLY irritated me last night, for those of you who didn't see it, when they were called for one of their FIVE awards, Natalie Maines came to the microphone and said, "In the words of the great Simpson... heh heh... A lot of people just turned off their TVs right now..."
I was still irritated about it this morning, and I was really asking myself why it bothered me so much. It really does bother me that they spoke out against our president, in a public forum, and to another country. Of course, non-Christians are not going to behave as Christians should.
It is not wrong to disagree with our President. I don't agree with some of the things President Bush has done. But, there is a difference in disagreeing with a LEADER and promoting those opinions publicly to "outsiders".
The Bible tells us that the leaders that have been placed over us - whether in the church, in our workplaces, or our country - are placed there because God has ordained them to be there. We are to respect them, pray for them, and submit to them. Agree with them always?? NO! Romans 13:1 says, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." Even those who may seem to be the worst of the worst leaders are placed there by GOD! ALL authority is established by God!
So, what is our response when we don't agree with our leaders? Do we go over to London and say we are ashamed that our president is from the same state we are? NO! That causes dissension within our own country, and it portrays our country in a bad light to another country. Relations within this political world today are so fragile that the tiniest cracks in unity can make a big difference!
The same is true with the authorities in our church. Are we going to agree with our leaders all of the time? Are we going to understand all of their decisions? NO! But, we are to submit to them because they are ordained by God! They are in leadership and see a picture bigger than that of the one we see. They make decisions based on the whole of the church or the whole of our country, and not one small fraction.
And, if we do disagree, the Bible gives us ways to handle those conflicts:
Matt 18:15-17 says, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. "
We are to go TO the person we have a conflict to - not announce to another country or gripe to everyone else about it. Within our country, we can write to our congressmen or president or work on trying to change laws we disagree with. Within our church, we should go to the leaders if we disagree with something, OR just submit and understand that they know better than we do. Our leaders are going to be held accountable by God for the decisions that they make; it is not for us to hold them accountable! We certainly should not go out into the community bad-mouthing the church or to other countries bad-mouthing our President! Just as our country is politically fragile, so is the spiritual warfare we face! How much more serious when we talk about someone's eternity! There is NO reason to create or continue dissension within our churches or to cause a "seeker" to not visit our church because of something we've said.
Isaiah 1:18 -20 says, " 'Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.' " We are to reason TOGETHER - GOD forgives ALL of our sins as we are to forgive others. We are to be willing and obedient not resistful and rebellious!
The Bible also talks about conflicts within all relationships:
Ephesians 4:25-27 says, "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Speak truthfully - tell someone directly if there is a problem and....
Ephesians 4:3 says, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." .... keep at it working on the problem until peace is resolved! We have to do our part. We can apologize and repent for our own actions only... I was just having a conversation about this yesterday! At some point, we have to make sure we have repented for our own actions and apologized with the right heart. Once we've done all we can do to mend a relationship, it may be up to the other person to then work and pray through their part of the conflict.
Proverbs 10:12 says, "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs." Whether dealing with Christians, our church, or our country, we are to deal with ALL conflicts and wrongs with LOVE! It may take praying through things to get to that point, but LOVE is what we are called to do! And, we have to do HEART CHECKS - see previous post on that - to determine whether our hearts are truly in the right place!
What SERIOUSLY irritated me last night, for those of you who didn't see it, when they were called for one of their FIVE awards, Natalie Maines came to the microphone and said, "In the words of the great Simpson... heh heh... A lot of people just turned off their TVs right now..."
I was still irritated about it this morning, and I was really asking myself why it bothered me so much. It really does bother me that they spoke out against our president, in a public forum, and to another country. Of course, non-Christians are not going to behave as Christians should.
It is not wrong to disagree with our President. I don't agree with some of the things President Bush has done. But, there is a difference in disagreeing with a LEADER and promoting those opinions publicly to "outsiders".
The Bible tells us that the leaders that have been placed over us - whether in the church, in our workplaces, or our country - are placed there because God has ordained them to be there. We are to respect them, pray for them, and submit to them. Agree with them always?? NO! Romans 13:1 says, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." Even those who may seem to be the worst of the worst leaders are placed there by GOD! ALL authority is established by God!
So, what is our response when we don't agree with our leaders? Do we go over to London and say we are ashamed that our president is from the same state we are? NO! That causes dissension within our own country, and it portrays our country in a bad light to another country. Relations within this political world today are so fragile that the tiniest cracks in unity can make a big difference!
The same is true with the authorities in our church. Are we going to agree with our leaders all of the time? Are we going to understand all of their decisions? NO! But, we are to submit to them because they are ordained by God! They are in leadership and see a picture bigger than that of the one we see. They make decisions based on the whole of the church or the whole of our country, and not one small fraction.
And, if we do disagree, the Bible gives us ways to handle those conflicts:
Matt 18:15-17 says, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. "
We are to go TO the person we have a conflict to - not announce to another country or gripe to everyone else about it. Within our country, we can write to our congressmen or president or work on trying to change laws we disagree with. Within our church, we should go to the leaders if we disagree with something, OR just submit and understand that they know better than we do. Our leaders are going to be held accountable by God for the decisions that they make; it is not for us to hold them accountable! We certainly should not go out into the community bad-mouthing the church or to other countries bad-mouthing our President! Just as our country is politically fragile, so is the spiritual warfare we face! How much more serious when we talk about someone's eternity! There is NO reason to create or continue dissension within our churches or to cause a "seeker" to not visit our church because of something we've said.
Isaiah 1:18 -20 says, " 'Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.' " We are to reason TOGETHER - GOD forgives ALL of our sins as we are to forgive others. We are to be willing and obedient not resistful and rebellious!
The Bible also talks about conflicts within all relationships:
Ephesians 4:25-27 says, "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Speak truthfully - tell someone directly if there is a problem and....
Ephesians 4:3 says, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." .... keep at it working on the problem until peace is resolved! We have to do our part. We can apologize and repent for our own actions only... I was just having a conversation about this yesterday! At some point, we have to make sure we have repented for our own actions and apologized with the right heart. Once we've done all we can do to mend a relationship, it may be up to the other person to then work and pray through their part of the conflict.
Proverbs 10:12 says, "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs." Whether dealing with Christians, our church, or our country, we are to deal with ALL conflicts and wrongs with LOVE! It may take praying through things to get to that point, but LOVE is what we are called to do! And, we have to do HEART CHECKS - see previous post on that - to determine whether our hearts are truly in the right place!
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Snow Day!!!! For everyone!!! Except Metro!!! Where I teach!!! Yea!!!! :( This is a real bummer day for me - I was so counting on a snow day! My kids are home, although with no snow, and I was hoping to join them. I figured I had two choices - think up mean revengeful things for all the forecasters who SAID we would get 1-2", gave driving warnings, and even predicted "messy conditions" on Friday as well - come on! I could think up all kinds of mean thoughts for them. Uncle Paul is our saving grace keeping the kids today - THANK YOU!! I know they will have fun with him.
INSTEAD of mean thoughts, I thought I would share the white Christmas we had at our house - hadn't gotten around to posting Christmas pictures yet... I will soon... since it's February! If you live in the area, you won't recall a white Christmas... nope, it only snowed at the Underhills... (Okay, Jason got me gift that came in a huge box with a billion styrofoam packing peanuts... we let the kids dump it all out and play in it... super fun!)
Snowflakes that stick to our nose and eyelashes... and the back of our head... due to static electricity!! What fun!
INSTEAD of mean thoughts, I thought I would share the white Christmas we had at our house - hadn't gotten around to posting Christmas pictures yet... I will soon... since it's February! If you live in the area, you won't recall a white Christmas... nope, it only snowed at the Underhills... (Okay, Jason got me gift that came in a huge box with a billion styrofoam packing peanuts... we let the kids dump it all out and play in it... super fun!)
Uncle Paul helping to spread the "snow"!
My sweet SNOW ANGELS!!!
Snowflakes that stick to our nose and eyelashes... and the back of our head... due to static electricity!! What fun!
The kids did help clean up afterwards which was a MUCH bigger chore than I thought it would be... this was one of my most fun Christmas memories... lots of others that I'll share - hopefully before June, but I thought these were great for today.
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