I guess I can't say this is my favorite quote, all-time. One from John Piper comes to mind, when I think of all-time favorite quotes. But, for this week, this is definitely my favorite quote. I have been rehearsing it in my mind and sending it to other people all week. I heard it while attending Passion City Church in Atlanta last Sunday. Louie Giglio, the pastor there, was preaching about how we need to see ourselves the way God sees us. He encouraged us to say this and remember it. I have been saying it every day; and I leave it with you, to state, to re-state, to memorize, and to take to heart.
This is the truth about you, about me: WE ARE
"God-designed, purpose-intended, lavishly loved, significant, prince/princess, son/daughter of the King of the universe."
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
TRIPS, TRUCKERS, AND TRUSTING GOD
Trips can be a lot of fun; and therefore, looked forward to, and remembered for a long time. However, the toughest type of trip is the one way trip: moving. That is not so fun; especially when you are leaving friends and a closer proximity to family. Even though it can be exciting to wonder what God has planned for you in the future, with a move, it is nonetheless really hard to leave a place and the people you have grown to love over several years. That is what we experienced.
We can't forget the packing of the 24 foot truck of all our earthly belongings that we didn't give away, sell, pack in the suburban or leave at the house for the next family to enjoy. It only took one night, but there were many hours of preparation before that, selling things, taking things apart, packing things; and of course, moving things into place for the packing of the truck. And then, we had to have an "expert" who knows how to pack things. Into the scenario comes our good friend Andy. He was incredible, figuring out how to fit everything in that truck. If you need a great packer, I suggest you find him and pay him double what we paid him (at least)! He saved us a ton of money, along with all the others who helped us in those days and during that evening.
The trip itself was pretty "exciting". We left at 9 a.m. and although we hoped to make it as close to the 11.5 hour estimated time from mapquest, we took almost 16 hours, pulling into Georgia at 12:45 a.m.
We encountered 4 rain storms (at least), which did a "number" on the plastic we had covering 3 mattresses we were carrying on the top of the suburban. We were having battery light problems, and found out it was an alternator. Fortunately, thanks to God, we received good advice from Teresa's brother, got off an exit, found an Auto Zone; and were very grateful to a worker who not only diagnosed the problem but fixed it! Since both of us were driving the whole way, it was extremely exhausting; especially since we were carrying cargo.
One of the more interesting parts of the trip was when I stopped in a truck stop a couple of times in order to get diesel fuel for the moving truck. At the ones I stopped at, they seemed to be very busy, and they didn't seem to work like normal gas stops. You couldn't just put a credit card in, fill it with gas and drive away. I had to go inside, stand in a long line, pre-pay an amount, not really knowing how much the huge gas tank would take in the truck. Then, after returning to the truck, you fill it, replace the nozzle, and go back into the store to settle the credit card, right? NO NO NO. I learned the hard way as a trucker behind me honked at me and then "chased me down" to tell me that after I filled up with gas, I was supposed to pull forward to a certain line and then go in to pay. I was a little scared. I figured it out, but all in all, it was a learning experience (and made me thankful I wasn't a trucker - at least not yet!)
We have told our children that we are in a great situation, as it relates to knowing God and growing in Him. This whole move is really about faith - learning to trust God. We told them the story of Abraham, and how God called Him to go to a place He did not know, without understanding the details or being able to see ahead of time how things would work out. But, he was to leave his familiar surroundings, take his family and go to wherever God called Him - trusting that God knew what He was doing, and would do what was best. We see a little more than Abraham in that we knew where in Georgia we were going and who we were going to live with, for now.
We don't know what our future holds, here or elsewhere. God has led us to come here, not knowing when I would get a job or what He is wanting me to do for now. What does God have planned? How will He provide for us? We don't know the answers to these questions, but we do know this: We can trust Him: and we will take each step, as He leads. I hope you are doing that too!
We can't forget the packing of the 24 foot truck of all our earthly belongings that we didn't give away, sell, pack in the suburban or leave at the house for the next family to enjoy. It only took one night, but there were many hours of preparation before that, selling things, taking things apart, packing things; and of course, moving things into place for the packing of the truck. And then, we had to have an "expert" who knows how to pack things. Into the scenario comes our good friend Andy. He was incredible, figuring out how to fit everything in that truck. If you need a great packer, I suggest you find him and pay him double what we paid him (at least)! He saved us a ton of money, along with all the others who helped us in those days and during that evening.
The trip itself was pretty "exciting". We left at 9 a.m. and although we hoped to make it as close to the 11.5 hour estimated time from mapquest, we took almost 16 hours, pulling into Georgia at 12:45 a.m.
We encountered 4 rain storms (at least), which did a "number" on the plastic we had covering 3 mattresses we were carrying on the top of the suburban. We were having battery light problems, and found out it was an alternator. Fortunately, thanks to God, we received good advice from Teresa's brother, got off an exit, found an Auto Zone; and were very grateful to a worker who not only diagnosed the problem but fixed it! Since both of us were driving the whole way, it was extremely exhausting; especially since we were carrying cargo.
One of the more interesting parts of the trip was when I stopped in a truck stop a couple of times in order to get diesel fuel for the moving truck. At the ones I stopped at, they seemed to be very busy, and they didn't seem to work like normal gas stops. You couldn't just put a credit card in, fill it with gas and drive away. I had to go inside, stand in a long line, pre-pay an amount, not really knowing how much the huge gas tank would take in the truck. Then, after returning to the truck, you fill it, replace the nozzle, and go back into the store to settle the credit card, right? NO NO NO. I learned the hard way as a trucker behind me honked at me and then "chased me down" to tell me that after I filled up with gas, I was supposed to pull forward to a certain line and then go in to pay. I was a little scared. I figured it out, but all in all, it was a learning experience (and made me thankful I wasn't a trucker - at least not yet!)
We have told our children that we are in a great situation, as it relates to knowing God and growing in Him. This whole move is really about faith - learning to trust God. We told them the story of Abraham, and how God called Him to go to a place He did not know, without understanding the details or being able to see ahead of time how things would work out. But, he was to leave his familiar surroundings, take his family and go to wherever God called Him - trusting that God knew what He was doing, and would do what was best. We see a little more than Abraham in that we knew where in Georgia we were going and who we were going to live with, for now.
We don't know what our future holds, here or elsewhere. God has led us to come here, not knowing when I would get a job or what He is wanting me to do for now. What does God have planned? How will He provide for us? We don't know the answers to these questions, but we do know this: We can trust Him: and we will take each step, as He leads. I hope you are doing that too!
Friday, July 6, 2012
LET ME TELL YOU A STORY ABOUT A MAN NAMED GOD
For some reason, the first line of the old Beverly Hillbillies theme song came to mind as I thought of telling you about what God has done. We always need to be telling stories of God, what He has done, is doing, and be careful to give Him the glory. So, let me tell you a little bit about this story. If you already received an e-mail from us, it is pretty much a repeat. But, it wouldn't hurt you to read it again!
"They" said it couldn't be done. We bought our house when the market was up, 7 years ago, and found ourselves needing to sell it this summer, with the market still pretty down. We knew we would probably have to lower our price, but we were even wondering if we could get enough out of it to pay off our mortgage, pay closing costs, have enough to move, etc. Teresa reminded me tonight that it was only 4 weeks after we put it on the market, to sell, that the eventual buyers came (with their 7 kids) to look at it the second time (during which their realtor told us they would be putting an offer on our home). And although we did For Sale By Owner (which is one thing relators didn't think would be successful), it was first through a friend with whom I play basketball (thanks Mark!) that this family heard about our home.
The realtor they had was a God send, for sure, because she lowered her 3% commission to 1.5% (that is something we were told would never happen); and she also took nothing from the buyers. We did the open house thing a few times, with a few who came through and some realtors called and brought people; but this couple who called us one day and came over, were our only real leads (but you only need one, right?). They looked at the house 3 doors down from us that went up for sale just after us for $45,000 less (that was another thing we though would doom our sale possibility) and it supposedly was the same model home as ours. However, this couple who is buying our home explained that it was very outdated and had no finished basement (one of the great blessings God gave us with this home). They liked our home and wanted it (although they said the taxes were too high, which they are, and they didn't really want to be in a neighborhood. But, God didn't allow them to find something else.
I kept hearing stories from people how they got "stuck" with their homes and just could not sell them, for a variety of reasons. No homes seemed to be selling in our price range. A home near us said they sold but the inspection fell through and the deal was done. Homes in our neighborhood were selling for a lot less and even a bank foreclosure nearby went for a very, very low price. The realto's we talked to told us they didn't think we could sell at a certain price; and even if we did, it probably wouldn't appraise. Are you getting the idea yet that the Great Realtor was somehow involved in this/ We could see God putting it all together, but we also loved the house, loved our neighborhood and loved our friends. We would have been happy if God kept us here; and I'm sure He would have found us a job. But, that didn't seem to be His will.
We were on hold, waiting for the inspection and appraisal, and just yesterday, we found out everything went through, even $2,000 above our selling price. What "they" said couldn't be done looks like it's going to happen (of course God could stop it if He desires); at least all the indicators are there; and the buyers realtor says it is time to pack! And I suppose it is, since we have to hand over the keys (assuming all goes well) in about 2 weeks (July 20th)!
So the craziness starts (or I should probably say continues)! But, the most important factor here, is that this is something God did. The glory goes to Him. Don't forget to look at your present circumstances and see the hand of God as well.
"They" said it couldn't be done. We bought our house when the market was up, 7 years ago, and found ourselves needing to sell it this summer, with the market still pretty down. We knew we would probably have to lower our price, but we were even wondering if we could get enough out of it to pay off our mortgage, pay closing costs, have enough to move, etc. Teresa reminded me tonight that it was only 4 weeks after we put it on the market, to sell, that the eventual buyers came (with their 7 kids) to look at it the second time (during which their realtor told us they would be putting an offer on our home). And although we did For Sale By Owner (which is one thing relators didn't think would be successful), it was first through a friend with whom I play basketball (thanks Mark!) that this family heard about our home.
The realtor they had was a God send, for sure, because she lowered her 3% commission to 1.5% (that is something we were told would never happen); and she also took nothing from the buyers. We did the open house thing a few times, with a few who came through and some realtors called and brought people; but this couple who called us one day and came over, were our only real leads (but you only need one, right?). They looked at the house 3 doors down from us that went up for sale just after us for $45,000 less (that was another thing we though would doom our sale possibility) and it supposedly was the same model home as ours. However, this couple who is buying our home explained that it was very outdated and had no finished basement (one of the great blessings God gave us with this home). They liked our home and wanted it (although they said the taxes were too high, which they are, and they didn't really want to be in a neighborhood. But, God didn't allow them to find something else.
I kept hearing stories from people how they got "stuck" with their homes and just could not sell them, for a variety of reasons. No homes seemed to be selling in our price range. A home near us said they sold but the inspection fell through and the deal was done. Homes in our neighborhood were selling for a lot less and even a bank foreclosure nearby went for a very, very low price. The realto's we talked to told us they didn't think we could sell at a certain price; and even if we did, it probably wouldn't appraise. Are you getting the idea yet that the Great Realtor was somehow involved in this/ We could see God putting it all together, but we also loved the house, loved our neighborhood and loved our friends. We would have been happy if God kept us here; and I'm sure He would have found us a job. But, that didn't seem to be His will.
We were on hold, waiting for the inspection and appraisal, and just yesterday, we found out everything went through, even $2,000 above our selling price. What "they" said couldn't be done looks like it's going to happen (of course God could stop it if He desires); at least all the indicators are there; and the buyers realtor says it is time to pack! And I suppose it is, since we have to hand over the keys (assuming all goes well) in about 2 weeks (July 20th)!
So the craziness starts (or I should probably say continues)! But, the most important factor here, is that this is something God did. The glory goes to Him. Don't forget to look at your present circumstances and see the hand of God as well.
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