Lessons Learned

Some time ago, when God really convicted me at a Bible study, I began to feel like this was going to be a huge summer for me. Outwardly, apart from the home-buying adventure, there has been no drama. Yet somehow amidst all of that, God has really revealed a lot of lessons to my heart and mind. I'll share a few of them with you in the hopes that perhaps he will speak to your heart somehow, too:

1. Contentment and faith are perhaps the two biggest struggles in my life, and perhaps in many Christians' lives. Also, the two often go hand-in-hand. When we are not content, often it is because we do not have unwavering faith that God knows what is best and will provide for it. When we do not have faith, discontent often sneaks in.
2. I need to learn to ask for help when I need it! This is an okay thing.
3. I've learned that it really annoys me when people, no matter who they are, presume to tell me how I think or feel about something. It seems to me this is like they're saying they have the "inside scoop" to my heart and mind while I, on the other hand, am in the dark. I'm working at not showing my extreme irritation when they do this. :-)
   
4. I've realized that I still have a tendency to want to please everyone, yet the only One who truly matters is God. If I am following Him and seeking His path for me, I am right where I should be. Besides, it is impossible to please everyone!

I am sure there are many more lessons learned, both that I've chosen to leave unspoken and that just haven't come to mind tonight, but for now, those are the ones that have really been closest to me over the past few weeks.

Giggles, Tears, and Uh-Oh Moments

Here are some random moments from the summer. I'll let you decide to which category they belong:

• Observing my niece dancing along while watching "So You Think You Can Dance," using the folding two-step ladder as her partner. It was definitely a sight to behold. Although I was sitting five feet away, she was in her own world and obviously had no idea I was watching. (How could I not?)
• Finishing Firefly Lane in the wee hours of the morning and realizing just how connected to the characters I had become.
• Realizing that when the cats went on their wild rampage chase through the apartment and knocked over the potpourri tart burner on the counter, the counter was not the only thing that got wax on it. Ever tried to get a 3"x1" strip of cooled, solidly stuck wax off a cat's front paw?
  
• Taking my niece to Medieval Times and realizing just how quickly she's growing up as I noticed the extreme blushing after our Red Knight presents her with the "Queen of Love and Beauty" sash. Too cute.
• Hearing a gigantic crash from the kitchen early one Saturday morning while in the shower (with a head full of lathered shampoo, mind you). Then, realizing the crash was one of the decorative jars on top of the cabinets above the refrigerator that had fallen to the linoleum floor. Note: it is not often that a ceramic jar falls from that height to a hard floor and DOES NOT break or even.
  
• Realizing in a single moment that nothing has really changed over the years, though you thought (hoped?) that perhaps it had.
• Stepping out in faith that everything that's "out-of-order" right now in this oh-so organized and risk-phobic person's life will somehow work out all right.
  

Whoa, what a ride. My house-buying adventure so far.

When summer began, I was adamant that I would be renting a new place come August - whether it be a house or townhouse, I didn't care. But it would be as a rental. Little did I know that God was working things out to catapult me into buying a house almost overnight.

The "how" and "why" is irrelevant now, but suffice it to say that my conversion into the ranks of home-buyer instead of renter was shocking and moved much more quickly than I, a person who does not like to take risks when I do not know the plan, was quite ready for. However, it was unmistakeable that this was what I needed to do, so although it felt like I was jumping off the highest cliff and into the deepest ocean, I made the leap and abandoned the rental process. In a matter of hours, all the plans I'd made for that situation for weeks and weeks were thrown to the side with never a second thought. Wow!

I've no doubt that buying a house is stressful for anyone, but I will admit that I am still fearful about it as a single woman. It's all those things that I know nothing about, that I can't anticipate, and that I can't necessarily plan for. Then, too, it is a matter of always having to wonder if a repairman or whomever is trying to pull one over on me - kind of like taking my car to the shop! Hmmm...wonder if God's push into this direction for me has something to do with my struggle to trust Him - for EVERYTHING?

Here's what the road so far has held for me:

• Found a HUD house I loved. Bid on it. Came in 2nd place by $863 and was devastated.
  
• Found another house I liked - this time a short sale (where the seller is going to have to sell it for less than they owe). Why can't I find and fall in love with NORMAL homes for sale??
• Made an offer on the short sale house. The seller accepted on June 17th. Still waiting to hear from her bank/lender on my offer since they're the ones who really matter in the deal. Suffice it to say that there is nothing "short" about a short sale. This is the long part of the process ... once the bank and I have an executed contract, I should be closing within a month. Please pray with me that this part of the process comes to an end quickly!
• In the meantime, the HUD house offer came back to me as 2nd place bidder - VERY unusual for it to happen so late. Ultimately, after another walk-through, I declined the offer. Even though it would have me moved in by the end of August, there was just so much that needed to be done to that house before moving in. It was a tough decision to make as this was really the first house I fell in love with, but it was the right choice.
• Turned in my 60 days notice at my apartments. My lease is up August 31st, and I am required to notify them in writing 60 days before if I didn't plan to renew (so by July 1). I am taking a leap of faith here, because I have no guarantees that I'll be able to move into my new house by then, but staying here any longer is NOT an option. I am very ready to be out of this management and complex. Love the apartment layout, but everything else has just become a miserable situation. So, I turned in my notice. We'll see what happens!
• Listened to WAY more helpful advice than my brain could possibly hold. Everybody has an opinion, and everybody wants you to hear it - and some want you to agree with every opinion they have!
  
• Began packing, packing, packing. I am NOT a last minute person and have been packing as many boxes as I can ahead of time so I don't feel a crunch in August, especially given that I'll be back to work then.
• Started considering a "contingency plan" for what to do if my lease ends and I have not yet closed on my new house. Scary stuff! But, planning for possibilities tends to make me feel better about it.
• After taking everything off my walls, I spackled and painted all the nail holes in the walls (with some help from my eager niece while she visited). It's amazing how just that one act can make me feel like my time in this place is actually close to an end.
• Cleaned my bathroom from top to bottom, including baseboards and all that grout. Note to self: never, never, never live in a place with carpeting in the bathroom again. Even if you are a fastidious cleaner and organizer like I am, still, it is gross. (Yes, I did go look at the pictures for the house I like. Tile. I'm safe.)
• Finally found the right stove drip pans for my stovetop, because I am NOT going to let the apartment management charge me $20 PER pan (yes, you read that right) for a set that only cost $10. Woo hoo!
• Watched my 2 cats observe all the packing and cleaning with great curiosity, mixed with a little suspicion. Who knew it was so fun to create-your-own chase path through all the boxes and such?

So that's where things stand at the moment. I am truly ready to hear back from the seller's bank/lender about my offer. I know they've finished the broker price opinion, which I can only assume is a good thing.

If you will, please pray for me on the following:

• That I have an executed contract before July 31 so that I can hopefully be closed and moved by August 31.
  
• That I don't have to store all my things and camp out with friends during any "interim" time. Though I know I have some willing friends, it would mean not just storing my things, but also rerouting mail and, most of all, taking my cats up to Amarillo to be with my parents for however long. Not only do I not want to be without them, but it's also two long weekend trips during a time frame that I really can't afford to be gone all weekend.
• That I will remain feeling the same peace I've felt the last two weeks, despite the concerns about the timing and everything.

I'll keep you all updated as things develop!

Once Upon a Summer...

So I realized tonight that it has been over a month since I have posted anything, and what I did post was written during a really rough patch of time. Sorry about that, friends!

Summer has marched on and now, here we are, over halfway through it and I haven't yet caught my breath. Unbelievable to think that a month from tomorrow is my first "official" day back to work for our staff retreat. (BTW, if I hear any snide comments about teachers getting summers off, I will probably vomit. Repeatedly. If you only knew.)

Still, it's been a good summer - though fast and right now, HOT. I didn't plan any big trips this summer, which is OK with me. Sometimes it's just better to stay put. Maybe next summer! Not necessarily in sequential order, summer thus far has included:

• A relatively sudden decision to buy a house. Oh my! I started the summer planning to move to a new rental situation by summer's end, but my course changed direction quickly and dramatically. Update post on that to come in the next day or two.
  
• Administering Credit By Exam & Exam of Acceleration to students - I get the CBE for older kids, but why, WHY try to skip a trade early on? As an upper elementary teacher, I don't get it.
• Saw lots of good movies, some with friends and some catching up at home!
• Lots of great catch-up lunches and dinners with friends I don't see nearly often enough!
• Dogsat and/or housesat for a couple of different people. Fun times!
• Welcomed my parents into town and with them, worked at the Youth Evangelism Conference, where we've been working for about 20 years! Not only is it a great time to see my parents; it's also a great time to see old friends who are almost like family.
• On the same weekend, saw my brother-in-law, sister, and niece as they drove up to send my niece back home with my parents for a week.
• The next week, picked my niece up at the airport for a week with her aunt! We did SO much and had a blast together: American Girl Store, Studio Movie Grill, Ice Age 3, Hannah Montana Movie, Medieval Times, PJ/Movie day, Barbies, painting pottery, magic tricks, and more!
• Read lots of great books! I love summer reading.
• Reformatted my PC. Had to be done - that's all I can say about that. But, glad it's done now.
• Took my vacuum cleaner apart until I found the clog that was keeping it from working. Yay, me!
• Tried desperately to begin catching up on reading magazines. I subscribe, and then never read them. I have stowed them away until they're too numerous to conquer. I'm trying though.
• Tried to stay cool in this horrible heat! If it's like this already, August scares me!
• Watched way too much TV.
• FINALLY joined the ranks of iPhone addicts. Why did I wait so long? Yet another technology addiction for me to add to the list.
• Went walking with a friend from work as often as our schedules would allow - I have enjoyed that time! We have had a couple of weeks of schedule conflicts, but I have been trying to walk event when we couldn't.

I think that's about it. There could be more, but it's escaping me at the moment!!

Soon to come - some laughs and uh-ohs from the summer, and a house-buying update!