Reflections.......

After the ordeal of having our home on the market for 10 months, going through over 150 showings, and experiencing all of the emotional ups and downs of looking for a new home, worrying about finances and wondering if we would ever get through it, I can now reflect on the experience and report my thoughts.

First, I must say that my faith played a most prominent role in this journey.  When we first listed our home for sale, I knew that there would be trying times.  I reminded myself that I should always focus on God throughout the process.  After all, in the story of David and Goliath, the bible clearly describes how David never even gave the slightest thought to Goliath and what a seeming mismatch that contest appeared to be.  No, David's only thoughts were of God.  David knew that God would lead him to victory if he let Him.  That was my sole focus during our moving process.

I am not a very patient person.  I quickly figured out that God wanted to teach me to be more patient by forcing me to quietly endure the trying storms of maddening stress and doubt.  Throughout, my focus was on Him and the sure knowledge that He would lead us through in His good time.  And He surely did.

When we were looking for a new home in Knoxville and we could not find anything suitable in our price range, at the last minute He brought us to a property that was exactly what we needed.

So, I guess the first lesson for me in this moving ordeal is to always put God first in all I do.  That way, He can lead me forward in the manner He deems best for my growth.  It is pointless to try to do things by myself, trying to force my will on the outcome.  I am only in His way when I do that.  Trusting in Him completely frees me up from worry.

The next lesson I learned from our move is that major change, while often painful, is the most mind-expanding and growth-generating thing imaginable.  Change forces us to confront new challenges and overcome them.  It frees us from our comfortable ruts.  Those comfy ruts of life can kill you, you know.  Think about it.

Here in a new environment, we must learn new ways of doing things.  We are forced to meet new people, make new friends, discover new sights and sounds, learn new routes, etc.  There will be a new doctor, dentist, neighbors, church, etc.  This change makes us grow; makes our minds work at learning.

Of course, all of this is honest and true philosophy.  Having said that, I don't ever wanna move again!!!

Travelin'....

I hope my blogger friends forgive me for not responding to their posts like I always do....just been so darn hectic and frazzlin' lately.  We're pretty much exhausted, but things are working out.


Closed on our house in Plano this morning and all went well.  Hit the road immediately afterward and made it to Ruston, Louisiana for the night.  It's the first "easy" day we've had in about two weeks.  Tomorrow we head east and will close on our new home in Tennessee early next week.  We can see light at the end of the tunnel!


Anyway, I miss my bloggin' and can't wait to get back in the ole groove.  I have discovered some things about life during this moving process and will be sharing what I have learned with you when I can get settled in.


God bless you all!

Problems, Problems, Problems All Day Long.....

Hello to all my friends in Bloggerland!  The Cinderoo and I are in the middle of packing for the move.  Not fun.  Very tiring.  We each wondered aloud yesterday whether the moving experience is a leading cause of divorce.  Ha.  (insert chuckle here)

On top of all of that, our clothes dryer went on the fritz yesterday.  My computer has now decided to operate only in "safe mode", which has restricted my ability to do much of anything. 

I can't really get the darn thing fixed until we move---so, for the next couple weeks, please forgive my scarcity on Blogger.  My heart is with you all but we are in "survival mode" right now.  Whew!  I'll probably be able to get on-line about once a day until this crisis passes.

Much love to all.

Moving Moments.......

Everybody understands what a burden moving is.  It has been rated just below death of a spouse and job loss as most psychologically trying of life's trials.

There are lots of reasons for this.  You go thru selecting a real estate agent, listing the home, keeping it in pristine condition 24/7 for 10 months (that's how long our home took to sell in a horrible real estate market), suffering through literally hundreds of strangers traipsing through your home at all hours, lowering the price---twice; wondering whether it would EVER sell, putting up with advice from well-meaning friends, etc.

But, the thing that has hit us lately is our old adversary, Satan. 

I have discovered that Cindy has been keeping quite a bit of her sentimental things in out-of-the-way places that I do not frequent---closets, drawers, under guest beds, etc.  When I discovered the scope of this stuff, I began to panic.  I started to realize how much more involved packing would be.  Time is short---we are supposed to be moved on April 25.

When I would express my concern to her, she began to get an edge to her voice.  Truth be told, I don't blame her for that because I tend to become anal under pressure.

(Time out---The electrician who is here right now just informed me that my circuit breaker box is defective and needs to be replaced.  Oh, good---more consternation---and expense)

Funny, you know, how the devil uses times of stress and loved ones to cause us to quarrel and say and do things that are displeasing to God. 

In the midst of all of this, I need to once again remind myself that my focus should be on Him---not on my problems.  If I do that, He will see us through this period of stress.  He always has.

NOTE---I am even more appreciative of His grace after reading today's RED LETTER BELIEVERS post by David Rupert.  Please read the comments at the end of his post.  And blessings to all of my friends.