Thanks!!

Dear Friends, thank you so much for your wise counsel and your prayers.  Because of you I finally can see clearly that the Lord wants us to wait.  I sort of knew this, but sometimes in the thick of things I doubt.  Both Mark and I are in complete agreement.  This morning the Lord spoke to me through his word and gave me this verse:  Habakkuk 2:3

"But these things I plan won't happen right away.  Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled.  If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass.  Just be patient!  They will not be overdue a single day!"

Below are some pictures from the past few months at House on the Hill.

Autumn moon as the sun rises.  Taken by Mark.  He also took the new header picture.

Brandon getting his haircut at an old barber shop downtown Golden.

Daisy and Dusty lounging on my bed.

Christmas lights at House on the Hill put up by Eric.  He did an awesome job!

Need Advice

Okay, I need some friendly advice.  Mark and I have been looking for a home for a couple months now.  We have seen lots of homes.  Some homes are very nice and others not so nice.  We have considered 3 homes thus far.  One we decided was too expensive, another we decided was not for us, and the third home we lost to other buyers.  Now we have come upon a 4th home that is very nice, but we cannot bring ourselves to make an offer.  This lovely house is in a city called Lakewood, but Mark and I have fallen so in love with the city of Golden (where we are renting) that we do not want to leave it.  So should we listen to our heart and shoot for a home in Golden or should we listen to our pocket book and take the home in Lakewood?  How do we know what the Lord wants us to do?  Any advice?   

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!!!

We have been in Colorado 9 months now...soon to be 10 months on December 3rd.  I remember coming to Colorado in December last year to look for a place to live.  I remember feeling terribly upset about having to move, but trying to stay on track with the Lord.  I remember we came back home in time to celebrate Christmas with family.  It felt so good to be home.  That Christmas we all felt a bit of sadness knowing that we would be moving away.

So here we are in Colorado celebrating the holidays alone.  I am thankful for a warm and cozy house in the mountains to celebrate Thanksgiving in.  I am thankful that we are together.  I am thankful for our friends and family.  God has blessed us tremendously and I have seen His work in our lives.  I am so thankful for His love and care.  Wishing each of you a blessed Thanksgiving day.  ((hug))

Crown Hill Park on a glorious autumn day.

Eternal Weight of Glory?

Well, here I am trying to write a post.  We are going to view two houses today with our agent.  You could rightly say that I am a bit burned out on this real estate trek.  The past few weeks have been a struggle.  Things have been going on with our family.  The boys are not keeping up their grades at school, the 12 week grade cards came out and they did not look good (I am saying that nicely).  Can you hear me sighing heavily?  I know this might sound unkind, but my older son has "another" girlfriend.  This is the 10th relationship in a year.  I am a bit worn out on the girlfriend front.  My younger son doesn't want to study and when the subject comes up, well he just changes the subject.

Then comes hubby, he is having trouble working out his emotions about his job, moving, life!  Looking for a home to call our own has brought out a lot of issues for the both of us.  Things really hit the fan when we came across this house that we called The Utah House because it is on Utah Street (pictured below).  Hubby just had to see this house, so we did.  We had a few reservations because it has a partially finished room in the downstairs that we would need to finish and it has some apartments nearby.  We talked and talked about this property.  It has a new furnace, new siding and roof, new windows, perfect garage, great kitchen, laundry on the main floor, and more.  The pros outweighed the cons, it was completely affordable...an awesome deal!

I wanted my hubby to make an offer, he said no, he wanted to wait.  For what I didn't know.  So I waited and we kept talking about it, and then one evening I found out that it went under contract.  I got upset of course.  Through all of these trials I know that the Lord is working an eternal weight of glory.  Of course, sometimes it is hard for my flesh to see that.

Writer's Block and a Movie?

It has been a week since I last posted.  I do not know where I have been.  Life has been on the challenging side and a blur.  I have not wanted to write about my difficulties.  All I can say is that the Lord has been encouraging me to lay my difficulties at His feet and rest in Him.  Recently I was speaking to a friend and relaying this information to her.  I told her that I wonder why it is so hard let go and let God.  I have actually asked the Lord to show me how to give my troubles to Him.  Today in church I asked the Lord to help me really believe.  I think part of really believing is taking all those troubles to Him.

Okay, now to the movie...I treated Eric to dinner and a movie.  We saw the movie Secretariat.  I highly recommend this movie.  The movie actually starts out quoting a verse from the book of Job.  It was an amazing movie and we both loved it.  So go to the movies and see Secretariat, you will be glad you did.

Slowing Down

"But God was patient with them forty years, though they tried His patience sorely; He kept right on doing His might miracles for them to see.  But, God says, "I was very angry with them, for their hearts were always looking somewhere else instead of up to me, and they never found the paths I wanted them to follow."  Hebrews 3: 9-10

The other day while I was out shopping I noticed a sign that said "19 days till Thanksgiving".  Looking at that sign I wondered where had I been that I wasn't even aware that Thanksgiving was coming; especially when Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  Obviously, this was an indication that I had been caught up in a whirlwind.

I breathe a sigh of relief as I write this post.  With our landlord deciding that he is not serious about selling the house we are renting the Lord has provided us time...I have found rest from my weary travels down the real estate road.  We will keep our eye out for a house, which we believe the Lord wants us to do.  However, Mark and I believe that He has told us not to rush.  I knew that, but some how I couldn't stop myself from rushing.

Spiritually speaking, the bait that led me into the whirlwind is my desire to feel settled.  The morning before we met with our agent to view the house we were thinking we should put a bid on, I looked at the cross on the wall next to my vanity.  The cross says:  In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.  As I gazed at those words I said out loud, "Lord, I am acknowledging you."  You see, I laid my fleece out for the Lord.  My fleeces are always laid out in silence, the only one who knows is the Lord because He is the only one who sees my heart.  The fleece was simply that if He did not want me to go forward that He would place obstacles in the way.  Quietly the Lord spoke to me.  He said "What if I use your husband as the obstacle?"  I admit, sometimes I have trouble being in agreement with my husband.  I acknowledged it and I told the Lord I would let go.

So we went to our appointment with our agent and the Lord was with us (me).  Obstacles, arose.  The boys pointed out things about the house I did not notice.  Then at the end my husband was an obstacle, he told our agent he needed more time to think it over.  On the way back to House on the Hill  I felt a sense of relief and peace rushed over me.  I realized I did not need that house nor did I really want it.  I realized I had been caught up in a whirlwind.  It can be hard to hear the Lord's voice in a whirlwind due to tension, stress and confusion.  However, I am very happy that I was able to acknowledged the Lord in my whirlwind and that He led me to the green pasture beside the still waters.

Decided to Wait

Well, today we took the boys to look at the house pictured below in my last post.  Our oldest son Eric has a good eye and the boys tend to notice things that we adults miss.  After looking at the house again and with the boys' input Mark and I decided to let go and wait.  Also, another thing happened just this week, Mark had written to our landlord and we finally heard back from him.  He said he has changed his mind about selling and we can stay as long as we like.  So now that we have that pressure off of us we can keep looking for a home we really love.  I really feel a great deal of peace about our decision and that is a good thing.

This Might Be It

This is the house we are thinking of making an offer on.  It has that cottage look about it which I like.  It has hardwood floors, a pretty backyard, skylights and a jet tub.  Last night we got word that someone was making an offer on this house.  I was bummed, but tried to remember that if the Lord wants me to have the house He will work it all out.  Well, this afternoon I went out house hunting with my agent.  He let me take a second look at this property.  The second look cleared doubts I had.  We went and looked at some other properties, but nothing looked as good to me as this house.  While we were driving back to my agent's office he got a call on his cell that the sellers did not accept the offer that was made for this house.  I was thrilled.  I came home and told Mark, however, another house just came on the market that he wants to see because it is in an area he wants to be in.  I am a nervous wreck and have been for a few weeks.  Please pray!  Thank you so much.

Too Much Stress

Well, it has been a week since I last posted.  Where have I been?  I have been house hunting.  We considered one house, but then changed our minds.  Then we settled on another house, but I needed a 2nd look at it because the counter space in the kitchen was not working for me.  I arranged for a second viewing with my realtor, but got a call that someone else is making an offer on it.  Mark doesn't want to rush into anything so we are going to let it go.  The Lord has impressed on me that I need to avoid rushing.  That the pressure to rush is not from Him.  Riding the the roller coaster called real estate is not my cup of tea.  So we continue to seek what the Lord has for us.  We have gone back and forth about where we are to settle.  We both feel led to settle in the area we currently are, but there is not much choice of housing right now so I have been looking in neighboring cities.  I am going out to look at more houses tomorrow, but after this I think I am going to take a break.  I am going to receive the the listings I get from my realtor and see if anything pops up.

One of the reasons I need to slow down is that my gland problem has returned.  I am going to try and see my friend who is a nurse practitioner.  She went out of state to visit her brother in-law who is dying of cancer.  I am hoping she is back so that I can see her for this problem, otherwise I am going to have to go back to my GP and tell him I am still having problems.  I guess the Lord will lead me to who I should see.  I do not know what is wrong, but whatever it may be it is very uncomfortable.