- House Hunting
With low interest rates, deeply discounted house prices, and an $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit, we are very motivated to buy a house this year. Yet what a big decision it is. HGTV makes it look sooo easy to find the perfect home in 30 minutes or less. :) We are finding out just how tricky it is to find the "right" house; plus we are intent on staying under budget. We made a top 5 list for a house in our price range: open floor plan, 4 bedrooms (or 3 with an option to make a 4th), 2 levels (or a basement), yard space to play, and manageable utilities expenses. Other factors are not necessarily deal breakers, but these 5 are pretty much core to what we're looking for in a house. Though we did offer on one house, we are still house hunting at this point.
House hunting has made us realize how excessive the "American way" truly can be. Buying big houses all too often means buying lots of stuff to fill them. We are determined to fight this cultural norm as much as possible by not buying more house than we can afford, keeping our lifestyle simple and being okay with having unfurnished rooms/bedrooms that we will grow into later.- To Stay at Home or Go Back to Work
I recently interviewed for a part-time elementary Spanish teaching position at a private school. This position forced me to consider where I am in life and what our goals and needs are as a family. After much prayer and discussion, we concluded that though this job might be a good fit for me as a person, it doesn't really fall in line with our family needs and goals at this point. It was exciting being offered a job, and in a way it validated that I am still marketable in the teaching world. However, going through this decision-making process reaffirmed in me again the value of being a full time mother for this season of life.
- Choices can be so challenging.
There are lots of good things we can say "Yes" to in life. And many times we do decide to do those good things. BUT. Sometimes we have to say "No" to the good things so we can instead do the BEST things. God has a plan for our lives and we desire to follow where He leads us and honor Him in the choices that we make. Our prayer is that no matter where we are in life, we are able to discern and choose the BEST things over the good things, that God may be glorified through us!
2 comments:
hey, Maggie,
I know I don't comment very often, but I read up on you guys all the time. Little Noah is getting so big. I can tell he's a little ornery like his daddy sometimes too. ;)
Anyway, loved your post. You are so right. there are a lot of Good things we need to say no to to receive God's Best. Way to go for having the maturity to not only see that, but to do it. That's hard and is to be commended. But following after God's heart will never return void.
take care. hope to see you guys sometime this summer. If you are ever up by fort wayne, give us a call. we'd love to get together.
Jen
I truely admire your decision to stay home to raise Noah. There are verses in the Bible that teach us how important that really is. You guys are awesome!
Post a Comment