We have recently moved. This fact has brought on many emotions lately--revisiting our past and decisions and consequences and all the introspective re-hashing that I tend to do. I can see God's provision and grace and kindness towards us. But aside from all that I can see the humor of us living in this new location.
Because of the economy and weird housing market we have been able to lease a very beautiful home for a very reasonable price. It didn't hurt either that my husband's aunt is the realtor's wife's god-mother and the owner grew up on her street etc. Anyway, this is by far the nicest house I have ever lived in. It comes with a beautiful, well-manicured neighborhood and a formidable HOA and it's all ours...for the next year. We've already been visited by the president of the HOA and given a copy of the CC&Rs, quilted by a nice orchid as a welcome gift. You never know what renters are going to do. As much as it irks me to admit, their fears may not be altogether unfounded. We seem to be acting like a bunch of red-necks. (Which is kind of ironic since we are from the city living in a little town surrounded by farming.)
The first week we had a crazy amount of activity. Some friends stopped by and their boys and our boys had WWIII in the back yard with nerf guns. This prompted a visit by the neighbor behind us bearing zucchini bread and the question "How many kids do you have,anyway?" This was made even funnier by the fact that my daughter's visiting friend from Arizona answered the door and said "Um, I think there's 5..." without the benefit of explaining that she wasn't actually one of the kids.
And then we tried out putting our little pool (complete with duct tape patch) on our 3rd story deck--thinking we could siphon out the water when it was time. That didn't work, so the kids ended up just dumping the water out of the pool over the edge of the THIRD story. There was lots of hooting. hollering and screaming in the process. My youngest daughter just happened to be on the second story deck when said dumping occurred.
Yesterday, I finally met my next-door neighbor. I was wonderfully clad in a Vote for Reagan t-shirt, ugly green shorts and pink and white running shoes. Yep.
Today, I told the kids they should set up the pool--on the grass this time. They found the pool in the garage and my oldest son told my youngest daughter to toss it off the deck(again--3rd story) at him because he wanted to catch it. Well, she tossed it before he was ready so he was mad and disappointed. I told him to go get the pool and I would toss it at him. So he did. And I did. And I hoped no body had been watching this silliness unfold. I hope we don't inspire a new clause in the CC&Rs about swimming pools and decks.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
A Look Back
I promised last year that I would fill you in on how God supplied renters for our home in Tigard so I am finally getting to it.
We had secured a house in Silverton on faith that God would bring a renter for our house in Tigard. We'd been through quite a few showings with nothing promising coming from them. In fact, it was down right disheartening. At the beginning, I had prayed that our renters might be Christians, but had long given that up when I started seeing the applicants. However, God is bigger than my faith.
Many of the people who were interested were not an option in our minds. It was almost funny. There were times when I wondered if there was a hidden camera involved and it was all a big joke. We had the 5 shifty women who toured the house with out hardly uttering a word--they were smokers and also truly seemed like they could be on the run or something worse. Then there was the gal with a restraining order who was trying to hide from an abusive husband. And then who could forget the people who had lost their million dollar home on Murray Hill and were desperately looking for a place to fit all there stuff? She spent the entire time telling me in a Jersey accent how great her house was(which she claimed was built by the Russian mafia) and how no house could measure up and she wouldn't be happy anywhere. Meanwhile her husband(whose scent of choice was BO and cigarette smoke) was captivating my husband's ear off with stories of patents and technology experiences. She finally gave up waiting on him to finish his stories and sat down in my living room to further insult the house and take calls from her son about other houses for rent. All this made the mormon family who could only give us a 4 month lease look awfully good. I think we scared them off by calling them and leaving messages offering all sorts of appliances and furniture if they would just sign. We were really getting down to the wire when we showed the house to the professional poker player and his wife. He had just won $50,000 in the poker world series and was hoping we wouldn't run a credit check. Oh, and they wanted to move half their extended family in with them. It was weird. He gave off a vibe that made us almost trust him--gold chains and all. Must be how he did so well at poker?
Anyway, it was the Friday morning before our Saturday move. I woke up and opened my Bible to Psalm 37. Verse 5 said: "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act." I couldn't believe how pointedly it applied. I knew I had a million things to do to prepare for the moving truck the next day and was unable to devote any more thought or anxiety to how we'd make this work. If God was in this, He would provide."Okay, Lord", I prayed, "I need to pack so You are going to have to act." And then I got on with my day.
That evening, in the midst of the mess and craziness, I got a call. I could tell on the phone this person was different from the rest. He didn't want to impose but I told him he better just come on over. They showed up while we were loading the truck. There were 5 guys who wanted to share the house together. I could tell when I opened the door that these were the ones God had provided. It turned out that they went to a couple of good churches we knew about and seemed to know the Lord. They were excited about our move to help minister in our church in Mt Angel. They wanted to sign a rental agreement! They didn't smoke and they actually seemed honest and responsible. God had acted. Did I mention we were loading the truck? I think He wanted me to "get it". That all this doesn't depend on me. That not only do I not need to be anxious, but I shouldn't be. We had been praying. "Lord we think this is what you want, but it would sure be nice if you would confirm it." This eleventh hour answer did more to confirm it to me than if we had had it all lined up for weeks. Because of our crazy life, I needed this assurance that we were doing what God wanted. I've had to look back on this provision more than once to remind me of how God acted to get us here.
God blessed us with great renters this past year. But now, 4 of the 5 guys are getting married and will be moving out by mid-September. Once again, I find myself looking back to what God has done to remind myself of what He can do again. As we wrap up this 11th move in 16 years, I find myself sort of disoriented. My life isn't what I planned. But I am moment by moment reassured that God is weaving that tapestry. I can only focus on one thread at a time. I am slowly finding that I don't even want to see the whole thing anymore, because all I can handle is that one thread in front of me. All I can do is commit it to Him and trust that He is acting--fashioning it all into something beautiful.
We had secured a house in Silverton on faith that God would bring a renter for our house in Tigard. We'd been through quite a few showings with nothing promising coming from them. In fact, it was down right disheartening. At the beginning, I had prayed that our renters might be Christians, but had long given that up when I started seeing the applicants. However, God is bigger than my faith.
Many of the people who were interested were not an option in our minds. It was almost funny. There were times when I wondered if there was a hidden camera involved and it was all a big joke. We had the 5 shifty women who toured the house with out hardly uttering a word--they were smokers and also truly seemed like they could be on the run or something worse. Then there was the gal with a restraining order who was trying to hide from an abusive husband. And then who could forget the people who had lost their million dollar home on Murray Hill and were desperately looking for a place to fit all there stuff? She spent the entire time telling me in a Jersey accent how great her house was(which she claimed was built by the Russian mafia) and how no house could measure up and she wouldn't be happy anywhere. Meanwhile her husband(whose scent of choice was BO and cigarette smoke) was captivating my husband's ear off with stories of patents and technology experiences. She finally gave up waiting on him to finish his stories and sat down in my living room to further insult the house and take calls from her son about other houses for rent. All this made the mormon family who could only give us a 4 month lease look awfully good. I think we scared them off by calling them and leaving messages offering all sorts of appliances and furniture if they would just sign. We were really getting down to the wire when we showed the house to the professional poker player and his wife. He had just won $50,000 in the poker world series and was hoping we wouldn't run a credit check. Oh, and they wanted to move half their extended family in with them. It was weird. He gave off a vibe that made us almost trust him--gold chains and all. Must be how he did so well at poker?
Anyway, it was the Friday morning before our Saturday move. I woke up and opened my Bible to Psalm 37. Verse 5 said: "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act." I couldn't believe how pointedly it applied. I knew I had a million things to do to prepare for the moving truck the next day and was unable to devote any more thought or anxiety to how we'd make this work. If God was in this, He would provide."Okay, Lord", I prayed, "I need to pack so You are going to have to act." And then I got on with my day.
That evening, in the midst of the mess and craziness, I got a call. I could tell on the phone this person was different from the rest. He didn't want to impose but I told him he better just come on over. They showed up while we were loading the truck. There were 5 guys who wanted to share the house together. I could tell when I opened the door that these were the ones God had provided. It turned out that they went to a couple of good churches we knew about and seemed to know the Lord. They were excited about our move to help minister in our church in Mt Angel. They wanted to sign a rental agreement! They didn't smoke and they actually seemed honest and responsible. God had acted. Did I mention we were loading the truck? I think He wanted me to "get it". That all this doesn't depend on me. That not only do I not need to be anxious, but I shouldn't be. We had been praying. "Lord we think this is what you want, but it would sure be nice if you would confirm it." This eleventh hour answer did more to confirm it to me than if we had had it all lined up for weeks. Because of our crazy life, I needed this assurance that we were doing what God wanted. I've had to look back on this provision more than once to remind me of how God acted to get us here.
God blessed us with great renters this past year. But now, 4 of the 5 guys are getting married and will be moving out by mid-September. Once again, I find myself looking back to what God has done to remind myself of what He can do again. As we wrap up this 11th move in 16 years, I find myself sort of disoriented. My life isn't what I planned. But I am moment by moment reassured that God is weaving that tapestry. I can only focus on one thread at a time. I am slowly finding that I don't even want to see the whole thing anymore, because all I can handle is that one thread in front of me. All I can do is commit it to Him and trust that He is acting--fashioning it all into something beautiful.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Today's Trouble
I had to record this crazy day. It started last night when we returned from vacation with backpacks, suitcases, rafts, coolers, bikes, laundry, still-wet-swimwear, and etc (the etc. is definitely the worst part) all needing to be sorted out and and put away. Based on a couple of mid-vacation calls from our landlord, I was expecting to have to show the house today or tomorrow and sure enough, it was today. Now when we left for this vacation the house was, enh, decent--if you didn't go upstairs. But when you add post-vacation droppings to an already "enh" house whose upstairs was basically ignored for a homeschooling season, you get a disaster to deal with. Our work was cut out for us to say the least.
I have "shown" more than my share of houses in my day and my standards are fairly high for that sort of thing. I especially feel the pressure this time because it is for someone else (landlord) and I want him to be happy with the results (new renter). I would hope our tenants would do the same for us, but I'm probably delusional since our tenants are 4 guys. Anyway, I set out to clear the clutter, put away the vacation stuff, vacuum, sweep, make the bathrooms decent, have the boys mow, make the laundry look normal, find the floor in the girls' room,etc, etc. The kids were very helpful and we divided up the jobs amongst ourselves and conquered...mostly.
Thrown into all the above was a trip to Mt Angel to drop off Savannah for a previously planned time with a friend, a trip to the bank with Jason to cash his check, and a trip to Safeway for milk where I had to play the "because-I-said-so card" and make my boys go in because I hadn't showered yet.
In the midst of all this, Ryan informed me that our Christianity Explored Bible study was indeed a "go" for the evening--in our living room.
In true chaotic fashion, Savannah is delivered home by her friend just as we are welcoming study participants.
And right as study was about to begin, we discovered that our downstairs bathroom ceiling was leaking. Water was dripping everywhere off the ceiling and trickling down the walls. Study begins. Phone rings. Landlord is coming at 7pm to show the house. It's like 6pm when we get the call. People in our living room hearing the gospel. Punctual landlord. Study that typically runs over time. I'm a basket case inside. I'm picturing all sorts of awkwardness approaching. Micah uses his Lightening MacQueen riding toy as a rolling stool,breaks into the muffin bowl (fingers right through the saran wrap) and enters study munching on a muffin. Micah drops crumbs all over floor. I will my backside to the couch--not to pick them up. The Gospel is more important than crumbs on the floor for a house showing! I don't want our study participants to feel like we are in a hurry, but I'm in a hurry.
A car alarm starts going off. It dawns on me that it is OUR car alarm. I run into the kitchen to find Micah at the window, keys pointed at the car, pushing the panic button. He shuts it off when he sees me. Then he turns it on again--get this-- moving to the beat of the horn honks!
We barely finish the study session as our landlord and company step on our porch. I breathe a sigh of relief that the imagined awkwardness was imagined. I say goodbye to our study guests and snatch the crumbs from the floor, soothing my OCD.
The showing proceeds and concludes at lightening speed. Our landlord hangs out to check out the water issues. I order pizza. Micah declares he wants to potty train. We take Micah upstairs to try and use the potty. On his way up, he turns to the siblings behind him and insists they "don't look". I laugh and shake my head, glad that this day is behind me. Thankful for the blessings despite my craziness. Thankful for the reinforcement of Matthew 6:34 in my life: "Therefore, do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own." Potty training will have to wait.
I have "shown" more than my share of houses in my day and my standards are fairly high for that sort of thing. I especially feel the pressure this time because it is for someone else (landlord) and I want him to be happy with the results (new renter). I would hope our tenants would do the same for us, but I'm probably delusional since our tenants are 4 guys. Anyway, I set out to clear the clutter, put away the vacation stuff, vacuum, sweep, make the bathrooms decent, have the boys mow, make the laundry look normal, find the floor in the girls' room,etc, etc. The kids were very helpful and we divided up the jobs amongst ourselves and conquered...mostly.
Thrown into all the above was a trip to Mt Angel to drop off Savannah for a previously planned time with a friend, a trip to the bank with Jason to cash his check, and a trip to Safeway for milk where I had to play the "because-I-said-so card" and make my boys go in because I hadn't showered yet.
In the midst of all this, Ryan informed me that our Christianity Explored Bible study was indeed a "go" for the evening--in our living room.
In true chaotic fashion, Savannah is delivered home by her friend just as we are welcoming study participants.
And right as study was about to begin, we discovered that our downstairs bathroom ceiling was leaking. Water was dripping everywhere off the ceiling and trickling down the walls. Study begins. Phone rings. Landlord is coming at 7pm to show the house. It's like 6pm when we get the call. People in our living room hearing the gospel. Punctual landlord. Study that typically runs over time. I'm a basket case inside. I'm picturing all sorts of awkwardness approaching. Micah uses his Lightening MacQueen riding toy as a rolling stool,breaks into the muffin bowl (fingers right through the saran wrap) and enters study munching on a muffin. Micah drops crumbs all over floor. I will my backside to the couch--not to pick them up. The Gospel is more important than crumbs on the floor for a house showing! I don't want our study participants to feel like we are in a hurry, but I'm in a hurry.
A car alarm starts going off. It dawns on me that it is OUR car alarm. I run into the kitchen to find Micah at the window, keys pointed at the car, pushing the panic button. He shuts it off when he sees me. Then he turns it on again--get this-- moving to the beat of the horn honks!
We barely finish the study session as our landlord and company step on our porch. I breathe a sigh of relief that the imagined awkwardness was imagined. I say goodbye to our study guests and snatch the crumbs from the floor, soothing my OCD.
The showing proceeds and concludes at lightening speed. Our landlord hangs out to check out the water issues. I order pizza. Micah declares he wants to potty train. We take Micah upstairs to try and use the potty. On his way up, he turns to the siblings behind him and insists they "don't look". I laugh and shake my head, glad that this day is behind me. Thankful for the blessings despite my craziness. Thankful for the reinforcement of Matthew 6:34 in my life: "Therefore, do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own." Potty training will have to wait.
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