House…and other things

Monday, March 8, 2010

I have waited SO LONG to see the inside of that house. I’ve been dieing to see the basement and look at the whole house from the INSIDE for a LONG time! Well, I have now seen it and to be honest, I’m kind of disappointed. The basement is not finished (except for two bedrooms, one of which is actually an office because there is no window in the room), just cement and a furnace. The main floor needs a LOT of work: the kitchen needs new cabinets and counters, two of the three bathrooms need to be gutted and completely redone while the other needs a new toilet and vanity. Yet, I’m excited! We found no water damage, no mold, no ceilings falling down, no holes in the floor, and the carpets don’t look too bad, they just need a good cleaning. The house is nothing fancy, but it is in the country, it has GREAT views, and it comes with 15 acres! Honestly even if the house needed new carpet and had some water damage or needed a new roof, I would STILL be excited about it!

Is it sad that I can look past piles of old toys and clothes left behind (and a huge teddy bear) when the old owners were forced out of their home to see potential in a house? Is it wrong that I walk right past old dolls and beer bottles with thoughts of “this room only needs paint, “the house comes with a free ladder that will actually reach the roof,” and “that desk looks like the one Mom has in her basement?” I have prayed for that family before, but walking through the house I had not ONE thought of them. Is this wrong? Is this normal? Is this ‘ok’? Or should I be praying for them more often? If we are to truly “love our neighbor as ourselves” shouldn’t thoughts like that go through my head at least once while I am in their old house? The house that the bank now owns and has up for auction next week? The house that has sat empty for the last six months? The house that used to be their home? Its difficult looking at a house that way, but I do pray they are ok. I pray they are recovering from whatever it is that happened to them. I pray they know the Lord and are leaning on Him.

But I am also praying a selfish prayer: I pray that house becomes our home. I pray the eyes and ears and minds of the investors at the auction are closed and distracted so we get the house at a miraculously low price. I pray this house will truly be a miracle house from God. I pray we will be good stewards of that house. I pray protection over that house so no one (else-since we were just inside it today) will be able to get into it. So it doesn’t get destroyed before it is sold. I pray even if we don’t get it that there are no major problems with it. I pray it is a blessing to whoever gets it (but oh, how I want it to be ours!). I pray and pray and pray. I trust God. I know He has good plans for us. Plans for a hope and a future, not plans to harm us (and we won’t be harmed at all if we don’t get that house, just disappointed a little). Yet it weighs on me constantly. So I pray and pray and pray. What is it with this house, Lord? Why is it so heavy on my heart? If you are reading this please join with me in my prayers…Pray this house will be covered in the presence of God. Pray it is covered in His heavenly protection. Pray the investor’s eyes and ears are closed. Pray the investor’s minds are confused and distracted at the auction so they miss bidding on this house. Pray that we will have hope and trust God with this house-whether we get it or not. But no matter what, our hope is in God, not this house. He knows what is best for us and we trust Him in this.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

After talking to the lady at USBank on Tuesday I was confused…do we go through Gail and have to wait 30-90 days, do we go through Dad and have to wait 6 months to a year, do we go through Dad and wait 30-90 days….it was all confusing and frustrating. So we called Justine Bartlet. If you ever need to set up a mortgage to purchase a house or you want to refinance please please please go see Justine. After talking to her we figured out not only EXACTLY what we are going to do (if we get the house), but also why we were so confused after talking to the lady at USBank…she was trying to sell us a loan, but Justine actually wanted what was best for us and helped us figure that out. (Thank you Justine!)

Now begins the waiting game…we wait until Monday to find out if the house is even going to go up for auction on Wednesday. IF it is up for auction Wednesday then we will find out what the starting bid is. IF the starting bid is in our price-range then we have to get off work Wednesday to go to the auction. IF we are going to the auction there are so many little things to get done and figure out before then. IF the house does not go up for auction on Wednesday then we get to try to figure out why and see if the bank will let us buy it from them without an auction. IF that happens there is a whole different set of things to figure out. Long story short there are a whole TON of “ifs” right now and a whole lot of waiting.

In other aspects of life, I’m pretty sure B is done being our friend just like D is (except D has been that way since January). While this stinks, I am ok with it. I said everything I wanted to say to her last Friday and if she is still choosing to not be our friend then that is HER decision. I can find better people to spend my time with. 🙂

I’m hosting a Pampered Chef party on Sunday! It should be lots of fun, but I am having trouble getting people to come…so if you read this and want to come please let me know!