Moving Day!

Tonight we hope to move much of our belongings from Grand Haven into our new residence in Norton Shores.    Yeah!  Then, Saturday we will move the remainder from this mountain of boxes at church.  You are all welcome to help!  We may even be sleeping in beds by 10PM at night!


This has been a long process of making our home in MI.  There has been many moments of anxiety and lost sleep.  We have left many good friends in MN and have begun to make good ones in MI.  We have put in much effort (as have others from church) to make this house our new place to live.  I have missed too many family meals and bedtimes.  It has gotten very old to come home and hear, "Yeah, Daddy is going to eat dinner with us tonight!"  


We have been anticipating this next step in our MI journey for a long time.  Presently, Grand Haven is called home but it is merely a temporary residence, not our home.  We haven't unpacked much at this house because we have bigger plans.  We haven't put energy into beautifying the Grand Haven house because we plan to continue the process of making the Norton Shores house our home.  After all, it is all a process.  Someday this year I hope that I and my family will be able to call the Norton Shores house our home.


I hope that I can have the same focus on my heavenly home too.  This life is to be lived to the full but it is not our final destination. We should invest some energy and focus here but always remember that this is not our final home.  It should not be confused with the end of our journey.  It is only a taste of real life, a glimmer of what is in store for us.  


I want to have the laser sighting on this life like that of the last verse of "It is well with my soul".
And Lord, hast the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

That will be a cool moving day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjGZqp59RZg

I Love It! I Hate It!

I am so conflicted!  


Today was a great day and also a day where it was clear that my nerves were wearing thin.  During the day I got to talk with a plumber while he was installing our water heater. (It was covered under our home warranty so it is OK.)  It was cool to talk to him about the vast knowledge base he has about plumbing and just construction in general.  There are projects in the future that he helped us map out!  The bad part was that I was not able to get to work on time nor get all I needed to get done there.  Thus, I am still busy at 10:30PM!

Then, I got to go shopping with Carla.  This was the highlight of my day because in the stress filled world of trying to move to our home we sometimes rarely get to be near each other until late at night.  And by then we are just done.  But we went to Lowe's to shop for a washer and dryer.  (This is sad for a handy person like myself but I had never stepped into a Lowe's before!)  The sales man was so helpful in what we were looking for and willing to drop the price of a new washer to that of the scratch and dent model.  Yeah!  Then we got an additional 10% off because of a coupon we got in the mail.  Very fun!

Then we went back to the house and I saw all of the painting and little projects that need attention.  We are taking care of many large projects on Saturday but there are many walls that need painting!  I was so tired that I didn't even enjoy painting the trim in the upstairs bathroom!  Something is seriously wrong when that happens!  

I want to be moved into our home!  I want to have most of the projects completed or at least to a manageable amount!  I want to hang out with my wife and kids instead of racing to get these home tasks done!  I want to put more of my attention and energy into ministry!  I want to have people over so that we can invest in each others' lives!

Why must I so quickly lose my focus and grow impatient with God's timing and leading?  Today, even in the valleys or the stress filled frustrations of my life, I know that my God is there.  And in the fun and exciting times or mountain tops, he is there too.  How can I just be content to know that my God is beside me every second and gives me what I need and even more?  

I long to live with the perspective of Paul who says in Philippians 4, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all things through him who gives me strength."  


Someday.  Not today but someday.