Sometimes, it is one simple thing that can make all the difference. What is that one thing for you today?
I am sorry I missed this last Friday’s post, but I was on the road. But maybe it was just so I could take this picture to explain my thought for the week! Who knows? Well…God does. You know He is always there!
Until next time…
~JoAnn
What a crazy couple months it has been! Do you ever do something crazy and wonder how you are going to get through it, but then, you do? Moving often times means you find things you haven’t taken the time too look at in a while. Pictures, cards, dishes and gifts you have been given as you pack them, and all the many memories that go with them. What a journey it is. Anytime I get tired, overwhelmed, or sore and hurting, I just remind myself of the above title. We are moving out, to move up!!! Today, I took a few minutes to enjoy the garden after the rain. I cut a few of the beautiful peonies that had blossomed! So beautiful!
It has a great significance in my life right now. I know many people think we are crazy to move yet again! But you know what? The qualitiy of our lives mean something. It is important. We have seen that over the last few months. So hubby and I want to have a quality of life that we both can enjoy, and feel the contentment in the home we are going to spend our time in. God has truly blessed us and we have had great joy in deciding how we can give back to the Lord for all His faithfulness to us. I feel that we aren’t just moving into another home, we are moving up! What does mean? It means that God is giving us many of the desires of our hearts in this home. He is moving us up to a new level of faith in this process of selling the condo and buying a house. In these times, it is totally a miracle. He is moving us up a level. Not is “I’m better than you thinking”, but a new level of faith and gratitude. We are streamlining some more once we get there so we can make room in our lives for less distraction. We are focusing on what God has for us since we believe this new home has been graciously given to us from God. We believe He has a plan. I also believe He may be calling me to write. I will so enjoying writing from a place of peace and contentment. God is giving me the place, now it is up to be to use it the way He wants me to use it. For that, I must be a good listener.
I’m even celebrating all the inconveniences…like my mocha that has mysteriously ended up in a packed box, so I don’t get to enjoy that each morning. I lost something else this morning too, but we found it in a carrier that is going to the cabin with us. When I get irritated, I just remember what God placed on my heart…we are moving out to move up! Now THAT is exciting friends!! I can’t wait to get my little studio set up again where ever that might be in this home. I can’t wait to get back into study and reading and learning! I will be greeting you from our beautiful deck and back yard with my morning mocha very soon! In the meantime, it might be from the cabin where we will rest up for a few days and prepare for the next leg of this journey.
So don’t get discouraged my friend thinking that God can’t move in your life in a big way. He sure can! For me, it’s like opening a book that I am excited about reading, and I feel like 
the story starts to float into the air just enough to cause me to want to turn to the first page! I can’t wait to see the story unfold! Look for it in your life. God wants to do a new thing for you also. Ask Him what it might be. I know for me, I have learned more and more how important my family and friends are to me. They have always been, but I feel a new level is coming there too, as it should. I had a scare with a dear friend of mine this last week, and it reminded me again of how quickly the page can turn and we don’t always know what our Heavenly Author is going to write. I couldn’t be with her, but I Face Timed with her so I could wave and say hello. I left my phone on all night in case she needed to talk. I checked in on her for a few minutes each morning and night, or ask she felt like texting. We stay strong when we get our perspective in place. Don’t take these days for granted, and don’t let it pull you down. Instead, ask Him for fresh eyes, and new way to look at things, protect your mind from what you hear, and focus instead on what God says to YOU. That is where complete joy in all things will come to our body, mind and spirit.
I can’t step along side all of you, but if I could, I would take your hand and walk in step with you and encourage you to dream of the story that God wants to write for you. Don’t miss 
it. It may be something small, but for you its BIG. It may be something really big that scares you. That’s when you know its God because you couldn’t do it yourself. That is what has happened to us. Only God could pull off finding our home, and THEN turning around and selling a condo in these times, and then do it in time for us to get the new home. See? He has it all planned out, and if we are obedient to do what He asks us to do, we will see miracles and answers to prayer. Open the book and see what happens. He will take you on a journey that is better than any movie you can watch. I’m not super woman. I am just like you. It takes perserverence, but always worth it. Are you ready? Get your pen and pad out and be ready to take down the dream. It is waiting for you…I am waiting to hear also. What is your dream that you are afraid to step out and do, or you aren’t sure what your next step needs to be?
I’m not sure what God is asking of me, but what I do know is, I’m moving out, SO THAT, (my favorite words) I can MOVE UP!
Until next time…
~JoAnn
If you read the title, then you know the question. So…have you had any curve balls in your life? You know, those times when your road is going along, you are settled on the where its taking you, and then… BOOM! Here it is, and it hits…that unexpected curve ball! That is where I am these last two weeks! God has put a curve ball into my slow moving life. How’s that, you say? Let me share.
One and a half years ago, my husband and I moved into the condo life in a small community. It’s a community at the base of the mountain range with beautiful scenery and farms. I love eagles and we see them often. Let me explain a bit. We made this move based on the fact that there were some questions about the health of my hubby and they were making an impact on his life. So I wanted to be in a position where he didin’t have to worry much about the care of a home and yard all that entails. So here we are about one and three quarter years into our condo life, and just recently, managed to put up things that had been on our to-do list, and lights up, and even re-decorating a bedroom. All of this to make it like we wanted. However, it takes special people to live a condo life, and also a special condo to live it out in. Some love it. Us? Not so much. Oh, we had talked moves, prayed about moves, but decided we would just do what needed to be done to make this more like we wanted. So we started. Then…BOOM! Hubby says, “You know, I have been talking to a few people who have sold their condo here in the complex and they sold pretty quick and at a good price.” “What does that mean?”, I asked him, “Now you are thinking of moving?” That was what he was thinking. Now I would LOVE a bigger kitchen, but just as I was settling into this, now I am taking it all down. Isn’t life just a blast?
So as I write this, I am into a week and a half of packing. And all my moving boxes have long since gone to recycling. I will have had to get those all over again. A storage unit for larger pieces of furniture to be stored in so we can stage the condo. Get it listed right away to be able to make an offer on something we find that we like. Prep the house and stage it for best pictures and best sale. That is not to mention all the paper work required for mortgage and all of that. I do dislike that part because I’m usually responsible for putting all that together. Moving is just not fun!! When I think about it all, I would rather fast pitch that ball right back! But in order to do a move, I must just take one step at a time and take each day as it comes and do all I can to accomplish what needs to be done. I am so fortunate and blessed to have our grandson here this weekend and Monday to help us move things around. Such a great young man to help out his grandparents. Love that boy. We even found time to play the piano together, which delights this heart of mine. Take time for the Pause.
I guess what I’m still learning is that there will always be curve balls. Life is like that. Sometimes we don’t like what we have been given. Some of it requires a lot of work. A lot of energy, and a lot of focus. A good attitude. It is kind of like our faith walk. It too, is requires work, diligence, focus, tenacity, and dependence on His leading. We press on knowing God is walking the road with us. We have to do the same process with the curve ball. Pray for guidance and wisdom to make the right choice of what to purchase, where He wants us to be, and rest in Him for the process of it all. I have to believe He will guide me and help me do get what needs to be done completed. If I fret and get all stressed over it all, it takes the fun out of the adventure. It certainly is an adventure! We have to have this listed to make an offer on another home, and then hope the right home comes along. I know God is able and knows my heart and hubby’s heart to lead us to the home that is our LAST home. I say that with tongue in cheek because I said that last time. So I will pray for the right place, with the items I most desire, just the right buyer for the condo, and a quick sale. Because you see, there are no mistakes with God. He knows all about it. So a curve ball isn’t something that just happens, it is for a purpose. Just as my skin cancer journey is. I always ask Him what I am to learn and give me His purpose for me through it. Isn’t it marvelous that we have God to count on? Most certainly.
So already the Bungalow is looking less and less “JoAnn”. That is good thing because then the new buyer can see how it can fit their needs. A lot of work = a win win for both buyer and us. It is the same in our lives. If we have less and less of “us”, then we can have more and more of Jesus. Isn’t that what we want…to be more like Jesus? It is for me. I hope it is for you!
So over the next couple of weeks if I come to mind, please be praying for the right buyer for the Bungalow, and that the home we are considering will still be available for us and that our offer is accepted. I was a pretty good ball player in school, so I’m throwing the ball back to Jesus, and He is a great Catcher!
Until next time…
~JoAnn
Have you ever had someone say to you, “I was one decision away from a different life path in life.”? I can relate to that. I have had many points in my life been at a crossroads and my decision totally changed the trajectory of my life. I have not always chosen what was right for me, but often chosen out of compassion or not wanting to hurt feelings, rather than listening to the Holy Spirit that is sending me a different message and a different path to take. Those decisions are so hard, aren’t they? Sometimes there is so much to give up…but what if we listened to the hard message in the first place and didn’t take OUR decision, but listened to the leading of the Holy Spirit? And…what if the Holy Spirit even sent friends along the way to ask you the hard questions about a decision you were making? Ahhh…now THOSE are hard questions! Here is another one for you…what if changes in your life circumstances mean that you NEED to consider yet another change in order for it to be the best yes in your life, and it will require a LOT out of you? That’s not even to mention all those who think you are nuts to have done it in the first place, or they are thinking you can’t seem to make up your mind.
Ever been in this situation? Let me share mine, or yet another one of mine, with you. A little over two years ago, it was our goal to move away from a very busy area, where noise of traffic and walking traffic kept us awake all hours of the night. Didn’t mind the house, we even made some great improvements on the house that we really loved!! But in order to move after retirement to where we could find affordable housing with a more quiet and peaceful surrounding, we made a move away from family and friends. We have worked very hard on this home to improve it and make it our own. Loved every minute of it! I love the house, the quiet back yard and have spent many a morning and afternoon.
So…here it comes…but before it does, I want to remind you that you need to build your house on the Rock. That is where we can live strong. Anyway, back to the story…it brings to mind this photo that I took several weeks ago with our grandson. When I took this picture, I heard this message: “Expect something ahead.” Without going into detail, it made us reconsider what is important in the scheme of things for us. But the reality is, we don’t know what is in our tomorrow. Sometimes we have to make the hard choices now for the sake of the future choices. So after much conversation, we have made the decision to put our “house on Bel Aire” on the market. We will be moving back up north where we will have family closer and where I am blessed to have life long friends. The hard part is that I have recently began to enjoy some sweet friends here also. But… The Captain and I are used to the trip, so I expect I will still be coming this way to say hello. I will have to come back to enjoy a refreshing visit to the ocean.
So what have I learned through all of this?
When we think we might have to give up something we love, God gives us a way to make it special in the next place we are by giving me a talented son who can repair and make it look new again. That’s how God is. He will sometimes take away, so He can make us new with a clean slate. That was a heavy light we are taking with us. And you can’t even see it hung there. God is a carpenter too, and He knows how to put things together. What a relief, huh???
So when you think God is out there, maybe in the distance, or far away, we are wrong. Because…Jesus is in us. He cares about what we care about. And like an author said from a book I have been reading, “God’s breath both creat and sustains our spirit, and that spirit was always meant to be His home.” …”We think of God as out there, somewhere, and search for Him as though He were lost. In reality, our omnipresent Creator is “out there” and also “in here”. Christ is within. So being with God and remaining in Him are awakening to and exploring forever the biblical truth that we are God’s resting place.” Alicia Britt Chole
So you see, no matter where I live, what home, or condo, or whatever kind of home we end up in, God is there because He lives IN me. That is a comforting thought for me to be reminded of when I fret a little about where I will be. I can rest in that knowledge. He is IN me, and that is Home. God always has a purpose, and if we are willing, He will use circumstances to teach us and lead us in the direction we are to go next.
So…lead on Lord. Your servant heareth.
Until next time…
~JoAnn
Wow! What do you do when you get hit with a situation you weren’t counting on having to deal with?
How do you react? Where do you go? Who do you turn to? What?!?!??? Are you kidding me?? I had the opportunity to experience this yesterday. I didn’t have to ask those questions because I knew who I needed to turn to! But I can’t say that my reaction was without feeling. However, I was rather numb after last night’s phone call. Next, I was ticking off the points. What does this mean for us? Here is the dilemma: our sale contract on our current house has defaulted. No sale one day before closing. My thoughts? My word for the year came to mind…Remember.
There are so many thoughts that I ticked through in my mind over this situation. What does this mean for our other house? Can we pull this off? We are starting this whole process over after working so hard to meet deadlines. We are exhausted and we are going to start all over again? Where’s the lawn mower? Oh yes…it’s at the BACK of one of the storage units! Laundry without a washer and dryer? We better move the food and a few items back into the house. How long will it take to have a secure offer? At least we have a new air mattress! Random thoughts as my mind races for answers.
Getting the idea? This is not just inconvenient. It changes everything. Everything. I can’t even really process it. All I could say today was, “You know God. You are in control. There has to be a reason. There is, right?” Let’s be honest here. I want to trust with my whole heart. Not give in to emotions. But there is no doubt that it is hard. As I put things back into the bathroom so we can use it, and items of food back in the pantry, I still have to tell myself that. Minute by minute. We were advised to put it back on the market right away with the market being even better than when we first listed the house. We are looking around at our house that hadn’t been cleaned well since starting the hard part of moving out. Show someone our house right now? We said ok. We are IN! Then, just a few minutes after our house was listed again on the market, an offer came in, two calls for showings and away we go! We will see what the weekend holds for us. The blessing? We can ask more for our house with this listing than the last because of the change in the market. God knows…
So I approach the next few days with careful watch on my feelings because they can get me into trouble. I heard Laura Story’s song today as she sang about all the hardships we go through and the tears we shed, being what draws us closer to Him. Yep! Ok God. There is my answer. I will do my best to wait on your intervention; whichever way that should go. We aren’t new on the block of trials, so I press on toward the mark. Face the “new” in our journey and ask God to give me grace. Sound good? It is our only answer. The only one.
Walking the journey with you…
I still don’t know. We think we see the light at the end of the tunnel, but then there are the signs that tell us, no entry. We have had a hiccup in the process and we are waiting to see how big the buyers think the hiccup is. The kicker? If we have to put more money into the house to sell it, hubby wants to invest in the house for ourselves, and stay. WHAT?!?!?!???? I have packed half of the house up to do what???!!! STAY here? Oh boy! Breathe girl… breathe!
So I let this idea roll over in my heart a bit, and I tell God that He sure go through a lot of trouble to maneuver what happens, to get us where we are supposed to be. He must be exhausted trying to keep us in His will. But that may happen in the plans. It also can be that the process of selling this home is to teach us:
We certainly have had to do that, because it has been a ride for sure! Scripture shows me how He will always be faithful to bring me back. I have read of His faithfulness over and over again, even when I may have repeatedly abandoned what I know to be true.
Today as I opened my Bible, I turned to Psalm 116. It talks of the author’s love for the Lord, and all that the Lord has done for him. He is praising the Lord for His goodness. That was lifting to my spirit today, as well as, a gentle reminder to stay in gratitude. What refreshment to my soul! My Gratitude Jar hasn’t been growing over the last month or so. That’s not good. When I am not dropping those hearts in my jar, I can easily let other things that come my way get the best of me. Of course, that is exactly what satan wants; he wants to discourage me in every way possible. So today, I have dropped a few hearts in my jar and told God I will continue as I always do to remember (my word for the year) to always live in gratitude. Today, I am very grateful for U-Turns that we are allowed in life. Wow! What a blessing to be able to know that God will forgive me, gently lift me up and turn me back around. What a picture word that is…u-turn. I have to allow it. I have to be willing to turn back around. I am the “U” in u-turn. I can either keep struggling, or surrender and let Him do what He needs to do in me.
So today, I send out my message to you to encourage you to let God allow u-turns in your life. Maybe you have never even considered that God WOULD
allow a u-turn. You may be carrying around a huge amount of guilt from your past. Don’t be a martyr and carry that heavy load around. Unload it at the cross. Surrender it. We just experienced Easter and that is what Easter is all about. He doesn’t want you to have to live under the burden. Let Him pick you up, clean you off, set you down in the opposite direction, and walk the rest of the way with you. It is what He desires. You have the decision to make. I would love to walk up to the window of my life and look in to see what He has in store for me. But I can’t. However, He sees the end from the beginning and He will eventually help me see clearly through the window with out cracks, or brokenness.
I turned around once again today. I did allow Him to work in my life. He immediately encouraged me through His words in the Psalm. Do you know what? Even though I had some good plans and reasons for the change we felt God was leading us in, maybe, just maybe, God can make all those changes right here where we are. I will wait on Him, and I am asking Him to help me see with more of His perspective and vision. It’s like walking out from the darkness and into the light. Don’t wait. Talk to Him about it.
Walking the journey with you..
Decisions. There are so many ramifications from the decisions we make. The decision may be a great change and exciting, the ramifications following that decision…not so much. Until…we get through it. God talks about through a lot in the Bible. So I am trusting in the “through”. It’s how I can make sense of all the stuff that happens in between the decision and the through.
As you may remember, we put our home on the market just two weeks ago. From the time it hit the MLS, we had nine showings within two and a half days! We would have had more, but as soon as realtors realized there was an offer on the table, they backed out of showing the house, even though we were willing to entertain further offers. So interesting how people do business. I learn more every time we do something like this. We had an offer within about five days and we accepted. Decisions…
As we walk our each day, and sometimes drag is more accurate, I have found that I have to keep talking to myself and turning my thinking around. People asking me where we are going to live. I don’t know. I am trusting God to bring us the right place to be. We have looked at several. We have made an offer on one and had some kind of unpleasant experience with that which led to our offer not being considered. Ready to make an offer on another one, one hour before see it we get a phone call that they removed the listing and had changed their minds. We get a text a couple of days later and the listing is back on the market again. We go out to see it and what looks quite big, is quite small. What looks like a spacious lot is actually not so large. Yes, a wide-angle lens was used. Up, and down. Up, and then down. It can wear you out! Yes, I know that it may not have been the “one”. Yes I know that I need to trust God. But as you may have also found out, with any decision, it is HARD.
Life can be like that. We have all had expectations of how we think our life was going to be. Yah…that didn’t happen. We even look toward changing it to be more of what we want it to be. Change is
great. We should be always willing to change and evolve. I believe God wants that for us. So, as we go through each day with high stress levels and disappointments, I am asking God often to encourage me. Remind me Lord that you are my Source. Show me. Show me your ways. Send Your Holy Spirit. Encourage me through family, friends and my surroundings. Remind me once again, that we won’t be living in a motor home somewhere out there because we don’t have a home to go to. 🙂 You may recall my word for this year… Remember… Hahaha!!! Doesn’t God have a sense of humor or what?!? In this case, I remember His daily faithfulness with me in the past, so that, I can trust Him more with my future.
What can I share with you that I have learned through this experience? Here are a couple:
Let me leave you with this. Staying in gratitude is important when you go through a big change; any change. Stay in the game. Ask God to be a part and to show you from His perspective. I know that as I am out there looking for our next home that we can BOTH agree on, I will be seeking God’s perspective, not my own. He knows. He has decided where. He just hasn’t told me yet.
Walking the journey with you…
FOR SALE: Today, I am writing in response to many who are asking me questions based on a few of my posts about moving. Some of the questions are:
Understandable. I asked some of those same questions as I prayed and talked with God about the whole situation. Even though it is hard, there are many different reasons. I thought maybe if I share some of my thoughts about this season of change and transition, maybe it will resonate with some of you. When a big wind of change comes into your life in the future, maybe you can be more prepared to approach changes in your lives with an open heart. Here we go with a few financial choices we have made:
With that said, we are now entering into the next chapter. A move. We could make the decision and just stay here. We could. God gives us a free will. We have enjoyed it here and have accomplished the above things in our current home. However, as we have prayed about it, we have felt that God has something else He wants to do in us and for us. Are we going to be obedient? Yes. We want to be in God’s will. I have been praying for a long time about our future retirement years and what we want that to look like. So, we began to ask ourselves:
What is our plan? Why the move out of the area? The answer is simple. We will go where the housing is less expensive than here in current location. It will not be too far away that a drive up north can’t fix. Being debt free is what we desire. By keeping the mortgage cost down, we can still continue to enjoy our life, enhance our home, and travel. As we began to ponder these questions, there were some changes to make in order for our lives to be what we envision. Doesn’t mean this location is wrong. On the contrary. God gave us this wonderful home and it will be wonderful now, for the next owner. We are proud of leaving our home much better than we came into it. We have enhanced its character. I love that. I am now praying about, and planning in my head for the next home He brings. We will dedicate it just as we did this home.
Part of our discussion has been our life style. We can easily become too busy, overextended, and have crazy schedules. In the long run, it doesn’t help us to really have peace or joy because we are always running. We get worn out. I know many who later on in their lives, have regrets about their lives and how they wanted it to be, but it isn’t. Personally, I view change as a way to start a new chapter with what I have learned in the last chapter. If we will be open and willing to really hear, and not ignore, what God is telling us or leading us to do, we WILL reap the benefits of His guidance. I don’t want to miss that. But if we ignore what our hearts are telling us deep down, then we may have a life that works, but not as fulfilling as it could be.
I have been reading a great book by Michael Hyatt called, “Living Forward”. The book discusses the idea of having a Life Plan. A life plan is designed by you, and meant to give you direction with your whole life; whether at home with family, relationships, a career, or any other area. It has been very insightful to me. It is exactly what we have been praying about for our life, and was affirmation of what God may be leading us to do. I would encourage you to get this book and read it. Don’t be afraid to make the changes necessary. Who knows how God will use the changes you make? He knows what is important to us and will work out the details; even missing friends and family that will be further away.
My hubby and I are at the precipice looking over the edge. We are choosing to step out in obedience. We put our hands in His, and obediently walk this path out. God asks us to step into the water before He parts it, so we step forward even though we can’t see exactly what is ahead. We trust He will land us exactly where we need to be planted for this season. It’s up to us how we react to it all. I am very grateful for all God has done for us, and I am very excited to see where God will take us. Watch for future posts of the journey!
Update: We got the listing up with photos and one hour later we received a call for a showing. Got favorable response with possible offer, and then another call for an appointment for 5:30p and the first day! God is working!
Walking the journey with you…
This is a post that I had written quite some time ago, actually in September of 2011. So as I was reviewing it, I realized it started that day! I now see the pieces coming together.
In Washington, we have a lot of experience with rain. However, we also enjoy the beautiful lush green color that goes with it! We know a refreshing rain is good for many things. One of those things is the freshness to the air we breathe. So, as I sat yesterday inside my cozy office, I was thinking about that. I decided to take a moment and I went outside to listen and to watch as the rains came down.
As I watched the rain and saw this little plant, I realized, or God chose to remind me, “so it is with our lives”. We need times of refreshing so that we can continue to grow and revive our weary souls. New beginnings so to speak; renewed every morning. We may decide on a different direction for our lives, a move, re-arrange our home or decor, or maybe even our change our schedules so that we CAN have more times for the soft rain of change to happen. It brings peace and calmness to our souls. You may be in a torrent of rain right now, but all the more important for you to really pray over these words for your life circumstances. Ask God to reveal Himself in the circumstances.
So here is what I felt as I watched the rain. I feel change coming. Have you ever had one of those seasons where you feel like something is about to happen and you aren’t sure what? You are kind of excited but not sure what God is up to? I have been living with this feeling for a long time. I feel God calling me to rely on the Holy Spirit for direction. I am in preparation for something yet unknown, but its going to be great! Crazy, huh? But…exciting!
I think that is the whole idea, though, don’t you? He wants us to live in expectancy of His next move or work. But we have to lay a foundation for that work before hand. Think about this…satan lays his groundwork before he plays out his full hand. Have you ever thought about that? He doesn’t just hit you with an attack. He has been laying ground work by planting doubt, discouraging you with circumstances, causing insecurities, hurt in relationships and anything else he can come up with. Then, before we know it, he is inside our door! One little chink in our armor and he will use that to turn your life upside down. Spend time with the Lord and let His refreshing rain fall over you and give you what you need when you need it. Use the Word to stand against it, pray always, so you are laying a solid groundwork!
What refreshing rains are falling on you? What will you re-arrange so that you can have
times of refreshing in your life? You see, 10 months later, I am finding out that there is a move in my future to a different home, and selling the home we have lived in for over three years. He is moving me into a different season and I am moving forward TOWARDS it as each day passes!
Funny isn’t it? No…not funny, but exciting to see the hand of God move in our lives and see all the pieces of the puzzle start coming together. God bless you as you throw the umbrella away and let the soft rains of change wash over you! Walking the journey with you…in the rain!
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