**I came to check on my blog, after it's been dormant for many years. I cleaned up outdated links and found this post that I forgot to publish 5 years ago. Wow, things changed. This post resonated with me and allowed me to appreciate how much I've grown since then. I hope it helps someone out there too.**
The funny thing about maintaining, it's a facade. No one knows what's really going on. Everything seems fine. Why wouldn't it be? I'm married, have three wonderful children, a huge house, and good paying job. What more can anyone ask?
My problem deep down inside is that I wasn't following the purpose God set for me. It was a constant, slow rub against my soul. I ignored it for years and my unhappiness continued to grow. I used things to pacify my unhappiness. I bought more stuff as a temporary fix and distraction. Eventually, we accumulated enough things to fill our 5,000 square foot house.
When I decided to leave that lifestyle behind and move into a two-bedroom, 1,000 square foot apartment, what do I do with all of that stuff? We sold as much as we could and then gave a lot away. I was sad and at the same time relieved. It was a strange state of mind. Even after all of this, I still moved with probably three full bedrooms, dining room, living room, studio, and full size kitchen worth of stuff. There was STUFF everywhere.
I looked into renting a storage unit but thankfully the price was outrageous. A unit about the size of a walk-in closet went for $60 per month. I couldn't see myself spending $720 per year storing STUFF. So, instead I sold even more stuff for practically nothing and gave more away just to get it out of my place. Another benefit of getting rid of stuff beside freeing up space was being able to let go of the memories associated with those items. I was freeing up my soul and purging my emotions as each piece went out the door. It was liberating.
I got rid of just about every piece of furniture I brought from the house. I also ended up buying furniture to replace some of those pieces, like beds, chairs, and tables. It started to be a revolving door. Stuff went out but more stuff came in and then eventually I accumulated too much stuff, once again.
My heart began yearning for simplicity. My soul was quietly protesting the state of affairs. I had to clean out my house--literally--of too much stuff. I usually have a bag or two that I'm filling up to donate to Vietnam Veterans of America or the Lupus Foundation of America. I also donate paper crafting supplies and handmade cards to Scrapping For Soldiers. This time around, I decided to also donate household items and a video gaming system to my church, Lighthouse Baptist Church.
I met Kristie Lippert, a co-founder of Scrapping For Soldiers, this morning to donate seven large and one small shopping bags of paper crafting supplies and handmade cards.
I get a high from donating. I love that my stuff is going some where it can be used for a good cause instead of collecting dust and causing me angst at home. I'm hoping in a couple more months I'll have another large donation to give her.
This is all leading up to my desire to move at the end of April. I have a contract on a 1,377 square foot house near where I currently live. It's a short sale which is a bureaucratic nightmare to buy. Even though the home owner accepted my offer right away, his mortgage company has to approve the sale. That's taken 2 1/2 months for them to approve a price which was supposedly "pre-approved" by the seller's bank. Then I found out that FHA needs to approve the sale too since they've insured the mortgage. What a mess! Thankfully, my mortgage broker advised me NOT to get the house inspected or appraised until all of these hoops have been passed. If I had proceeded with having these performed and IF FHA does not approve the sale, I would be out the cost of the home inspection and appraisal. I'm thankful that someone was looking out for me.
Here's the rub. My lease is expiring soon and I need to give a 60-day notice to vacate, which will be by the end of this month. After that time, my rent will go to a "market" rate which they estimate to be $200 - $300 more than I currently pay. Did I say this was a mess?
Please pray for a quick resolution to this home buying mess I'm in.
The funny thing about maintaining, it's a facade. No one knows what's really going on. Everything seems fine. Why wouldn't it be? I'm married, have three wonderful children, a huge house, and good paying job. What more can anyone ask?
My problem deep down inside is that I wasn't following the purpose God set for me. It was a constant, slow rub against my soul. I ignored it for years and my unhappiness continued to grow. I used things to pacify my unhappiness. I bought more stuff as a temporary fix and distraction. Eventually, we accumulated enough things to fill our 5,000 square foot house.
When I decided to leave that lifestyle behind and move into a two-bedroom, 1,000 square foot apartment, what do I do with all of that stuff? We sold as much as we could and then gave a lot away. I was sad and at the same time relieved. It was a strange state of mind. Even after all of this, I still moved with probably three full bedrooms, dining room, living room, studio, and full size kitchen worth of stuff. There was STUFF everywhere.
I looked into renting a storage unit but thankfully the price was outrageous. A unit about the size of a walk-in closet went for $60 per month. I couldn't see myself spending $720 per year storing STUFF. So, instead I sold even more stuff for practically nothing and gave more away just to get it out of my place. Another benefit of getting rid of stuff beside freeing up space was being able to let go of the memories associated with those items. I was freeing up my soul and purging my emotions as each piece went out the door. It was liberating.
I got rid of just about every piece of furniture I brought from the house. I also ended up buying furniture to replace some of those pieces, like beds, chairs, and tables. It started to be a revolving door. Stuff went out but more stuff came in and then eventually I accumulated too much stuff, once again.
My heart began yearning for simplicity. My soul was quietly protesting the state of affairs. I had to clean out my house--literally--of too much stuff. I usually have a bag or two that I'm filling up to donate to Vietnam Veterans of America or the Lupus Foundation of America. I also donate paper crafting supplies and handmade cards to Scrapping For Soldiers. This time around, I decided to also donate household items and a video gaming system to my church, Lighthouse Baptist Church.
I met Kristie Lippert, a co-founder of Scrapping For Soldiers, this morning to donate seven large and one small shopping bags of paper crafting supplies and handmade cards.
I get a high from donating. I love that my stuff is going some where it can be used for a good cause instead of collecting dust and causing me angst at home. I'm hoping in a couple more months I'll have another large donation to give her.
This is all leading up to my desire to move at the end of April. I have a contract on a 1,377 square foot house near where I currently live. It's a short sale which is a bureaucratic nightmare to buy. Even though the home owner accepted my offer right away, his mortgage company has to approve the sale. That's taken 2 1/2 months for them to approve a price which was supposedly "pre-approved" by the seller's bank. Then I found out that FHA needs to approve the sale too since they've insured the mortgage. What a mess! Thankfully, my mortgage broker advised me NOT to get the house inspected or appraised until all of these hoops have been passed. If I had proceeded with having these performed and IF FHA does not approve the sale, I would be out the cost of the home inspection and appraisal. I'm thankful that someone was looking out for me.
Here's the rub. My lease is expiring soon and I need to give a 60-day notice to vacate, which will be by the end of this month. After that time, my rent will go to a "market" rate which they estimate to be $200 - $300 more than I currently pay. Did I say this was a mess?
Please pray for a quick resolution to this home buying mess I'm in.
