HOME...

HOME...

So there's two ways to get to our new house, one way is the same direction of our old house which Stanley identifies as the way to the old house and the other way, he identifies as the way to his new home.  Each time he mentions it, I have to explain to him that there are two ways to our new home, it just depends on where we are in Tupelo and I decide which is the best one to take at that time (I've always been one to want to go the most efficient way!)...so since many of you will not see the two ways to our new home or actually visit in our new home (although if you can, we will give you a warm southern welcome!), I'm going to post pictures here...

We are extremely blessed to call this our "new home" (as Stanley likes to call it!).  Many of us know the feeling when a decision you have made just "feels right," well this is definitely one of them.  It's like our kids know this is "home."  Never did they have problems adjusting to our new home, they were excited, never missed a beat, and have just settled in!  :)  Throughout the past 8 months since moving to Tupelo, we had been spending much time looking online, driving around neighborhoods, and discussing and narrowing down what was most important to us to have in our new home.  And, man, let me tell you the Lord really honed in what He desires for us in our hew house, in our new home.  I had been continually left with the impression on my heart that the Lord was not as concerned about the size, the layout, the color, the logistics, he was more concerned about the ways in which we made our "home."  Months ago, I journaled some thoughts about that...

Since I’m now a stay at home mom, and I have more time to think about the kind of “home” I desire to make with God’s help, I will continue to seek out the truths of this “home” that God so desires us to have….a welcoming home, a nurturing home, a home where questions are ok, and ideas are talked about and answers are not always readily available because sometimes, we need to teach our children the answers, but sometimes we need to teach them to rest in the mystery of God and not knowing the answers; where friends of all kinds are welcome, where homework will soon be done, where work, play, and rest all reside.  We or I have to be careful as we are looking for a house, I’m drawn to the nice, big house that has everything we would like, but then often times it is far outside our price range.  I have to be careful not to compare ourselves to others and what others have, because Eric and I have chosen for me to stay at home with our young children, how long this will last, we don’t know, but right now, God has blessed us with the provision to do so and for that we are thankful.  But, what I am realizing is that means the kind of house we can buy now in a one income family is not the same house we might buy years down the road in a two income family, but it may just be what God desired for our “home” not our “house.”  We have to so careful to keep in check what God desires and what the world desires, that we would not want what “everyone” else has when it comes to the material, but that we would be wise and look for a home that suits our needs and more importantly, where it’s a good place to raise our children, where we can have friends and family to visit and good conversation happens, where our children can have their friends over and good playing happens.  Do these values that I just listed have anything to do with the size, the price, the floor plan of the home?  No, really not at all, those aspects are what we are making in the very home we are temporarily renting, because those aspects are about ideas, about philosophy, about who we are as a family, and those are important values that we can’t wait to instill in our own hearts in a year when we find our “house” to buy, but these are values that we need to hold now in the “home” we are in, and that carries over to each house we live in!…whether we are living somewhere temporarily or if we are living somewhere “permanently” (I quote that, because truly no home is permanent, but some are more permanent than others!) --- Lord, give me eyes to see the “home” you desire for us to have – where our children experience the love between their mommy and daddy, where they enjoy laughter, conversation, and a nurturing space where they can find who they are and who God desires them to be.  Most of all, that they would experience the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of Jesus, and the power of God in our “home”…that they would see an example of parents, guests, friends, family who are choosing God’s values over the world’s values.  That they would observe parents who are making our “home” rather than replicating the house that everyone else has.

We are grateful for the provisions of the Lord and his intimate knowing of our hearts and desires, how truly everything we had narrowed down as most important logistically, actually came to be, not in all the ways that we had imagined, but even better (not that we even deserved it or were entitled to it!)!  Hmmmm, you would think I would learn!  :)

So to our new home, we are very thankful and are looking forward to making many great memories!

As always, thanks for stopping!!
-Kendra :)