Simplicity

There is something about simplifying your life that is so wonderful.

It sets you free.

Free to have more time in your schedule.  Free to have a house that is so cluttered.  Free to not have so many material items.  Free to be released from the consumerism and materialism that holds so many of us captive.

We have been striving to live more simply, eat more simply, and overall be more simple over the last few years.  I feel that over the years we have grown to live more simply pretty well.  But you know what?  It is stink-in hard!

Though we have been good about not adding material possessions, we are now trying to tackle the possessions that we have had and this is where it starts to get difficult.  We are selling off almost all of our furniture on craigslist right now.  We are going through closets, drawers, sheds, garages, etc and getting rid of almost everything.  It is so liberating, yet sometimes it is so hart to part with some things.  Now, I am talking about stupid stuff.  Like, I can't get rid of my snowboard.  I love that snowboard, I have many fond memories on it and I love snowboarding.  Yet, I have not ridden it in over three years and it is not likely that I am going to get away by myself sometime this winter, so that Heather can stay home with all six kids while I go spend $100 on a lift ticket.  It is just not going to happen, and I am okay with that.  But, I just can't sell the snowboard for $20 to someone at a garage sale, because I might use it again (in 5 years).  By the way, I have two.

Somethings are just hard to part with.

Overall, our kids have been awesome at this, but just like any kids they don't quite understand why they can't take their bikes and dresser to Kenya.  This is especially hard for our newer kids as they grew up holding tight to the few things that they could own.  Growing up, they just didn't throw things away.  So, it is a difficult task to send them into their room, with a garbage bag and a box for things to keep, with the task of emptying out their dresser.  After hours of work, the box is inevitably not big enough and the garbage bag is left practically empty.

Material things are just so hard to part with.  This is why Jesus told the rich young man (who had followed all the other laws) that if he wanted to enter the kingdom of heaven he would need to go and sell his possessions and give them to the poor, then follow Jesus.  (Matthew 19)  The problem was not that this man had many material possessions it was that many material possessions had this young man.  We live in a material world (thanks Madonna) and our material possessions control so many of us.  It was easy for us to tell Jesus, yes, we are willing to sell our possessions and move to Kenya.  However, the actual activity of doing it far exceeds the difficulty of merely stating it.

Yesterday we got rid of one of our sets of bunk-beds.  Yes, if you are keeping track this means that we now have 4 kids sleeping on the floor or on camping mats for the next few weeks.  (There are two that are still lucky as we have to keep their bed for a while).  It is so cool to see how God has been working and how He has been orchestrating things in our lives as we work through this simplifying process.

Through craigslist, we sold our bunk-bed.  The family came over to buy it right after we got home from church.  In my attempt to explain the messiness of the bedroom that the bed was in (like, sorry, this is the room of our teen and pre-teen) I told him that we just barely got home from church and didn't have time to take the bed apart.  Thus started the conversation of church, where we go, where they go, why we are moving, where we are moving, what we are doing, why we are doing what we are doing, etc.  By the time, I had helped him to his truck with our bed the conversation ended with, how can we support you?  Really God?  You even use craigslist to put people in our path?

And, as they drove away, I stood amazed at my God.  The God who is God over the entire universe, and yet cares so deeply about a materialistic man like me that he continues to provide over and above what I can even fathom.

...Gospel Patrons...

It was a blind email.
A. Shot. In. The. Dark.

Yet, there was a strong belief that things would work out.  We just knew that God had great plans and that He would continue to provide.  So, we sent the email.

Here is a brief synopsis of it.  "Hello, you don't know us, but we have heard about you.  We also heard that you have a house that you rent to missionaries for free or real cheap.  So... we are confirmed with Africa Inland Mission and we are trying to head out to Kenya in just over a year.  Is it possible for us to stay at your place in 2014?"

Well, like I said, it was a blind shot in the dark.  But, we figured that if we can find something cheaper than we can rent our house then we would have a much better chance at paying off our housing debt on our line of credit before we leave.  This is something that we have to pay off, and we are working diligently to do so.  I am working as much overtime as possible, and Heather is working hard on her Homemade goodies to sell.  We also are selling off as much furniture and items in our house that we possibly can right now.

A week after we emailed, we got our answer.

"Yes, we would love to host you in our house.  The trust that the house is in doesn't allow any rent to be paid and it is available from January - August of next year."  

With a lump in my throat and tears welling up in my eyes I called Heather over to read the email (she was baking).  I can't believe this!  I can't believe how God is providing!  We are just awestruck at how God has put these Gospel Patrons (check out my friends book and link)  in our lives with the ability to host us, allowing us live rent free, in Willow Glen, way closer to church and our family than we are right now.

We are AMAZED!

It turns out that the owner actually came to our house a year and a half ago for Easter with my Mom's cousin.  It is crazy how small the world is and how connected we are with people.

Please pray with us that God will provide the right renters to rent out our house starting Feb 1st.

Also, we have a TON to do!!! We are moving out of our house and into a fully furnished place in San Jose on the first of the year.  This leaves less than 2 months for us to sell off almost everything in our house, and pack up and move our family of 8.

God continues to confirm and provide for us as we step out in faith.

Thankful

I LOVE November!  I love the fall and this time of year when the air is crisp.  It is about this time of year that I finally get to start wearing sweatshirts and beanies again and I love it.  Though, I do keep my sandals out because this is California after all and you never know when we will have a warm streak in the mid 70's.

I love the harvest time and I love that this month we celebrate Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is by FAR my favorite holiday of the year.  Christmas and Easter are great and all, and I absolutely love what they represent.  But, they have become way over-commercialized in our society and I can't stand seeing Santa, Elves, and Bunny rabbits ruining the beauty of Christ's birth and resurrection.

Thanksgiving on the other hand is a day in which, we can still be with family, celebrate and give thanks, without a bunch of blow up figures and stores full of lawn decorations.  Tom the Turkey has not yet been commercialized to the extent of his other holiday cousins.  This may be because we kill Tom the Turkey every year and eat him.  Mmmm, I can already taste him now :)

Granted, our society is trying to ruin a little bit of Thanksgiving year by year, as more and more stores are open and black Friday (also known as the worst day for American greed) has been creeping into the  precious few Thanksgiving hours.

This year, I am blessed to not have to work on Thanksgiving and I get to spend it with lots of family.  Check the cell phones at the door and spend time together.  Okay, we have not yet checked our phones, but I am highly encouraging it!

There is so much for us to be thankful for.  All of our thanks is given to the One who deserves all the glory.

It is for this crazy journey that God has our family on, that I am thankful.  Every morning as I take care of our goats, I praise God for the crispness of the morning, the beautiful sunrise and that He has chosen us for this mission.  It is not something that we had thought of on our own and it is not something that we can do on our own.  We can only do it through Him.  For this I am thankful.  Without Him, it would be overwhelming and impossible.

I am thankful that He has seen it fit to choose our family to represent our body of believers in another country across the world, along the Indian Ocean.

I am thankful that He sees my flaws and my failures and yet still wants to use me.

I am thankful for the support that we have received and that we continue to receive.

I am thankful for the peace that He has given me through this crazy process.

I am thankful for the confidence that He has given me as we follow him down a path that will require us to leave all that is familiar and comfortable.

I am thankful to be called a child of His.