"But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness." I Timothy 6:9-11 ESV
Time passed and we added another son to our number. Some days the "Shack by the Road" that had been so exciting felt like it was closing in on me from every side. I felt like I was constantly re-arranging this to make space for that; organizing another corner to make room for something else. Stuff. Where does it all come from?
We had said from the beginning that this house wasn't permanent. If we could live here four or five years that would give us some time to get back on our feet but eventually we would have to do something different. It's one thing to squeeze four (and then five) little children into 726 square feet but when they start getting as tall as their parents things get tighter in a hurry!
Almost two years after moving into The Shack by the Road, we bought one and a half acres of land with the plan to build a house.
Work on our new project progressed slowly. We planned to do as much of the work as possible ourselves and we were working on a very small budget. That fall we put in the lane, the well, and the septic system.
Then came the beginning of the big questions. What kind of house would we build? We had always looked at the idea that "Well, we're building anyway so we might as well..." was not necessarily a Kingdom of God principle. But now it was us and how did you decide? We were building on a hill, so it only made sense to have a basement, should we go ahead and make a second story too because it wouldn't cost that much more? Did we need a second story? How many bedrooms did we really need? How much more than 726 square feet was actually necessary?
It is easy to justify nearly any decision depending on who you compare with but what was right for us?
*I will be back Monday to continue the series.
"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much..." Luke 16:10
So happy for you. The house we just bought could not have been a smoother transaction. I was so impressed with everyone involved, we were able to go from the inspections to the closing in just a couple weeks. Today, we are loving our new house and look forward to many years of expanding our family and enjoying our own corner of the world.
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