IT SOLD!!!

Oh, we've got good news!! Our house sold!! Finally, after 2 years of waiting and waiting and waiting some more, our house sold.  As of now, our closing date is September 26th!! So, I've been busy dreaming up what I need to do to get us packed and out of here.

First order of operation is to have a garage sale.  I'm looking at September 8th, 9th, and the morning of the 10th.  We have so much stuff that we don't need.  I love simplifying our lives!  Plus, our hope is to move into an apartment/townhome-like dwelling on the south side of Des Moines to build stronger relationships with a Nepali/Bhutanese community.  They are such sweet and wonderful people! So, I need to go through everything because we won't have room for it all.

Ben and I have recently read the book Radical, by Dr. David Platt.  This has been such an inspirational book!! Even though Ben and I have been wanting to move for 2 years now to reach this community, the selling of our house has come at a perfect time.  We both finished reading this book and are even more inspired to live radical lives for the Lord.  We understand that many people will not understand why we want to leave our nice Grimes home for apartment living on the south side of Des Moines.  That's okay. We know in our hearts that God will never tell us, "Ben and Meredith...giving up your dreams and desires for the sake of my Name was not the best decision."  No way!! He will never say that!  He doesn't promise us that we will have an easy going life if we are willing to follow Him.

So, with that, we are moving!  Now don't get me wrong, I am constantly fighting the battle of material possessions.  I look at fun websites and see fun ways to up-date your house, or fun ways to accessorize your wardrobe and I so much long to just spend money and not think a thing about it.  Not that these things are wrong in and of themselves, but it's where our hearts are. I love to make things beautiful- I was an art major in college =).  I do believe that God is the Ultimate Creator and instilled those types of interests in us because He loves beauty as well! But I do know God wants us to do all things for the glory of His name, despite the cost.  For Ben and I right now, God is calling us to downsize, give up some favorite personal items and make an impact in a community that doesn't know Him.

I love a story that was shared in Radical.  I'll paraphrase...An older man came to Pastor Platt and told him that the messages he had been preaching were crazy.  So crazy that the older man started trying to live them out.  He started selling all of his possessions to give to the Lord.  The man was concerned at times that what he was doing was unwise...until he realized that God will never say to him, "You know, you didn't keep enough for yourself."  --This story blew me away.  He is SO right, I can never give enough of my time, possessions, and resources to the Lord.


We would appreciate your prayers!!