Still Looking for a House

business cards at a house we saw

We have been looking for a house for nine months now and the house we are currently renting just sold.  Over this time, we have been blessed by the Billins, Wilterinks, and Shelners.  We have also been stretched in many different ways.  This week we put our 12^th offer on a house.  I don’t even know how many houses we have seen.  We are very thankful for our realtor Taylor and all of his work during this search.  After hearing our most recent offer was not accepted we found out some details about the accepted offer.  There were 24 offers total.  The accepted offer was considerably over the list price, 20% + down, willing to pay over the appraisal, 45 + days until possession and a quick closing.  This is just a snapshot of what the market is right now. 

I know there have been people wondering why it has taken so much time for us to find a house.  Here are a couple “philosophical” reasons why I believe it has been so challenging.

The current market in Grand Rapids:

I explained our current house offer.

Here is a February article about the Grand Rapids market and it has only become more of a seller’s market since then http://fox17online.com/2018/02/15/grand-rapids-continues-to-be-a-sellers-real-estate-market/

The proximity to the church:

We believe it is important for us to live in or near the community we are serving.  This would help with hosting people from the church to our house and inviting people from our neighborhood to church.

Krista’s work:

We have determined that Krista’s priorities are first the children and then the church.  Krista has been working part-time as a para-professional at Northpointe Christian School. Her pay is used to help with the cost of the kids’ schooling. 

Schooling for the children:

We understand as parents it is our responsibility to disciple our children and schooling is a resource to help us with that task.  Recently, we have been extremely blessed by the Northpointe Christian School family.  We would love to have them continue there if that is God's plan. Where the house is related to the NPC schools plays a role in our decision.

Financially wise:

We don't want to make a decision now because we want a home that we will regret later.

This past Sunday's lesson was praying Paul's prayer in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12 for others.

When praying for people, pray that

their faith would grow,

their love would increase,

they would persevere in their trials,

they would glorify God

they would become more and more Christlike.

While would VERY MUCH APPRECIATE your prayers for a house, 

we would really appreciate you praying these things for us.

Tomorrow is May 18th and Day 18 is one of my favorite entry in the Gospel Primer.  I have shared it before and I am sharing it again, as a reminder to me.

More than anything else could ever do, the gospel enables me to embrace my tribulations and thereby position myself to gain full benefit from them. For the gospel is the one great permanent circumstance in which I live and move; and every hardship in my life is allowed by God only because it serves His gospel purposes in me. When I view my circumstances in this light, I realize that the gospel is not just one piece of good news that fits into my life somewhere among all the bad. I realize instead that the gospel makes genuinely good news out of every other aspect of my life, including my severest trials.  The good news about my trials is that God is forcing them to bow to His gospel purposes and do good unto me by improving my character and making me more conformed to the image of Christ.

Preaching the gospel to myself each day provides a lens through which I can view my trials in this way and see the true cause for rejoicing that exists in them. I can then embrace trials as friends and allow them to do God’s good work in me.