We found a place!!!

As a temporary solution to the problem/issue of what we're going to do with our lives, we've found a place we can live that isn't going to break the bank and isn't going to require us to sign a year long lease!!!

It's actually a really interesting story how this all came about. About 2 weeks ago i found a listing on Craigslist for a house in Cedar falls that was a month to month lease because the owner was trying to sell the house but was going to take it off the market for the winter and then put it back on again in the spring. Well, we instantly fell in love with the house. It had a 4 season porch and 3 bedrooms (which is way more space than we need right now) and the kitchen and bathrooms were updated. The only catch was that the monthly rent was about $200 more than we felt we could commit to spending on a monthly basis. We wrestled with whether or not to say yes or to just forget it. The guy renting it said he would give us priority because we are a married couple and he'd rather rent to us than college students because he had just spent a lot of time and money renovating the place. We didn't feel right about making that type of commitment when we are not entirely sure of our working situations coming in the next month. IF we had taken this house it would about double what we are paying now for rent + utilities. We know i'll have some type of job but whether or not it'd be enough to help us save while we're working was a valid question we had to ask.

so, we gave up on that house and were back at square one. Thursday of last week we were talking with a friend and he mentioned that he had a friend that is trying to sell his house because he's moving to an acreage outside of town. We shared how we're really in no place to buy or to sign a one year lease because we are just unsure of a lot of things right now. He said something like he'll see if he's willing to rent. The next day his friend calls us and wants to know if we're interested in renting his house month-to-month at the exact price we had felt we could afford for renting... he will take the house off the market for the winter and then in march/april put it back on...

We decided we would look at it and then decide.... We got home about an hour ago... for how much rent is going to be we wouldn't be able to find anything better. It's really like God is walking us through this time one step at a time. I am very encouraged. This is not all set in stone yet by any means but we left the house feeling like it is really a place where we can spend some time and also be wise about our money. Tonight the owner told us that they had just decided about the possibility to rent it the day before our friend talked to him about us... that is not a coincidence... : )

I feel like this one is really going to work out!! Yay! Now if we could just figure out the rest of our lives... and this isn't a permanent solution by any means but it's going to be what we need for now... and that's enough.

Mobilize

Mobilize: (n) 1. to organize and encourage (people) to act in a concerted way in order to bring about a political objective.
2. bring (resources) into use in order to achieve a particular goal

We met with a gentleman from Indiana that works for the wesleyan church and has strong ties with where we were over the summer in the Czech Republic. We expected this meeting to be something of the sort where this gentleman would try to encourage us to jump on board and become career missionaries in the Czech Republic. We were prepared to hear him out and to leave ready to consider any possibilities. After all, we have been weighing anything as a possibility for a few months now.

He did nothing of the sort. He shared his frustrations with the church and the wonderful things he's been a part of in the church. Overall, we walked away feeling more encouraged and more at ease with where we are right now. We have begun to see and understand the possibility of us being 'mobilizers'. In essence, we are more likely to be effective if we are able to get more people to go with us than we would be just going as two of us alone. This isn't saying we aren't effective. It's saying that we are enabling people to share in an experience along with us and help to spread the vision of the great commission while getting people out of the pews on Sunday morning.

Our talk with this gentleman was fascinating and he had many great things to say that are definitely worth thinking about for a while longer... This is just the preliminary thoughts and I wanted to get them in writing so they don't just slip away from my head...

In addition to being Christ's followers, how are we best able to mobilize others to catch a glimpse of the bigger picture; the great commission?

Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Fall is here??

A couple weeks ago Matt and I took a day trip to Backbone State Park. We were under the impression that we would see a rock that looked something like a backbone. Neither of us had officially been there before. Needless to say, the renowned backbone is a trail that is rocky and hilly like a backbone would be. It was interesting to tell that to our small group when a couple of them are from around there! We had a lot of fun. It turned out to be the perfect day to be out and about on the trails.

If you'll notice, i am wearing Matt's shorts because we took a picnic lunch and i spilled my applesauce all over and bees were landing all over me to help clean it up. It grossed me out overwhelmingly. I have a very thoughtful husband! Mostly i was also just lucky that he decided to wear shorts under his pants in case he got hot.

Anyway, we are settling into a schedule that looks like it's going to be changing within the month. I am extremely happy at my internship except for the fact that i don't get paid for it, which is a problem. But i will be finishing it up in about 4 weeks and then figure out what is next. that is still a big question for me because i am not sure what my exact passion is. But i fear of being a wanderer for some time being. I don't want what I do next to just be a dead end. I feel like where we are right now, anything we do needs to be working towards the end product. The end product in this case is when we reach our ideal job or life purpose, which we hope is in some way ministry, however that may look. Now is a time to build contacts and gain experience in real life organizations and situations.

Some balls have started to roll... that's good news for us... depending on which way the balls roll..

...

Still waiting...

Waiting is a hard place to be.

It's a hard place when you don't know where you'll be living in a month and a half;

when you don't know how you will have money to put food into your mouths;

when you have been waiting patiently for the Lord to reveal a path to you for quite some time.

There is so much need in the world. People are hurting. People are starving. People are dieing. 

With all of the need in the world, one would think that it would be simple to find a a place where your skills can make a difference.

Now, I know we could go anywhere and do something, but we desire deeply to make the biggest impact--to be the biggest help.

The Scoop

So i titled this blog 'taking us to the next step.' The reason for this is that Matt and I are in limbo about what is happening in the next 3 months of our lives. We have no idea. so here is what's happening in our little world right now. I am graduating in December with my B.S. in social work. I will be done with my internship hopefully around the first week of December and ready to enter the real world, or the masters program which will only take a year but doesn't start until May.

We HAVE to move out of our humble misshapen apartment on or around December 9th because neither one of us will be students anymore, unless i come back in May, but they won't let us stay here while not signed up for classes. We didn't move out of our apartment last summer because we didn't want to sign a year long lease in case we were going somewhere out of this area in January. Matt's job at the church is going really well and there is a hopefulness that he will get on full time come January... once again this isn't for sure...yet.

We are interested in doing overseas missions sometime in the future. If we were to sign on to something right now it would take 3-6 months to plan and fundraise and take care of all of our business here before we'd be ready to leave. But then there's the burning question of if i apply to get into the master's program and get into it and Matt gets a full time job should we even think about leaving?? And then do we buy a really cheap home or an even cheaper mobile home so that we are earning some equity?? Or do we get an apartment and risk being here for another year and a half in rental housing only to find we're going to stay in or around Cedar Falls for a very long time?? The problems with buying is that we really don't have all that much money. I haven't been working because my internship isn't paid and Matt is making enough to get us through but there's really no way we can afford much more. It's hard also because to get a rental home that is decent enough for us to stay in for a while will probably end up costing as much as a mortgage payment. we think anyway.

We are anxious and yet very bust at the same time and so we are not thinking much about it and that makes me more nervous because i do not know what is going to happen and with how fast this semester is going, December is going to be here before we know it!!

I'll be back...

Yay! this is the new official blog of the current times... the thing is, it's currently Saturday morning and I am going to go to the mall with my husband and he is giving me the let's get moving look so i'm outta here for now but will be back to blog soon for sure.... how exciting!