So God

After 3 years of renting, we're finally getting a house. We close this week and will be moving next weekend. Yessssss.

We moved to Virginia Beach right at the peak of the housing bubble. We had lived in Ohio for 13 years and owned 3 houses there, not all at the same time, but sold when we moved to Australia for 2 years. So we came to a more expensive area and to extreme sticker shock.

we knew we would rent for a while, until we learned the area. we just weren't ready for even the rental prices and didn't think we'd rent for 3 years. we were blessed to find a townhouse with a garage for storage and a great landlord who was responsive and even took care of stuff we didn't ask about.

But here we are. Packing, cleaning, sorting, Goodwilling. it's always good to go thru your stuff, we just have a lot more with 5 of us in the house.

i'll post more about the move and settling in later. I'm just amazed at God's timing. at the height of a freaky market and housing stuff, He works out an amazing deal on a great house in a great neighborhood. So God.

Tired of it

I just need to blow off a little steam. You see, i work in news. i'm surrounded by monitors carrying all the news of the day - Fox/CNN/MSNBC/Business/Headlines - and also feeds from the wires and email alerts...I'm in it.

I'm really sickened by the wall-to-wall coverage of the financial meltdown. I'm pretty sure it's a nasty situation that started back in the 70's with some dodgy legislation on guaranteeing mortgages. Greenspan didn't help things with some of his controls and then the whole Fannie/Freddie housing bubble thing has really brought this thing to a head. I'm pretty conservative and don't like a lot of government intervention and really don't appreciate some of the measures the government has implemented to bail failing enterprises out.

But i think the media - old and new - have contributed just as much as anything else. When people only see how bad things are, they are going to panic and pull their money and support from pretty much everything that might hurt them. This defense mechanism, while good for protection, is bad for the economy and then makes it tank even more.

I want to, in some way, convince people to take a step back and breathe. If you have money invested, let it ride. Unless you need that money in the next few years, stocks are for the long term. I would suggest also getting rid of personal debt. As the economy turns, companies will probably want the money owed them and i figure it's always better not to owe.

Panic and emotional responses don't really ever solve anything. Cool heads, patience and a trust that God is in control is the way to move forward. God's people are PROMISED that He will never leave us or forget about us - NEVER!! God doesn't need Wall Street or George Bush to bless and care for His people.

More to come...

A Bitter Pill

Have you thought all was on track and you knew exactly what was happening was what was supposed to happen? Have you ever had it all figured out? Yeah, me too. But now...

I keep thinking of that verse that says that God's ways are not our ways. I'm very thankful for that point because i know my ways often mess things up. I'm just trying to figure out God's ways now. I thought i was figuring out my calling and what i was meant to do, but what i thought is just not happening and i don't see in the natural what is going on.

I'm confident in the fact that it only takes a moment for God to move. It's my job to love, worship and serve Him gladly. I realize i'm not the center of the universe and my calling is VERY secondary to God's fame and people coming to know Him.

It's a hard pill for my flesh to swallow, but one my spirit needs. Die to self, serve humbly, love God, love others.