To share just a little bit of our story...it was September 2006, our house in Wilson was not on the market and one day our phone rang. It was a couple who had seen our home 6 months prior when it was on the market. They said "would you still be interested in selling your home?" We really didn't want to at that time, but wondered if the Lord had something else in store. Little did we know He did...Charlotte!
It was just a week after we signed the papers that Scott was made aware of the opening here at Calvary Church. The Lord was at work and we knew we had to pursue what was ahead. We sold our home and the Lord made available a home for us to rent until we decided what we were going to do. To say the rental home left "a little to be desired" was an understatement. But we were VERY thankful to have a place to call "home".
Well, you know the end of the story: God did call us here to Charlotte. During our hunt for a house, we must have looked at 50 homes one weekend. This was during the time that homes were selling in two weeks or less. When Scott and I came back to purchase a home in April '07, all those homes had been sold. We had one day to look and find something and I was determined not to rent again. I wanted a real home for our family. There were so many changes going on in our life (after uprooting our kids from the place we called home for 17 years) that I wanted some normalcy.
God led us (or I "think" He did) to the place we now call home. We looked at our new home for all of 10 minutes and said "deal"...it had 4 bedrooms and a playroom. We must have had blinders on the day we looked at it. Trust me, I won't bore you with all the details. All we did the first two years is work and work on this house. And I don't mean just decorating it...I mean working! Things falling apart, air conditioning not working, ceilings falling in...you name it, we fixed it. I can laugh about it now.
But God has done a work in my heart. He has taught me another area of being truly content..and that is in my home. My "home sweet home". And I can honestly say that is exactly how I feel about it now. Thankful we have a roof over our heads, thankful we have a small mortgage, thankful that we have made so many wonderful memories in this home with our family, and thankful that we have turned it in to "our home"...a place where you can stop by anytime to visit (and have coffee with me :)
Believe me, it's all been the Lord. Over these past 3 years, I have griped, complained, cried, and been angry....all at the same time! God has so taught me that my joy is not in "things". My joy is in Him - and I have ALOT to be joyful about.
I wanted to share some pictures from our "transformation" over the years :)
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
4 comments:
WOW Kim...it all looks FANTASTIC!!! You all HAVE done a lot of work! BEAUTIFUL!!!!
I love renovations! Well, not when they are in process, but the end result...and yours is fantastic! Your home looks beautiful, peaceful & inviting! You (and Scott) did a fantastic job on your fixer-upper!!
i've always thought your home was darling! and, i've envied the large livingroom you have - perfect for large groups! but, i'm 100% with you on learning the whole contentment thing... except that you're much further along than i am. i want to shop for something new - not a thrift store or consignment store find. i want a home with more space - to better entertain and better keep my sanity with my kids. i want to go out to eat off a menu and not fast food. all wants, not needs. contentment is always a choice, huh? thanks for the encouraging post on the BEAUTIFUL home you have!
So very beautiful...and having been there...it exudes warmth and LOVE!!! :-) Can't believe I saw you guys last night...it made my night! :-)
Post a Comment