Update on the House-Buying and Other Things

The new house is ripening swimmingly (it's okay if I mix my metaphors, right?).  Last Friday we had the inspection done by a guy recommended to us by Greg, and it took about 3 hours.  The walk-through took about 30 minutes.  The news is good.  There are no major problems with the house (thanks, God!).

Then, Monday evening we met over dinner with the loan shark  highway robber  loan officer, and signed our life away a whole bunch of papers to get the process started for applying for a mortgage.  We've been pre-approved already, so all of these papers and this process are just a formality at this point, or so I've been told.  Once the loan is approved and everything, then they will do the appraisal, and then we will close at the closing date, which is May 6.

So, basically we are just waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting.

A really good thing that happened recently was that I went for an overnight get-away with some of the women from my ministry group at church to a lake house this past weekend.  I felt so refreshed during and afterwards, and it was just so nice to relax, talk, pray, and just soak in the beauty of nature for a few hours.  One of the most exciting parts for me was the halfway-civilized deer that would wander by occasionally.  At one point I spotted a mother and two fawns!  And they still had spots on their back!  Cute! :)

Also, I had a moment of conviction this afternoon.  I was reading the latest issue of Above Rubies magazine, and there was an article talking about how a lot of us have the Bible on a shelf, but not in our hearts.  I realized that a lot of times I pray for God's will to be done, or for Him to make His will known for me in certain things, and yet I spend so little time in the Word.  How can we discern what His will is if we are not reading his letter to us?  A lot of times I just go by what "seems Christian" instead of searching it out in the Word.  There are so many competing philosophies and influences in our world and culture that can sneak up on us and creep in when we are least expecting it. Plus, there are times when I get so focused on the things that I want, and I actively resist considering and waiting on what God's will is.  I have become renewed in my desire to fortify my mind and heart through reading the Word.