Ok, so The Pastor has accepted the job in MI!  We are excited to be headed down this new path with the Lord - yippee!!

Now comes the not-so-exciting part.

We pretty much can't sell our home.  We have only had this house two years and the market right now is TERRIBLE!  We simply don't have the equity in the house to make selling it a smart decision.  Thus we are turning to renting.

We have spoken with MANY property managers (we will be 20 hours away - not a great thing if you want to manage the property yourself) and will be meeting with one in particular Monday morning.  They will do reseach, appraise our home, advertise and find our first renters for FREE - which sounds *very* good to this fairly-poor family right now!  I'm truly amazed at what people are willing to pay for a rental - as much as what we pay for our mortgage or sometimes more!  Wow!

Luckily, we also know some trustworthy handy-men in our current church who are willing to help us out if something were to go wrong in this house over the next few years.  In a few years, we will re-check the market, our equity amounts and see about selling it then.  My prayer is that it will sell QUICKLY at that point - we simply don't have the money to carry around two housing bills!

As it stands, we will be renting in MI for a while.  I doubt we will get a chance to get back to MI before we have to actually MOVE there - so I'm wondering how we will find appropriate housing.  My guess is that we will have to rely on church members/staff in MI to help us locate a decent home to rent.  While I guess I *can* be picky, that's because only *I* can tell what will work for family fairly easily.  I might be able to find a really good deal (read: cheap) on a house that may not look all that great - but I know what we can handle and what we can't.  I also worry about more than just price - I'd like a little land, or at least a big ol' yard.  I'd like to NOT live right in town.....

Well, I'm just going to have to put this one in God's hands.  I could go on and on about what I WANT.  The thing is, we need cheap for a few years.  I just don't want to be miserable either - but I guess I can choose to be content in just about any situation if I put my mind to it. 

So here we go.  We need to find a renter, find a rental (in MI) and be content with what the Lord has blessed us with already!!  The Pastor looks as though he will have a great position with lots of support from the other staff - cool!!  We will have the opportunity to get our finances in order over the next few years, which is *such* an answer to desperate prayer.  We will be much closer to family!!  We will get SNOW!!  It really *is* exciting!!

Contentment.  Joy.  Things I need to *choose* and not just expect to happen because my situation looks/feels good or because I get everything I want.  It's really not about that.

Now will someone please remind me of that when I'm complaining down the road???  Please....

~Resting in HIM~
MommaJoy