First things first

Well, its time I get back to my blog and update where the Lord is taking us in this journey of ours. My redbud tree is blooming and I love how the branches just point heavenward. This is a great photo for my topic today of First things first. I know many people know the verse Matt. 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. This verse reminds me that I need to focus on things of God and His kingdom before my own selfish wants and desires.

Well, as my husband and I have been praying and seeking the Lord regarding the situation with our desire to move to the country. Some things were revealed to us. We first had a few financial needs that came up and so realizing that for those issues to be handled, we would likely not have enough money to make a down payment on the house we were hoping to buy. We have also not heard back from the investors we contacted about purchasing our house. We also have noticed a big number of homes in our neighborhood listed for sale by banks not realtors, meaning lots of foreclosures. We can't give our house away so we will wait out the rough market. So as we continued praying and discussing it. We realized that we would rather focus on paying off our remaining debts, and stay in our current home a little while longer. As hard as that is for both of us, because we are so drawn to the country, our hearts are drawn to be obedient to Christ first. I have such a peace when I think of the thought of being out of debt. Scripture tells us in Psalms 22:7 The rich rule over the poor, a borrower is servant to the lender. We don't wish to be a servant to ungodly institutions any longer. We feel like if we honor God's Word and pay our debts, then the Lord can bless us down the road with an even better home in the country if that is His will. We trust that He has our best interest at heart. We may not always agree with or understand God's best and will for us, but our job is to simply trust and obey. Like the little Sunday school song says: Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey. While we could at times possibly force our own wills and desires, we will undoubtedly be unhappy and sense the disappointment of our Heavenly Father, when we act like spoiled children and demand to have our way. We may get it, but we won't feel happy or satisfied. So we are surrendering our heart's desire for a new desire to be obedient to the Lord. It is so much more peaceful and exciting to desire to please God instead of myself. This joy can only come from Him.

(My redbud and peach tree blossoms above)

So I will press on toward the goal set before me and do my best to finish the race.

I am planning to quit my babysitting jobs by the end of the summer so that I may focus on spending more time with my own children. I am homeschooling but there are times when I put things off because I don't have time, when I would really like to dig a little deeper on some topics. I miss the freedom of getting to go where I want when I want because I have been tied down to the house for the past 4 years babysitting. I want to live by my own schedule and be free to do fun field trips and visits that we otherwise aren't able to do. I miss getting to visit my Grandmother regularly. I am looking forward to having time to go and stay with her a few days. This wouldn't be possible if we had a lot of debt. So I have been working to pay off extra debt and I am trying to prepare our budget for the loss of my income by focusing on paying off most of our debts before I quit working. I know that my first priority is to my husband and children so I am excited about having this freedom back and honoring God as I serve my family more diligently.

So like the blossoms on my trees, I am looking forward to new beginnings, new lessons to learn and new freedom from debt and from my selfish desires. That will always be a struggle I am sure as long as I walk this earth, but through Christ and His Word, I can strengthen my weak spiritual muscles as I work in service to my Savior and put First things first.