Borrowing, Mortagages, and Presuming Upon the Future

Back when we first decided to sell our house (hmm...maybe 2 years or so ago almost!), we talked with a realtor, one of Dave Ramsey's ELPs. He took us through evaluating our home value and what we would need to do to coordinate buying & selling. We knew, back then, that just putting our house up for sale and then just buying whatever was available would not work for us. We needed a miracle to be able to pay cash for a house! So we decided to save up money like crazy, buy a place with cash, and then sell our home once we got moved out. He appraised our home at about the same price that we purchased it for 10 yrs. ago. A little disheartening, but at least we would be able to pay off the mortgage with a little profit.

Now, here we are with our new place bought, trying to fix up our current house - and we call the realtor again to talk about putting our house on the market. Bad news. The housing market has plummeted, and our house (best case scenario), is worth about what we owe on it. That means that after paying the realtor we will actually have to PAY MONEY to sell our house! It's worse than breaking even. It's true that "riches maketh wings and fly away". This is all due to banks lending people money who can't afford to pay it back, and those people actually BELIEVING the banks and BORROWING more money than they can pay back. What's more, now that banks have changed their lending policies, fewer people qualify for a mortgage. That means, too many houses on the market, esp. foreclosures which are being sold for not much at all, and not enough people who can afford to buy! As the realtor says, "People don't want to buy your house, they want to STEAL it!"

Borrowing money is presuming upon the future (Jim Sammons quote). Presuming that your house will always be worth more than you owe on it. Presuming that you will be able to sell your house if you need to. Presuming that you will always have an adequate income to sustain your mortgage. Houses are not always appreciating assets. Jobs change. Moves sometimes need to be made quickly.

What if we took our financial limitations to be a sign of God's direction? If we didn't have the money to buy something, then that must mean that it isn't God's will for that time. "God's work in God's time will never lack for God's funds" - Jim Elliot. What if, as Christians, we decided to live in, drive, wear, and use whatever God has provided the cash-in-hand for? What if we taught our children how to work hard and save at an early age, so that by the time they are ready for marriage, they will be able to pay cash for their first home (however humble it may be)? What if, instead of foreclosing or filing for bankruptcy, we paid back what we owe, even if it took a long time? What if we believed God for the impossible?

We don't know what will happen with the sell of our house. We just know that God provides. I love how Dave Ramsey says that when you start moving in the right direction, it's like God puts a moving sidewalk underneath you, accelerating your progress in the direction He wants you to go. Will God work a miracle and help us to sell our house with enough money to pay off the mortgage and the realtor? Will He, in spite of a low selling price, provide the money from another source to pay it off? Will we find a renter instead to tide us over until the market recovers? Will we just have to scrimp and save (hey, we've done THAT before!) to make up for the difference? We are paying our stupid tax, as Dave Ramsey says. If it isn't too late for you, please heed the warning - the one in Scripture "The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." Proverbs 22:7 or "Owe no man anything but the debt of love" or what about this one: "If thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger (banker!), thou art snared with the words of thy mouth (or thy ballpoint pen!). Do this now, my son, when thou are come into the hand of they friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe (or gazelle, as Dave Ramsey says) from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler." Proverbs 6:1-5

Preparing for a Move

Well, let's face it - we've been preparing for a move for 7 months now, BUT we are actually getting CLOSE now! The list of things we have LEFT to do is actually shorter now than the things we've gotten accomplished. The children's bathroom, boys' room, girls' room, living room, laundry room, and kitchen are all complete now! What remains is the master bedroom (installing carpet and baseboards) and master bath (take out old shower, replace flooring underneath shower as needed and possibly sheetrock behind shower, install new shower, paint, replace broken mirrors, install vinyl flooring, and replace countertops/sinks). I'm sure we will discover even more than needs doing in this bathroom, but that's our list for now. We also found a good deal on a steel frame, metal building that we will be using as a storage shed. What a load off my mind to have storage! The biggest stress for me living here was going to be lack of storage; glad it will not be a problem. The neighbor behind us does concrete, and he is having his trucks stop off at our house to pour concrete on the way to another job. He is able to give us a good deal that way. We are getting the best quality concrete because of the job he is doing on the way, and we are getting the highest storm/wind rated building in the hopes of using the building as a storm shelter as well. Our neighbor was just telling us about a tornado passing right over our homes a week or two ago! It went back up and caused no damage to our homes, but he could hear the roaring of it passing overhead. That is the second tornado this season that has passed so close by us. Thank the Lord for his protection! We are but dust, and our lives so fragile, yet He cares for us. We know that we will not leave this earth one day sooner than our appointed day, so there really is no place for worry. We know we are in His will doing what we are doing now, and in that regard, we are in the safest place on earth.

Tongue Tied

Little Hope is now two months old! She is such a sweet, pleasant baby. However, I knew something wasn't quite right. With my other children, nursing pain lasted about 4 weeks, but this time was different. Once 4 weeks passed, I kept thinking that any day the pain would go away. I tried adjusting her latch and doing all the things I knew to do. Days turned into weeks, and before I knew it, she was 7 weeks old and we were visiting the midwife. When she asked how nursing was going, I mentioned my ongoing pain. It just so happened that several of the midwives and assistants had just gotten back from a seminar on tongue-tie, and after examining her, they definitely thought she had it. They recommended a local dentist who is able to do the procedure with a laser, takes only a few seconds, and no anesthesia is necessary. The very next day I called to make an appointment. It was a Thursday, and they got me in on Monday, but honestly, Monday couldn't come fast enough for me! I was so ready to be done with this intense pain and to be able to enjoy nursing my sweet baby. When Monday DID come, we went in for our appointment and the dentist looked her over. He said that her tongue looked fine, but her upper lip frenulum (I believe it is called - the piece of skin that attaches the upper lip to the gums) was too short. Her mouth was unable to open wide enough when nursing, which was causing my pain and causing her to be gassy and not take in as much milk. In 30 seconds the whole procedure was over, and I was nursing my baby WITHOUT that intense pain! The next week or so was an adjustment for us. Hope's lip swelled pretty badly (she still looked so cute, though, poor baby!), but that was gone in a couple days. She never got fussy or refused to eat, as the dentist said she might, so we were thankful for that. We could just tell that her lip was still tender. Everytime I nursed, I had to pull her lip up as it should be, to keep it from reattaching, and also to help Hope relearn to nurse the correct way. I was still a little sore for the first few days, but now, things are feeling more normal. I'm so glad this procedure was available to us! It has certainly made a difference for me and for Hope. She is getting more milk now, is more satisfied and doesn't have the gas problems she was having before. And she is smiling for us now! We are thoroughly enjoying it, too. :)