This is the fun part

When I started this blog, I thought I'd have lots of updates to write about the new property. (See here.) The further along we go, the slower I realize this process is.

We are talking to banks and builders.

And that's (still) the update.

Of course in my mind, the house is built, and it looks like something the photographers at Southern Living should come take pictures of. The only reality in that statement is that I am interacting with Southern Living on a daily basis. I'm tearing out all of the dog-eared pages in my collection of magazines from the last three years and organizing them into a notebook of I Wants. This weekend, Ryan and I talked about how we could "live not for ourselves but for Him who died for us and was raised again" (2 Cor. 5:15) in the process of building a custom home. We don't know the answer. Lots of prayer is our solution.

So, since the rubber has not yet met the road in terms of securing a loan and signing a contract with a builder, I'm ripping out photos and storing them in my notebook. I know the regular man's version of these beautifully decorated homes will not compare with the rich man's version in the magazine, but, hey, a little inspiration can't hurt, and it is so. much. fun.

I must say I used to feel about Southern Living magazines the same way I felt about romantic comedies when I was single: Great, but annoyingly unattainable. Dreaming about the unattainable was not only fruitless, but kind of painful (which, by the way, is the same reason I haven't joined Pinterest: lots of people doing awesome things that I'll never have the time or creativity to do). Maybe I'm able to enjoy the Southern Living layouts now because I'm in a new season of life, and I'm a little closer to the possibility of building a home. That makes sense. But even more than that, I pray for this to be the reason: My grasp on material things gets looser as I realize my life is full to the max of the really important things already. Oh Lord, let that be true.

So with a continued prayer for perspective, I charge forward with my stack of magazines. This is me, enjoying the process, until the Lord moves us along or redirects our path.

I will surely keep the blog updated on the house when there are any updates (beyond my daily meetings with Southern Living, of course).

Mr. Builder, make me a house with charm like this, okay?
(Photo from Coastal Living magazine, Southern Living's sister)