"Just Stop"

Dear all,

There is so much to tell! I have been thinking, planning, writing this blog in my head for over a year now and I have finally decided that today is the day. First, let me preface by saying that I am not a writer! So please, be gentle with me as I am sure I will wander off topic, ramble, misspell and make grammatical errors with each post. My purpose in writing this post is to tell our story so that our friends and family can keep up with our crazy but blessed life.

November 2016 - We were feeling heavily burdened and empty. We had just moved into a new "fixer upper" and the project was overwhelming even for us. Scott, defeated by the remodel, was also feeling trapped by his 8 to 5 and was overall sapped of energy both physically and spiritually. He was working so hard to support the lifestyle we had chosen and to pay off debt we had accumulated. We were comfortable but wondered if we would ever "get ahead".

I was feeling overwhelmed and frazzled. Working a full time job, taking care of the family, driving the kids to school/practice/games/outings with friends, and trying to serve a GF, no dairy, no sugar, clean, whole, and healthy meal that everyone would like! Yikes, I'm tired just typing that sentence! In my efforts to be perfect, I felt like I was failing at life with all the unrealistic expectations I had placed on myself.

We were living the American Dream! We had a beautiful house with a two car garage, a hypoallergenic dog, two good paying jobs, activities for the kids, matching furniture, a home theater, a kitchen gadget for just about anything and 11 totes of Christmas decorations. We had everything that society told us we needed to lead a full life! Then why did we feel so empty?

March 2017 - One day, an idea or feeling came to me via the Holy Spirit. I heard, "Becky, you don't have to live this way, just stop". Scott came home at lunch and I explained to him what I was feeling and we came up with a plan to "just stop". We decided to stop listening to society and start listening to God. We were so excited to stop our life! Scott quit his job (I had already quit mine), we worked full time on our house renovations and decided to sell our home. The market at that time was hot! The earnings we would make on the house would pay off all of our debt and still give us a substantial amount of savings.

June 2017 - We put the house on the market! Certain that our home would sell within days, if not hours, we were so excited! Our first plan (notice I used the word "our") was to use the earnings from selling our home to buy a used RV, travel full time, and help people along the way. We were determined to buy and get started right away even though the house had not sold. Our minds were set, the RV was found, we had a date to go pick it up but we didn't have the money. So, we decided to get a loan from a family member, after all, we were still thinking that our house was going to sell quickly. (Are your eyes rolling as well?) When we went to go to the bank to get a cashiers check for the RV the teller said that we couldn't have the money for ten days! What? The money was sitting there! Why couldn't we use it? Because of some bank rule, we weren't allowed to get the cashier's check. During this time of waiting, I had a feeling of unease (again the Holy Spirit at work) and asked Scott if maybe we should wait until the house sold. We didn't have jobs, so we decided to save the RV money to finish the renovation and to live on during that time just in case the house didn't sell right away. We thank God for that decision. Our house continued to sit while other homes sold within hours. What had we done wrong? We were so ready to start our new life! It had gotten to the point where we didn't have enough money to pay for the next month's bills. We were down to our last pennies.

June - October 2017 - During this time, while we were waiting for the house to sell, we traveled, visited family and friends and had time to reflect and pray. We prayed for direction and we prayed for the house to sell. During our travels, we met people with messages that spoke to us exactly in our time of need. Also during this time we gave away all of our "stuff" and furniture to those who needed it. After all was purged, everything we owned fit into a 6 x 12 Uhaul trailer and our truck. (and of course the smokers, we can't forget those) Do you know that feeling when you purge a closet? That moment of accomplishment, of organizing, of eliminating clutter. Imagine what happens when you purge your life. It is liberating, it is inspiring and it is freeing. We had eliminated our attachment to things.

November 2017 - God protected us from buying that RV because our house didn't sell until November 6, 2017, 5 months later than anticipated. He taught us a tremendous lesson that we are still learning today, "A man's heart plans his way but the Lord directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9, NKJV) Our house sold in the nick of time! Not our timing but God's timing. It also sold for a fraction of what we had hoped to get. It wasn't what we wanted but what we needed and we were able to pay off our debt and have a little in savings. God saved us from buying an RV because that was not His plan for us. His plan was bigger and better than ours was. Still trusting and feeling called and compelled to do God's work, we were willing to obey. We didn't know where we were going to live, we didn't know how we were going to make money, we didn't know much but we did know that finally, we were ready to live a life of purpose!