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Downsizing, Dave & Digging In



Ever feel like your life is a whirlwind? Like the merry-go-round just won’t stop to let you catch your breath? Me too. We are on a mission lately and I haven’t spent my regular time in the word. Or in prayer. Or writing. And my soul feels it.

And so, now at 4:30 am, I am up to stop the cycle. When life just won’t give you the time to do the important things, get up earlier. Right? Right.

So what is the mission we are on lately, you ask? We are downsizing to a smaller house. And a smaller mortgage. Much smaller. We purchased a home in March with the intention of giving it some much needed TLC and then renting it out. Good plan.

Then Dave started talking.  (Not audibly to us. In our heads.) He brought up the whole subject, so I am calling the “new” house Dave’s House. If you don’t know Dave, I highly recommend you check out his website, radio show and books. But I must warn you. He is likely to disrupt the comfortable parts of your world. For a while. And that’s ok because it ends you in an even more comfortable life later.

We downsized just two years ago to a smaller home when we were down to just one kid left at home. We like our home. It is roomy and more than enough space for the two of us now that we have an empty nest. We like our back yard, and our extra lot and the way we have fixed up the house suits us well. We are comfortable.

But what if we could sacrifice some comfortable. Sacrifice some time and elbow grease. And live like no one else? We have been Dave-ing it for 5 years or so now. We no longer have vehicle payments. Or payments of any kind. Except for a mortgage. Make that two mortgages right now. But what if we could eliminate those altogether? Our dreams of serving (the real mission) could expand. That makes my soul sing.

And so, here we are. Working on downsizing. Again. Tossing out the things we can live without. Digging in and cleaning out closets. Buttoning up our current house to place on the market. And preparing Dave’s house to live in it. Every spare minute is spent preparing.

At times I am tired physically. It would be so much easier to just stay put. At times I want to whine. I will miss this house. I don’t like Dave’s House as much. The rooms are smaller…the kitchen is smaller…it is closer to neighbors and I like the privacy we currently have.

But this is good for me. God doesn’t call me to live my life here in comfort. His plan for me isn’t to have a nice home and a relaxing life. I am called to serve. To give. To go and tell. When he sent the disciples out two by two He instructed them to take nothing with them. No extra clothing. No money. Nothing.

In a have-it-all me-first world, we are called not to have-it-all but to serve. To live mission-minded. Our life here is only temporary, just a vapor. It is so easy to get wrapped up in life here on this planet and lose sight of the life we are called to live. Lose sight of the real life we will spend in eternity.

As I catch my breath in these wee hours, I am re-energized and refocused as I continue our mission. So we can continue our real mission.

So, how are you living the mission. The real mission?

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