Overwhelmed but excited

If you've been keeping up with the saga of our changing lives lately, you probably have an inkling of the reason for my feeling overwhelmed. And it hit like a ton of bricks this afternoon around 5 pm

Why 5 pm you say?

Well, that was about the time we were signing papers to have our house listed for sale. It's something we've been thinking of doing for awhile for various reasons, but we finally put the wheels in motion. More on the reasons later; back to the house.

It started with talking to my Grandpa at Thanksgiving. He's a real estate agent in Lebanon, about 2 hours south of here. We wanted some advice on how to approach selling the house since we'd never done it before. It was great to talk with him and he started some leg work for us including recommending an agent for us.

So last week we met with the agent and talked to him about what we're looking for and what we need to do to sell our house. Today he was back and the ball is rolling.

I just can't help but feel overwhelmed by all that there is to do; touching up paint, shampooing carpet, cleaning out garage, fixing the landscaping, uncluttering (a daunting task in our house right now) etc. I also am struggling with the decisions we've made so far. Is the broker really going to work out for us? Did we set the right price? I have no reason to believe the answer to either one of those is no, but I just can't help but wonder "What if?"

But I also can't help but be excited at the possibilities and this is where I need to focus. Much has changed about our household in the last few months. No, we're not pregnant. Not yet anyway. The issue of family size has always been one where Mindy and I don't quite agree. Very close, but just not quite. It started even before we were married. I wanted 6 kids and she thought 2 would be great. Until late this last summer, she was very satisfied with our family as it stood and was ready to stop at 3. In my head, I agreed with all the reasons and had been having some of the same thoughts myself, but I just wasn't ready to let the dream go. Sometime in November, to learn about Quiver Full families. It's a philosophy that embraces the promise of Psalm 127

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.

2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to ^[a] those he loves.

3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.

5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate

The Bible has only good things to say about children. They are a blessing. As a friend from church put it so well once, "If money were called a blessing would you pray to God to stop giving some to you?? And yet the modern American goes to great lengths to reject God's blessings!" Kind of a deep thought. It really made us stop and consider our reasoning. So, that is all to say: We're giving God the reins in our family size. He will never give us more than we can handle and He is faithful to lift us up when we are weary.

And to top it all off, Mindy is homeschooling the boys now. It's not necessarily permanent, but the doors opened (or closed may be more accurate) to make it feasible for us to do so for the last half of Kindergarten for Ben and to start some preschool stuff with Kyle. It's only been 3 days so far, but it's off to a tentative, but good start. It really seems like they were settling in today and it's fun to see them excited about school. Mindy's done a great job.

To summarize, we're starting homeschooling, adding to our family Lord willing, and moving to a new house. It's a little overwhelming to me. I like to be in control. I like to know the outcome, or at least have a good idea of it. And while I tend to let most things roll off my back worry-wise, when I get my teeth into something, I can worry with the best of them.

Mike, our Pastor, has been challenging us lately to seek God's will and do things for him that are so big that the only way they can succeed is with God's help. That is how God's glorified. When we do stuff by our own strength, we can only achieve the ordinary outcome and don't allow God to work the extraordinary outcome.

So...

• Pray for me: That I can let go and trust God for the things I'm not in control of.

• Rejoice with me: That God has blessed us in so many ways that any of this is possible.

• Join me: What things in your life are you doing only with your own strength so that the only possible outcome is the ordinary one? Seek God and seek the extraordinary!