Confessions of Pride

Well. Like you might have heard me say before, I really enjoy blogging. It is good for me to get my thoughts down on paper and share them with others, especially considering I have been stuck inside for like... 3 months now.

We have a contract on a house as of this morning but I feel that I need to explain some background before I tell you about the house b/c it was not the process we expected.

With the exception of my newest follower (Tricia) and maybe 1 or 2 others everyone knows how much we LOVE Dave Ramsey. Well, yes I love him much more than Brian does but his wisdom or common sense has played a priceless role in our marriage and finances. A huge amount of our success is due to the lessons he taught and I praise the Lord that we went to his class. That said- this house hunting thing has been awful!

You know, I drove my first car for 7 years. Brian and I sold it at an auction for $400 I think. Then we bought a 1996 Honda Civic and we put lots of repair money into her. Everyone knows we were saving for a car and in my mind all my suffering was going to be justified by the awesomness of the car I was going to get. Dave says "you aren't what you drive" although many people don't believe that, including me at times. Anyways I was so psyched when it was finally time to buy until I saw what our money would get us. I was dreaming of an Endeavor and we ended up with a Hyundai. Now some of you may be dreaming of a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe and that's great, but most of us dream of a Pilot or 4-Runner or Tahoe or the Acura that Ferris drives, all beautiful cars worthing of being coveted-- but this car... not quite close to those. So, I threw a fit for a whole day when Brian wanted to buy that car b/c one of my long time friends had just sold hers. And I was like- Sarah just got rid of her exact replica of this car and now I am suppose to look forward to it??? What??? I don't want her left overs, and no offense to you Sarah but it was my pride.

After I realized it was a good car and a good deal for what we could pay then I gave up and gave in. I now LOVE the car, its great and its status or lack of status is fine with me. And that is where we got with a house.

We fell in love with a house, MLS#10-57 I think, maybe 58 but like I said earlier, we didn't get it. We have greatly benefited by moving to ND financially speaking. The Lord has been so good to us, better than He ever has before... which was so shocking b/c life was great for us. So, with all this blessing I was like... alright, we are going to get a bomb dot com house and I am freaking excited. Again, our home in Tulsa was great and we loved loved it but it was modest at best and super inexpensive. It was 1200sq ft, 2bd, 2 bath. It suited us well. But this time we have 2 kids and maybe someday we will get a girl (Lord willing) and I guess I felt justified to something better. So, it was like I felt that by sacrifing early on that I was going to show off all our glory and it never works. "Pride comes before the fall and a haughty spirit before destruction." That is what Proverbs says and I believe it. I am a sinner!

So the house we bought is simple again and conservative. It is not majestic like I dreamed of. No one will covet this house! Brian and I are not that excited b/c well... we had set our hopes real high and this stinkin town is so expensive that we can't get all we want in a house without jumping up 20K in price and that is ridiculous. We still follow Dave's principles and doing that would not allow us to. So it was like Brian said the Lord had a house for us that will fit our desires, but I said my desires are prideful and ridiculous and I just don't know if I believe that. Anyone who has read Crazy Love knows that it changes your perspective on things and that was in the back of both of our heads. So this is a basic ranch style Nodak home in a basic Dickinson neighborhood. No glitz, no glamour, still not suited well for entertaining but we will get there. Its a 4 bed 2 bath 1900sq ft house with a single garage. The kitchen is nice, I will actually get ice and water in my fridge door which is literally something I have dreamed about! The only downside is the one car garage but overall it is a great house in very good condition. You can read about it online if you want (MLS 10-17) but still not our dream home. But seriously- we still have time, Brian is only 25 you know!

Anyways, wanted to share that with anyone who actually took the time to read this far. The Lord is still good to us despite our pride and I am very grateful we even found a house. Things are getting down to crunch time here in this little town and everyone says prices are about to get jacked up even more! One friend told Brian that soon no houses will be available b/c there are just so many people moving to town.

So, I wouldn't have written this if I thought this struggle was mine alone. I will say it is nice b/c style is not a big deal up here (sorry if anyone from Dickinson is reading but I am certain you are not). No one cares if I have designer jeans b/c they don't even know what they are! There are only like 2 stores in town so everyone wears the same clothes from Maurices or Herbergers. Seriously, you think I am kidding, but I am not! I may have given up pride on a house but I am still not there with what I wear! Anyways, just sharing what I am dealing with it could at all encourage anyone in the same place.
love,
Becky