…buy and sell houses! Oh… what? That’s not how the saying goes? 🙂 Okay fine… I think it goes something like this:
Failing to plan is planning to fail.
-Alan Lakein

Yes, I suppose that does have a bit more wisdom tucked in it.
However.

In my own life I have observed an obvious progression that I neither planned for nor felt the slightest equipping towards. Over the course of our 14-year marriage Ty and I have now purchased five homes, all of which we either built, renovated, or upgraded in some way. We never planned on doing this, but as we look back it is plainly obvious what a pathway towards financial freedom this has been for us.

I do not say this to boast in the least because honestly we had no idea what the long-term ramifications would be when we bought our first home. With each purchase and each sale comes a story, and none of those stories are ours to own. They are the undeniable providence of God leading us down a path we wouldn’t have felt inclined to walk down based on our own understanding.

Our first real estate purchase came about after driving around one day when we happened to come across an acre of
land that was for sale with this spectacular mountain view. We inquired and
soon discovered the urgency with which the seller needed out. These
circumstances allowed for us to get this acre of land for a ridiculously
low price and thankfully we had the cash to jump on it!
We knew, however, that we would not have the financial means to build our “dream home” on that property for many years. But, with two financially secure jobs we decided it would be a wise investment to get out of apartment renting and into a starter home.

Our first home was this darling little 1000sqft ranch. We had it built turn-key, but enjoyed doing some of the finish work ourselves to save on costs. It was a delightful little home, and we always laughed at how many people we could cram in for Bible studies, game nights and sleepovers.

For three years we dreamed and planned for building our dream home on that mountain-view property. In my own anxiousness after a couple years I quit my job and desired to begin building, but nothing seemed to be falling into place and something in my spirit felt the conviction that I was forcing my own plans. So I backed off and began to trust God’s timing rather than my own. About 8 months later, it seemed so clear, like God just interrupted my thoughts and said, “Now it’s time.”

I cannot tell you all of the ways His timing was SO RIGHT. Home Depot came into town (which I had no idea would happen), all of our desired contractor’s were available in the time-frames we needed them, and the perfect buyer came along at just the right time as we were finishing construction and made a full-price offer on the ranch home, which allowed us to move straight from that house into the new one. In addition, housing prices had inflated dramatically in those three years, which netted us a $40K profit on a home we’d hardly done any work on!…
We could not have planned this! 

Eeeerch. Stop! What?
We did all this work and it’s not ours?
Well okay then.

Strangely enough, we both felt peaceful about this realization, and from that point on we felt an increased gratitude for the time we were able to live in that home; it felt like a privilege to live there instead of a right we had earned. Every sunset behind Mt. Redoubt, every moose on the hillside, every orange harvest moon reflecting off of Cook Inlet was a reminder of God’s undeserved kindness to us.

Two precious babies were brought home to this place. 

Nya’s first day home December 31st 2006

Elli’s first day home September 4th 2008

 Many songs of worship were composed in the quietness of “the music room” (before those sweet babies came). 

Family gatherings, small group Bible studies, and birthday parties filled this home with laughter and sweet memories. 

The six years we got to live in this home proved no regrets.

Our third home is by far the strangest purchase we’ve ever made! It is also a significant story of God going out of His way to lead us. Again, time does not allow for all the details here, but somehow between a woman offering to sell us her home (which was not currently on the market) and our two-year-old waking from a dead sleep saying “God is bringing Hailey’s house to us”, we both had a resolute certainty that we were to purchase this 115-yr-old fixer-upper home in St. Joe, Michigan.
So we did. 

We put our “dream home” on the market and in God’s perfect (and necessarily slow) timing it became someone else’s dream home. As God had assured us 6 years prior, this home certainly was an investment. It was the financial provision we needed in order to live for two years without an income to explore full-time ministry opportunities.

This fixer-upper was charming on the outside but needed some major TLC on the inside, not to mention the ant-infestation that welcomed us. Regardless, there was something quite delightful about it because of the story behind it; without a doubt in our minds God had led us to this home and that made it perfect.
It’s cottage-charm canopied beneath an umbrella of maple, tulip, and holly trees… it’s creaky original wood flooring… it’s doors that neither opened or shut with ease… it was sort of like living in a metaphor of our own hearts. Messy with dirt hiding in cracks deep and hidden; stubborn resistance and unevenness that make improvements difficult; layers of plaster and wallpaper hiding the scars and damage of years gone by. We spent months working on this home and I can’t help but consider the parallel that while we were working on physical renovations, the Lord was doing his own excavations and demolition spiritually.
If the walls of this home could talk they would not only proclaim to you the joy of children’s laughter as there seemed to be a steady rotation of friends and neighbors to play with.

But they would also tell of agonizing tears and desperate conversations amongst adult friends walking through deep trenches.

They would testify of hours upon hours of faces fixated on the pages of God’s word trying to make sense of life, love, and this gospel of Jesus Christ that we’re trying to build our lives on.

And, shamefully, they would whisper to you that all is not well in love and marriage.

Again, did we plan this? No.
Would we have said yes if we’d have known what lie ahead for us? Probably not.
Was it worth it? Exceedingly.

1311 Forres Ave. was like a beautiful hospital we got to live in while the Lord performed heart surgery.

Our time in St. Joe was so much shorter than we’d thought it would be, but we are increasingly aware of the fact that our lives are not our own and the truth of Proverbs 16:9 seems to ring truer and truer… “We can make our plans but the Lord determines our steps.” 

Since our move to Durango was so recent, most of you are familiar with that story and the subsequent purchase of a townhome.

With 1300sqft, a shared courtyard with a playground, and backyard access to mountain bike trails it was perfect for our family! But with the addition of a sheepdog who loves to be outside and baby #3 (and hopefully more) on the way, it seemed wise to at least re-open our Zillow searches and keep an eye on the market.

… ’nuff said. 🙂

This home is a rare find in Durango. Housing prices are outrageously inflated because there’s not much property available in this highly sought after outdoor-enthusiast town. Fixer-uppers tend to go for $200/sqft and anything mid-level grade in decent shape goes for more like $250-$270/sqft… if you want custom, high-end finishes with a yard and some square footage then you’d better be ready to look in the $600K’s.
Yikes is right.

So, when we started looking into this home and realized we could get it for $150/sqft it seemed too good to be true. So we probed and dug for dirt to find out what the catch was… where’s the massive plumbing issue or the termite infestation? Turns out there really isn’t anything wrong with the house, it’s just sort of blah and boring to the typical buyer in this price range who tends to be looking for more of those custom touches and higher end finishes. Well, look no further!
We love blah ~ we can work with blah!

Upgrade appliances, add cabinet molding and hardware? We can do that.

Install wood flooring? We can do that. Take down horrible blinds? Yes please.

Paint walls? That’s kind of what us girls love to do!

This was probably the least exciting, most unemotionally invested housing purchase we’ve made. No divine appointments, no whispers from the Holy Spirit, no children saying things they shouldn’t know anything about. Our decision to buy this home came down to what seemed to make the most sense both practically speaking, in terms of space for our growing family, and financially in terms of the future. The investment potential in this home made it a no-brainer.

Eventually we’ll divide this huge rec room into two spaces, creating a large 4th bedroom while still keeping a nice sized bonus space. 4 Bedroom homes are very rare in town, so completing this project alone will increase the value tremendously.

So, once again with a little sweat equity we hope to transform blah into cha-ching! … and I do hope we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor for a few years anyways!

At 20 years old there was no way we could’ve foreseen this plan that would unfold in our lives, but it sure is fun to look back and see the Mastermind behind it all. He knew we would love transforming ugly spaces into beautiful places, and that somehow along this journey of buying and selling houses we too would be transformed in the process.

All these words and pictures just to make the point:
If you fail to plan, then you should…
PRAY 🙂
Ha ha, okay I’m sure that grates on some of your nerves and I get that! I’m not saying prayer should be used as a cop-out for laziness or procrastination; nor does prayer somehow oblige God to come to your rescue after you’ve made a mess in your own independence.

But honestly, I think the longer I live the more I see the value in praying versus planning. Prayer in the pro-active sense, not re-active. The difference between those two is paramount.

I used to be a planner… believe me I was a planner… I lived by those lists.
Something is different now though, something very freeing and very exciting.
I plan to a certain degree, but with a very strong awareness that these moments I am living out do not belong to me. They are for God’s glory and He will interrupt even my best laid plans to do things in me and through me I would never have planned for myself.

You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.
  Psalm 139:16