So our house has been on the market for almost 4 weeks. Moving to another location in Raleigh is something that we've been praying about and discussing for quite some time. This morning, Matt posted the reasons for our move on
his blog. I oftentimes find that when I have something down in writing, I'm able to better to comprehend the situation. So, I'm going to steal his post and put it here :)
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From
A Passionate Disciple of JC (Matt's Blog):
Recently Kristin and I decided to sell our house and move our family. After much prayerful discussion we came to two main reasons why we are moving. I wanted to share these with family and friends. Also, for clarity sake, I included a list of seven other reasons that
are not why we are moving. Please pray for our house to sell quickly and help us out if you can. Here is
the link for interested buyers.
TWO REASONS THAT ARE WHY WE ARE MOVING
1. How we are investing God’s Money (1 Chronicles 29:14). God is the owner and we are just managers. Lately God has been speaking to us about where and how we are investing His money. Bottom line: we are paying more money than we would prefer for our convenient and safe location. (i.e. we would be very happy in a different, more diverse downtown neighborhood where a home like ours is half the price). As a family, we desire to make a change in this regard.
2. Our life is short like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14). We desire to find a house (location & size) that best fits the mission God has called our family to in the city of Raleigh. If we can sell we will likely be moving further into the city, perhaps somewhere between Lions Park & Ligon, but we will see. Nothing is for sure.
SEVEN REASONS THAT ARE NOT WHY WE ARE MOVING
1.
Self-Righteousness: We are not moving because we believe we believe in “justification by downward mobility or poverty.” (We do not think that where we live will make us any more or less favorable in the eyes of God. We could never be more approved by God than Jesus Christ has made us through His sinless life and death on the cross in our place. Jesus alone is our Savior not where we live, what we do, or how we look)
2.
To Be Cool & Radical: We are not moving because it is the cool thing to do after reading “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan, “Radical” by David Platt, and “Don’t Waste Your Life” by John Piper (I haven’t even read those books)
3.
A Fresh Start: We are not moving because we do not talk to our neighbors in our current neighborhood and want a fresh start. (This is the hardest part of moving actually. We LOVE our neighbors)
4.
To Guilt Others: We are not moving because we desire to make suburban-living members of our church feel a low level guilt over where they live. (Of course I pray that our church will have an increasing presence downtown, but I truly and sincerely want the our people to live wherever God calls them to live with a conscience that is made free and totally clear by the Gospel of Jesus Christ)
5.
The Commute: We are not moving to be closer to our church. (Our church is in central Raleigh and we live in central Raleigh already. That is why we bought the house we are in. It would be hard for us to get closer to our current church building so this is not driving our decision)
6.
Size: We are not moving because our family is growing bigger. (This is the typical reason to move and our family is indeed growing bigger, but his is seriously not driving our decision)
7.
Money: We are not moving because we cannot afford our current house. (We are doing fine with affording our house. For us it is more about how and where we are investing God’s money, not how much of it we have)
