A Boston Blessing

As little as I blog, you would think I have nothing to say. The truth is, though, lately there have been a ton of things I want to share, but I don't have the time. Seriously, all of the moms out there who blog, I have NO idea how you find the time to do it! I have one little babe and cannot find the time to post. But tonight, I am making the time! With the help of my husband. He is graciously holding the fussing baby and giving her a bottle. 

I just want to share a little about our new house in Boston. We will be moving to Massachusetts

next week. Well, leaving Panama City next week, traveling for two weeks, and then arriving in Boston at the end of the month. 

A few weeks ago Kip and I sat in a back booth at Panera and crunched some numbers. We discovered that our finances were a little bit tighter than we realized. Between paying a couple of mortgages on investment properties and having to find a rental in Boston, which is one of the most expensive cities in the countries, we were more than a little nervous about things. So we prayed, as is the Crown way, and worked out a realistic budget. We determined the dollar amount we could realistically spend on a house, and a few days later Kip flew to Boston.

We had certain criteria for a new home that we were hoping to meet. We wanted three bedrooms so we could have a study for Kip so he can get away from the chaos of daily life to study all of the horrendous things he will have to learn as a grad student at MIT. We wanted an open floor plan and a nice kitchen. We wanted a washer and dryer in the unit. We wanted a fenced yard and a parking space. And we needed it all for a modest amount by Boston standards. 

The first day Kip arrived he looked at a bunch of places. They were all quite small, in poor condition, and about $500 more than we had decided we could spend. Things did not look good. I was praying, but I was not terribly hopeful. I knew God had a plan for us, but I was really hoping it was not to live in a tiny, rundown apartment. I kept praying and was trying to surrender my own desires. And then the God who is forever good and faithful beyond all I can comprehend provided for us better than we could have ever imagined.

Kip found a listing on craigslist that was more than we wanted to spend, in a poor location, and available in July. He decided to call about it anyway. The agent informed him that he could not rent it out until July, but had received a new listing that very day that he had not planned on listing until the following week. He began to describe it to Kip, and it sounded perfect. Then he emailed Kip pictures and it looked perfect! The next morning Kip went to see it and called me and told me he had found the perfect place 

and was about to sign a lease! 

The house has three bedrooms, an open floor plan, has recently been refinished, has a fenced yard, a washer and dryer, off street parking, a fireplace, and is in the heart of the city. It is within walking distance to a nice shopping district, is a mile and a half from MIT and four miles from the church that we are pretty sure we will end up attending. And it's affordable! It is actually $80 less than the housing allowance that the Navy pays us, and a couple of hundred less than the places Kip looked at on the first day.

I am amazed at God's goodness to us in providing this house. And he did it in a way that could only have been His doing. The owners of this house decided to take it off of the market and try to rent it the week Kip was in town. They decided to lease it below market value to get a renter in quickly. Kip decided to call an agent about a house that had nothing we needed, yet the agent had just received this house. So many little things came together at just the right time for us to be able to rent this place. I am so quick to remind others about the kindness of God's sovereignty in their lives, yet so quickly doubt it in my own. 

And then God does something that forces me to recognize his sovereignty in my own life. And not only that, but also his amazing kindness. Everything on our list of things we wanted in a house was checked off when Kip signed the lease for our new space. I am so amazed that God would be so kind to me, someone who does not deserve his kindness.

It is our hope and desire to use this beautiful home to serve him. We are really hoping to be able to invite people into our home on a regular basis and practice relational evangelism. This was our desire before having this place, and we are so thankful that God provided us a house where we will have room to do so. 

We are beginning our new life in Boston with a true Boston Blessing.

"Do not be anxious saying, "what shall we eat?" or "what shall we drink?" or "what shall we wear?" For the gentiles seek after all these things and your heavenly father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. " Matthew 6:31-33