Back To the Drawing Board

Touring a home is a curious experience. Walking into a complete stranger’s front door, you are given little peeks into the owner’s personality, their interests, their hobbies. You can enter rooms without permission, comment freely on the décor, and wonder aloud at what people were thinking to buy a large canvas print of “A Dot” and display it in their living room. Of course, as you open closets and explore the backyard, it’s surreal to think that someone back in New Jersey is doing the exact same thing to your home!

Providentially, Saturday turned out to be a raw, wet day…perfect for spotting any water leakage in basements! Our realtor, a professing Christian, took us on a whirlwind tour of six houses. We found one house on our hunt that everyone loved. Nestled in a little hollow surrounded by a scattering of trees, both the interior and exterior had a wonderful combination of colonial and country style.  Even the owner’s color combinations coincided with our tastes! Unfortunately, though blocked by a row of trees, there are several formidable electrical towers which pose a bit of a problem. Though not conclusive, there is evidence that the high voltage wires emit cancer-causing ions. I believe we’ve had enough issues with cancer, thank you very much! Less than an acre away from the house is a bit too close for comfort.

So it’s most likely back to the drawing board. Though an immense amount of time and effort, I must say that my sisters and I are receiving an excellent education on buying and selling a home! Sixteen years ago, my most vivid memory of our house hunting adventure was of dad buying me a carton of chocolate milk…a rare treat! This time around, the three of us are a bit more interested, though dad came through again with a more adult version of chocolate milk – Starbucks coffee.  :D  

The nice aspect of our hunt is that even on this unsuccessful mission, we had a wonderful time fellowshipping with families from Immanuel which made up for any disappointments! Meanwhile, the searching continues. I know that many of you are praying for us, and we all greatly appreciate it as we continue to follow God’s leading!

Have a blessed week!!                                                                                                                            

                                                                       www.thomaskinkadeutah.com

A Huntin' We Will Go

This weekend, we're goin' huntin'...house hunting, to be more precise. Though pictures are better than a thousand words, it will be nice to see the houses we're considering on something other than a computer screen! There are some exciting prospects, and I look forward to seeing what God will do.

 As promised, a few riveting pictures! Hold on to your seats, folks! :)
First, behold my intrepid father cleaning the mold off of our siding. My mom was understandably a bit worried at his balancing act...

Corinne, who apparantly felt she didn't get enough exercise cleaning out the shed, demonstrates how to do a pull-up.

Yours truly, striking a pose in my painting clothes (i.e. dad's old shirt) as I re-paint our shed. Corinne's words after taking this picture: "You always look so proper!" I'm still trying to work out if it's a compliment or not.   ;)

Looking at these pictures, I believe they are just one more proof added to the already towering moutain of evidence that being a daughter who is living under her father's protection or a stay-at-home wife and mother doesn't mean spending her days sewing and cooking, as many critics would have you believe. Those are just two of the many qualities she should be cultivating so that she can best serve her father or husband. The Proverbs 31 woman was an excellent example of combining femininity with hard work.

This was just a thought that was swimming around in my brain today, and I thought I'd share! :)

Have a lovely rest of the week!

The Road Less Traveled

     Forehead pressed against the car window, my eyes gazed wistfully at the rolling green fields of corn and sprawling farmhouses as my family's minivan sped home. I caught fleeting glimpses of farmers maneuvering tractors through the fields, of Amish fathers and sons plowing the rich soil with a team of mules. With each passing mile, an inexplicable lump grew in my throat until to my consternation, tears began rolling down my cheeks! My sisters were preoccupied with their side of the road, until an involuntary sniff betrayed my tears. "You're crying?!" one of my sisters asked in bewilderment. My mother turned around in her seat, concerned. "I don't know why!" I laughed a little hysterically through my tears as I caught dad's eyes observing me through the rear view mirror with a look of complete bewilderment. "It's just so beautiful, and I've always loved the country. This is how life is supposed to be lived!" I fumbled.

     Four years ago, my family and I visited Lancaster, PA to celebrate my little sister's birthday. After arriving home in New Jersey, I attempted to sort out my jumbled emotions on paper. The other day, as I paged through some of my old journals, I came upon that specific entry and, like so many times during the past two years, marveled at the clear hand of God on my family's life and on my own. My entry ended, "I haven't fully sorted out my deep feelings toward that countryside. I've been all over the U.S. and nothing has called to me with such intensity as P.A. has. NOTHING." Was this God's voice calling us to Pennsylvania even then? That I should feel such a part of that land when we hadn't even thought of moving! 

     As of today, our house is officially on the market. I think this year's house cleaning will go down in our family history as The Epic Spring Cleaning. The siding has been scrubbed free of mold, the basement - a refuge for unused or forgotten items - has been organized, windows have been cleaned, walls repainted. With each swish of a soapy rag accompanied by Vivaldi's "Spring" or other inspiring music, my sense of adventure and excitement mounts ever higher. I'm not exactly sure where God is leading in all this. But if I've learned anything through the past two years of my mother's cancer it is that I serve a God who can be trusted with every ounce of my being. It isn't easy. Sometimes it is heart-wrenching work, raw duty carried on only by the realization that we have nowhere else to go. As the beaver told Lucy in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" God is not safe! Oh, no! If you are truly His child, He will bring you by perilous paths, mountains of impossible difficulty, sometimes even into the shadows of Death itself. But...He is good. If I’m awed by His Fatherly care now, how much more when in Glory He shows me how this little event turned the course of a life, or that decision caused a chain of events which God used in a specific way.

     Anyway, my main objective in starting this blog is to keep family and friends up to date on our lives. Enjoy following my family's adventures as we abandon life in the suburbs of New Jersey and set out into the wilds of Pennsylvania! :D  Riveting pictures of Corinne and I prepping the house will be posted soon. :P