Cowboy hats and Mountain homes

Our Mountain Home    
     I didn't realize how long it has been since I made an entry in my blog!  Time simply flies by too quickly.  Our good news is that we signed the contract to purchase a home last Friday - we're so excited! God is so good to us - we will have 6.5 acres of land, incredible views, and the living space we've asked the Lord for.  We've always loved for our home to be a place of warmth and blessing, and He has been pleased to fill our guestroom with many wonderful friends and family members over the years.  So our hope and prayer has been that He would provide a home with room to spare - and He has answered our prayer.  After we convert the laundry room into a bedroom, we'll have the five bedrooms we've wanted.   The house was built in 1978, and it needs some work... but we just had it inspected and the structure is solid.  We'll need to change some windows, carpeting etc, BUT, to have this much land and to be in the mountains is the Lord's answer to the desire of our hearts.  Back in July when my counselor told me to let my heart be free to dream - I could not have even imagined where God has brought us to today.  We are hoping to close on the sale by the 26th of February, and move in shortly after we've done some of the work on the house.  Oh, and another piece of good news - our home in France is (as of today) officially sold!  It's too bad that the Euro is taking a beating right now, as we were counting on using the extra funds for the renovations on our new home.  I've been watching the exchange rates like a hawk... but for some reason my worrying hasn't changed the rate by even one point.  What's up with that?  I guess the Lord has some other solution than our making a killing in the currency conversion.

Cowboy Jim

     There's one thing I absolutely love about living here:  I can wear my cowboy hat and cowboy boots - and no one even blinks an eye.  In fact, last Sunday at church I was one of four or five guys wearing hats and boots.  This past week I've spent quite a bit of time with a real Cowboy who I'll call Henry (I don't want to use his real name).  I met him last Sunday through a mutual friend, and he came to the home group that a few of us have started on Sunday evenings. 

      Henry is either a brand-new Christian, or He's just gotten his life back on track with the Lord.  In any case, he's working through a lot of issues right now in his marriage and his personal life.  He called me on Monday morning and asked if we could get together and talk.  I had some time later that day, and we took a drive in my Cowboy Jim truck and talked for a couple of hours.  I am still amazed at the people God keeps bringing across our path; folks who are struggling, or hurting, or who've been through some major life crisis in the recent past.  Henry shared something that happened in his life 27 years ago that has kept him in emotional bondage ever since. As we talked, I

realized that I really didn't have much advice or counsel to offer him, since I've never gone through the same experience.  In the end I could only say, "Henry, it seems that you and the Lord have some business to attend to.  You haven't forgiven yourself, nor have you asked the Lord to forgive you... so maybe you should start there."  He called me the next day and asked me this question: "About 8 pm last night I felt like I was walking on a cloud.  I was 'doing business' with the Lord, and suddenly I felt something enter the room, and my heart was at peace.  Is that normal?"  Don't you just love the honesty and sincerity of new believers?  I said, "Henry, that 'something' that entered your room is actually a 'somebody', and His name is the Holy Spirit.  And sure it's normal that you would feel a peace in your heart - that's what God has been wanting to give you, but He was waiting for you to take care of your side of the problem."  I have a feeling that Henry and I are going to become great friends.
     We're still in "limbo" regarding my partnership with Crisis Consulting International; I'm hoping that I will be able to meet with Bob Klamser (the president of the organization) with a member of my own advisory board and the chairman of his board, to see if we can find a mutually beneficial solution.  I have lots of ideas and energy to give, but I'm not sure if what I have to offer is what CCI needs the most at this time.  In the meantime I am working on developing my second business venture, which is selling my artwork.  I will meet tomorrow with a woman who is a marketing agent for several local artists, and I'm hopeful that she'll add me to her artist 'roster'.  I'm in the middle of a new painting of a bull elk, and I'll add a photo of it to one of my next blog entries.  I don't think I've ever painted with such energy and excitement - at least not since I was a kid.  This is so much fun ;)