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Where the Heart Is


 Searles Castle, Windham, NH






I know it's been said that home is where your heart is or a man's home is his castle....but I can tell you, it's one thing to be content where you are, it's another to actually feel like it's home. Looking at houses this weekend has shown me that when making a choice about what to call home, many details have to align in order to make that happen.

Immediately upon walking into a home for a tour, the first instinct is to quickly take assessment on how it feels to walk through the door. Not only do you look at what's there, but you look for what's not there. What's right in front of you, how appealing is it, what does it smell like, is it too hot, too cold, is the decor anywhere near your own personal taste, if not, is the space appealing, is the kitchen big enough for a crowd to gather, are there enough bathrooms, how's the lighting, what do the floors feel like, hardwood nicely finished, padded carpeting, are the fixtures up to date, is there a nice traffic flow, any hidden spaces, how big are the closets, is there a room perfect for an office space, are there connections for upgraded technology, i.e. cable, internet, is there a man cave, how clean is the garage, does the basement smell funky, is it wet, is it dry, is there an attic, how's the landscaping, does it have a pool. And the list goes on and on.

We certainly don't need all these things before we can call it home, upgrades and improvements or touch ups on the decor can be done at anytime. But the more that are already in place, the sooner we can begin to enjoy the space and really work on getting settled. We saw a home that was built in 1903. Beautifully remodeled inside but the outside needed a complete landscape makeover. We thought, it's doable. We saw a home that was currently occupied by someone who works for Homeland Security. They were being transferred, and leaving behind a beautiful home, complete with in-ground pool and well manicured 2 acre yard. He even planted a small garden and fruit trees. We also saw a home that was really nice with a distinguishing feature of a bar in the recreation room that was made from the front of a fire engine. Amazing theme in the room, but not for us. Fortunately, the bar was not staying in the home.

We also saw several other homes, one that created a lot of interest. Beautifully built, interesting architecture, plenty of space and natural light from over-sized windows, but not one stroke of paint and not one bit of landscaping. So, rather than look at this as a negative, we actually felt like this would be a great option. We can truly put our own touches on everything inside and out and know it will be beautiful when we're done. The project was very enticing! So, we'll see. We're praying God will have favor on us and give us this gift.

A home is a home is a home is a home. We can make it a home, no matter where we land. And we know for sure that we're not going to purchase a place unless it feels like home.  It's exciting to know that God has a place for us and is directing us there at this very moment. We are planning on space to entertain, space to accommodate visitors, space for ministry, space to retire, space to work outside in the yard, space to create an amazing place to relax and enjoy.

It's out there...we just have to keep looking in the direction that God sends us....and look for the pennies and His fingerprints. We'll know it when we see it. Yeah! I can't wait!!

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