The Lord's Timing

In April of 2019, during General Conference, I was given the prompting to browse the real estate websites for houses. According to my plans for our financial situation, we were still a year or more away from being ready to buy. But I felt the prompting settle in my heart and take hold of my mind, and I began browsing. two months later we had bought the Ogden Van Buren house and were moving in. As a result, we owned our own home and were settled into it just before Covid-19 shut down the world. And just on the front edge of what has become a historic inflationary spike, especially in the real estate market. In October of 2021, we were similarly prepared to prudently and patiently wait to upgrade our minivan until after several other financial goals had been met. However, due to one fluke evening, the van ended up being left running all night long, and by the time we realized it, the damage had been done. A head gasket was blown, and the price breakdown came down in favor of letting the car go and getting a new one. And that very hour, I found the exact make, model, and year I had been planning on getting, and for much cheaper than I had seen for that car generally. In fact, it was exactly within our budget, give or take $50. Like, the seller even reduced the price for us by $250, just to be nice, and then that turned out to be approximately what I needed to get it registered and get new plates. God was in every detail. As a result, we once again just beat the upward spike, this time in the new and used car markets. Now (March of 2022), as real estate prices in Utah are just starting to slow down in their climb, and some people predict rising interest rates will slow and eventually stabilize the market, we have been told through the Spirit to go house hunting again... this time in Missouri! And in the process, we hope to be able to become completely debt free! I have so many other examples, large and small, related and separate, of God's hand in the timing and finances and other details of our lives. And I am so infinitely grateful for His detailed and unpredictable influence. Yet another stone in the foundation of my testimony of God, his Son, and their loving plan for each of us. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Confirmation

We went to the temple today. First time in way too long, but we finally got there. We went in part to counsel with the Lord about our decision to move to Missouri. Emmett experienced a strong confirmation not only that this is right, but also that his desire to "be free, and have a land that is ours" is a good and Godly desire.

Moving to Missouri!

So we're considering moving to Missouri. The biggest reason to go, I think, is to get out of debt very quickly. There might be some reason why we should go to Missouri, specifically, like, along the lines of helping to build the literal New Jerusalem... Or maybe that's not the deciding factor. Maybe we can be just as helpful building Zion right where we are. Certainly people are being encouraged to stay where they are and keep strengthening the stakes of Zion... even in California, which I find mildly surprising. Though I guess all of California is not SF or LA. In any case.

In any case, I felt the Spirit whisper to me that I should, in fact, seriously consider moving to Missouri. One thing I keep thinking is that just being debt free would change so much about how we can approach "building Zion," especially when it comes to helping others.

If we stay where we are, we will take at least 5 years to get fully out of debt, mortgage and all. If we move, we could potentially be out of all debt immediately, or within 6 months or so. This would allow us to focus alot less on just saving our money, and a lot more on using it to serve others. of course, we would still be very careful and intentional with our budget, but the freedom to follow wilder ideas and give more "outrageously," as Dave Ramsey puts it, would be pretty exciting. And the chance for Emmett to feel less burdened by the need to provide for us in a constant state of anxiety and feeling behind the eight ball would be really nice.

Having the land to really have a go at homesteading would be nice, too. Being in one of those small towns might, indeed, give us the push we need to eat better, grow our own food, and excercise more. I would pray fervently that we could move close to at least a family or two who could become very close friends for all of us. I pray for wisdom to know whether to buy something finished and simple, or something that needs work and improvement.

Depending on where and what we buy, we might be able to "flip" the house if we want or need to, and sell higher than we buy if we rehab something... Though it's also possible we could "overbuild the neighborhood" if we focus on renovations in a town where property values will just never be that high, due to being so remote. On the other hand, "never" is along time, and we can be fairly confident that eventually people will begin flowing toward Missouri, whether or not "all" the Saints will be called to go there. And whether or not we "get our money out," it would be nice to be a part of beautifying an area that might be struggling.

The biggest (perhaps the only) reason to stay where we are is having so much family so nearby. Which is a pretty big reason. A heretofore almost insurmountable reason. Cutting short our plans for and in this house is also a minor thought... but it doesn't really hold me back.

If we were to do this, these would be some of my and Emmett's primary concerns and goals:

• buy low enough to get out of debt immediately, or within a year at most.
• be move-in ready, perhaps with some remodel potential, provided we can take it slow.
• have fast, reliable internet.
• be within 30 minutes of Church.
• be within one hour of a decent-sized town.
• within one hour of a hospital.
• have a good office space.
• have a guest room (would be nice).
• live near other families with children.
• be reasonably near other homeschooling families.
• be reasonably near (within 2 hours?) cool stuff like museums and zoos and whatever. (Kansas City or St. Louis)

I wonder if small town MO would have public schools that feel more conservative and classic?