Are we on the move?
So the Behnke’s are at it again. We are considering doing something wild. Some might call it foolish or wrinkle up their foreheads in confusion and that’s OK because it’s not the norm.
We are thinking about selling our house.
Yes, you just read that correctly….Our home which we purchased 3 years ago on a sunny spring afternoon has been nothing short of amazing. We love our house and it’s been more than we could have asked for. From the big front porch that welcomes you to the granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and bright three seasons room tucked along the back, this house has often felt like it’s got it all.
I remember walking through it for the first time and leaving with the thought of “that will be a beautiful home for a family” not even entertaining the thought that 24 hours later, that family would be my own.
While most growing families at this stage in the game tend to upgrade square footage and land, we find ourselves drawn towards the opposite.
We are entertaining the thought of downsizing.
Think we are crazy yet? We just might be and we are OK with that.
Like most life decisions that we face, we found ourselves at our favorite local coffee shop crunching numbers and trying to ask the deeper question of why. We weighed in our family values, dreams, and goals. We committed to pray and ask God to align His desires with ours.
We narrowed in on two main reasons we think downsizing might be for us followed by a long list of bullet points after each one.
In short, we want to be mortgage free and we highly value simplicity. We believe that a smaller home might accomplish both of those goals.
We’ve dreamed about what we could do with the extra money we would not be putting towards a mortgage…. Yes, we would save some, but how much more over a lifetime could we give away?
How many more Compassion families could we help feed across the globe on both a physical and spiritual level? What might God want to do with that money to help those in our own community who are struggling? Could our families small “sacrifice” change the trajectory of other people’s lives? Our minds have not stopped spinning.
According to the latest statistics, an annual income of $32,400 a year or more automatically places you in the top 1% of the World’s wealthiest. Wow.
Live simply so others can simply live.
For us the concept is just starting to feel more and more right which is scary because our next step requires action without feeling confident in the outcome. Maybe we will end up staying, but maybe not?
Like so much of life, the goal is not to get to the next stage but just to take the next step.
I think for us, it’s hard to ignore this counter-cultural nudge we are feeling because God has done even wilder things with our families story in the past. We have seen Him take off when we have said yes so we now tend to lean in and listen a bit more closely.
This idea we are sharing with you today may just be a whim that will come and go, but if it’s not, we don’t want to miss it.
How about you? Is there an area in your own life that God’s asking you to take a next step?
We are thinking about selling our house.
Yes, you just read that correctly….Our home which we purchased 3 years ago on a sunny spring afternoon has been nothing short of amazing. We love our house and it’s been more than we could have asked for. From the big front porch that welcomes you to the granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and bright three seasons room tucked along the back, this house has often felt like it’s got it all.
I remember walking through it for the first time and leaving with the thought of “that will be a beautiful home for a family” not even entertaining the thought that 24 hours later, that family would be my own.
While most growing families at this stage in the game tend to upgrade square footage and land, we find ourselves drawn towards the opposite.
We are entertaining the thought of downsizing.
Think we are crazy yet? We just might be and we are OK with that.
Like most life decisions that we face, we found ourselves at our favorite local coffee shop crunching numbers and trying to ask the deeper question of why. We weighed in our family values, dreams, and goals. We committed to pray and ask God to align His desires with ours.
We narrowed in on two main reasons we think downsizing might be for us followed by a long list of bullet points after each one.
In short, we want to be mortgage free and we highly value simplicity. We believe that a smaller home might accomplish both of those goals.
We’ve dreamed about what we could do with the extra money we would not be putting towards a mortgage…. Yes, we would save some, but how much more over a lifetime could we give away?
How many more Compassion families could we help feed across the globe on both a physical and spiritual level? What might God want to do with that money to help those in our own community who are struggling? Could our families small “sacrifice” change the trajectory of other people’s lives? Our minds have not stopped spinning.
According to the latest statistics, an annual income of $32,400 a year or more automatically places you in the top 1% of the World’s wealthiest. Wow.
Live simply so others can simply live.
For us the concept is just starting to feel more and more right which is scary because our next step requires action without feeling confident in the outcome. Maybe we will end up staying, but maybe not?
Like so much of life, the goal is not to get to the next stage but just to take the next step.
I think for us, it’s hard to ignore this counter-cultural nudge we are feeling because God has done even wilder things with our families story in the past. We have seen Him take off when we have said yes so we now tend to lean in and listen a bit more closely.
This idea we are sharing with you today may just be a whim that will come and go, but if it’s not, we don’t want to miss it.
How about you? Is there an area in your own life that God’s asking you to take a next step?
Absolutely. We are blessed to be a blessing. We are only the managers of His stuff. God is excited to find conduits of His resources. Be the blessing.
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