A Roberts Update

Nace and I have had a major heart shift over the last year or so, and part of this change revolves heavily around our finances. We were living super comfortably in our more-than-enough home, constantly comparing our Instagram feed to our neighbors’ and thinking up new ways we could update and customize our space. I’d like to say that this change happened overnight for us, but the truth is, we are still struggling with all that comes with our new adventure.

While God impressed on our hearts the freedom that could come with living debt free, our house seemed harder than ever to keep up with. I was constantly feeling overwhelmed with all that needed to be done and the abundance of space we had somehow seemed to suffocate. We wanted out. We wanted simplicity. We wanted space to breathe.

So, we began searching. We looked for months, and everything felt close but not quite right to what God had for us. To say it was a hard season doesn’t even touch on what we went through emotionally. We knew we were on the edge of something great, but the constant draw toward comfort, debt, and conformity seemed to take the life out of us at times. We walked through weeks and months feeling like our comfort, security, and marriage were under attack. But we blindly walked forward, taking one step at a time, and our faithful God led us to the light.

Last October we purchased a sweet little farm house and property. It’s not what we pursued, not what we envisioned, but it’s exactly what we needed. The road ahead is long. As you’ll see from the images below, we have a lot of work ahead of us. But our dream of living a debt-free life is now firmly in our grasp. This new home will cut our monthly mortgage by 3/4 and square footage in half and give us the freedom, simplicity, and space we were desperately searching for.

The struggle is still very real and changes from day to day. But we are learning to delight in the difficult seasons, because we know God is breaking us of our self-sufficiency and teaching us to fully rely on Him. We know that God’s timing is not a coincidence, and this change is exactly what makes our dream of adoption possible.

The original layout has a lot of potential but just won’t work for us functionally. We have begun demo to open up the living space and rearrange the bedrooms a bit. Although I change the “proposed layout” just about every day, below is the current plan we are working toward.

During Christmas break we began demo of the existing interior walls and kitchen. Let me tell ya, demo day really is pretty fun. They aren’t lying on Fixer Upper. And our son Maddax had a blast helping us. He probably said, “This is awesome!” about 12 times that day. After a weekend of hard work, we have opened up all interior walls, and the space feels so much larger.

The next year is guaranteed to hold a lot of change and discomfort for us, but we will move forward through it all, holding tightly to the promise God has planted in our hearts and on our life.

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” —Jeremiah 17:7-8

Categories DIY, Home