I’ve been hinting around and promising a full explanation of my crazy life of late. Today, I’ve finally got some breathing room so I’m going to take a crack at telling you all “the long version” of the story before my lunch break is up.

Tammy and I lived in Colorado at the turn of the last millennium. We were forced back to Texas after I was laid off twice in 2001. (Between the tech stock crash and 9/11, it was a rough year all around.) It has been a dream of ours to get back to the mountains since then.

We’ve been fortunate enough to take several vacations up there and each time, we don’t want to leave. On multiple occasions, we’ve done the whole “what if” exercise. We bend financial numbers this way and that, trying justify the hope of moving. We pray for God to provide a way. Each time, God (and the math) has had one very clear answer: No.

Part of the “no” has been my involvement (my “mission” if you will) at Glenview Church. I just couldn’t leave my mission unfinished. Tammy and I have volunteered in varying capacities with the youth group for over 10 years now. At one point, I was even on staff in an interim role. We put a lot of sweat, blood, and tears into the youth ministry (and the youth) at Glenview. They really are our “chi’ren.”

But, Glenview’s youth department is finally stable. We’ve got two excellent leaders who, while still young, are taking ownership of their ministry, growing it in new directions. It’s passed time for the training wheels to come off. I need to get out of the way and let it fly.

God has made it clear that my role at Glenview is over. I’ve done my job. I’m now well into the “too comfortable” stage. I’m still there because it’s what I’ve done for so long I don’t know how to do anything else. And that’s not OK. God has been frustrating me, needling me to move, to get up and go.

Back in May, I was driving home from Wednesday night services and expressing my frustration to God. (I like to talk to God when I’m in my truck alone. We have good talks.) I asked, plainly, “God what do you want me to do?! Just tell me and I’ll do it!”

Then, in a moment of striking clarity, I heard it. “Put your house up for sale. Set the price as high as you think you need to move to Colorado, and watch me sell it.”

Wow. Hmm. That’s… kinda scary.

After bit of market research, a call to our realtor, and a bit of math, we can now see that this time it’s for real. We took a trip up to Denver to meet with a realtor there and check out the market. It’s steep. It will have to be a “God thing.” We live in a $180k neighborhood, but we need upwards of $210k for our house in order to move into a comparable (but $250k) neighborhood in Denver. Our Texas realtor says it’s possible. The house is nice. We just have to put in some work to make it “SHINE!”

So, for the last three weeks, Tammy and I have been sanding and painting baseboards, patching walls, etc. We’ve replaced a couple of doors. We’ll have some new carpet soon and a contractor coming this week to fix up an aged bathroom.

What’s really funny is how, as we are working our butts off to make our house “shine”, I’ve heard several news stories about how this is the hottest sellers’ market North Texas has seen in decades. Many of our friends tell us about someone they know whose house sold in days (or hours) after listing, bidding wars driving prices up.

None of this was news back in late May, when God and I were chatting in my truck. But I’m not surprised at all. I’ve experienced plenty of “God things.” When God makes a promise, you can bank on it. It may not work out like you expected. In fact, it often works out better than you could ever imagine.

Stay tuned as we are still in the midst of this adventure. I can’t wait to see how God works. But rest assured I’ll let you know!