What's the difference between peace and peace?

"Were the sky always without a cloud and the ocean without a ripple the believer would not know so well the God with Whom he has to do; for alas, we know how prone the heart is to mistake the peace of circumstances for the peace of God. When everything is going smoothly and pleasantly—property safe, our business prosperous, our children carrying on agreeably, our residence comfortable, our health excellent—everything in short, just to our mind (liking), how apt we are to mistake the peace which reposes upon circumstances for that peace which flows from the realized presence of Christ. The Lord knows this; and therefore He comes in , one way or another, and stirs up the nest, that is, if we are found nestling in circumstances, instead of in Himself."
CH Mackintosh, Notes on Genesis, 1897

This topic has been on my mind for the past few days. Over the past months I have been extremely agitated, unhappy, and depressed. This has been especially prominent in my relationship with my wife and to some extent with my daughter. However, the last week or so has beecompletelyly the opposite. I have had a certain peace in my mind and life that is independent of the circumstances (except when driving) and thpresencese of this peace has lead to questions. I've been praying for months that I'd be able to get away from this agitated state of mind but it seems it has finally arrived, or has it? I'm not sure if this is just a reaction to fewer stressors in my life or if there has been a really "change". More on this later...

real estate craziness

I guess you can allude from my last post that the vaca was no vaca in the traditional sense. Here's the skinny. We went to WPB, FL to help the outlaws fix up their house so that they can sell it. I thought this would mean a few hours of painting a day; fix a broken screen here and there. You know simple stuff. However, the place was a little unkempt having been either unoccupied or filled with former friends who've now become vandals for the greater part of the last 6 years. 80% of the screen around the pool needed to be replaced. Two spots on the roof damaged from the last couple of hurricanes required repair. The whole place was just dirty and needed to be cleaned, disinfected and painted. I learned all of this a couple of weeks before arriving and thought that it could be done in two weeks by 4 or 5 people without too much pain and suffering...I was wrong.

I arrived at the beginning of the second week of the process; since with my new job, I only have one week of vaca accrued. Papa bear who was working on screen all week had accomplished about 30% of the re-screening (the entire job that a screen crew could have accomplished in about 4 hours). The house was clean on the inside and mostly painted. However, there was still a great deal of work left to be done.

Now, I'm as lazy as the next guy but I generally don't shy away from work. I was intending on going down there to get some work D U N, done. I really wanted to help these folks out, they deserve help. They deserve my help. So, I went to help...But, they did not really want help selling their house. I was surprised by the level of emotion that they encountered during this process.

No one wanted to organize or direct he work, no one wanted to really dig in and throw out the garbage, no one wanted to talk to each other about how this gargantuan task was going to be accomplished. As a result, little was done. Being the astute social observer that I am, I picked up on this phenomenon quickly and as I recognized the impending deadline I knew that I should take action. Ultimately this meant that I was putting a bullseye on my chest. I became the object of all score from all corners of the family including my "dearly loving wife".

But, I said, "Hey, I can take the heat. They need me on that wall. They want me on that wall....You can't handle the truth!" Heat taken! The result, occasional gratitude, some uncomfortable feelings, but the job was done within a reasonable time frame. I must say, when we left I thought the house looked great. Check out this pic.

So, if you are asking yourself, why did they sell the house in the first place? Well, when they left this house in FL 6 years ago, the considered selling it with the asking price of $120,000. This time the realtor suggested an asking price of $340,000, Cha-Ching. Not a bad profit for a five year investment. If you really want to see how crazy the real estate market is inFLl check out this little pic I snapped while there. Yes, that is a sign for a home valued at 1.3 million dollars and yes, it is in the median in front of a Target store. I just don't get it.

Well, I can see the logic of selling the house. I can see not being completely able to let go of it too. I'm just glad it's over.

Look for more Florida photos soon. Well, they are really just me playing with my new camera whenever I could get the chance.

Just got back from vacation

Hey, just got back from "vacation". Needless to say, I didn't post while gone. I'm glad to be back home. We were in sunny Florida as the photo indicates. However, it wan't all sun and fun. Infact, it was all sun and no fun! More will follow later this week.