Can you think of ten things you are truthfully thankful for?

Things you actually thank God for, or someone you thank on a constant basis because they have helped you so much. Maybe they have even made you who you are today.

The month of November was about thankfulness. Everyone on Facebook was posting things they were thankful for. One thing a day for every day that month. Then I saw a trend: after Thanksgiving most
people stopped posting things they are thankful for. This example just proves how hard it can be to continue being thankful if we do not give ourselves a constant reminder.

There is so much in my life to be thankful for. My newly-found, close relationship with God, my two amazing children, a great family that loves and supports me through everything and an incredible church family, are just a few.

This coming year I will have one more thing to add on that list as well: a home to call my own.

On October 20, I walked to my mailbox to check the mail, as I do every other day. I noticed I had a letter from Loudon County Habitat for Humanity. I was expecting it but didn’t know when it would come. This letter was going to affect a huge part of my family’s life. It told me whether or not we would be receiving the chance to buy our own home, or if we had been found ineligible. I had prayed about it for weeks, since they came to do our home visit (I will explain what that is in a minute). It took me a few minutes to open it because I was so nervous about the outcome. “You have been invited to participate in our program.” It actually took a minute to register that sentence! I was expecting more of a huge red stamp like in the movies, “Approved” or “Denied.” I started literally jumping for joy when I read what it said.

I have told every person who will listen for two seconds that I am able to participate in a program that will help me build my own home with a mortgage my family can afford. I am asked a lot how the process works. Therefore, I have decided to explain it.

The first thing you have to do is fill out an application, and turn it in on the date specified. It might sound easy, but it’s actually more complex than you think. There are a lot of the things Habitat has to go through to find out if you are the right candidate. They ask for a lot of information, but it’s totally worth it, I promise! I always tell people who are thinking about applying to go ahead and apply because, “the worst they can do is say no.” Like I said earlier though, it takes a lot of things to be approved. You have to be financially able to afford a home, have a need for housing and be willing to partner with Habitat. There is a lot of paperwork involved, but don't let that scare you. Habitat has to be sure you are right for the program.

If you pass all of these requirements, they will then decide to do a home visit. This just consists of coming to your home to see where you live, and talk about your living situation. They also talk to you more about the program, and what is expected of you if you are approved.

You then wait for a letter to see if you have been chosen to participate.

Hope this helps with any of the questions you have! If you have any more, leave me a comment, and I will answer it :)

I planned to write my first blog post about the application process you go through to get a Habitat home. Because of the service my pastor had this morning, I want to start on a different subject first.


Faith. Faith is a word used by many people to tell what they believe. Being of Christian faith to most people means that they believe in God, and that his son Jesus died on the cross so God would forgive our sins. Other people have faith that there is no God. That is not what I believe, but to each his own.


Now, you may think, “What does this have to do with getting a Habitat home?” I promise I have a point! Just keep reading ;)


Back to Jesus dying on the cross. How much faith do you think He had to have in our Father to be able to come to terms with the fact He was going to die just so everyone else could live in sin? And His followers who got beaten, put in prison, or died? They had to have a lot of faith in this man to be okay with that.


If you prayed to God that you could pay your bills, and He didn’t answer, would it make you doubt Him? I have a special needs child and have prayed so many times that God touch him and heal him. It happens every day all over the world. Surely if God thinks I am on the right path, He would bless my son with this healing! But the healing hasn’t come. You might think that this would make me think less of my God, but it doesn’t. God wants to see endurance so I just pray for it every day, and if he is never healed, that’s ok because I still have faith that God will use it instead of healing it.


Building a Habitat home is going to take faith. Lots of it. Working 250-500 hours is a lot of time to put on top of the things such as work, school, and children that I already have going on. But I know I can do it because God is walking with me through this journey. He is helping me every day work through all my battles. He wants me to endure through this process! Earning the opportunity to purchase a house is such a blessing! I will always have somewhere to call home. The thing about earning a home that makes me the most happy is that I won’t have to worry about moving my children around from school to school every time we rent a new place, and I will have something to give them when I pass away.


So have faith! If you have enough of it, you can endure anything.