the heart of the matter

as i posted before, we are moving to corpus christi. right now we live in a 2800 square foot, two story house. it has 4 huge bedrooms, a dining room/office, nice living spaces, and huge fenced in yard at the end of a cul da sac. sounds like the "american dream", right? but instead of enjoying this house, lately we find ourselves itching to downsize. in a big house, you pay big bills. we have goals for the near future, and they don't involve a brand new car, expensive trips, or high-priced name brand clothes. they involve changing lives...those of our children, ourselves, and taking yet another leap of faith on a dream we both have that i will write about in the future when things are more certain. we will be cutting the size of our house by at least half when we move. the house we went to corpus to see this past weekend is a mere 1100 sq. foot, 2 bedroom which we would add onto shortly after we moved in, should we end up buying it. we would be trading air conditioning for window units, a curbed street lined with cookie cutter houses for a county road, and a barely used back yard for a river. we've received mixed reviews about this, but just because it isn't the right move for some people, it is for us. it far more matters to us to become debt free, and be able to invest time and money furthering God's kingdom rather than furthering the world's view of us. success should not be measured by what you own, what kind of car you drive, what you do for a living. instead, we should look at people's heart and character, the way that God does. I believe you can live beautifully no matter the size or location of your home. never having been the type of person to want to fit in or be like everyone else, i look forward to making our new small house a cozy, loving space for our family. after all, this earth is our temporary home. i would dread the thought of standing in front of my Creator saying "i lived comfortably, never stepping out in faith. i didn't make a difference for your kingdom, but i sure had a huge house, new cars, jewelry, and caddy friends". we've seen people who at one time had the false security that their money gave them, only to have it stripped from their hands. place your value and faith in God, not the things of this world. no amount of money or possessions can make your life more worthwhile, nor bring true joy to your heart.