I love living here. We have less than a year's lease and I am struggling with how much I enjoy it. God has blessed us with a home that fits us perfectly. Let's see.... 

• The front porch is a treat!  Reading my bible, using my laptop, or watching the kids play...with a view of the pond across the street....it just might be my favorite place!  (Even when the trains go by across the pond.)
  
• BUT WAIT! I have the most AMAZING laundry room. It is large, right off the garage and complete with a stacked washer/dryer, metal shelves, cubbies for the kids, a closet and my recent creation: our Family Mail Center. There is a window to the side yard and I can fit a 6x9 rug in there with lots of room to spare. The rustic tile floor is pretty nice, too.
• The back yard is perfectly small and FENCED! We have room for a swingset and trampoline and there are FRUIT BEARING trees. The stone tile patio is so "me" - with grass growing up through the cracks. 
• Pete is all about the fireplace. We have not used it - yet! - but it helps us look forward to cooler months.
• There are 4 good-sized bedrooms upstairs and they are laid out in a cozy way that makes us feel like we are all together. 
• There are ONLY 2 1/2 bathrooms on 2 floors - YES! We just came from a home with 3 1/2 baths on 3 floors. Who needs that many bathrooms, that spread out...TO CLEAN?!
• The family room & the living room are close enough to each other to keep us all together and the eat-in kitchen that connects them is Home Central. I even like the black & white tile floor!
• Once cold weather arrives, I will move from the front porch to my favorite chair that fits perfectly in the corner of the family room next to 2 corner windows facing the back yard. I created funky bird feeders out of old windows and doors...and they are quite popular with MANY birds, chipmunks and squirrels.
  
• The finished basement - complete with a WINE CELLAR (that we use to neatly store all our board games and movies!) - is inviting and the perfect place for our teenage son to gather with his friends. I love having my kids' friends HERE at our house.
• The LARGE utility room off the basement is a perfect combination of storage and "workshop" space...that will help keep our garage a little neater. (We hope!)
• The neighbors - and the neighborhood - are delightful. We are walking distance to the school in our neighborhood and there is a bike path that takes you in to town or out to the forest preserve.
• Church and Pete's job and convenient shopping are all around us. 
• And - best of all - my home is FILLED with people I love! My favorites!

I.AM.SPOILED! I love everything about living here. It is a comfortable, easy life. We got rid of so much in this move that it feels remarkedly easier to manage and keep clean. (Wish I had done that sooner!)
But...this brings me to the real reason for this post. Love it - or - Leave it? I am thankful that we have only been granted this little oasis for 11 months. I can totally see myself settling in here long term. Why not, right?
Well, I have been digging into His word each morning and it is TRUE that the Holy Spirt reveals things to us...things we need to know. 
Jesus sure did have a PERFECT home in heaven with someone He loved deeply...who loved Him beyond measure. And...He left. 
Willingly. 
Because...He loved...
THAT MUCH.
I want love to move ME!
I seriously doubt God is asking me to leave anything NEAR what he asked of his own son. My sacrifices will be small and my blessings will be HUGE. 
When I think of why I will likely leave all this, it is not hard to imagine. He calls us to go and share and love. To pour our hearts into the lives of others.
God gave me the visual image of faces I love coming and going from my "less than perfect" home far from here - and THAT is worth so much more than front porches, finished basements, fenced yards or even fantastically large laundry rooms.
 Here are some of the faces I love. And, yes, I am more than willing to trade this material blessing for time spent with them...and others I have yet to meet.