We Will Do It!

Sometimes it's hard to dream because it seems impossible to ever achieve them. My husband and I have had a dream since we got married: to live in the country. 

My husband lived his first 18 years on a farm. His dad lived his whole life on the farm and his dad before that. Farming is in my husbands blood. Since we've been married we've lived in a small apartment in West St. Paul and two different houses in a small town. Right now we know this is where we need to be but it is hard for him to be in town with limited space. He misses the space and freedom a farm has. 

I spent a few years of my childhood on a little acre of land outside a small town and I have never felt as much freedom as I did during those years. I want that for my kids.

The truth is that land around here is very expensive because it's all farm land. Getting 5 acres of land will cost as much as our house does now. It's been hard for both of us to put off that dream. 

Last year we started budgeting. Before budgeting we didn't always keep up with the student loan payments and rarely paid extra. Now we are a few months from paying off all extra debt and will start paying extra on our rental houses. Our first rental will be paid off in a little over 4 years. In about 15 years will should have two rentals and our house completely paid off. We can finally see God opening doors for us. We may not live in the country when we want to but we know that we will when God is ready for us.

Over the past year I learned a few important things:

1. Prayer: Our dreams mean nothing if God is not on board. My husband and I need to be spending more time praying over where God wants us to be. If he truly has plans for us to live in the country, then he will open the doors for us. Our hearts need to be ready in case God has other amazing plans for our life.
2. Set Goals: I have started setting weekly goals for myself. This year I also set yearly goals for myself and my family. We have clear plans to accomplish what we need to achieve our dreams by taking baby steps to get there.
3. Be obedient: We were not be obedient with our money. Once we were, we were blessed in more ways then we ever thought possible. It felt like we had extra money being thrown at us in every direction. There were moments of temptation but after resisting, we were blessed again. If God can bless us financially when we obey, how will he bless us when we obey in all parts of our lives?

One thing I can say about right now, is that God has blessed me more then I could have ever imagined. We have a nice house, decent vehicles, money for necessities, and God watching over us. This may not be the orginal dream my husband and I had, but it is a good one.