Finding a new 'home'

A new church home that is... I mean living wise I think we found a home...

Well two weeks or so ago we went looking at rentals with a realtor... found a place we ALL loved... I mean LOVED... well come to find out, it was not an 'in house' listing with the realtor we were working with but she was given permission to show it to us by the listing agency... we looked at it on a Saturday, told her after looking at it, lets move on this... she called listing agent only to find they rented it on FRIDAY!!!! our realtor was not happy nor were we.. that other realtor could have given her a call since he knew she was taking us there to look at it.. ok back to square one...

Looked at a place on Friday night... again, loved it... but for almost $1400 a month, we'd have to pay all these crazy ass fees just to submit an application.. sorry it DOES NOT cost anyone $50 per adult to run a credit check, give me a break.. plus this place had no fridge we'd have to buy a fridge.. and, well, it would have meant Trevor having to change schools, again... he started school in August in Florida... in September he started here in SC at Oakbrook, and this place would have meant changing him again... that's a lot for an older kid let alone a 7 yr old, and a sort of shy one at that....

But I think we have decided to go with a home we saw that first weekend in October.. it is in a neighboorhood that is right across from Trevor's school.. we can literally walk there (yeah lets see that happening.. me, heck ya, Trevor or Matt walking there.. mmm probably not ;o) these two are like dead weights to get up in the AM as it is let alone up early enough to WALK to school... ) anyhow as long as credit checks go thru, we are deemed worthy individuals, no criminal records, yada yada yada, we should be new tenants in Eagles Run Subdivision.... 202 Chemistry Drive...

(gee I hope that bank robber thing has been wiped off... JK)
(or there is that time I was part of the Irish mob)

But none of that has proved as trying as finding a new church home... now I will say... I have been to a few churches that 'do it' for me...

Joy Lutheran in Gurnee IL (yes I drove 45 min to an hour ONE WAY) to attend... great pastor, great music, always a great message, and, well, one of my good friends, Robin and her family attend... so win win all the way around.. and I 'feel' something when I am there.

another is Trinity Lutheran in Crown Point IN - more sentimental that anything... but having attending that church as a young teen, I can remember re-entering that house of worship as an adult when I was visiting my brother (I was living on east coast at the time) and this 'feeling' just came over me... I was moved to tears, literally...

and Crossroads in Demotte IN... - my brother lives in Wheatfield IN and when I'd visit we attended either his church or his wife's church (he is Lutheran she is catholic) but one time on a visit my brother took me to an alternative church he attends from time to time, this was Crossroads - and OH MY GOSH that place rocks, yes the music is great too but for me the pastor... well I could listen to him deliver God's message for hours.. this is a church that I could careless what time it is or if the pastor went on for 2+ hrs... his delivery of the message was just splendid!

then there is Trinity in Eustis Florida... I only attended twice, this is/was Matt's church home before our move to SC, and I enjoyed it also...

And lets say Matt is as particular about a church home as I am... we both know its not necessarily something we can describe but when we 'feel' it we will know it... so... we've been here 4 Sunday's now...

First Sunday we attended Coastal Community Church - Trevor and I liked it a lot, a little bit of a drive from our place in Summerville but I enjoyed the service and music and the atmosphere, and Trevor just loved the kids area and service... Matt wasn't as enthralled as Trevor and I...

Second and Third Sunday we attended Fellowship in Summerville - Matt liked it more than Trevor and I... its a Baptist denominational church and that isn't what bothers me.. I prefer non-denom but as long as the music, people, atmosphere, message are there.. I can go with the flow...

Fourth Sunday we attended CrossRoads of Summerville - Matt and I enjoyed it, but Trevor STILL likes the first church we attended... sigh... I think next Sunday we will be in Florida moving Matt's things out of storage into our new home (keep your fingers crossed those criminal records have been esponged - hahaha) and of course will attend Trinity in Eustis or CrossPointe in Orlando... but we will give Crossroads of Summerville a 2nd go... hopefully Trevor will warm to it.

I know I know we should not base our church home on a 7 yr old but I feel his opinion is an important one also... if we intend to make this a 'church home' then Trevor must feel at home there too.. I may not be his birth mother but I never want him to not grow up in the Lord... I did for the most part and now I am playing catch up at 44... and for him to embrace it he too has to feel at home there...

They seem to have  a lot of things going on for the kids, like movie nights and such so hopefully once he gets into that he will be more inclined to associate it with a fun thing and hopefully... HOPEFULLY make some friends... he is an only child and really needs some kid interaction in his life... and well selfishly I am hoping perhaps that will lead to Matt and I finding adults we can associate with and maybe, down the line, trade off some babysitting time???

Believe me I adore Trevor (even when he is being a booger) but its hit me hard that right now Matt and I can not have a 'date' night even if that means just the two of us having a dinner at Applebee's and having uninterrupted adult conversation... we know no one in South Carolina and even I, as the non birth mom, would NEVER EVER just leave my kid with just anyone...

So I will continue to pray and ask God to reveal our new church home to us.  I know God is in every church but I think y'all know what I mean when I talk about that 'feeling' of home you get from your church...