Category: Peace of Mind

Should we sell our home?

Today’s Question is about Real Estate:

“Should we sell our home?”

One of my readers sent me the following:

“We have enough equity in our house that if we sold it, we’d be almost completely out of debt. We’ve got 2 kids in college and 2 at home still, which makes downsizing a little tricky at this point. We’d probably have to rent an apartment for a year to save up for another down payment on a different home. Or buy a condo, and those can be difficult to sell.

We want the kids to have a place to stay when they come home for the summer, and if we were in a 3 bedroom apt or condo that wouldn’t be ideal. And yet, I REALLY want financial freedom. I REALLY want this burden GONE FOREVER.

My business has been struggling for years, and is actually the reason why we’re in this situation—I invested in marketing and trainings that didn’t convert, and got scammed by a business partner. Lots of adventures!

But I hear you loud and clear about being reactionary at this point. Any money the business brings in goes right to debt. I haven’t paid myself in close to a year. That sucks all the fun out of business! 🙂

Anyway, the question is: do we sell the home in the spring and rent for a while? What would you do?

..Thank you so much, Leslie! You’re one of the last people out there I actually trust. – A. C.

Here’s my reply:

That’s a tough question. I’d probably be tempted too, but we spent 6 years renting after the recession and I never realized how much of my mental energy was spent wondering, “Where are we going to be next year? Will the rent go up? Are we going to pay the higher rent or are we going to move again? What about the kids’ school—what if we have to move too far? How are we going to save for a down payment fast enough to keep up with rising home prices?”

It was on my mind constantly. We ultimately bought another home and the difference it made in my ability to THINK, create, and serve again was HUGE.

That being said, who knows if the home prices are going to tank again in the near future, and getting the equity now might be super beneficial? It would be amazing to pay off the debts faster, and buy a home when they’re cheaper. Indeed, it could go really well in that regard, but it’s a BIG gamble. If you stay where you are and can get in front of things any other way, don’t take it for granted that you already have a home of your own. It’s a huge-er deal than you know.

I strongly recommend that you do a search in Dave Ramsey’s archives for “should I sell my home to pay off debt” and see what advice he offers in different scenarios. Additionally, here’s one article on the topic. Find the principle that applies to your situation from which to make your decision, then you can be at peace no matter which way the market goes.

She responded:

Thank you! I adore you! I appreciate your honesty so much. And when I get quiet in my mind, I realize that some of this feeling is impatience, which is NOT a principle of abundance! I’ll do a search on Dave Ramsey—that’s a great idea. Thank you again! 

To learn more about developing the right mindset for achieving your goals, visit www.ProspertheFamily.com

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#54: Dare to Dream

Looking for this? – Debra Woolley’s Graduation Spotlight is HERE

Podcast is below:

I waited 10 years to share this story.

This is the podcast I mentioned during my Facebook Live.

After experiencing success, then tremendous failure, I describe my family’s journey as we tried to put the pieces of our shattered life back together. I reveal details of what it took for us to dare to dream again, and the play-by-play results of my first major experiment meant to regain my confidence.

This audio was recorded at a live event called Master Creator by Eric Bailey, where I was a keynote guest speaker.

Resources mentioned on the audio:

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Dream Catcher

My sweet mother wrote and sent me a beautiful piece relating the rare faith principles to the wonders of a dream catcher. Enjoy:

Dream Catcher

I may not feel greatly gifted.
But as chaff in my life is thoroughly sifted,
I will rivet my mind and focus my time, as each step has been listed.
Providence proves, with the goal-thought set free, it does and will grow if only assisted.

Talent will come with what is defined, and realized with what is sought,
Unceasing effort will be refined; it will be such, but it’s always hard fought.
To complete, takes faith that what is needed will surely be brought.
And with these things, the ‘dream catcher’s web’, has freed the good thought.

And what is this dream catcher’s web? A filter for your mind!
With faith, with determination, what you allowed, you will find.
With effort unmeasured and talent refined,
You goal has been won, as it was defined!

Carolyn Barton Robertson ©2003

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By small and simple things

“…By small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.”(Alma 37:6)

What is your goal? 

As I’ve been helping people achieve goals using principles of Rare Faith since before 2002, one thing I’ve seen over and over is the concern that the goal feels too big. The person thinks that they couldn’t possibly do enough to make that big thing happen. But…

What if you didn’t have to do anything big, to make something big happen?

The truth is, big things happen as a result of small actions, and when a person grasps that concept, they stop fretting, and they start doing little things with the confidence that it will be enough, no matter how small the effort.

Take a look at this:

Now, think again:

What is one small thing you can do right now to get yourself closer to achieving your goal?

Do that small thing, even if you can’t see how it will conquer the big problem. You don’t have to know how it will.

Your job is to take a small step in the right direction, and what happens after that may not even be within your view. Movement, progress, and ripples all issue forth out of your one little effort. The more you believe this, the bigger the impact of those little efforts can be.

And one other thing… did you notice how that first domino didn’t even do anything super important?

It FELL! That’s what it did. And it was enough.

So don’t be afraid to fall. Give it your best effort, and it doesn’t even matter if you’re successful. Just take a step forward, and if you fall, make sure you fall forward. Even that can make an impact that is bigger than you may ever know.

What happens out of your fall depends on the image of what you originally intended.

See the end that you intend, imagine how it will feel to accomplish it, and then JUST DO SOMETHING in that direction!

If you struggle to believe there’s really unseen help ready to come to your aid when you need it most, learn more at www.ProsperTheFamily.com.

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Unplanned Movie Review

Looking for the Tumbleweeds post? CLICK HERE

What would a woman feel, watching this movie, if she has already had an abortion? 

My husband and I saw Unplanned last night. This is the first time we’ve ever paid to watch an R-rated film at the theater, but trusted the feedback from friends who said the MPAA rating was “off”.

I really only had ONE main question on my mind:

*** What would a woman feel, watching this movie, if she has already had an abortion? ***

It was rated R for graphic and disturbing images by the MPAA, an admission that dismembering a fetus with a vacuum is disturbing. So in many parts of the country, a girl can GET an abortion without parent consent, but she can’t WATCH a movie about abortion without it.

So, was the movie only made for pro-lifers?
Who else would even WANT to see it?

This was my curiosity.

I wanted to watch the movie through the eyes of women who, perhaps at one time, found themselves in a crisis pregnancy of their own, who felt like they had no other options, and who were pressured to abort.

How would THESE women feel, watching an anti-abortion movie? How could they possibly WANT to watch it, at the risk of feeling triggered by memories of their own trauma, or of feeling movie-induced guilt? (Having not yet seen it, but assuming this is what the movie would cause.)

Why would ANYONE want to subject themselves to that?

I had to find out if I could recommend the movie to THESE women.

I read reviews that said that the movie was about LOVE and REDEMPTION, but none of the trailers really provided any significant glimpses into that. They all seemed to focus on horror and grief.

But, like many movies, I found that the action reel was NOT an accurate representation of the experience this film provided.

I don’t know if I should offer a spoiler-alert here, because the movie’s power doesn’t rely on surprises – it’s relatively predictable. But I’m going to share some things that are not revealed in the trailers.

First of all, the disturbing images happen during the early scenes of the film, showing one woman’s narrated experience with having a vacuum aspirated abortion, and then later a chemically-induced abortion (from a pill). The rest of the movie shows how she deals with the memory of her experiences.

At first, she buries the memories as deeply as she can, and throws herself into the cause of helping other women in crisis, dedicating her life to giving women the care they need. Her passion and heart for helping women is genuine.

But then… (insert trailer clip here)…

… and she spends the next segment of the film dealing with her feelings of deep regret for her own abortions, and for participating at a leadership level in an organization that was consciously deceiving thousands of women in crisis who were given mistruths about their procedures, and who were not fully informed of their options.

The movie was masterful at helping the viewer feel a good deal of what this woman felt all along the spectrum (as this is a true story). In the end, you feel (with her) a complete sense of being healed – her memories are still sad and probably always will be, but the remorse, horror, and grief is powerfully resolved, and she feels wholly loved, forgiven, and restored.

If someone had told me this before watching the film, I’m not sure I would have believed it was possible – not possible to experience, let alone possible to portray on the big screen. But I am convinced that this movie speaks truth. It illustrates how God can reach and restore a person, no matter how dark, fallen, or lost that person may feel. Here is a woman that was complicit in over 20,000 fetal terminations AND came to feel the full weight of it – but then ultimately felt that burden lifted. Watch the movie to feel her healing with her.

To sum up, if you or anyone you know has had an abortion or participated in one, and want to feel and remember it differently than perhaps you do now, I strongly encourage you to watch the movie.

I’m now convinced that these women are exactly who the movie was made for.

I invite you to see and feel it all, even the darker side of it, because feeling her Godly sorrow with her is precisely what makes the feelings of relief, joy, and awe possible.

#unplanned #lawofpolarity #rarefaith

Learn more here -> https://www.unplannedfilm.com/

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