I realized I had several blogs half written so now I am updating them real quick while I have a chance. A lot has changed.
We are now 3 months into the house selling gig and one thing that I am pretty confident on is that We are never ever doing this again. Selling is not for the faint of heart. You have to be tough of nails and expect to spend tons of money just to make other people happy. Or at least that is our experience. Our house is 30+ years old not very old but just the same, things shift and change over 30 years. We have poured tens of thousands of dollars into the house just to keep it functional and have not had any time to update anything. So yes our house needs updating. The kitchen and 2 of the bathrooms are original to the house from 30 years ago and lets just say lots of things have changed in 30 years especially when it comes to house design. However our home is functional and all the appliances work.
We took our house off the market for a month and we painted and rearranged and emptied out about 2 1/2 rooms and the very first showing we had they put in an offer and we accepted and went into contract. Again I reitterate that selling a home is not for the faint of heart or for someone with no patience. I have definitely had a lesson in patience the past couple of months.
Now it is June and we close on our house in 3 weeks. Yes 3 weeks. Its crazy times around here getting everything packed and straightened up. We have our WDO inspection today and than the buyers have to schedule their survey and than its waiting for closing day to come. We are using a 1-800 packrat moving container and they are delivering it June 20th and picking it back up June 23rd. Jeremy has a friend that is driving with him up to Iowa and they are leaving with Molly on the 22nd and than I fly out the 24rth. I have to be there to sign for when they pick up the moving container and I don't want to try and cordinate a pickup and a flight the same day as I have time restraints when I get to Iowa due to when my grandma can pick me up so I am flying the 24rth. Once we get up there we will unload the container into our storage unit and then it will be the fun part of house hunting and spending time going to auctions, yard sales, plugging into the community, they have music in the square which will be fun to go do. We will get to Iowa in time for 4rth of July picnics and fire works. We are excited to move on with this chapter in our life and yet at the same time sad as we move away from family and friends and knowing that we will miss them.
Now off to go pack...
Daisypath Anniversary tickers
Monday, June 2, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
AN Update on whats going on
The easiest way to do this is to just copy our newsletter that our ministry just sent out to let everyone know whats been going on and everything that is changing.
Greetings In the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
I (Katie) am writing you today to let you know about some exciting changes happening in Pastor Jeremy and I’s life as well as changes to Jesus Saves International Ministries. We are very excited about the changes coming in the next few months and years.
Personally, Pastor Jeremy and I (Katie) are excited to announce we are moving to Iowa. This was a long thought out process. The idea of moving to Iowa was put on our hearts 3 years ago when we went to visit right before we were married in the fall of 2010. We have patiently waited for doors to open if this was the right decision. Fast forward to June of 2013 and the biggest obstacle standing in our way was removed in such a way that only God could have done it. We are excited to step into this new chapter in our lives and everything that God has for us.
Changes for Jesus Saves are amazing and scary and faith filled all at the same time. The first change is we brought Pastor Juan onto our board of Directors as our Chief Financial Officer. We also are able to hire Pastor Juan as an office assistant. Pastor Juan served as assistant youth pastor at Harvest Christian Center until 2014. He also has several years of ministry experience. Angela will be stepping down from our board after 2 years of faithful service. The biggest change goes hand in hand with us moving to Iowa. Pastor Jeremy and I have been praying about how God would use us in Iowa and the new community we will be in. That’s when God began to lay a vision on our heart for the community and how we can reach out and minister in a very real and tangible way.
The vision God has laid on both of our hearts is to open up a community center. We are looking at a building that is currently empty and has been empty for a couple of years. It is a 10,000+ sq ft building with a gymnasium, commercial kitchen, showers, and several classrooms. It is currently zoned as residential which would allow for “civic” activities. We are currently in contact with a local building official who is helping us figure out what we are allowed to do without having to change the zoning and would allow us to live on the campus. The reasoning for us living on campus is two-fold and that is one to be able to watch over the building and two; security. Also depending on how we purchase the building one option is to use the money from the sale of our house to buy the building which is why we would also live on campus. The second option would be to try and get a grant to purchase the building. Right now we are looking into grants. I have been talking to a friend who wrote grants as a job and they were honest and let us know that it is almost impossible to find grants large enough to purchase the building. We also would like to get a grant that would help with payroll and expenses for the first year or at least until we can gain some income from the community building. The payroll grant would go to Pastor Juan as he is prayerfully considering joining us in Iowa and partnering with us in running the community center. He would also live on campus as the 24 hr maintenance man.
Two things you can do for us right now; Number 1 pray, pray, pray, it’s the most important thing; Number 2 is donate money. We hate always asking for money but unfortunately ministry takes money and God has given us big dreams and visions. We know God can provide for what He calls us to do and we know that ultimately He is who will sustain us. I know God never gives vision without provision. Thank you so much for your prayers we covet them daily. Thank you for your support; your funds go to support sending out our daily devotions right now and also sending out salvation packets via mail or email. We truly couldn’t do it without you. You are our biggest partners.
As always please feel free to email anyone of us with any questions.
Pastor Jeremy: jlempie@jesussavestoday.com
Katie Empie: kempie@jesussavestoday.com
Pastor Juan: jlagrandeur@jesussavestoday.com
Until All Hear His Name,
Pastor Jeremy & Katie
Pastor Juan
Greetings In the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
I (Katie) am writing you today to let you know about some exciting changes happening in Pastor Jeremy and I’s life as well as changes to Jesus Saves International Ministries. We are very excited about the changes coming in the next few months and years.
Personally, Pastor Jeremy and I (Katie) are excited to announce we are moving to Iowa. This was a long thought out process. The idea of moving to Iowa was put on our hearts 3 years ago when we went to visit right before we were married in the fall of 2010. We have patiently waited for doors to open if this was the right decision. Fast forward to June of 2013 and the biggest obstacle standing in our way was removed in such a way that only God could have done it. We are excited to step into this new chapter in our lives and everything that God has for us.
Changes for Jesus Saves are amazing and scary and faith filled all at the same time. The first change is we brought Pastor Juan onto our board of Directors as our Chief Financial Officer. We also are able to hire Pastor Juan as an office assistant. Pastor Juan served as assistant youth pastor at Harvest Christian Center until 2014. He also has several years of ministry experience. Angela will be stepping down from our board after 2 years of faithful service. The biggest change goes hand in hand with us moving to Iowa. Pastor Jeremy and I have been praying about how God would use us in Iowa and the new community we will be in. That’s when God began to lay a vision on our heart for the community and how we can reach out and minister in a very real and tangible way.
The vision God has laid on both of our hearts is to open up a community center. We are looking at a building that is currently empty and has been empty for a couple of years. It is a 10,000+ sq ft building with a gymnasium, commercial kitchen, showers, and several classrooms. It is currently zoned as residential which would allow for “civic” activities. We are currently in contact with a local building official who is helping us figure out what we are allowed to do without having to change the zoning and would allow us to live on the campus. The reasoning for us living on campus is two-fold and that is one to be able to watch over the building and two; security. Also depending on how we purchase the building one option is to use the money from the sale of our house to buy the building which is why we would also live on campus. The second option would be to try and get a grant to purchase the building. Right now we are looking into grants. I have been talking to a friend who wrote grants as a job and they were honest and let us know that it is almost impossible to find grants large enough to purchase the building. We also would like to get a grant that would help with payroll and expenses for the first year or at least until we can gain some income from the community building. The payroll grant would go to Pastor Juan as he is prayerfully considering joining us in Iowa and partnering with us in running the community center. He would also live on campus as the 24 hr maintenance man.
Two things you can do for us right now; Number 1 pray, pray, pray, it’s the most important thing; Number 2 is donate money. We hate always asking for money but unfortunately ministry takes money and God has given us big dreams and visions. We know God can provide for what He calls us to do and we know that ultimately He is who will sustain us. I know God never gives vision without provision. Thank you so much for your prayers we covet them daily. Thank you for your support; your funds go to support sending out our daily devotions right now and also sending out salvation packets via mail or email. We truly couldn’t do it without you. You are our biggest partners.
As always please feel free to email anyone of us with any questions.
Pastor Jeremy: jlempie@jesussavestoday.com
Katie Empie: kempie@jesussavestoday.com
Pastor Juan: jlagrandeur@jesussavestoday.com
Until All Hear His Name,
Pastor Jeremy & Katie
Pastor Juan
Thursday, February 6, 2014
...
Not even sure how to label this blog or if for sure I will share it or if I do share it allow comments. So much going through my mind lately. I feel overwhelmed, under appreciated, and stressed out. So in the past two months we have had some pretty severe freezing weather, especially for us Floridians. I am talking like the high getting into the 20's and 30's with nights dropping into the teens. Of course this means high power bills and freezing pipes. Oh this year both times we have had the freezing weather we have had pipes freeze and bust on us to the sum of close to $400. Of course insurance or home warranty doesn't cover any of this expense and we are trying to get our emergency fund fully funded once again but with all of this coming up its been a little hard. Not to mention that this afternoon a wire broke on my husbands powerchair not only is this wire vital for the chair to even work its cost $300 to replace. So in the past month we have had about $700 dollars of unexpected expense come up we also have 2 yearly bills come due in February our termite protection and car tag renewal so there was also another $350 roughly that comes out in Jan-Feb budget. We are also in the process of selling our house and it seems like we cant please any buyers and now it looks like there will have to be some painting done some work done that isn't necessary in the sense that its not any repairs but just so people can see that concept that the house once had a second kitchen located on the opposite side of the house. Hindsight being 20/20 we should have never converted the second kitchen that was being used into a studio to record devotions for radio stations, however we didn't know we would be moving so soon after doing this.
Something I never really talk about is all the extra work that goes into taking care of Jeremy, now don't get me wrong I don't ever regret my decision to marry him or any of the stuff that I have to do for him, but there are days that would be nice to be able to afford a caretaker just for a few hours. However insurance doesn't cover home health care and for us to be able to afford it right now would mean I have to go find a job and than the only thing my job would pay for is the home health care that we wouldn't need if I wasn't working. Its a vicious cycle. Our hope is that in Iowa we will be able to afford it with everything else that is going down, like car insurance, home owners insurance, power, groceries, health insurance, gas. It's amazing the differences. Also I would be able to run a daycare out of our house if I chose too and be my own boss and set my hours as such. When I lived there last time there was a lot of help financially for those who ran their own daycare out of their house so it would be interesting to see if that help is still available. Sometimes there are days I wonder how much more can I take and really unless you have walked in my shoes no comments are needed. I never talk about this because no one around here understands our situation and honestly I pray you never have to be in our situation where you become the primary caregiver to your spouse. While marriage is hard in general being in an interdependent marriage is not for the weak of heart. I have found a couple of blogs that have definitely helped a lot. One I recently stumbled on has been so encouraging. No matter how many blogs I found and no matter how much I read ultimately every situation is different and only you can take what will work for you. One thing for us is that late nights and late mornings work a lot better for us. I don't try to plan anything for us to be anywhere before 10. Even if we have to be somewhere at 10 it means getting up around 730 to get myself dressed and showered and than getting Jeremy up dressed feed and coffee and everything he might need and than its time to walk out the door. It also can limit our ability to do things last minute as it takes more for us to just drop and go especially right now without a wheelchair vehicle which will be remedied next year. Its a crazy schedule and not many people don't understand it. It's okay to for people not to understand but its hard to hear well meaning questions like well what do you do? I do a lot up until recently I was full time caretaker for Jeremy, full time babysitter for my 3 nieces, trying to run a house, run an office (my official title with our ministry is office manager), be a wife, volunteer at church and keep it all together. Doesn't leave a whole lot for myself. As a woman and someone who has a care giver attitude its hard to make sure I am taken care of. Theres a lot that goes into that. It usually means making sure we have someone lined up to feed Jeremy if necessary depending on what I am doing or making sure I am done by a certain if Jeremy has somewhere to go as he can't take himself. I know there are a lot of things that frustrate Jeremy as well and I don't discredit them and I don't say this to get sympathy and honestly I don't want but I am also not saying this to get tips or criticism I don't want those either. I know that God has put Jeremy and I together there is no doubt in my mind and dreams I never thought would happen are happening and they are happening all in God's timing with Jeremy. I know this is a lot of rambling and probably not a lot put together and all but this has been a lot of the thoughts going through my mind lately and they are exhausting. I am just praying to make it through this season and I am ready for the next season.
I end this blog by saying so much has changed over the past year and it has been hard and rough but I am excited about whats just around the corner for us. We know God has huge plans for us and we are excited to see how it is all going to work out.
Something I never really talk about is all the extra work that goes into taking care of Jeremy, now don't get me wrong I don't ever regret my decision to marry him or any of the stuff that I have to do for him, but there are days that would be nice to be able to afford a caretaker just for a few hours. However insurance doesn't cover home health care and for us to be able to afford it right now would mean I have to go find a job and than the only thing my job would pay for is the home health care that we wouldn't need if I wasn't working. Its a vicious cycle. Our hope is that in Iowa we will be able to afford it with everything else that is going down, like car insurance, home owners insurance, power, groceries, health insurance, gas. It's amazing the differences. Also I would be able to run a daycare out of our house if I chose too and be my own boss and set my hours as such. When I lived there last time there was a lot of help financially for those who ran their own daycare out of their house so it would be interesting to see if that help is still available. Sometimes there are days I wonder how much more can I take and really unless you have walked in my shoes no comments are needed. I never talk about this because no one around here understands our situation and honestly I pray you never have to be in our situation where you become the primary caregiver to your spouse. While marriage is hard in general being in an interdependent marriage is not for the weak of heart. I have found a couple of blogs that have definitely helped a lot. One I recently stumbled on has been so encouraging. No matter how many blogs I found and no matter how much I read ultimately every situation is different and only you can take what will work for you. One thing for us is that late nights and late mornings work a lot better for us. I don't try to plan anything for us to be anywhere before 10. Even if we have to be somewhere at 10 it means getting up around 730 to get myself dressed and showered and than getting Jeremy up dressed feed and coffee and everything he might need and than its time to walk out the door. It also can limit our ability to do things last minute as it takes more for us to just drop and go especially right now without a wheelchair vehicle which will be remedied next year. Its a crazy schedule and not many people don't understand it. It's okay to for people not to understand but its hard to hear well meaning questions like well what do you do? I do a lot up until recently I was full time caretaker for Jeremy, full time babysitter for my 3 nieces, trying to run a house, run an office (my official title with our ministry is office manager), be a wife, volunteer at church and keep it all together. Doesn't leave a whole lot for myself. As a woman and someone who has a care giver attitude its hard to make sure I am taken care of. Theres a lot that goes into that. It usually means making sure we have someone lined up to feed Jeremy if necessary depending on what I am doing or making sure I am done by a certain if Jeremy has somewhere to go as he can't take himself. I know there are a lot of things that frustrate Jeremy as well and I don't discredit them and I don't say this to get sympathy and honestly I don't want but I am also not saying this to get tips or criticism I don't want those either. I know that God has put Jeremy and I together there is no doubt in my mind and dreams I never thought would happen are happening and they are happening all in God's timing with Jeremy. I know this is a lot of rambling and probably not a lot put together and all but this has been a lot of the thoughts going through my mind lately and they are exhausting. I am just praying to make it through this season and I am ready for the next season.
I end this blog by saying so much has changed over the past year and it has been hard and rough but I am excited about whats just around the corner for us. We know God has huge plans for us and we are excited to see how it is all going to work out.
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