Often in life what appears to be a good thing turns out not so good. That is how our search for property has been. For example the description of one piece of property sounded good. It had a pond and the two out buildings looked good in the photo.
As Kat and I drove onto the property we began to get the real picture. The barn looked bigger in the photo and in good shape from a distance. The pond turned out to be nothing more than a 30 foot circle with lots of cattails.
As we walked the property we had a good laugh because what we thought was the property from the air turned out to be the property across the street which of course looked good even from the ground.
Life is like that. What sounds like a great deal often turns out not so good. The key is what we do when we realize things aren't as good as what we thought. Kat and I have chosen to laugh and keep looking. We know that we are not going to find the perfect place and that everything is not going to be exactly the way we want them to be. What we do know is if we keep open to what God wants we lead us to the place He wants us to have. What appears to be imperfect will be made perfect in Him.
We began this journey knowing there would be bumps in the road and that detours would come. Some of those bumps and detours happened because of my insecurities and some because life happens. One of my insecurities has to do with finances. I do not want to go heavily into debt and I want to have a plan for paying the bills. That insecurity can come across at times in a negative way especially given my tendency to be somewhat defensive and maybe even direct when I feel that insecurity rubbed. Wanting to have the finances figured out is not a bad thing but the insecurity of it controlling me is.
One of the things rubbing that insecurity was the location of the farm. Property tends to be more expensive closer to large cities and in counties with a lot of building restrictions. What Kat and I have decided to do is look for less property and maybe a little farther out from highly populated areas. We are finding we can purchase more acreage for less money if we move the farm's location just 30 or 50 miles farther out. The downside of course is there seems to be less market or the perception that the market is less the farther out we go.
What we have decided to do is change our idea of our market. For example one of the markets we were going to seek out was Restaurants, which the Kansas City area has many to choose from. One of the areas we are looking at is close to the Lake of the Ozarks, which has a good number of high quality Restaurants. Another market was going to be people who had high incomes who would join a CSA or want fresh vegetables delivered to their door. Lake of the Ozarks has a similar population although it may be a little more spread out. In reality the markets are similar although they appear different.
For me a key part of the Restoration Farm's focus is going to be on providing a safe environment for pastors and missionaries who are in need of restoration from the experiences they have had. Since we are not going to be actively seeking funding from churches or organizations we feel locating in a less costly area with less restrictions will allow us to provide a nicer setting for the Restoration Center.
So what we are doing is opening up the search to a distance of 135 miles to the east and south of Kansas City and 70 miles to the west and south of Kansas City. We have a plan if the property is located near Lake of the Ozarks and we have a plan if it located closer to Kansas City. We believe both plans have been generated with the guidance of God and both require us having faith that He will guide us in the process.
Detours will come and plans will change but the dream will remain the same.
Thanks for dropping by to read the latest post.
As Kat and I drove onto the property we began to get the real picture. The barn looked bigger in the photo and in good shape from a distance. The pond turned out to be nothing more than a 30 foot circle with lots of cattails.
As we walked the property we had a good laugh because what we thought was the property from the air turned out to be the property across the street which of course looked good even from the ground.
Life is like that. What sounds like a great deal often turns out not so good. The key is what we do when we realize things aren't as good as what we thought. Kat and I have chosen to laugh and keep looking. We know that we are not going to find the perfect place and that everything is not going to be exactly the way we want them to be. What we do know is if we keep open to what God wants we lead us to the place He wants us to have. What appears to be imperfect will be made perfect in Him.
We began this journey knowing there would be bumps in the road and that detours would come. Some of those bumps and detours happened because of my insecurities and some because life happens. One of my insecurities has to do with finances. I do not want to go heavily into debt and I want to have a plan for paying the bills. That insecurity can come across at times in a negative way especially given my tendency to be somewhat defensive and maybe even direct when I feel that insecurity rubbed. Wanting to have the finances figured out is not a bad thing but the insecurity of it controlling me is.
One of the things rubbing that insecurity was the location of the farm. Property tends to be more expensive closer to large cities and in counties with a lot of building restrictions. What Kat and I have decided to do is look for less property and maybe a little farther out from highly populated areas. We are finding we can purchase more acreage for less money if we move the farm's location just 30 or 50 miles farther out. The downside of course is there seems to be less market or the perception that the market is less the farther out we go.
What we have decided to do is change our idea of our market. For example one of the markets we were going to seek out was Restaurants, which the Kansas City area has many to choose from. One of the areas we are looking at is close to the Lake of the Ozarks, which has a good number of high quality Restaurants. Another market was going to be people who had high incomes who would join a CSA or want fresh vegetables delivered to their door. Lake of the Ozarks has a similar population although it may be a little more spread out. In reality the markets are similar although they appear different.
For me a key part of the Restoration Farm's focus is going to be on providing a safe environment for pastors and missionaries who are in need of restoration from the experiences they have had. Since we are not going to be actively seeking funding from churches or organizations we feel locating in a less costly area with less restrictions will allow us to provide a nicer setting for the Restoration Center.
So what we are doing is opening up the search to a distance of 135 miles to the east and south of Kansas City and 70 miles to the west and south of Kansas City. We have a plan if the property is located near Lake of the Ozarks and we have a plan if it located closer to Kansas City. We believe both plans have been generated with the guidance of God and both require us having faith that He will guide us in the process.
Detours will come and plans will change but the dream will remain the same.
Thanks for dropping by to read the latest post.
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