How Giant Killers Face The “Impossible” (House Renovation Journal Entry 7/29/22)

We’ve been in our house about a week now. We are getting acquainted with it. The good, the bad, the ugly, the hope and potential. The bugs and critters that are being dispossessed as we settle in and cast them out.

Awkward showers and punishing heat and our single sanctuary room with A/C.

Damaged flooring from termites and water damage.

Using an ice chest and an electric skillet for a kitchen.

Learning the timing of getting cleaned off, drying off with a towel and getting into A/C before the sweat glands kick up again and make sleeping uncomfortable.

Plunging under the house to discover the extent of the damage and the work it will take to make it structurally sound. Looking into the face of ugly truth and learning that we have a lot of hope and faith in spite of it all. It’s a work of the Holy Spirit. Because dang.

The thing is, it took miracles for us to get into this place. That’s the part that tries to be overlooked and I refuse to let that happen. It needs to stay at the forefront. We need to remember that we are here because of the favor of God. Not in spite of it. That changes how we see all of this.

This week has been about dispelling fear and assessing the needs. Making a list of everything that sucks. The things that need to change for this place to become the sanctuary that it’s made to be. What’s impeding the destiny of this property?

We had an electrician friend (thank you John Magio) come out and take a look at the electrical and he helped me to come up with a plan for how to bring it up to code and told me about how much it should cost if I put the boxes in and ran the wire myself. That makes sense to me. Thank you Stephen for what I learned building circuits with you. This makes sense to me because of what you taught me. Love you buddy. We are looking at around $2k to have someone wire up the box if I put all the outlets, switches and boxes in and bring all the wires to where the new box will be.

I made some live videos and connected with a lot of my contractor friends and people that know construction to get an idea of what we are dealing with with the sagging floor in our bathroom/kitchen area. It turns out that it looks like either reinforcing or replacing the joist is definitely needed and may or may not include the removal and replacement of the floor in the bathroom. Most seem to think it needs to be ripped up down to the joist itself and rebuilt with solid wood. We need a solid foundation to build on.

We are still gathering data but it’s not scary anymore and it makes sense to me now.

Most scary things only stay scary if we let them stop us. We’ve found that when we walk down the things that try to intimidate us in life, the smaller they get as we approach. We can easily underestimate our power and capabilities. We can easily overestimate how hard a problem is. We can get caught up in our head and let fear paralyze us. It happens all the time. It’s what causes far too many people to waste their life.

It’s really easy to be intimidated when you have a low view of yourself and an exalted view of a challenge.

“No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

That’s speaking of posture. Not just moral excellence as important as that is. It’s a posture, it’s the way we approach life, the way we walk through and see ourselves in relation to the challenges life. It’s the way we carry ourselves through life. It’s the confidence of one who knows who they are.

The children of Israel that died in the wilderness saw themselves as grasshoppers before the giants.

The ones who took the promised land saw the giants as their bread.

When presented with seemingly impossible challenges….

The overcome see limitation.

The overcomers see their next meal. Food. Bread.

It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by limitation.

I find it more empowering to inventory capabilities.

What CAN we do?

There are few things I hate as much as the words “I can’t”. It’s such a cheap way out of facing adversity.

It desregards responsibility to effect change. It diminished the power of choice. It shuts your brain off. It causes all creativity to cease. It stops critical thinking in its tracks and those are all the very things you need to overcome adversity of any kind.

So when facing these situations, I like to take inventory of resources and capabilities.

What do we have?

What can we do?

Make a list. Regardless of how stupid each item may seem, make a list of what you have and what you can do.

The goal here is putting your brain to work and setting the confirmation bias of your mind to see opportunities, to see possibilities, so see what can be done.

Seneca said “Impossible is a big word used by small men who find it easier to accept the world they have been given rather than explore the power they have to change it.”

“I can’t” is pure intellectual laziness. When we do that, it also sets the confirmation bias of our minds but it sets it to look for excuses that reinforce that idea.

“I can’t” is the battle cry (if you can call it that) of the powerless. Those who believe they are powerless victims reacting to whatever happens to them. They accept life by default, they blame everyone else for their circumstances and problems instead of living by design and choosing the life that God has for them.

The life of calling, fulfillment and divine design. The life they were made for. That life must be chosen. It doesn’t come easily. The promised land is full of giants which must be dispossessed if we are to live in our place that flows with milk and honey.

The powerless will look at themselves when the giant comes on the scene. The ego reigns in the heart of the powerless.

The overcomer looks back, sees the times they have overcome, they hear the voice of The One who called them into this battle.

They look past the giant. They see what he is guarding…they see that the giant stands in between them and a vibrant future for their children, and then use what they have to take that bastard down.

Stone and sling? Hammer and pry bar? A guitar? This iPhone that kinda works most of the time?

Whatever.

There’s only one way this ends.

I don’t know who’s with the giant but I know who’s with me and He’s never let me down.

Every other impossible situation I’ve faced with Him by my side has been destroyed bowed it’s knee and this one will be no different.

Our children will see us face these giants and they will watch them fall or bow the knee and they will know that ”Greater is He who is in me than He who is in the world.”

They will see the wind at our back and know our frailty (if we are honest and open with them) and they will come to understand, that there is a God who walks with their parents who is mighty and hopefully they will know that this same God walks with them.

This was never about a house or a home.

Those things are secondary consequences.

This is about establishing a testimony of the goodness of God.

We will need help. Because there are people that are part of this story. People who will help carry the load with us. This is how God gets things done on the earth, through His body, His people. Those who hear His heart and will and act accordingly. No one is called to walk alone and part of the gift of this season are the people we meet along the way.

The Lord is going to pay everyone and pay for everything. It’s all going to come together perfectly.

If you want to help. Shoot me an email or click that giving tab.

Please pray for us when you think about it. I’m writing a book in the middle of it all as well. Keeping a watch on the morale of the kids is challenging right now. Knowing exactly how to attack this requires wisdom and prayer about these things is really helpful. And money and materials, Home Depot an Lowes gift cards…whatever.

Pray and do what God leads you to do.

I love you. Thank you for reading what I write.

I pray it blesses you.

Matt and Erika Bond and the Bond Fam