This was/is my house.

Welcome to my home.

We bought a perfectly livable house and then–tore it apart. Sure, we could have moved in and not changed a thing. Sure, there was a functioning kitchen and two usable bathrooms. And yes, the electrical and air were working and the heater kicked on appropriately.

Instead, Biceps and I dusted off our sledgehammers, slapped on our tool belts and got to work ripping most our house down to the studs.
Our realtor thought we were crazy and told us “good luck”. Our neighbors helped themselves to our necessitated open door policy and gave us their opinions. Some scoffed. Some offered condolences. Some told us we should have left well enough alone.

We knew our vision and the plans that we had for the home. And that’s what powered us through dust-filled nights, cut fingers and aching backs.
It was a poorly laid out home with adjoining bedrooms, a room devoted to a sauna, awkward transitions and unusable spaces. To make things right in this house, we had to get rid of all the junky craftsmanship and all of the poor decisions made before we ever owned the home. We had to fix what appeared to be somewhat working but indeed was not working.

I was thinking about our home remodeling escapades and of course, being the über deep person that I am…related it to my own spiritual walk in life.
For example, my “house” looked fine to outsiders while in college. I was a decent person, maintaining good grades, keeping my arrest record clean and going to church regularly.

However, on the inside, I was a total mess. I was full of unforgiveness, envy, pride and a bunch of other horrible behaviors I’m sure you can imagine. My selfish decisions in life led me to a humiliating low point; one where I was unsure of who I was and unsure if God could ever love someone like me.

I realized there was no way I could ever be good enough to deserve forgiveness. But yet, He gave it to me freely. I accepted His forgiveness and the fact that I was a desperate sinner in need of a Holy Savior.

That’s when He went to work on my heart. He tore off all my facades and ripped apart my poor craftsmanship and took me back down to the “studs”. I was a shell of a person, ready and willing to be rebuilt by the master renovator.

My “house”, both physical and spiritual, have been rebuilt with a distinct purpose in mind. Both “houses” took years to become livable. Both were a terrible mess and needed an expert to make sense of it all. I am so thankful He replaced my disorder with His perfect design for me–and continues to do so.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt.” Ezekiel 36:33

Amen and amen.

My first sale!

So, as you know…I became a real estate agent recently. I stupidly took an online course (FYI-I do not learn well this way), studied my butt off for months and passed my state exam.

And then I made these.

I got some flack for the picture:
“It’s not normal.”
“It doesn’t have a boring brown backdrop with backlighting that makes my hair glow.”
I am not pretend popping my collar.
I don’t have a huge cheesy grin.
And, it’s the same one I use for my blog.

Guess what?! It’s me. In all my weird glory. And it seems to work for me.

This couple didn’t mind the picture on my biz card when it came to helping them buy their first house-granted this is my brother and sis-in-law.

Maybe they’re more forgiving of my weirdness than the average bear. They do have a lot of bear experience…

At any rate, my brother and his wife were determined to have me as their agent when they purchased their next home. They even waited on me to get my license and wanted to be my first sale!

I owe them big time. And, since they bought another fixer-upper, I’m sure they’ll find a way to allow me to repay them.

(Check out the last house they remodeled. It’s so cool, it was featured in the online magazine Prairie Hive.)

Did you know? Facts about the writer.

Dear Readers:

The internet is a scary place. If you don’t believe me, just use google earth and check out your home-from a satellite in space. That said, I try to reveal the inner me, without revealing too much in order to avoid the freaks and (bad) weirdos.

I wouldn’t want photos like this to get into the wrong hands.

Wait. Oops.

Anywho-due to my partial privacy, I wonder if there is a bit of disconnect between you and I. I’ve read blogs before and the although the content was great, the writer had no voice and I never ended up connecting with them.

So, here goes nothing. Time to connect, ladies and gentlemen, via weird facts about yours truly.

Did you know Biceps forced me to take this picture with Rupert at Hello Deli in New York (Dave Letterman Show)? I was so embarrassed.

Did you know that I met this man (Bicep’s father) for the first time, while he was in the shower? The bathroom seems to be the hub in that household, and I was invited to shake his hand over the top of the very non-revealing shower curtain.

It was weird.

Did you know that I was born in Germany?

Did you know that I basically look just like my mom (on the left)?

Did you know that I have a thing for robots and for my 30th Birthday had a “Robot Party”?

Did you know that we had a house that exploded?

Did you know Biceps and I were married  here at the Daniel Boone Chapel in Defiance, Mo and that Dad called him “Kyle” during the ceremony?

That’s enough Rebelation (Rebekah + revelation) for now. I hope this wasn’t too much, but just enough….

Mustache Mask Giveaway Winner!

The Mustache Mask Giveaway has ended and we have a winner! And, if you don’t know what a mustache mask is, go here to read all about it.

The randomly selected winner was: #4 Cheryl O.

Cheryl O.-Daniel, the owner of the Mustache Masks, will be emailing you with all the details. I hope you enjoy your lovely new mask!

Merry Christmas!