Heather's Blog

The Summer That Never Was

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:41:31 -0400

I never thought I'd be complaining about how cool the weather is. Normally where I live, in Southern California, it is at least 95 degrees right now, and things are warming up as we head into "Fire Season". Last year at this time we were cleaning ash off of our cars as the numerous brush fires were going strong.

Not so this year. I even had to apologize to one of our foreign exchange students about the unusual cloud cover every morning. What we call "June Gloom" had leaked over to July, and even to August. The trips planned to the beach were called off, and sweatclothes were the uniform of the day. I complained constantly to my husband, asking him why we were getting cheated out of our summer.

I know that just because I didn't like the cool weather, it will be a blazing summer next year. Me and my big mouth. So forgive me, Southern California, for the record-breaking Summer of 2011!

Live to Give

Last Train To Niceville

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:48:37 -0400

I was busy doing the mom/realtor thing the other day when I stopped to check one of my social media sites. To my horror, a couple who I had been helping search for homes on an informal basis had posted the following update: "We are excited to put our house up for sale as we have put a bid in on another!".

WHAM! Right between the eyes! I couldn't believe it. I was in denial. The last time I had talked with them they were going to stay put for a while, then possibly start looking again in the Fall. But this is Summer. Hello! Why was I left out of the picture?

Then my husband comes home after a day of trying to sell his company's products. He's not a happy camper because one of his accounts asked him to specifically write an order, then changed their mind after he left, letting somone else know that my husband had "written an incorrect order", so he's now behind the 8 ball with his sales numbers.

Why are people not loyal? Why do they say one thing and do another? Why can't we all be transparent and up-front? We could research this for the rest of our lives and never get a concrete answer. I don't operate that way. I'm for truth and no hidden agenda. Surely there is some small town in this vast country of ours where the residents are nice to each other.

Dream on Heather!

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Slow Is As Slow Does

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:45:27 -0400

Do you remember that movie "Forrest Gump"? How slow and deliberate Forrest was in everything he did? I had a chance for that this past holiday weekend when my husband and I drove up north to visit his parents.

I'm not good with long drives (this one was 7 hours), so I kept myself busy by surfing the internet, completing some RE stuff, and chatting with a relative for about 2 hours. The next thing I know, I'm there! Then I have to start over again and try and unwind. We were in a small town in California's Gold Rush country, and the sky was this amazing shade of blue. We could actually see stars at night, and the quiet was deafening.

But I was still anxious. My Blackberry didn't get any internet service, as well as my laptop. I had to bug my husband to drive to the only Starbuck's for miles around so I could check my e-mails. I just knew someone was going to e-mail me about wanting me to sell their 5 million dollar estate overlooking Malibu. NOT!

How can we be so used to going 90 miles an hour that when we get a chance to "Gump It" we can't?

Live To Give

The Bird's The Word

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:05:09 -0400

I was stuck in traffic the other day, driving back from showing some houses to a nice couple and their daughter. It was kind of cool, so I had my window cracked a bit, and heard it before I saw it. A loud screech and then a seagull swooped down and almost hit my windshield!

Well, I slammed on my brakes and then realized that I had other cars following close behind me. They slammed on their brakes also, and I could see one of them waving at me, but not using all of their fingers. The light ahead had turned red, so I was able to catch my breath and calm my racing heart.

The instigator of all this, or his twin brother, flew onto a light standard across the street and just squatted down, unaware or not caring that he (if it was a he) had almost caused an accident. At first I was angry at the seagull, then wondered why it was flying around 15 miles from the nearest ocean. The kicker to this was that it (or he or she) was perfectly content sitting on that light pole watching all the crazy humans stuck in traffic.

For the first time in my life, I wished I was that seagull. Our lifestyles (at least here in Southern California) tend to force us humans to keep up with "it". "It" may be a big house, fancy car, well-paying job or whatever we idolize. I arrived safely at home without any more near-misses, and told my husband about it. He told me to read a book called "Johnathan Livingston Seagull", and it would give me better insight to my crazy day.

I'll have to read it later - I don't have the time right now................................

Live To Give

WINNER! WINNER! WINNER!

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:23:33 -0400

I was reading in the newspaper the other day about a couple that lives in a neighboring city who won $233 million in the lottery. First I was jealous of their good fortune, then I started thinking about all the stories about prior winners who later wished they had never won. What's wrong with this picture?

My husband told me a story of a good friend from his high school days who won the lottery. There were 3 sons in the family, and the mom would buy three lotto tickets each week and hand them out. My husband's friend was a winner! The family was happy until the other 2 brothers insisted that the winning brother split up his winnings. He didn't like being forced to do anything, so he refused. It split up the family. The other 2 brothers still don't talk to him. This happened 30 years ago!

Money can buy us many things. It can pay off debt. It can buy a house for a loved one. It can send your parents on their dream vacation. It can buy the time for you to do the things you've always wanted. You can set up a charity and bless others. But it won't buy peace of mind. Only a relationship with our Creator is truly "priceless".

So I will try hard not to be jealous the next time I read about another multi-million lottery winner who picked the right numbers. And thank God He picked me.................

Live To Give

We do not know what we ought to pray for...

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:49:08 -0400

Bear with me as I share an amazing passage from a small little devotional I have found to be such a source of encouragement and thought it worthy of passing on...

Often it is simply the answers to our prayers that cause many of the difficulties in the Christian life. We pray for patience, and our Father sends demanding people our way who test us to the limit, "because... suffering produces perseverance" (Rom 5:3) We pray for a submissive spirit, and God sends suffering again, for we learn to be obedient in the same way Christ "learned obedience from what he suffered" (Heb.5:8).

We pray to be unselfish, and God gives us opportunities to sacrifice by placing other people's needs first and by laying down our lives for other believers. We pray for strength and humility, and "a messenger of Satan" (2Cor. 12:7) comes to torment us until we lie on the ground pleading for it to be withdrawn.

We pray to the Lord, as His apostles did, saying, "Increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5) Then our money seems to take wings and fly away; our children become critically ill; an employee becomes careless, slow and wasteful; or some other new trial comes upon us, requiring more faith than we have ever before experienced.

We pray for a Christlike life that exhibits the humility of a lamb. Then we are asked to perform some lowly task, or we are unjustly accused and given no opportunity to explain, for "he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and ... did not open his mouth" (Isa. 53:7).

We pray for gentleness and quickly face a storm of temptation to be harsh and irritable. We pray for quietness, and suddenly every nerve is stressed to its limit with tremendous tension so that we may learn when He sends His peace, no one can disturb it.

Yes, we pray to be like Jesus, and God's answer is "I have tested you in the furnace of affliction" (Isa. 48:10) Will your courage endure or your hand be strong?" (Ezek. 22:14) "Can you drink the cup?" (Matt. 20:22).

The way to peace and victory is to accept every circumstance and every trial as being straight from the hand of our loving Father; to live "with him in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 2:6), above the clouds, in the very presence of His throne; and to look down from glory on our circumstances as being lovingly and divinely appointed. (Streams In The Desert)

May you be encouraged today and remember we are in the palm of HIS hands!

Live to Give!

Lost In Translation

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:02:56 -0400

Now that we're assured of living in our house for at least the next 6 years after our loan mod came through, we took a step of faith and signed up to host foreign exchange students. There is a program at the local college where students from all over the world come to our city to learn how to speak English better, and become "immersed" in American culture (which can be scary!).

So Elaine arrived last Saturday from Seoul, Korea for her 3 month stay. Sweet girl, speaks some English already, and can write some too. It's her first time in the good old US of A, so the family is on their best behavior. It was exciting to learn that she is a Christian, so we don't have to worry about being caught witnessing to her (that's a big No No). She has been to church twice with us, and thoroughly enjoyed herself, even though she had a hard time understanding all of the messages.

I guess the best way to "witness" to others is to just be who we are. She ate her first taco the other night, and loves spicy food. Gets along well with our dog (who gets along well with her). Big plus: we all eat dinner together around the table, cell phones turned off, TV turned off, and.......we talk! Neat idea. Can't wait for student #2 to arrive tomorrow night.

Live To Give

Faith Like A Tree Trimmer

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:34:14 -0400

Since my last post when I shared our success at getting a loan modification, some plans have changed. Instead of figuring out where to move when we sold our house, now my husband and I are going to have a foreign exchange student stay in one of the spare bedrooms upstairs. The program is through Whittier College, and since we live about 2 blocks away, the person running the program was very excited to have us on board. So while we are waiting for our first boarder, there are a few things around the house that we decided to do, since we will be here a while longer (the good Lord willing).

One of those was to trim our 75 foot tall, 100 year-old pecan tree in the back yard. It's been needing a good thinning-out for quite a while, so now seemed like the time. My husband hired some guys to do it, and when they arrived I kind of laughed to myself. The "climber", for want of a better word, was about 65 years old, 5'5" tall, and must have weighed 150 soaking wet. He threw his big orange rope up into the branches, clipped a chainsaw to a hook on his belt, and proceeded to shimmy up the tree.

I must admit that I was afraid for him - it's a BIG tree! He wore a safety harness, but as far as I was concerned he was cheating death every step he took. He would stop at a spot, unhook the chainsaw, start it up and proceed to trim away certain branches (I told him to thin the tree, not top it). He did this numerous times, quickly and with much agility. His teenage son was on the ground to fill up the chainsaw when the gas got low, and I asked him if his father had ever fallen. He said no, but his uncle had taken a dive facefirst into some concrete years ago. And another relative had sawn off his pinky just last month.

I prayed that the man would not fall; I prayed that my homeowner's insurance had a high limit; and I prayed that I would have faith like that little man climbing around my tree.

Live To Give

One Step Closer

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:19:57 -0500

Wow! It really happened! We were approved for our loan modification. After my husband was laid off almost a year ago, we've been trying to stay in our house and work out a lower mortgage payment. It's been a long, tedious, stressful process, but finally VICTORY! Does going through the process make us an expert? I don't know, but if you need any advice, e-mail me.

Our loan rate has been modified to 3.2% for 2 years, then after that it raises up 1 percent for the next two years. After that, we don't care! We are just happy to be one of the few that has made it through the process. It was totally the Lord - we know that. This will give us breathing room until the real estate market straightens out (which we know it will).

We are one step closer in our journey to live on 10% and give away 90%, and we are excited!

Live To Give

Can't Wait For Spring To Be Sprung!

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:16:25 -0500

Hello Everyone - Long Time/No Post. I can't claim being overwhelming busy, but I can claim being busy with life. It looks like most of the rainstorms here in Southern California are over, and the hillsides are green and the weeds are high. My husband and I are always talking about moving to a less-populated place, somewhere where we can get out of the fast-paced world of what is our life.

We also realized that the main culprit in our dilemma is.................US! We buy into the world around us and let it affect our way of life and well-being. You know what I mean - if we are waiting longer than 1 minute in the drive-thru at the local Burger Queen, we get antsy and upset, and it affects the rest of the day! We've been programmed to think that a 30 minute oil change/lube is awesome. I want them to take their time and do the job right.

I don't watch TV too much anymore. But I will rent a movie and watch it with Scott when we feel like it. I will sit down and read a book when I feel like it. I try and make arrangements with my clients to show property when it's not going to make me rush off and get stressed out driving somewhere without getting a speeding ticket! I'm slowing learning to "be still" and know that God is in control.

Live To Give

Underdog Flies Again!

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:25:35 -0500

We had a Super Bowl get-together yesterday in our basement. I've got one of the few basements here in Southern California, so it's kind of an oddity. They sure knew how to build them in 1910! So where was I? Oh yeah, the Super Bowl. All but four of the attendees were rooting for the Saints. And of course we heaped it on plenty at the end of the game.

I think most all of us root for the underdog at some point in our lives. It's just a natural reaction when the perennial loser finally pulls off an upset. After 9 months without a job, my husband (the underdog) finally landed something. After exactly 56 job applications filled out and not hearing a single word, he finally heard the word he needed to hear most - "We would like to offer you a job".

He will be working with developmentally disabled adults who want their own piece of the American Dream; a job, a place of their own to live in and a chance to be included in everything that we all take for granted. He's only been there 3 weeks, but he loves it. Not a lot of money, and no benefits for 6 months, but it's a real JOB! We are still in the loan modification process, but hope to hear soon from our negotiator. Still don't know if we get to stay in our house, but we continue to hang on for dear life to the Lord. Ain't no where else to go!

Live To Give

What Matters Most

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:43:25 -0500

It's been a while since I had the chance to post a blog - I apologize. Life got in the way. It has a funny way of doing that. My husband and I have been busy ever since the earthquake hit Haiti. He leads a disaster relief ministry at our church, and has been attending meetings and sending out/answering e-mails on a constant basis.

Our little troubles pale in comparison to what has happened there. A few days after the quake, our relief team was able to get a group of 8 men into Haiti via the Dominican Republic. They visited Port-au-Prince and were shocked at the devastation (some of these guys had been to Thailand after the tsunami and the Gulf Coast after Katrina). It looks like the Lord has led us to a city of 40,000 souls 50 miles southwest of PAP, a town called Jacmel. Hit just as hard, but no one knows it.

Our team is looking to set up a base camp so volunteers can stay in a safe place while ministering. We've been able to fly in medical supplies, and are attempting to bring in a mobile kitchen. This will end up being a 2-3 year project, so lot's of folks will be able to help.

If you're interested, check out the web site: www.committedrelief.org

Live to Give

Somebody Up There Likes Me

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:10:39 -0500

First of all, happy new year to all of you! I think we all are looking forward to a better decade than the last one. There is some good news on the home front - we finally have a "negotiator" assigned to our case, and hope to hear something from her soon. The listing expired on our house, and we decided not to relist quite yet (plus we want to see how many expired packages we get!).

Out of the 50-60 applications that Scott has filled out, he finally had a call and will go in for an interview!!!! After nine months of rejection after rejection, he is smiling. "Someone actually wants me," he told me yesterday. The job is a "Community Advocate", someone who assists developmentally disabled adults with learning life skills and getting jobs, among other things. The pay isn't much, but it is good to see him excited again.

We had some friends over the other night for dinner and an exciting game of "Sequence". As we talked and compared sob stories (they are down to one income and in a loan remodification too), we realized that God has not decided to retire and move to Maui; that He is still on the throne, and still cares enough about us to know the number of hairs on our head (some more than others!). Therefore our worries are something that we choose to hang on to. He asks us not to worry, but we are too worried not to worry!

"And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried." - Luke 12:29

Live To Give

Here's Looking At You, Kid

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:10:51 -0500

I just got over Christmas and now New Year's is heading straight at me! As most of you know, 2009 is a year I'd rather forget. Scott was laid off, I switched offices, we are still trying to sell our house and we are in the middle of an attempted loan modification. For the first time ever, I won't be able to make this month's house payment. Our once stellar credit rating will no doubt take a huge hit, which will pretty much mess up any future home purchases or even renting or leasing a place.

There are always bright spots along the way, Our health is pretty good. We have reliable transportation. Our kids are not in jail. So I guess we are pretty blessed.

You know those old cartoons that portray the year ending as a white-bearded old man who looks ready to kick the bucket? And then the new year coming is a cute baby in a nice clean diaper with a smile on his or her face?

Here's looking at you, kid!

Live To Give

Another Dog Day

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:14:59 -0500

Okay, here's another "walking the dog revelation". First of all, you gotta rent this movie called "Door To Door" with William H. Macy. Saw it last night and I guarantee that whatever you are going through, watching this will give you hope. Okay, back to the story. Got up earlier than usual this morning to walk Annie, so it was still dark when we started. About halfway through the route the sun started to rise.

There's some clouds in the sky (unknown what kind, but not cumulus. Maybe stratus?), and at one point the combination of just the right amount of sun and just the right angle on the clouds and WOW! Thirty seconds of absolutely the most beautiful sight you'll ever see! Too bad I only had 30 seconds to view this awesome show.

So about 15 minutes later I notice someone walking toward me in the distance, also getting a early-morning workout. This person seems to be limping, and as they draw closer I realize that this person is actually an older woman, probably in her late 70's or early 80's, and she apparently had real bad arthritis, hence the limp. I greeted her with a "Good Morning", and she did the same. I marvelled at her tenacity as she took each painful step on crippled legs.

My problems just faded into the growing day, and I smiled.

Live To Give

There's Still Life Here!

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:11:52 -0500

I was on my morning walk with my yellow lab "Annie", complaining to myself about how cold it was. It was 42 degrees, and I was bundled up like Randy in "A Christmas Story". I know that in other parts of the country 42 degrees would be a heat wave, but here in Southern California, that's cold!

Walking my usual route, I noticed all of the leaves on the front yards of the houses that I passed. I love that sight, and it really brings home to me the cycles of life in nature and in our own. We start off like Spring, all fresh and new and green and full of life. Then we pass into Summer, where things heat up and life can be a challenge. Fall arrives, and we slow down a little and seem to enjoy life more as we shed excess stuff. Now Winter sneaks in and it grows cold and the beauty of Spring is long forgotten.

And then I saw the tree. I don't know what kind it was, but it was completely stripped of leaves. Except for one lonely bright pink flower. I couldn't believe it. It stuck out like a sore thumb and seemed to give the bare tree a special glow. And we too can have that lone flower sticking out of our life, so that others may enjoy the view..

Live To Give.

Life Goes On

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:13:38 -0500

What a crazy year it's been for us! From 2 incomes to 1 (sometimes it seems like 1/2!), from living in our "dream home" to putting up that home for sale, from having an idea of what we were supposed to do to having NO IDEA what God is doing..................I could go on and on and, well, you get the picture. It is often said that "the best-laid plains of mice and men go astray", or something like that. So, do we plan or do we just "go with the flow"?

I've often heard that God has a specific day-by-day plan for our lives, and we need to be part of that plan. But then I've also heard that His plan for us is more of a "general plan" rather than a "specific plan" - meaning that God is more interested in "who" we are than "where" we are. It means that God is not specifically interested where we buy a home, He just wants us to be able to afford that home and not go into debt. I like that!

I will be ready for what He has in store for me in 2010, "generally speaking"!

Live To Give

Everyone's A Winner

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:38:50 -0500

Two nights ago my daughter's high school volleyball team traveled about 45 miles to play in a playoff game. We had beat this team last year in the playoffs, but just barely. This year they were "gunning" for us. Their coach told them at the beginning of the year that their only goals was to beat us this time and send us home losers.

Our team was more mature than last year, and it showed. The girls played smart and didn't get rattled. The result was that our girls were victorious, sweeping the other team 3 straight games. As parents and friends poured out on floor to congratulate our kids, I couldn't help but notice the reaction coming from the other team. Girls with tears streaming down their cheeks - parents with tears streaming down their cheeks - a home crowd slowly stumbling out of their own gym, not wanting to believe that the season was over. In all athletic events there will always be winners, and of course there will always be losers.

Wouldn't it be nice to go into a game knowing that the outcome was already known, and that you were on the winning team? It may seem farfetched, but it has happened before, and will happen again! When you are on "God's Squad", the outcome is already decided. We are "victors in Christ", and the result of winning is that we get to go to Heaven when we die. It does not mean we won't get banged up during the game, or get penalized or tackled for a loss. That's part of the game. It does mean that when the final whistle blows, we are going to the greatest victory celebration of all.

Live To Give.

Thanks For Nothing?

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:12:31 -0500

Hi again - This is Scott. Heather is busy doing her "real estate thing" while I hide out in the computer room at her office. We attended an awesome office seminar this morning on "Best Year Yet - Planning For 2010". The office manager here is very good at motivating the crew, and he is constantly coming up with great tools to offer to us.

God offers great "tools" also. Like prayer,faith, hope, fellowship and of course His Word. Yet these are tools that I often forget to use. When my world seems to be coming apart, I either panic or just feel like running away. Then God invaribly lets me know that I am already the victor in the battle, and I just need to be confident in that. And then I remember everything I am thankful for, and the list seems to grow and grow with every one I add.

Thanks for nothing? No, thanks for learning that nothing happens to me unless it's already passed through God's "filter". He protects me from 99% of the junk the world throws at me, but the 1% is meant to be used to test me, strengthen me, and enable to help others "going through it".

Live To Give

The Happiest Place On Earth?

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:47:34 -0500

Hi, this is Scott. Heather and I decided that we need at least one dedicated day off a week, so this past Monday was it. So to truly try and "get away from it all", we decided that Disneyland was the place to go. We arrived at about 10:30 a.m., and were met by a long, long line of cars waiting to pay their $14 to park. I looked at Heather and asked, "Why aren't all of these people at work today? And look, there are school-age kids here too! Their parents should be arrested for keeping them from school!" I think we had expected to be the only visitors there today, and have the legendary Disneyland customer service lavished on only us!

Well, once we got in there was definitely more elbow room than was first expected. We wandered Main Street and decided to see if "our bench" was open. It was, but it was in the sun that time of day, so we pushed on. "I haven't been to the Tiki Room for a long time" I told Heather, so there we found ourselves in that faux tropical hut listening to the birds (and flowers and tiki statues) sing the same song over and over and over. After leaving the show and trying not to hum that unforgettable tune, we decided to go to another ride where another unforgettable tune is blasted at us all the time. No, not "It's A Small World", but the one where generations of kids have learned to talk like bucaneers. Yo Ho!

We stayed there for about 7 hours (a record without kids) and had a great time. I had almost forgotten how awesome it is to go on a date with my wife, just the 2 of us (and thousands more), laughing and enjoying each others company. I thank the Lord for every minute I get to spend with Heather, whether "on duty" of "off duty"!

Live To Give.

Getting Excited About The Future

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:12:17 -0400

Well, here we go again. Just got out of a great office meeting. It focused on getting our business plans prepared for 2010. Imagine, already a decade has passed since Y2K! I remember that as New Year's 2000 approached, myself and my husband Scott, and my two stepsons Nick & Kyle were standing together on the roof of the Pasadena Police Department headquarters. Scott was working there at the time, and when New Year's comes around, everyone at PPD works.

So we prepared to welcome in the new millenium together (my kid's were with their dad). The news sources at the time were predicting that all computers would crash, the bank vault doors would not open, computers in cars would cease to function, and the end of the world was going to occur! So as we held hands and counted down, we were prepared to be surprised and panicked. What did happen? There was a great display of fireworks over Old Pasadena, a lot of shouting and hugging and....................nothing. Not one prediction from the "experts" came to pass.

It's been a great decade in real estate with a lot of ups and downs. How will I prepare for the next decade? I will continue to put my faith in God and prepare to be surprised.

What's A Mother To Do?

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:45:42 -0400

Heather just got another REO (Bank Repo) the other day, so we went out to inform the residents of what was happening. We informed them about CFK (Cash For Keys), and they kind of nodded their heads as it was explained to them. Telling someone that they need to get out of their (old) house in less than 30 days is not fun, and when the mother explained that she had 8 kids and one of them was confined to a wheelchair, it made us feel about 2 inches tall. She is worried that no one will rent to someone with so many kids, not to mention needing a wheelchair ramp, etc.

Heather sent off a letter to the Asset Manager explaining the situation, and that next day (this NEVER happens) a reply came back extending their move out time to 45 days AND gave them more money to move out. We were excited for them, but it was a hollow victory. They are hoping to be able to "buy back" their house when it comes on back on the market. Heather & I are praying that perhaps God will work it out for them.

As we left the meeting with them, an email popped up on Heather's Blackberry. She had just been assigned another REO, right around the corner from this last one. Here we go again.........

Live To Give

Keeping The Main Thing The Main Thing!

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:07:55 -0400

Here I am sitting at a spare computer in the back room of Heather's office. I am deciding if I should get my RE license, or do I really need one. Since the most I can do at an open house is say "Hi, welcome to another Heather Crawford Open House", I may be "forced" to get one. Whatever I can do to help her, I will. Then there's the issue of our house, which is still up for sale. Anyone looking for an awesome 1910 Craftsman house with many original features on 1/2 acre with a full 1,400 sq. ft. basement? So far no one has shown enough interest to come up with a reasonable offer.

So much for our plan to downsize, get rid of clutter, and live on 10% and give away 90%. We were sure God wanted us to sell our house, our "Isaac". We are totally prepared to move to a condo or apartment, where we think He wants us to be, but it ain't workin' out right now! So what can we do? Be patient.....I hate being patient.....I pray to God to give me the gift of patience, and when He does, I'm upset because at that particular time I don't want to be patient!

So what to do? ABIDE. Abide in His presence and abide in staying in His will. I can do that. Dosen't take much physical work to abide. It means just to remain attached to. Like a leaf to a tree. If it falls off of the branch, it loses the nourishment the branch gives it. Don't want to do that - oh no.

So I guess I'll just be patient and abide.

Live to Give

What, Me Worry?

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:24:19 -0400

This is Scott again - Heather is getting ready for another day in real estate. As I sat in the office yesterday, I heard the daily chatter that is part of real estate: "My client is unrealistic", "I can't believe they made such a ridiculous offer", "I need to get a real job" and the like. We are all so "me" focused that we forget what really matters. I was reminded of that when I opened the local paper this morning and read the story of an 8-year-old boy who had lost his 2 year battle with cancer.

Noah Dowell (nicknamed "The Mighty"), died this past Saturday. In 2007 he was diagnosed with a malignant tumor and given only 9 months to live. He would beat that diagnosis by a year. Noah played Little League, and his favorite drink was milk (just like me). Noah raised the spirits of those around him, and perfect strangers often found themselves sitting by Noah's hospital bed and talking with him. Noah continued to play baseball, and his last at bat was an inside-the-park home run. Both teams cheered as he rounded the bases and jumped onto home plate.

Noah is now in Heaven, with no more pain. He is in the presence of the Lord. It sure has changed my outlook for today, Thursday, October 8th. I pray that it continues to Friday, October 9th and beyond.

Live to Give................................

Now I Remember Why I Don't Like Holding Yard Sales

Heather Crawford (Prudential California Realty) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:02:10 -0400

Hello again - this is Scott - Heather's husband and yard sale co-conspirator. As we continue on our journey to "live on 10% and give away 90%", we still are amazed at what we will hang on to because "we might need it one day." All day Friday we kept opening boxes in the garage and asking each other "Did you want to keep this, or was it me?" We had to borrow six large tables from our church just to hold the stuff. We opened cabinets in the basement and discovered more junk that the kids had stashed away in their younger days (chips off the old blocks).

So yesterday was the big day. I had hardly slept that night because I was worried that someone would come and steal all the stuff we had staged at the end of our driveway! So there we were, tired already, and the day was just beginning. We had the "7 o'clockers", those folks that also stand outside Wal Mart 5 hours before it opens on the day after Thanksgiving hoping to get the best deals. Then we had the "1 o'clockers" who wait until you pull down the signs and scramble in for what's left.

After six hours of this, we were only too glad to start packing up. We sold a lot of the big stuff, furniture, bikes, weed whackers, Christmas nutcrackers etc. A lot of the smaller stuff still remained. I thought my awesome collection of VHS tapes would go like a wildfire. Alas, no one seems to own a VHS player anymore. Maybe I should hold off on buying anymore DVD's. They will likely be replaced by another format soon.

Bottom Line: $700 in our pockets and 2 truckloads to a local charity store. Oh, and a lot more open space! I told Heather that the next time I start drooling over the newest workout machine that promises to make my chest bigger and butt smaller in 15 minutes, that she has my permission to waterboard me!!!!!!

"Live to Give"