Life In a House

It's been a long time since we last wrote. I've been thinking about writing for a long time, but life seems so very ordinary in comparison to the events that caused us to create this blog.

I've decided to update, however, and am following mikey's advice that it doesn't have to be some huge, life-changing, heart-wrenching, drama-filled entry. We just want you to know what we're doing!

We bought our first house in November and have enjoyed every day of living in it since then (even with light fixtures falling off of walls). Owning a house has awakened my dormant sense of home-making and it's been nice to explore and enjoy that while making the spaces in our house cozy and beautiful. It also has stirred the monster of materialism and we've found it a battle to take a step back and be objective and still generous with our money. In some ways, it's a far cry from what we returned from Africa with--a love for the simple and uncluttered--but we are in the process (probably a never-ending process) of figuring out the balance with our money.

We have really enjoyed entertaining people again. In the midst of all our recent life changes--moving twice, going out of the country, changing jobs etc.--we had taken a break from our usually full lives of hosting and community building. Now that we are more permanently here and have more space, we've returned to that love with gusto. We had 42 people at our New Year's party! A new record for us Fissels. After being so uncertain about whether or not to buy this house, we have been really encouraged by sharing this blessing and abundance with others. We love having a guest room (with a bed!) to offer to travelers, visiting friends and family, or just the weary person who needs a nap.

This is one of the ways that we see our Africa-experience extending into our continuing lives. In Africa, we fully came to terms with the fact that we are in love with, and incredibly gifted as a couple in, building and encouraging community. We are so thankful for a big home space to practice in! We feel most alive, most in-tune with our purpose when we have people eating in our kitchen, taking a nap in our guest bedroom, watching TV on our couch, sitting in a circle drinking coffee and sharing lives. One of the signatures that has developed out of our marriage that I love most is the fact that when our door is unlocked, people don't even knock--they know they are going to only hear the call "come in!" and no one is going to get the door for them anyway. I love this because it says to me, "I know I am welcome."

Mikey took a full time job with the city and I am teaching for my fifth year. In all our planning and dreaming, the routine stability of our current lives wasn't at the top of the list, but we feel like this is the "next thing."

We really want to continue to update this blog as our life continues to progress, so please keep checking back. We will post pictures of our house soon, but mostly, we hope you'll just come by to see it for yourself and stay a while!

Thank you for your continued love and interest in our lives.
Love,
Laura and Mikey