It seems like forever since my last blog post. Fear not my friends, for there’s life in these old hands still. Let me dust off these cobwebs and try to get my groove back.

JUST KIDDING! FaceApp scared the heck out of me too when I first used the aging feature on myself.

Hello and welcome back friends and family. Greetings to my new readers who I probably scared the daylights out of with with my cryptkeeper pic. I’m sure some of you may have thought that I had dropped off the face of the earth or that I’d given up on writing. No and no. Still on God’s green earth and still very much a writer. I have just been extremely busy with quite a few things. One of which has been a major life changer.

I HAVE MY OWN PLACE!!!

Nobody knows this, but for the longest time I had been constantly praying for a place of my own. Something I could afford and something I could have all to myself. God must have decided then was the right time, because on a Monday last month, I received a text from my father about an available spot that was for one person and was possibly within my price range. After the landlord gave me a run through of all the details and a look at the apartment interior, it took no time at all for me to fill out the application. Within that same week, I paid the security deposit; underwent a background check; showed the landlord my last few paystubs; prayed to God I could make this work, and on Friday I signed the lease. Talk about a busy week.

Why the fast pace? It’s not like I was dying to be free from my folks. I was just excited that I’d found a place, and I wanted to have it before someone else applied for it. It’s not every day there is an available apartment in your price range for just one person.

To those who say I waited too long to move out(27 years old), I respectfully do not care what you think. I’m on nobody’s time clock except my own. Everyone has to find their way, which is what I’m doing. I know I’m destined to get unwanted opinions about my living arrangements, when I get married, or even when I have a child. You can’t please everyone, so I’m going to stop trying to.

I kid you not, I have been in and out of stores the last several weeks to touch up my place; make it seem more homely and less like a place I’m in and out of on workdays. My first night shopping for home furnishings I had two full carts of items, which included pots and pans, plate; bowls; silverware; ironing board, iron, toasted; microwave, and more. Thank God my mother was there to help push the other cart. I think she’s been having just as much fun as I am throwing out ideas and giving input on online shopping, while of course letting me decide what I want.

Right now I’d say the most challenging thing so far has been deciding on how much food I should buy for myself and what to cook for dinner each night As I looked at my cart full of food on that first grocery day, I wondered if I had enough. But then I remembered that it’s just me. No need to load up cabinets and and refrigerator as if I have a family of four or more.

Highlights So Far:

• Having dinner with my amazing girlfriend in my apartment for the first time. Courtni is great company any day, and I had been dying to show off more of my kitchen skills. She didn’t get food poisoning, so I guess I’m decent.

• Assembling my furniture with my family. During the week of Independence Day, my dad’s first cousin Jan and her husband Greg came to visit with my dad and mom for a short vacation in Nashville. I was taken back that the two of them actually took time out of their vacation time just to lend a hand with my apartment. Jan and Greg, thank you for your help and your encouragement. You are always welcome in my home, you have a picture on my wall. Love you! While it wasn’t my first time working with tools, this was a sweet moment for me because it was my furniture for my home. As I clawed and cut through the packaging; glanced through the instructions; screwed and nailed everything together piece by peace, I couldn’t help but daydream about how it would feel to assemble a cradle one day. Whenever I do become a father.

(I DO NOT OWN THIS GIF)

First testing the acoustics in my bathroom. Let’s pray I never annoy my neighbors with my singing, because I can’t go a day without letting music escape my mouth.

Decorating my home. Week after week I have been touching up my apartment in some way to make this place less naked. From family photos to wall decor. The first item I placed on the wall where my couch rests against was a wall sticker, which reads, ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’-Joshua 1:9″. I cannot tell you how much having these words upon my wall means to me. Before moving in, I did have my wonders about how I would fair in having my own place. Will I always make the rent? Will I be able to afford everything I got going on? What will my neighbors be like? Will I remember and apply all the wisdom I’ve collected all these years? I can honestly say I’ve been more happy than nervous in this place. Bundling in my sheets; waving to my neighbors as I come and go; hand washing my dishes(it’s actually relaxing); getting texts from my parents; and making time for Christ in study and prayer is so beautiful that any uneasiness I have turns to dust.

I’m grateful Jesus Christ blessed me with a home. Having my own place is a learning experience and will continue to be as such. It’s prepping me for a future in which I see myself one day having a house, a wife, a family, and being a provider and head of a house hold. If I can first learn to take care of myself, surely I can have all these things and be ready.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read. I have a lot of catching up to do with my blogging, as well as catching up on how all of you who are growing in yours. I leave you with some pictures of how my home has been coming together. It’s still a work in progress. God Bless!

(Bathroom)

(Living Room)

(Dining Area/ Kitchen)