By wisdom a house, or kitchen, is built.

We are in the process of renovating our kitchen.  It is long overdue.  But the process is not as easy as I thought it was going to be. There is so much to be done.  As most you already know I love to be in the kitchen.  But I don't love to be in my kitchen when the family is gathering.  My current situation is quite closed off to the rest of the household population.  I have a galley, aka room for one, kitchen.  I love to cook and create tasty meals and treats for my family and friends.  But in the process I have to be cut off from the company.  I often reflect on the Mary and Martha story as I am standing in the kitchen chopping, slicing, dicing and stirring.  I realize that I miss out on a lot of the family time in the living room beyond the kitchen walls.

Okay, so I guess it is a little silly that I am blogging about my kitchen renovation project.  But bear with me.  As I said earlier there is a lot that goes into all this.  And I am truly blessed to have Greg for my husband.  And doubly blessed that he likes to research and get deals too.  We have a very strict budget.  And we have a firm plan for what we want our space to look like as well.  As I am seeing it right now the two are proving to be not so congruent. I am reminded that it is through wisdom that a house, or kitchen, is built.  God has blessed us with the funds to renovate the kitchen.  But, we are required to be wise with how we spend it and on what it is spent. 

Now that the budget had been decided it was time for the next step.  We had come up with a floor plan.  We had our friend Linda come over and create a design for our new open kitchen. She measured, asked a few questions and headed to the drawing table.  Her design is wonderful.

In order to establish and see her design come into fruition we then had to gain an understanding.  We began contacting people for estimates on what it would cost to have the job completely done. The first proposal came in and we realized that we were already over budget.  We needed to get the appliances,  floors, counter tops and a few other important features into the initial budget plan as well.  Linda gave a great deal on the cabinets.  And she found us flooring at a great price too!  So, without hesitation we ordered them. We spent days searching the internet and running from store to store in search of the best deals on appliances.  We also had to make a decision on the color for the hard wood flooring.   I would come home from work and Greg would be on the internet researching. We went to a few appliance stores not once, not twice, but multiple times just to look at refrigerators.  And do you realize how many different types of refrigerators there are?

Well it appears that things are progressing.  We are still getting estimates for the job from a few contractors.  And I know that God is directing us. It is my hearts desire that God be the foundation of my life and of my home.  Once this project is completed I am certain that we will clearly be able to see His hand in every nook and cranny of the new space.  We have gained much knowledge while researching products and costs .  And we have learned a lot about being patient.  I know that He will continue to direct us as we prayerfully wait for the new estimates to come in.  I am happy to report that God directed our path and we found a refrigerator! Yes, I finally picked one that I liked. We also found an oven, cook top and dishwasher that will all look great with Linda's design. The prices were all pretty good too.  They have all be ordered, delivered and they are currently sitting in our living space.  And what a beautiful sight.  The cabinets and flooring are on their way too. The room seems to be getting filled with beautiful treasures.

Through wisdom a house is built,  and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. ~Proverbs 24:3-4