Life on the Vine

Whether Tom and I will be able to start construction on the house this year seems in doubt.  The last two months we've been investigating some different financing options.  Tom called banks and visited two.  I checked books out of the library - Idiot's Guide to Building Your Home, Building Your Own Home for Dummies, etc.  Reading up on the sections that discussed construction loans and financing.  We went and spoke to a mortgage broker, which helped me get a better handle on what we're endeavoring to do. Here's the truth.  We have many things that aren't in our favor.  First, we want to build in a rural area, on a piece of property that is off a dirt road, a portion of which is not county maintained.  Second, there aren't any comparable houses in our immediate vicinity, which can, and probably will, impact the appraisal.  Third, we're having to pay for a lot of things that probably wouldn't be a factor if we were in an urban area.  Like putting in a we

Are you searching for something unique and special to do for Mom this Mother's Day?  Gospel for Asia has set a goal of getting 250 children sponsored through their Bridge of Hope centers before Mother's Day.   Maybe you'd like to help them reach that goal. This Mother's Day you could sponsor a child in your Mom's honor, giving her something she can treasure throughout the year but also helping a mother halfway around the world who is facing difficulties and challenges very different from our own.     Sponsoring a child through Gospel for Asia helps not only the child but also the family.  Meet Gayana, widowed at twenty, she was left to care for her young son, Vikranta.  She had no job and no way to provide for her family.  Her in-laws no longer welcomed her in their home and her own parents were too elderly to help.  She moved in with a sister and became so distressed that she stopped eating and sank into a deep depression.   Gayana desperately want