Daytona Beach Real Estate Blog: May 2009

If you're interested in renting an affordable Daytona Bech area condo, in a great location, and beautiful community with fantastic amenities, then look no further! This fabulous 1 bedroom, 1 bath condo will be available by July 1st (possibly sooner). It has a brand new kitchen, large rooms, bright front eat-in kitchen and much more. Make no mistake; this is a quality community with a strong Condo Association!

This Condo Community has pool, clubhouse, tennis courts, laundry room, private park, assigned parking, located in Holly Hill just minutes from Daytona Beach. All tenants must be approved by the Condo Association! Fee is $50 for background and credit check. One small pet is allowed (under 30 lbs). Deposit is $500 per month and monthly rent is only $500 per month.

If quality, safety and amenities are what you want, this condo is for you!

Whether you're buying or selling real estate, or maybe you're one of those people who just loves real estate and enjoys learning about it. My husband is one of the latter ;-)  Heaven forbid I tell him I'm holding an open house. He HAS to come and view it! (My apologies to any REALTORS® out there, whose time he has wasted when he saw your open house sign.) lol

To keep this blog short and simple, I'm going to give you the name and accompanying photo for the basic types of roofs that you see on houses. Bear in mind, these are just the basics. There are other types, and on newer houses, you'll frequently see a combination of more than one type. So you might find it fun to print this particular blog post, and take a drive around town to see if you can identify the different roof types.

The first two roof types here are the Gambrel Roof, and the Hipped Roof. Scroll down to see more examples.

The next two roofs shown are the Mansard Roof, and the Gable Roof. Now for the next two.

The last twoI'm showing for this post, are the Shed Roof, and the Flat Roof.

If you'd like some details about these house roofs, follow this link >> to read the descriptions of these different roof types.

And for a bit more fun, you can check out this little slide show by Bob Vila, demonstrating combination roof and Dormer types.

And finally, for a bit of extra fun, check out these house photos of different roof types. Test yourself by not scrolling down below the house until you've guessed what type of roof or combination you see on each house. Then look just below each house photo to see the answers =)

If you're interested in buying or selling real estate in the Daytona Beach area, I'm not only a seasoned, full-time REALTOR®, I'm also a Daytona Beach native, with experience selling real estate in every city in east Volusia county.

For information on buying real estate << click here.

For information on selling real estate << click here.

If you have questions about the Daytona Beach area real estate market feel free to contact me with your questions. I look forward to speaking with you, and helping you with all your real estate needs!

*Photo taken by and property of Lisa C. Hill, Daytona Beach REALTOR®.

For all your real estate needs, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

About Lisa Hill; REALTOR® & Daytona Beach Native

Information on Buying Real Estate in Daytona Beach

Information on Selling Real Estate in Daytona Beach

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

I'm just helping to spread the word. Remember the date... June 5, 2009. Read the details below!

This is going to be a short little blog post about one of Florida's little green critters. I guess I should clarify that sometimes they're brown. And sometimes they're tan. And sometimes they're somewhere in between. They're lizards of course. They're the little buggers that dart in the door when you're not looking, leaving you desperately trying to catch them before the cats do (if you have cats) or perhaps you're just trying to get them out of your house!

Being a native of this area, I find them amusing, and I know how fast they are! Those suckers are hard to catch! But what amuses me even more is when people are frightened of these toothless, powerless, even helpless little creatures with the unique ability to re-grow their tails.... Silly humans. So afraid of them, that they pick them up by the tail. Tsk tsk. The lizard then releases their tail, which continues to flop and flail aimlessly about. This works like a charm to divert the attention of our cats, while the lizard sneaks quietly away. (God made such cool stuff!)  =D

But I'm writing this post to clarify one particular misunderstanding.... Lizards are NOT chameleons! We do not even have chameleons in Florida, except as pets. We do however, have lizards, geckos and salamanders. Salamanders have stripes, are multi-colored, and like dark, damp places. Although my favorites are the geckos, which I think are adorable. I love the way they wiggle, in a kind of slithery manner when they run, whereas lizards and salamanders run in a straight line.

But what we see everywhere... and I do mean everywhere... are most likely lizards. But for some reason, visitors to Florida seem to think that lizards are chameleons. And the one trait that chameleons have, that neither lizards, geckos, nor salamanders have, are bulbous, protruding eyes that rotate all the way around. So I'm really not sure why our lizards are so frequently called chameleons. I guess it's because of their ability to change colors, which is how they protect themselves... by blending in with their surroundings. But geckos can do this too, although their base color is usually bright green. When I was younger, most of our lizards were bright green, but over the years we're finding more and more of the brown ones. I'm not positive, but I believe the lizards with the brown primary, or base color, have migrated here and changed the habitat of our primarily green "anoles". But they're still all lizards.

So this little post is to set the record straight. When you move to Florida and find these small, harmless, toothless, sometimes tail-less critters in your house, in your garage, on your porch, on the sidewalk, on your windows, and falling off your garage door as you open or close it, they're just lizards.

But on the rare occasion that you find a little green wiggly thing sitting high up on the wall in your house, moving about half the speed of a lizard, and with little suction cup feet, like tiny little tree frog feet, those will be geckos. (Not to be confused with Geiko- lol).

So welcome to Florida! Land of the lizards, geckos and salamanders. But NOT the chameleons! (Unless it's someone's pet) And for heaven's sake, don't freak out about every little thing! If you've decided to live in a tropical climate, you can expect to find tropical creatures.

**Now for an extra special tip! LOL... If you manage to catch one of those speedy little lizards, be sure to grasp them gently around their soft little bellies, then tap lightly on their nose until they open their mouths. Your final step is to clip it on your ear lobe. Ta Dahhh! Lizard earring! (I offer that little tidbit at no charge!)

Now if I haven't scared you off, and you'd like to move to Daytona Beach (or anywhere in east Volusia county), I'd love to help! For information on buying real estate, << click here.  For information on selling real estate, << click here.

For general information on buying or selling real estate in Daytona Beach, Port Orange, Ponce Inlet, Ormond Beach, and the cities around and in between, visit my primary web site at www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com.

Photo courtesy of Lisa Hill, REALTOR® for Ponce Inlet. For all your Ponce Inlet real estate needs, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.

If you're interested in buying or selling real estate in Ponce Inlet, work with a REALTOR® who has listed and sold real estate in every city in east Volusia county, and who enjoys exploring and photographing interesting and unexpected surprises =)

For more information on real estate in east Volusia county, visit my web site at www.LisaHillRealtor.com

View MLS real estate listings here.

I've lived in Port Orange for over 10 years, and in the Daytona Beach area since I was born. And my daughter is a 5th generation Floridian =) but I digress. I just think it's cool to have all my family nearby since it's somewhat rare anymore.

This blog post is about some information I recently discovered. When I found this page on the web site for the city of Port Orange, I started asking people if they were aware of this ordinance. (We do have a lot of unique ordinances. Many of them help keep Port Orange a city that's a step up from some of the others.) In this case, I discovered that many people were not aware of this ordinance, and some knew about it and were knowingly in violation. But it's for the good of our residents and our environment.

Ironically, I was planning to blog about our water restrictions anyway. But this seems to be more pressing. Port Orange home owners already know we have water restrictions and most people comply with them. Very few people choose to blatantly disregard our water restrictions. But I'm not sure what to think of this water ordinance.

Here's the simple, short paragraph about a Port Orange ordinance pertaining to our water restrictions.

"Rain sensors are required on all automatic irrigation systems by March 2003 according to City Ordinance 01-63. You can get rain sensors at local hardware stores. It is recommended that a professional electrician install the sensor. For information on the sensor requirement, please call Mary Kronenberg in the City’s Public Utilities Department at 506-5756. If Mary is not in, please leave your name and telephone number, someone will contact you as soon as possible."

Do you see the date in the very first line of this ordinance? This went into effect six years ago! But in my little poll, I discovered that approximately half of Port Orange residents even know about this water ordinance, and about another half had chosen to disregard it. And what I really don't get is how real estate builders are building new construction, and the irrigation systems do not have this required rain sensor. How is that possible!?

OK. Here's the deal. I'm not a fanatic about most things. But about a year and a half ago I discovered and blogged about some unbelievable problems with Florida's ecosystem, wetlands, and aquifer. My first post along these lines was titled "Florida's Vanishing Wetlands". (You can follow the link to read that post.) Part two of that mini-series was downright alarming. The second post was titled "Florida's Aquifers (Vanishing Wetlands Part 2)". Read that post for the full information, but here's what everyone needs to know.

The Floridan Aquifer is Florida's primary source of fresh water. The details of that are in the second post. but the bottom line is, the Floridan Aquifer is becoming more and more polluted.  Here is a partial list of the polutants in our aquifer.

• Antimony
• Asbestos
• Barium
• Cadmium
• Chromium
• Cyanide
• Fluoride
• Mercury
• Nickel
• Selenium
• Sodium
• Thallium
• Nitrate
• Nitrite

Please read the post to learn the effects of these chemicals, and to develop a better understanding of why it's so important for us to preserve our water resources.

If you're a Port Orange resident, or even a resident of anywhere in Central Florida, please educate yourself about the pollution of the Floridan Aquifer, and have your automated irrigation systems fitted with rain sensors, as required by city ordinance.

If you're interested in buying or selling real estate in Port Orange FL, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron REALTORS®, for all your real estate needs.

www.PortOrangeRealEstateSales.com

www.LisaHillRealtor.com

As I was preparing to write a post regarding your emergency preparation items for hurricane season, which starts June 1st, the Daytona Beach area simultaneously began experiencing extreme flooding after 6 straight days of often torrential rain. And it's not finished yet. Weather reporters are predicting possible record-breaking rain for the month of May. So your Emergency Preparation Items may apply to the current rain and flooding problems, as well as your usual, advance preparation items for Hurricane Season.

I'm blessed to live in a neighborhood of Port Orange that as far as I know, has never flooded. Even as our swimming pool continues to overflow, it immediately drains into the many drainage ponds in the area. As a matter of fact, if you're considering buying real estate in the Daytona Beach area, I recommend that you buy a house in Port Orange. Any homes located in a neighborhood with a good Home Owner's Association, and homes built within the last 20 years, are likely to be at an elevation that is high enough to avoid flooding (with some exceptions).

Since hurricane season begins June 1st, it's time to get your Emergency Preparation Kit together. And it's not too late to gather most of these items for the current flooding as well.

Unlike the mad rush before a hurricane, at this current time, during the heavy rains and localized flooding, you can still find plenty of stores open where you can buy food, water, batteries, baby needs, pet needs, medications, gasoline, do your banking, and purchase personal items you'll need if you have to evacuate (although you may have to swim there).

But the rain is not finished yet, and there are some things you may not have considered. First of all, make sure you have your photos, birth certificates, social security cards, driver's licenses, bank account numbers, and things of this nature. Keep them sealed in a reliable plastic container, and make sure you have it with you, if you evacuate your home. During times when there is a possible power outtage, be sure to also have plenty of CASH! Banks will be closed, and ATM's will not work if there is a power outage. You should also fill all vehicle tanks with gasoline well before a hurricance starts to get close.

Also of great importance; for insurance purposes you should video tape all of your belongings. If you do not have a video camera, you can take photos instead. If you've used the old-fashioned method and have physical tapes and/or paper photos, you'll need to seal them in plastic containers and store them in a safe, dry place. The better method is to have everything digitally photographed or video-taped, and stored on CDs, DVD's, memory sticks, and flash drives. Again, keep everything in a dry, safe place. But unless you've scanned ALL your memories into digital form, you probably have old photos, baby books and other sentimental items that cannot be replaced. I personally keep these items in a Rubbermaid container at all times. If it's ever necessary, I can grab the container and take it with me.

If during a time of emergency, you've had to evacuate your home and you're going to a shelter, and as most families do, you your furrier family members (aka pets), you should call ahead to see if pets are allowed at the shelters, or find out if you need to board them at a safe and reliable animal shelter! But you should prepare for your pets, the same as you would for the rest of your family. Remember to bring their food, water, carriers, any medications, collars, ID tags, leashes, and even their comfort items such as toys or blankets. And if you'll all be together at a shelter, muzzles are usually required for dogs.

Last but not least for this blog post, if you're staying home during a power outage and are using a generator, remember to never run it indoors or in the garage. A generator should only be run in a well-ventilated area. Also use caution when storing the fuel for your generators.

I have NOT covered all the items you'll need for you emergency preparedness kits since I decided to cover two types of emergencies in this blog. So be sure to follow the links below, in order to be fully prepared for whatever nature throws your way.

Hurricane Preparation Tips

Emergency Supply Kits

Disaster Preparedness Guide

For Daytona Beach area advice, and to buy Daytona Beach or Port Orange real estate (as well as any other city in east Volusia county), make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill for all your real estate needs.

To sell real estate in Port Orange or Daytona Beach (or any city in east Volusia county) list your house or condo with Lisa Hill and Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS® and get it SOLD!

View MLS listings and photos

*photos are public domain-FreePhoto

This real estate update is for the 2009 1st quarter real estate listings and sales report for Ormond-by-the-Sea Florida.

As I've done with some of the other city reports for the 1st quarter of Volusia county, in this report I'll include a short explanation of the Daytona Beach area, and the 7 cities it encompasses. Ormond-by-the-Sea is quite simply, the city on the farthest north side of Volusia County, but it's only on the beachside.

Ormond-by-the-Sea is a unique city; unlike other cities in Volusia County. It's the last city before Flagler county, and it seems appropiate that it feels like it bridges that gap.  The further north you travel on A1A, the more it begins to feel like the Flagler Beach.

If you want to have a relaxing, peaceful experience, take some time to drive up the coastline, all the way to the Flagler Pier. A few miles past Granada Blvd. aka Highway 40, there are no more condos on the east side of A1A. You can enjoy an unobstructed view of the ocean that is only broken by sea oats and foliage. There are plenty of places to stop and enjoy a meal, including a restaurant right on the Flagler Pier. And there are places where you can park your car and walk to the the ocean, where the sand is unlike that in Daytona Beach. Just another change as you travel north is the Coquina rock that is mixed with the white sand, causing the color to turn more reddish. I highly recommend this affordable, or free if you decide to have a picnic, way to spend some time =)

Now back to the 1st quarter real estate report for Ormond-by-the-Sea. The following real estate data is formatted into chart form, as well as graph form. As I did with the other cities, I've separated this real estate data into categories by houses and condos.

To buy or sell real estate in Ormond-by-the-Sea, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

Info on buying real estate

Info on selling real estate

When buying real estate, obtaining a mortgage is frequently a part of the buying process. It's also a part of the process that many real estate buyers know very little about. And unfortunately, as a REALTOR®, in my experience, when I've tried to stress this importance to my real estate buyers, they don't always take me seriously enough (because they don't understand). But yesterday I found a fantastic blog about this exact subject.

Here on Active Rain, there are a few mortgage lenders whom I trust to supply me with accurate mortgage information. They stay abreast of industry changes and alert us to these changes in an unbelievably short period of time! Case in point, the blog post below, regarding Good Faith Estimates!

I was so thrilled to see Jeff's post on this subject... here is the comment I left him  ... "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is a pet peeve of mine. If a mortgage broker or mortgage lender is too lazy to provide a Good Faith Estimate when it's requested, there's a good chance that that's the kind of service you're going to receive for the entire time period in which they're working for you!"

Enjoy Jeff's morgage information on Good Faith Estimates below. And if you need to buy real estate in the Daytona Beach area, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

This real estate update is for the 2009 1st quarter real estate listings and sales report for Ormond Beach Florida.

As I've done with some of the other city reports for the 1st quarter of Volusia county, in this report I'll include a short explanation of the Daytona Beach area, and the 7 cities it composes. Ormond Beach is quite simply, the city on the farthest north side of Volusia County. As a matter of fact there is one Ormond Beach secure, gated community called Plantation Bay, in which some streets extend from Volusia County, into Flagler County as well.

The following real estate data is formatted into chart form, as well as graph form. As I did with the other cities, I've separated this real estate data into categories by houses and condos.

As you can see by the chart and graphs, for the 1st quarter of 2009, Ormond Beach maintained many more condo listings than house listings. But there were twice as many NEW HOUSE LISTINGS than condo listings. But there were the OBVIOUS DEMAND WAS FOR HOUSES as you can see by the sales numbers.

Now for the 1st quarter real estate reports for each city in Volusia County, except for Ormond by the Sea. That will be the last report in this series.

Ponce Inlet Real Estate Report; 1st Quarter Listings and Sales 2009

Wilbur-by-the-Sea Real Estate Report; 1st Quarter Listings and Sales 2009

Daytona Beach Shores Real Estate Report; 1st Quarter Listings and Sales 2009

Port Orange Real Estate Report; 1st Quarter Listings and Sales 2009

South Daytona Real Estate Report; 1st Quarter Listings and Sales 2009

Daytona Beach Real Estate Report; 1st Quarter Listings and Sales 2009

Holly Hill Real Estate Report; 1st Quarter Listings and Sales 2009

Ormond-by-the-Sea Real Estate Report; 1st Quarter Listings and Sales 2009

To buy or sell real estate anywhere in the Daytona Beach area, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS® for all your real estate needs.

Lisa Hill: A Daytona Beach Native

I know. I know! This is supposed to be speechless. What can I say? I'm talkative! LOL. So just a quick note. This is a sculpture in Daytona Beach. Can anyone guess where it's located?   =) 

(There ya go! Short and sweet.)

Buy Daytona Beach real estate

Sell Daytona Beach real estate

*All content, including photos, is property of Lisa Hill. 

A couple of days ago I posted to this blog, some amazing photos that are a well-kept secret of the Daytona Beach area. I took those photos on the way to take pictures of a new townhouse/condo I had listed as a Short-Sale. Unfortunately, the historic structures in that blog were in a horrible state of disrepair.

This particular building had some major renovations a few years ago. It's located right on Hwy. 92 aka International Speedway Blvd. which is a main thoroughfare. This is what prompted the city to do some major restorations on it. And it's beautiful during the Christmas season when it's covered with lights =)

So this is my follow-up landmark, and my post that should have been for "Speechless Sunday". I just couldn't resist giving a little bit of history of this Daytona Beach landmark.

I'm a Daytona Beach native and have sold real estate in every city in east Volusia County (and then some). If you're considering buying or selling real estate in the Daytona Beach area, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill, real estate agent with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®, for all your real estate needs.

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

*All content, including photos, is property of Lisa Hill. 

As a REALTOR®, I usually keep my camera handy at all times. You never know when I'll get a call from a real estate seller who is ready to list their house or condo. It saves time if I have my camera with me.

I also like to stop at random times, to take pictures of beautiful, fascinating, or interesting, photo-worthy locations I find during my day. Well in this case, I've actually been wanting to photograph this location for a long time. And as luck would have it, I just listed a townhouse near this location, so I killed two birds with one stone and took photos of both in one trip.

Now, as for this location, I wish I could say I knew the precise history behind it, but I've heard 3 different stories. I'll just relay the most commonly heard tale.

The most common story about this beautiful piece of history is that many, many years ago, a man with a lot of money, who also owned what was once the "Riviera Hotel" (now an assisted living facility) had big dreams for a tourist attraction that extended several miles beyond that once grand hotel. This man had planned to have a sort of zoo, with a canal than ran through it. These photos are of the beginning of that dream, where you would step down to the water and get into little boats, and float through this enchanting forest area, with the feeling that you were on a slightly spooky pilgrimage. But alas, this is as far as the dream ever got.

These crumbling columns show the spectacular details, and pieces of an elaborate dream from the mind of an entrepreneur from times past. This location is so beautiful, but so sad that it lies in ruin.

We have another piece of history in similar fashion, located on International Speedway Blvd. The city of Daytona Beach chose to repair and protect that structure since it's located on the main road to the beach, when coming from I-4 or I-95. It's an interesting conversation piece for the tourists.

Sadly, this location is almost hidden. Only the local residents who happen to venture down this small street even know this exists. Who knows? One day, these photos may be ALL that's left of this hauntingly beautiful location.

A bit more information to consider... some of the locals tell me that this location has been used in movies, and on modeling photo shoots. I don't have any proof to back this, but it certainly make sense. The setting looks like a page out of a history book.

If any locals, or history buffs stumble across this, and know the real story behind this place, I'd love to hear it! I've spent my entire life here, yet somehow, this spot seems to have escaped the minds of all of us who live here. And it would be wonderful if we could know the real story, and be able to preserve a piece of history through these photos and this blog.

For now, enjoy the photos and let your imagination run wild. Mine certainly has!

If you're planning to buy or sell real estate in Daytona Beach FL, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

*All content, including photos, is property of Lisa Hill.

OK. This is a short video, just for fun. One of my YouTube subscribers commented on this video from last Novembers, which is what made me remember it. It's just my daughter being... herself! LOL! 

Life is stressful and some people are way too serious, this is my way of saying "Lighten Up!"  =D  Enjoy ;-)

Do you know what this is? Can you guess where this is? How about using your imagination to tell me a little story about what you think this might be?

Come back tomorrow for more pictures, and the accompanying details!

Prepare to be surprised!

Want to buy real estate in Daytona Beach Florida? Make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

View Daytona Beach area MLS listing video tours here.

Next on the list of Volusia County city reports for the 1st quarter of 2009 is Holly Hill. Holly Hill is a small town located just north of Daytona Beach, and just south of Ormond Beach. I actually just listed a townhouse in Holly Hill as a short sale. It's a great value at only $59,900. It needs a little bit of TLC, but overall, it's a great value! But this post is to continue with my 1st quarter reports for 2009. We're on the home stretch now with only Ormond Beach and Ormond-by-the-Sea left. So far we've covered the 1st quarter listings vs sales reports for 2009 for Daytona Beach, South Daytona, Port Orange, Daytona Beach Shores, Wilbur-by-the-Sea, and Ponce Inlet.

To view the Holly Hill 1st quarter real estate report for 2009, you'll find details on the chart above. I've separated the houses and the condos, and then I've divided the Newly Listed Houses and Condos from the Sold Houses and Condos. Last but not least, I've included the total active listings in the MLS of the condos and houses.

Finally, I've separated the houses and condos real estate data into 2 separate pie charts which you'll find on each side.

I hope you find this information helpful. For all your real estate needs, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill.

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

A great buy. Centrally located 2 bedroom Daytona Beach area townhouse, with 10x8 screen room. Entire back yard is private, fully fenced, and covered with full wooden deck. Great for entertaining or creating your own garden area. Home has bright front kitchen, good-sized living/dining room combo. Living room has sliding glass doors to rear screen room. Interior needs TLC but updates would be relatively minor.

Don't wait. You don't want to miss out on this great value!

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateSales.com

www.DaytonaBeachRealEstateVideos.com

Last week I listed a townhouse, and after church today, I went there to take photos for the MLS, my web site, and the blog I'll be posting soon. Since this is a tenant-occupied property, I made small-talk with the tenant while taking photos. Then the conversation took an interesting turn. This prompted me to have the same conversation with my daughter when I got home. Imagine my surprise when I got a similar response! Surely Daytona Beach residents haven't already forgotten about our area code change, and the accompanying propaganda at that time!

It was the summer of 2003 when our family left our previous church where we had been attending for several years. I had been anticipating that move for quite some time. I had literally dreamed it, and knew God was leading us elsewhere. And it was a good move for all of us.

When we joined the church family at Spirit Life Harvest Church , it wasn't long before I joined the Worship Team (as usual), my husband helped with ushering (as usual) and my daughter became a youth leader (new position for her =). This new church family was a spiritual leap forward for us, and God blessed us abundantly.

I realize that some people stay in the same church as their physical family for their whole lives. But we pray long and hard regarding where God wants us to be, so that each of us can grow spiritually, in wisdom and maturity. During the time we've been with Pastor's Ken and Laura Hope and their awesome family, God has blessed and grown our family beyond what we could have ever imagined.

During the time we've been at Spirit Life, we've gone through some major church growng pains, including a name change (long story there) and the loss of the building we had really loved! But that's how God brings about personal growth. We get stretched, and go through difficult changes, and if we stay focused on Christ, and let God work within us the way He wants to, we can become "firm, strong and courageous" .

Here's a mini sermon I heard a long time ago, taken from the story of David and Goliath....

The size of your enemy is a clue to the size of your promotion. It's not a mis-match. It's a setup. Before God can promote you, He has to introduce an enemy. God has custom-tailored your enemy for you. David never would have become King if Goliath had been a dwarf. Don't make God shrink your destiny. Stop asking for smaller battles & start believing for greater victory.

I use that story because through temporary buildings, name changes, and many other trials, God is still in control. And we wouldn't have gone through so many battles unless God had a great future planned for us. And this week, we moved into our beautiful new building! We're all so excited. We've been painting and decorating and hanging pretty mirrors and pictures, (and ordering pizza-lol) and getting ready for this Sunday. We're having our first service in our new building, with our new name... Living Stones Community Church ... on Mother's Day, 2009. (Sorry the site's not up yet)

Now obviously the principles I shared that I previously heard about David and Goliath, can be applied to many rough times. Many people are desperate on so many levels. As REALTORS®, we're desperately trying to help our clients. And we need to make money to support our families! But most battles begin, and end, in our thoughts.

I recently decided to listen again to an audio book I heard a few years ago. It was time for me to hear it again. The book is called "The Dream Giver" by Bruce Wilkinson. It's an incredible parable with an even more incredible lesson after the parable. I'm sure God prompted me to listen to this audio book again, because in doing so, I realized it was time for me to move forward with a "dream" I've had for many years. I'm not going to share those details yet, (it has nothing to do with my real estate career) but it's just another confirmation of how awesome God is, and how He is always in control if we just let go our fears. For me to see that it was time to begin the journey of my personal "dream", it was a matter of getting rid of distractions, and clearing out the cobwebs, to even know that it was time to listen to "The Dream Giver" audio book again. And as I neared the end of the story, there were two small sentences that turned my world upside down. Those two small sentences said...

Stop looking up at your giants from your perspective. Start looking down on them from God's perspective.

Wow! Is there even anything else for me to say? How have you been viewing your giants? Is God still God or not? Because from His perspective, our giants are like ants! Now get focused, start believing, and get moving!

www.LisaHillRealtor.com