My Jesus I Love Thee

My Jesus I love Thee, I know you are mine. I have walked where You walked, I have eaten foods You have eaten, and I have seen the wonders of the land You lived in. The beautiful flowers and waters are indescribable. Lord, when you walked all those miles did your feet hurt? Did you get tired? Did you feel bad? It sure seems a long way to travel by foot. But You were determined weren't You? You were set on a purpose. God's purpose. When you spoke of the lilies of the fields did You see the pretty yellow flowers all around? Did you see the awesome roses with the funny colors? (I guess You were there when the colors were picked out). Help me to remember You have a hand in this world, then and now.

I saw a saying in Charles Spurgeon's sermons this morning....." It does not matter whether I live or die, because if I die I come to live with You, and if I stay you are here to live with Me." Either way we are in it all together. I have a friend that is on his way to death. I pray that You will meet him and take him to live with You. It is really hard to lose someone that you love, someone close to your age, and realize that it can be me next. But God, I am so thankful that I know who I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep me till that day. I pray that You will be Yeshua to my friend. His salvation. Please help me to share You with my friend. Please.

I have walked in Your land, now I beg You to walk in mine and help me to share You to someone that needs You. Not just a little, but wholly. I pray that You will walk with him to meet You. Help him to be able to say, "I know you are mine". Please.....

I am willing. Give me the chance to open my mouth.

Israel, What's So Special?

Israel, I have always wanted to visit there. My grandmother went when I was a teenager and brought me back a neat Olive Wood Bible and a wood carved box. I still have the box. She was the typical grandmother, on her own and not the most independent self assured person, I thought. She loved the trip and often spoke to me of it.
She said, "You have to go, if you ever get the chance." Why, I often wondered.

Israel is the land God loved so much that He promised it to Abraham and his family. They were the people of God's choice and Israel is the land of His choice. I wanted to know why? What is so great about it? What makes it the place in the whole world that God is so concerned about? I got the chance to go to check it out for myself.

My church offered a trip to it's members. Peter and I signed up. Everyone thought we were crazy to go there with all the strife and chaos going on in the Middle East. Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Israel have much going on in their political arenas. But I prayed about it and decided if God wanted me to go then I would. So.....  it just felt right, it felt peaceful, and it felt exciting. So on February 20,2013 we loaded up on a bus drove to the airport with 8 other people from First Baptist, and off we went.

I will say that I never felt uneasy, afraid, or threatened. I was completely at ease for the whole ten days. There was a protest going on because a Palestinian boy was found dead in an Israeli jail. The Palestinians claimed he was tortured to death. We saw the protests on TV but only saw a small gathering in Nazareth and a few kids throwing rocks at some policemen in Bethlehem. I walked alone behind everyone most of the time, because I was so busy taking pictures and looking at everything up close. No one ever bothered me except in Jerusalem one day. A young man came up to me and asked if I was an American. I told him I was and he immediately began to question me in an arguable voice. He wanted to know if I believed in God. I told him I did and I was a Christian. He said to me, "Why would a God put three different religions in one city all together?" He said he thought it was cruel and could not worship a God that would do that. I asked him if he had ever thought that maybe God put them all in one place so that all of His children could figure out how to live together and make peace. He did not know how to answer that question. He said he was going to the hot place and I would be there too and would ask him to light my cigarette. He obviously doesn't know me...... my family will get that..... I HATE cigarettes.  Anyway, that was the only time anyone ever made me feel a little uncomfortable and I wasn't uncomfortable just hoping I said the right thing. I have been praying for him....

Israel is a beautiful place. It is the gateway from Europe to the Middle East and Africa. It is a valuable piece of property.  As a Realtor, I would bet it is the most expensive piece of property in the world. Wars have gone on since the very beginning to gain control of it. Location, location, location. But it is also unique and wonderful. The Golan Heights were the prettiest, I thought. It is green and moutainous and strategically located between Syria and Israel. Israel needs to keep it because it makes it more difficult for Syria to bomb Israel. I loved it.

We drove in the desert and saw the borders of Jordan. Simply awesome. I feel I have visited 3 countries while being in Israel because you can see them so clearly. Lebanon can also be seen from the mountains of Haifa. Believe me, God had a plan. And He is still in control of that land.

It was a very long flight and longer going home. It took us 25.5 hours to get home. I am exhausted and sick. I have bronchitis and a terrible cold. We went non stop for 10 days. We were rushed to and fro, saw so much, I do not regret one thing, but I have never been so tired. It is Wednesday and I am still recovering. As for my grandmother being a little old lady with no independence or stamina, what was I thinking? Maw Coffman, you were so much more than I ever knew. Wish I had talked one on one more often. I am the loser..... I know you are looking at God face to face and asking all the questions I want to ask Him. I also know you interceded for me while I was in Israel and enjoyed watching me take it all in. Thank you.

Get Your Pre-Approval Letter First!

inShare Rome first time home buyer tips - Rome real estate Now is the time to set the appointment with your mortgage loan officer to sit down and get a mortgage pre-approval letter.  First of all, Why do you need a mortgage pre-approval letter?  No listing agent will even take your purchase offer without a mortgage pre-approval letter.   Why do they need that you ask?  Well,  look at it this way, how does a  listing agent and the seller know if you can afford to buy the house.  Believe it or not I have people calling me all the time to go show them  homes that they are not approved or able to buy.  After talking to them, I find they have had bankruptcies, or foreclosures, bad credit, or poor work history.  THEY WANT TO BUY.  But in their current circumstances they cannot buy a piece of Rome real estate. I just had a call the other day from a Facebook friend.  Their kids wanted to buy, but unfortunately they were only out of a foreclosure 1 year.  They have to wait longer before they can buy.  So if you were a seller and I brought that buyer with no pre-approval letter there would be an issue.  The buyer and seller would agree to a price.  The  home would come off the market.  The inspection would be done and the clients would go to the mortgage lender.  Only to find out that the buyer cannot get a mortgage. So the home owner would have wasted time and had their home off the market for a bad buyer.  So it is very smart for any Rome home owner to ask all buyers to bring a pre-approval letter when they bring an offer.  A mortgage pre-approval letter is a mandatory item you have to have when submitting a home offer on any foreclosure or bank owned properties.  No pre-approval letter, your offer is not even going to be looked at.   So I hope you understand why you need a mortgage pre-approval letter.  It eliminates the lookers, and makes sure the deal is a "real deal".  It tells the seller that you have talked to a mortgage lender and that you can afford to buy this piece of Rome real estate.  I hope you learned one more thing about the Rome, GA home buying process.  If you have more questions give me a call. I will be glad to help you out every way I can.  That's my job to make your home buying process easier and less complicated.

Rise and Shine!

Real Estate Experts are now saying that the Real Estate Market has shifted from Survival to Growth. I don't know about you but I find that like a breath of fresh air. Finally....... 

We are now back to historical healthy levels for pending home sales. Normal inventory has always been that homes would sell within 5-6 months. The last 4-5 years have been more like 1-2 years! But now that so much has sold, we are moving back to the normal time.... isn't that great????????

The demand is up and the inventory is down. I learned in college the basic rule of economics is based on supply and demand. There are lots of people buying and therefore the inventory is moving down. Therefore, we need lots more listings.  If you have been thinking about selling but afraid of the market, get off that fence! Your home will be worth more than you probably think. 

The good investment of home ownership has always been one of America's strong dreams. It is again. The thing you probably aren't aware of is that over the last 13 years, homes have appreciated about 40% overall. Even during 2012 prices were up overall 4.3%. Take a look at your stock values and see which is the wisest investment, still today.

The Wall Street Journal Economic Survey says that homes will appreciate 3.5% this year, 2013. There is urgency being felt by buyers due to  prices and interest rates being projected to rise this year. It is a great indicator of better times, people.

All indications are that we are going to have a great year in real estate. Now is the time. Rise up and get your house shining. You want the "shiny penny" to be your house that everyone is looking for. Get it ready, call me and lets join forces to get it sold so that you can move on to next great investment for you and your family.

My website, www.karenmcalisterjordan.com is loaded with wonderful homes for you to compare and choose for your next real estate dream. Give me a call and let's get started. Today is the day!!!!!