Smooth Meeting - Rent Raised - Decrease Expenses

Smooth Meeting - Rent Raised - Decrease Expenses

Thanks to answered prayers, the meeting this morning went very smoothly at the Dallas Housing Authority.

God put me with a very friendly and super experienced case worker.

I had triple checked the complicated paperwork before leaving and yet found 2 blanks not filled out. And at the meeting the case worker showed me 2 boxes that needed to be checked in the 17-page packet.

Thankfully, Darlene got her questions answered. Hopefully she will have a better relationship with the agency from now on.

I had felt anxious all morning until I met the caseworker.

I am so glad that is done!

RENT RAISED

I learned that my rent will go up in July.

Most of the rents at this property will gradually go up too. That is the decision of the property owner.  

Most of my rent will still be paid by HUD and my portion of my rent will increase too. I will be informed how much more I will pay later.

DECREASE EXPENSES

So I am motivated to decrease my expenses to cover my higher rent in midsummer.

Plus at the end of April I will start to pay for Medicare. I have already been notified that 134 dollars will be taken out of my social security retirement direct deposit.

I met with an insurance agent that helped me apply for Medicaid. He says he thinks they will pay for all the 134 dollars. But he said it may take a time for that to be approved and put into place.

Please pray for this speedy approval and implementation.

STORAGE

Previously God had provided enough for me to get by month by month. Then with this pinch I looked again at my monthly expenses.

The big bill that jumped out was for storage. I have been paying for a storage unit near Love Field for more than 3 years. At first it was 5 by 10 feet. Then I gave away things to trim it to 5 by 5 feet.

I have paid thousands of dollars over these years. This included when I was living in the homeless shelter for 3 years.

When I entered the shelter I expected I would only be there a few weeks. Then each month I expected to move out soon. God provided the hope. If I had known from the start I would be there 3 years I would have been deeply depressed. The sign by the office says they can ask a resident to move about 2 years. So God gave me favor.

Mostly what is in storage are books and paper files. There are some clothes and items for the kitchen.

As I look back on this I feel disturbed. All along I had hoped that I would soon not need that storage.

Then when I moved to this apartment in Ennis I failed to ask for help to move those items. If I could have moved the things privately then I would have soon after getting here. But it is a 45 minute drive to get there. Plus there will need to be more than 1 pickup or a rented cargo van.  

I was too proud to ask for help. I knew that was the next step but I kept putting it off. Requesting assistance from those at church was on my TODO list but never got done.

So FINALLY with this pressure I have asked for prayers from those that God might use to help.

I learned that they are willing helpers but various ones are out of town at different times. So it is back to prayer for God to coordinate this move of things from storage here safely.

Upon reflection about this storage matter I notice how much I love my books.

I notice how attached I have been to boxes of notes.

I notice how all the items in storage are not real needs. I have made it without them. It is one thing to think about the difference between needs and wants. It is another to live it out.

Part of me has been disturbed by the storage companies along the highways. I think judgemental thoughts about those people that pay to keep things they never use. I have thought of how that storage money could go to pay off debts, save, invest, enjoy life, and be given to nonprofits. Then I find myself as one that is paying rent for things.

I have thought of how those buildings are a glaring example of our collective materialism. We are addicted to buying and keeping things. Have they become idols?

I have considered the billions of fellow residents on our shared planet that have so few possessions compared to our abundance. I consider those in the historic drama movies I enjoy that lived a much simpler lifestyle.

Then I am reminded of Luke 7:5

You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

So pray for the Lord to help me remove this plank from my eye as well as other planks that need to be removed.

Shalom

John