On August 31, my apartment lease ends. Since I only signed a 6-month lease, it means my time in Hillsboro is over. Well, not really…there’s three options I have when it comes to my future living situation.

This is the best option I can think of. I’m getting absolutely throttled by Oregon state taxes and I am more than willing to finally give up my 22-year-long status as a resident of this great state.

However, I absolutely can’t afford to live by myself…it’s drained my resources down to almost nothing (yeah, my fault, I moved to expensive Hillsboro). If I did live by myself, I’d probably have to live somewhere in which half the residents don’t habla Ingles, or there’s some sort of consistent illegal activity going on. And I’m definitely not willing to move to a bad area just to save some money.

Thus my only option is to get a roommate. With two people sharing the rent, obviously it’s going to make it a bit easier to live in a decent part of town. That being said, that’s what I am really aiming to do. I don’t want to leave the Portland metro area but I’m being forced out of Oregon by taxes, so I am going to try to enlist a roommate to live with me in Vancouver.

This is another option. I’ve explored the possibility of moving to Tacoma or Tri-Cities (probably Kennewick or Richland), where the living is a bit easier. Like I said, I’d be exempt from a hefty state tax, but I’d gladly pay a sales tax. Tacoma and Tri-Cities both have great COGOP churches I could get involved with, and I have a ton of friends in both places as well. I’d only do this option if my job opportunities in Portland fell through, though.

This is an option that I definitely can’t rule out, as it was my original intention once I got out of the military. Now that my main reason for being here in Oregon fizzled out on me in the clutch like the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter of Game 7 in the 2000 Western Conference Finals, I’m open to this idea more and more.

What makes Springfield so appealing is the job connections I could have over there, my family and some good friends living there, and the potential for helping out with a new multimedia ministry at Crimson House Ministries.

I have nothing but good things to say about Crimson House — they’re the first COGOP I’ve seen who does it all right. Just from talking with their pastor, John Pace, he’s gotta be the guy I respect most in COGOP leadership. He’s got his head screwed on straight, he’s got a great vision for the church and ministry in the community, and he’s even detailed his vision and is working to get every single person in his church involved. The folks there are great too — I’ve only visited there four times and every time I’ve been there I felt like I was at my home church. They only run about 40-50 people per service, but their services are relevant and relational, not screaming and shouting at you for over an hour. The fact that they want to start up a multimedia ministry is very appealing to me as well.

Obviously things here in the Northwest would have to completely fall through for me to move to Springfield in two months, but hey…over the next year or so, don’t rule out a surprise announcement from me that I’ve given up on the Northwest.

Whatever direction my life takes, I pray it’s God’s will, not mine. I didn’t heed His call when I left the Air Force in November and he made me pay dearly for it.