Grace in foreclosure

Are you starting off 2012 in foreclosure?

If the answer is yes, I'm very sorry. I've been there. I know how hard that is.

According to a story published today by CNNMoney,

"One in every 624 U.S. households, nearly 211,000 in total, got hit with some sort of foreclosure filing last month."

Starting off a new year with a foreclosure notice is not ideal. Not at all.

I get it. Bob and I received our intent to accelerate just days before Christmas in 2008. We know how challenging it can be to try to be optimistic and empowered when you don't even know if you're going to have a place to live months down the road.

It can be so overwhelming. Just know that you are not alone. Not by a longshot.

What can you do? 

Well, there are so many things you can do. But so as not to add to the overwhelm, the biggest thing you can do is face this potential foreclosure with grace and integrity.


What does that look like?


At the most basic level, it looks like a clean house.

Yes. Keep your house clean. Continue to love it. Treat it nicely. Take good care of it. That is especially important if your house is on the market.

I know that keeping your house up might be the last thing you feel like doing when the bank is threatening to take it away, but it's the right thing to do.

And, it will help you confront this challenge with grace.

When we realized that we wouldn't be able to keep our house in spite of everything, we decided that we were going to do everything in our power to find a buyer in a short sale scenario who would love the house as much as we had.

That meant that we had to take care of it. Yes, it can be exhausting keeping the house show-ready month after month after month after month. But, doesn't it feel good?

In the face of foreclosure, you can choose the path of destruction or the path of grace and integrity.

Choose grace. For yourself. And for your future.

What ways do you face your foreclosure with grace and integrity?

Foreclosures Climbed in January - CNNMoney

Love in the Time of Foreclosure, the eBook is here!

I am so thrilled to officially announce that LOVE IN THE TIME OF FORECLOSURE is now an eBook!  Now you can read our triumph over foreclosure story -- edited and expanded-- all in one place.

I wrote a lot of new material to fill in some blanks that I left on the blog. In the book, you will find posts that I wrote during our time in foreclosure, but never published. Why? Because the material was too sensitive at the time and I was afraid of potentially scaring off any potential buyers for fear that I might blog about them.

I am extremely proud of the book and hope that it will make a big difference for people who are experiencing financial hardship of any kind - not just foreclosure. 

Here is what Dick Gordon of "The Story" (heard on public radio stations nationwide) has to say about Love in the Time of Foreclosure:

"Stephanie Walker has the wit to transform the shame and anxiety of foreclosure into a genuine human adventure. Its a rare story-teller who can endure the soul-shaking loss of a home, and the concurrent stress on relationships, and see through that - one's higher priorities in life. Stephanie does this with the kind of humor and personal insight that challenges the fierce attachment that we have to bricks and boards, and she leads us to a new understanding of what's really important as  "home"."

It is available as an eBook on AMAZON for the Kindle and on BARNES & NOBLE'S WEBSITE for the Nook.

Don't have an eReader? NO PROBLEM. You can still read the book. Just go to AMAZON and you can get the Kindle version for PC or even your Android. They have versions for all devices so that you can just read it on your computer.

If my blog has made a difference for you, I hope you will buy the book. By the way, Amazon makes it really easy to give as a gift as well.

To buy it for your Kindle, click HERE.

To buy it for your Nook, click HERE.

To buy it for your computer, click HERE.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to share our story and make a difference for even just 1% of the millions of Americans facing foreclosure. Or anyone, for that matter, dealing with challenging financial issues in this crazy economy. I strongly believe that our story can make a difference... that's the point in all of this.

Thank you all so much!

-Steph