Top 10 Things You Wish You Could do to the Parsonage

Part of ministry life is living in a parsonage.  You that special place that you call home.  A parsonage is delightfully decorated by someone who does not have your taste.  As the months and years go by of living in with home, you begin to redecorate mentally.  You make your wish list of things you would love to do the parsonage-the wowing wall color, fine flooring, the kitchen creation that is the envy of all your friends, etc.  Alas, you never get the chance to put your dreams in place in a parsonage.

Well, today you get the chance to share your ideas for what you wish you could do to the parsonage.  I am sharing my top 10 ideas first.

Top 10 Things You Wish You Could do to the Parsonage

*Tear out the old, nasty, gross multicolor shag carpet. Would you want your baby crawling in filth?

*Tear out the yellowed, aged linoleum that has mold growing under it. Can we say health hazard!

*Remodel the dated 1960s kitchen.

*Move the parsonage AWAY from the church.  I once lived in a parsonage that held the pastor's
  office.  What we didn't realize it that even though we locked the outside door any church member
  could come in at any time and walk on into the house because every church member had a key to
  "their" house.

*Strip off the wallpaper.  Seriously, I have had bold paisley, brown fussy butterflies, big bright yellow flocked roses, ugly orange and brown stripes, and country blue hearts with chickens.  I firmly believe the ladies of the church get together and each decorate a room in their personal taste.

*Repaint the entire house in a pleasing neutral color that would fit wife's taste.  No pink walls please!

*Tear out the paneling walls!! I will never understand why only two rooms in one parsonage had
  paneling on the walls.  Those rooms happened to be bedrooms.  WHY!!

*Install energy efficient windows, doors, heating and air conditioning.  We have lived in homes with
  single pane windows and gaping cracks in the door.  There was always either freezing cold or 
  humid   hot air coming in to the house.  Also, we have lived in a home with very little insultation. 
  Our heating and cooling bills for a month were almost our entire pay check.

*Take down and replace old, dry rotten drapes.  Churches should update parsonages every few
  years because many families have severe allergies.  They should also be checked for mold hazards.
  Allergist will confirm that drapes and carpet should be clean or replaced often.  Mold is a very
  real health issue for many families.

*Give us a housing allowance and let us build our own home!  However, I am very grateful to have
  had a home provided for my family.  No, they were not perfect, the decor distasteful, and the
  carpets just simply horrible.  Yet the parsonage kept us sheltered from the outside and we did our
  best to make it our own.

Let me hear your ideas for what you wish you could do to the parsonage.