Destination Known

After months of knowing change was coming, we finally know what state we will be living in and what house!! That is huge for me being the nester that I am :) I thought when I got to this point I would sleep like a rock---but that has not come yet as I am busy in my brain planning it all out---but I am so thankful to have things to plan!!

I know God uses the trials in life to strengthen us as individuals, as a family, and our relationship with Him and this trial has been no different! Once again, God has shown Himself huge to us and there are times I am just so in awe that I can't even speak (and that is saying a lot LOL).

The big lesson for me this move was Gen. 13:10 "Lot took a look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)" I have read this dozens of times before, but when reading it in Jan. it illuminated to me and I felt God really emphasizing to me that I had to be careful with looking at what I see. You read later on in Gen. of course that Lot may have thought he was choosing the best land, but he actually ended up in Sodom----so what looked good turned out to be the worst of the worst!!

When Mike would get an interview somewhere I would immediately hit the Internet and looked up the area, housing, what to do in the area, homeschooling in that state and city, etc. Some degree of research is needed, but I would get excited about some areas and be discouraged by others based on what I saw online. It got to the point where I would even go to the computer and I would just sense "Don't look and see!" It was so hard for me, but I did have to rethink my stinkin' thinkin' :) It truly isn't about what my research turns up, but if God would have us go to an area, He has His reasons and it is for our best. (Gen. 8:28--one of my favorites--"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." and Jer. 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you." says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.")

Yes, we have moved a lot the past few years and I do have a desire to stay put for a while---maybe even grow some roots. I know that everywhere here on earth is temporary though---and God has really brought this to my mind so many times over the past year Phil. 3:20 "But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior." Those are our roots! There we will live forever----so yes, we may move a lot, but even if we lived in the same place for years and years the fact is that it is still only temporary! I wouldn't trade that deal for anything either! So, if it is God's plan that we move, I trust He has His reasons and will make good of it (He always has before, and I know He has no intention to stop now :)

Over the past several months we have really had to hold on to God as Jehovah-Jireh! I have struggled in this area personally for years. I know God will provide for our needs, and if we do what He says and asks of us, we can expect to see Him do so. This particular name for God means "God will provide" as well as "The Lord will see" and "the Lord will be seen." If we would just do what we know to do and be patient (ouch, I really dislike that word), God will show Himself BIG!!! I believe all too often we don't wait long enough, we jump in and make a purchase, make a decision or determination, or try to answer our prayers ourselves. By waiting (or being in a position to have to wait and exercise that patience we are given), we get the thrill of seeing God move on our behalf. God is SOO much more creative than we are, and to see Him move is amazing!! I can't count how many times God has answered us in ways we could never have seen or even dreamed up ourselves!

The first thing that one wants to do when a job loss occurs is to pull back all "non-essential" spending. Unfortunately, I had clumped "giving" in that category in the past. I stopped giving to the ministries we give to monthly, and justified doing so by it being a necessity and temporary. We were however, convicted of this. When I looked at the money we spend monthly, the bills we pay----that money that goes to ministry is the MOST important and does the MOST---I can't pull back there. We corrected the error, and this time around knew not to consider such a thing :) We knew God would make it ok, and He did!! Interestingly, when Mike took the job here in Ala. after his first job loss, he had to take a pay cut. This go around with the job loss Mike will receive a pay raise. We do not chalk this up to coincidence of course, as we know there is no such thing. This is a direct PROOF to us that God means what He says---in ALL areas! Mal. 3:10 "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do." says the Lord of Heaven's Armies, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!" When God issues a challenge (and consequently this is the only time He does so) He means it!!

The job that Mike has taken is as a Six Sigma Black Belt for Graphic Packaging in West Monroe, LA. We previously felt sure we were going to be moving to Ohio for him to work for Rolls Royce. I had "looked and saw" and was quite excited about that move. We have been to Columbus before, and there is a ton to do there! Plenty of homeschooling groups (including Classical Conversations that are already established) and it would also put us closer to Mike's family which we felt would be great for us and the kids! It was settled in my brain, but as time went on and there was no offer from Rolls it became apparent that maybe that wasn't going to happen. I was sad about it---heck, we all were! Now, as we learn more about Rolls (not as a whole company, but that particular plant) we see there are a ton of problems! I mean big time problems too! God truly protected us and saved us from potentially being in this position again in a year or so!

When I looked into LA I was not happy with what I saw. I had to hold on to the lesson God was trying to instill in my brain though! When you look up that area in LA there isn't much excitement! I couldn't find anything for homeschooling in the area. No CC (there are some in LA but the closest is Bossier City which is 1.5 hours away). Yes, I can choose to direct but how much easier would it be to just join an already established community :) The "things-to-do" list was underwhelming! There just didn't appear to be anything there to be excited about besides a pay check. I prayed a lot about my bad attitude and I realized that for a while I have prayed for us to have a more "relational" existence. We miss the fellowship of friends greatly! The past couple of moves we have found it difficult to find our niche. We have loved both areas and places, but we were always far away from those we had the potential to become close to. I didn't understand at the time, but do now of course. It sure did make moving easier (and I'm not saying it was easy to say goodbye, but it could have been much harder!). We felt like maybe that is what this move was going to be---and you certainly can't look that up online.

Once my thinking was corrected (and not beforehand either), then I found a group of homeschoolers online in that area. The group formed a Yahoo group that JUST started!! I swear they did it for us :) I joined the group and posted that we were moving to the area and a little about us. Immediately a woman got in touch with me with a name of another homeschooler who is big into rental properties (her and her whole family). I had mentioned looking for rentals online (another thing you can not find online at all!!). Well Pam got in touch with me and she was a gift straight from Heaven!!! I would have never dreamed to pray for such a person to come into our lives! She not only put the word out in that area that we were looking for a house to rent and to contact her with leads, but when we took a house hunting trip to LA last week she arranged to spend the ENTIRE day with us showing us the area, looking at houses, and pro and conning each location! Her daughter came along with us which was great for the girls and they are very much looking forward to going back there and playing with their friend :)

The process was overwhelming and that first day was discouraging. We looked at a lot of properties---some owned by Pam or her family and some we happened by or were told about on a lead. They were small with small yards and the areas were questionable. Pam was very honest about each one and was great at helping up pro and con each. That night there was a homeschooling Moms Night Out. I was invited to it, but was too exhausted and we wanted to continue our search. During the night out, Pam got more leads she was eager to share with us the next morning. One of which was in THE area that she was the best of the best area to be in. Not many houses for rent in there, and when there are they are not cheap. We had already resigned ourselves to the fact we would have to raise our price, but I also knew better than to raise it too much. We just kept confessing that God would work it out---somehow, some way!

The owners of this particular house live in TX. They moved a year ago (also a homeschooling family) and were unable to sell (gee, we know that feeling!). They decided to go ahead and rent the house out and that has worked out well for them for the past year. Now the family there has suffered a job loss and has to move. The man's sister-in-law, who lives a couple blocks from the house (and also homeschools) was at the event and told Pam about the house. It had not yet been advertised even as the owners literally just found out it was going to need rented again. The owners were questioning rather it would be best to put it back on the market or rent it once again. I have no doubt we were an answer to prayer for them, just as they were for us (don't you just love win-wins!!).

The house is great! It is smaller than what we are used to, but we need to pare down as we have been lugging things from state to state just in case we may one day need them, and it is time to part ways with them and donate to someone who can use them NOW! It will be freeing to do so in fact. The owners really had to consider us knowing that we have pets---in particular Bella. There are two year old hard wood floors throughout the majority of the house and it is true that dogs and hard woods don't necessarily play well together. We understood their concerns and had to wait for them to make a decision. Well, they said yes!! Yippee!! What really overwhelmed us was the number of WANTS that God checked off our list!! I had needs on one side and wants on the other. The first day of looking we were wondering if we could even get all our needs and the thought of the wants were just too far fetched! God not only provided all of our needs (i.e. fenced in back yard, central AC, storage, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, safe location....) but He also covered many wants (i.e. large covered porch, private back yard which is a good size for the kids and Bella, trees/shade and a place for a tree swing the girls have been wanting, a pool nearby, great location close to everything, neighborhood kids, places for the girls to ride bikes/scooters/skateboards, etc.) This place has it ALL!!!

The neighborhood is 11 miles from Mike's work. The farthest thing from it is probably 15 min (such a stark contrast to right now where everything is at least 30 min one way!). There are tons of homeschooling families in the area---even in the neighborhood as we found out from Pam! There is a great kids park about half a mile walk from the house. The Athletic Center (which has a great pool, splash park, tennis courts, gym, etc) is one mile away (yes, it is a monthly charge, but I highly suspect that will be our home away from home). There are many non denominational churches close by (we have tried several denominations--and we just don't fit---we just want a Bible believing/teaching church that doesn't put God is a small box!!) These churches are within minutes from the house too. We have since found out there is a TON of homeschooling groups and activities in the area---all within minutes! Skating rink, bowling alley, movie theatre, shopping, restaurants, work, and play within minutes!! We are so excited about that----and there is no way I could have found that in my "research" :)

A lot of lessons have been learned, and no doubt many more yet to be learned (and reinforced). As I watch Bella get used to our family and how her trust grows with us, I see that being the same thing with us and our Father. As our trust grows and is strengthened it is easier to just let Him be Him and be in control! I have a long way to go, as I will always be a work in progress of course---but I thank God for the trials as they truly are a gift! Rom. 5:3 "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they will help us develop endurance."