Update..finally!

I feel like it's been forever since I blogged.  So..I thought I'd jump in with both feet and give an update about our house situation, it's been a long time...and all through it the Lord was so gracious and has grown our family and showed His provision in ways we never expected.  As He often does when we take that first step of faith.  We take that first step, and He meets us there..in that moment..in that circumstance and changes us.  Maybe not in ways we wanted, liked or expected.  But in ways we EXACTLY needed.  He just does that because He is GOD!!  There is no other!

So, I sit here today..blogging...from our new home.  From start to finish this move, which began with listing our home in Greer January 1, 2011...and came to a close on June 28, 2012 when we closed on our new home.....has been intense.  It's been stretching...it's been stressful...but all through it, we've said we didn't know what the Lord was up to, but we knew...if we kept praying and asking...He would show us.

We were very very blessed to live with my in laws for two months.  It was supposed to be three weeks, and those three weeks came and went..and turned into eight.  Which was a lot.  So there is so much that happened in those eight weeks..but bottom line:  I've got amazing in-laws who truly live out a sacrificial life for Christ without regard to themselves.

As we were reading through paperwork on the new house...we saw that they started construction on this house on January 27, 2012.   I know that's a small detail....and may seem insignificant.  But I've been "waiting" a lot lately...and I think sometimes when we wait on the Lord, and it takes longer than we expect...we begin to wonder...what really is going on.  We ask ourselves and God question after question.

Did you catch that we listed our home January 1, 2011?

Yet our new home, that meets all of our needs, allows us to minister to others and is something that neither my husband or I ever thought we would be able to afford....didn't even EXIST when we first started our journey to Simpsonville.

Sometimes the destination isn't ready when you start the journey...and yet God brings you to it, and walks with you through it....graciously and lovingly He walked us through this transition.

Over and over again, the Lord brought to my mind James 1:6, "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

Over and over again over the last 18 months I fought doubt.  I fought in my mind an intense quiet battle.  Sometimes crippling.  Isn't our mind a crazy place?

As I wrestled all these things in my mind, I became resolute to stick to my Lord and His word and I recited these verses to myself over and over again:

 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Cor 10:5

and

^" Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things"  Phil 4:8

So, although it may appear to the world, and those without Christ, our "reward" is the physical house we now live in....and to an extent it is, we treasure the Lord of love and grace, who taught us, walked with us, upheld us, encouraged us and blessed us more in our hearts than anything over the last 18 months.

So here is a photo of our home...this is all to the Lord's glory...praising Him for His goodness and grace, for His patience towards our stubborn hearts and His amazing provision!!