God Provides - My Testimony - Part 3

When I say that God provides, I truly mean it. He is sufficient! He will meet our needs. Sometimes what we want is not necessarily what we need. Sometimes answered prayers are not in the form we think they should be in. Of course, we asked God to provide Dave with a job. Of course, we asked God to sell our house right away. But His plans are not our plans. I hope you will see God's glory in these journal entries that I made. Of course, you need to read my testimony part 1 and part 2 to understand and get the full story here.



This is now while we waiting on the Lord to sell our house. Patience is a fruit of the spirit and it is not easy!



Here are my journal entries copied directly out of my journal. I'm really thankful that I journaled on the computer instead of writing it by hand. :)



Thursday, May 3, 2007
Today is my mom’s birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you. Lord, thank you for my mom. I know you have a big plan in store for us while we live with them. I pray that we touch her heart in a way unimaginable! I thank you in advance for the miracles you are going to work while we’re there. I pray that we are lights shining so brightly she will be blinded by your love! Use us Lord, in whatever way you want to bring my parents to you!

When I was at work, I was walking to my desk. Just praying. Asking God to bring us a buyer. Not even 5 minutes later, my phone rang. It was Dave. We got a showing!!! Praise God. It’s from 7 – 8 pm on Friday!

Today, when I went to the mail box, there was a piece of paper that said, Dear...Family, with a scripture verse on it. “I have a plan for you…” Inside the paper was a cashiers check made out to us, for $500!!!!! It’s anonymous. We showed Mackenzie and she said, “This is from God!”. Yes God, we thank you once again! I can’t believe this. Why do we deserve this Lord? Thank you, thank you, thank you! May you get ALL the glory for this! We will share and testify to your love. You are amazing! What people you have placed in our lives. How blessed can one family be?

My heart saddens right now. Because I think of Amanda and I wish she were here to witness all this love. I pray that you would draw her close to you. Protect her Lord. Bring her love and peace like no one else can!

Friday, May 4, 2007Today was the day for our first showing. We got a phone call and they changed the time to 5:30 – 6:30. Ok, I got a gift card for Boston Market and I guess we’ll use that. We spent the day trying to get the house looking just right. It was beautiful. It rained and that was a bit of a bummer. We got the kids and the dog and headed out for dinner. When we returned it didn’t look like anyone had been here. There was no card, no footprints, no flyers were gone. We are disappointed. Did they come? We don’t think so. Lord, we just ask that they did come and they are thinking about our house.

We are having an open house on Sunday. We’ll see what happens.

Saturday, May 5, 2007Mackenzie had her dance performance tonight. I worked for a while and then watched the musical. Mackenzie did so good. She is so beautiful. Bless her O Lord! She is your daughter. She loves you and follows you. Thank you for Mackenzie!

Sunday, May 6, 2007
We went to church and then watched the musical again. My mom and Dede came. That really meant a lot to Mackenzie. I told my mom that her friend was the producer of the play. She got a chance to say Hi to her after the play. I hope that this will help my mom to feel more comfortable coming here. I just know that they will be going to church with us sometime while we are there. I just pray that you will put that seed into my mom’s mind and heart, Lord.

After the performance, we talked about Dede’s wedding. Her and Scott will be getting married at Hosanna! That’s just so cool Lord! Our whole family could be going to the same church. I proclaim that Lord!!!! Thank you in advance for that vision!

We got the house all ready for the Open House. Then we went to Frank & Mary’s. We had a great dinner there and then we all took the kids to the park. They had fun and it was good exercise. The open house went ok. There were 3 couples that went through. None of them are ready to buy though. I pray that Bud and Jean will get a new client out of that. Lord, they have been so faithful and I pray that you would bless them!

Thank you for a peaceful, fun day with my family!

Monday, May 7, 2007
Today was a little discouraging. I try not to feel this way, but we haven’t had any showings. Well, we know you have a plan Lord. You’ve provided for us thus far and we are believing that you’ll continue to do so. I was just so tired and not feeling well. I pray that you will protect me from getting any illnesses! In Jesus’ name! AMEN!

On the brighter side, Mitchell had his first practice. It looked like it was going to get rained out, but it cleared up just in time. Thank you Lord. He would’ve been so disappointed. There were only 3 boys there, but they had fun. Dave really is patient with them. He is such a great dad. Thank you God. Thank you for Dave. I love him so!

Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Today I was feeling a little down. When I left this morning I tried to help clean up, just in case we have a showing. I was late to our staff meeting and that bums me out. Hailey is like Velcro on my leg. She doesn’t want to stay at Kid Kare anymore. She cries and screams when I drop her off. I’m not sure why that is. She’s been like this for the past couple of months. Anyways…after our staff meeting, I was sharing with Wendy C and Sheri B my feelings about the house situations. Both of them reminded me how we are to praise God and rejoice about everything. Especially all the miracles we’ve had in our lives. I agreed and did just that. Not even 15 minutes later, Dave called me to tell me that we got a showing. Praise God!!!! He is sooo Good! Thank you Lord!

When I was going to pick up Hailey from Pre-school (which she loves), I ran into my friend, Kim W. She handed me a card that talked about how God will take care of everything. In the card was a $20 gift card to Holiday Gas Station. Wow! She told me in the card that she went through something similar years ago. She said that other people helped her through that time and that she promised God that she would help others if they ever needed it. What a blessing! Thank you Lord. She was also so much help driving me home from work every Tuesday and Thursday when my ankle was broken. I tried to pay her for gas but she wouldn’t except it. Lord, I just thank you for my friend, your daughter. What a heart you’ve given her.

About an hour ago, my old friend Steve Weilinski called me. He was calling to see how we’re doing and if we’d like to get together with old friends. I’ve known Steve for 23 years! I worked with him at my first job. We all had great times growing up. I had a great bunch of friends and many of them are still my friends. As I sit here tonight I just reflect on friends, old and new. God has placed wonderful people in my life. I truly am blessed!


Thursday, May 10, 2007We had our first actual showing yesterday. We haven’t heard any feedback and no offer, but we’re believing that it will happen soon. The Lord knows what we need. He will provide for us. Dave and I went out to lunch together today. We haven’t had much alone time together. It was really nice. We got my lunch free because I had a punch card that Susan gave me the last time we went to Tak Shing. (That was the day Dede gave me the money J)

Today was a beautiful, sunny day. It must have been 90 degrees today. Tonight is cooling down and there’s a nice breeze. I just thank the Lord for nights like tonight. I have a wonderful family and I am blessed.

Friday, May 11, 2007It’s been a great day! Dave and I have had lots of time to talk with each other. He has shared his heart and his dream with me about starting a non-profit organization. I know that’s what he’s wanted to do, but the money part has always been a factor. Well, since we’ll be living with my parents for the next few months money is not as big of a deal. Is that what you’re up to God? Is this where you want us to go? Dave has been asking me about my dream. My dream to help people in need. Those that are homeless, jobless, just down and out are those that I have a heart for. Is this what God has been preparing us for all along? Did He bring us to a current situation to give us a heart for those who are financially hurting? Those who are really close to losing their home? I wonder…

I’ve been reflecting on the past few months. My number one strength is empathy. I’ve always had a heart for the hurting. I love to step in to a big project and help those in need. I love to organize meals and benefits. I’ve never been in a real good financial place where we’ve had extra money to give (well not recently anyways). So, I will always step up to do the big stuff. Not that I won’t bring a meal to someone or contribute to a care package, but I’m usually the one doing the organizing. It’s a gift. When it comes to friends or family in need, I’ve always said, “Call if you need anything.” And I meant it. If they ever needed anything and I could help, I would. Some people have actually called and asked for help. But most of the time, no one does. And I feel bad. I always sit there and wait to be asked. Then when I don’t get asked I feel bad. Well, God has shown me that you don’t need to wait to be asked. I am going to do my best to wipe that phrase out of my vocabulary. Really, what a dumb thing to say. Most people are like me. I would rather drown than ask for help! Me, need help? No way! Well, that’s how I was a year ago. I never wanted anyone to know that I couldn’t do it all myself. I’ve been that way forever. In college, I would never say no. I would do anything I could to help and please others. I was the do all be all student! Or at least I thought I was. Until I started getting severe headaches all related to stress!
This accepting help thing started last year. Actually, it was when I was just learning to stop saying that phrase and just doing. I decided to start that with in my small group and my friends. That I would stop asking and start being a little more “forceful” when it comes to offering help. So, when Rob & Michelle had their baby, I told them I was going to bring dinner. That night I delivered 3 meals. None of the recipients were really eager at first to accept it. But I stayed strong and wouldn’t let them say no. Cooking a meal for 4 families was no easy task, but it felt really good! When I would deliver the meal and drive away, I felt like I was in some small way helping out. And low and behold it really made a difference to those families. So much for Rob and Michelle that they decided they wanted to start something bigger in our small group. That we would help each other out with home projects. Now this was really hard. They wanted to help us first. Wow! I tried to say that we didn’t need it, but the words just wouldn’t come out. I justified it by saying to myself, “well, we’re going to get to help them next, so it’s ok.” Well, I don’t think that please God so much. I think He really wants us to know how to receive. So, right in the middle of our home project, I broke my ankle. I really messed it up and was in a cast for 3 months. Now we were on the receiving end of a meals schedule! That was strange. But I tell you what, it was really nice. I couldn’t cook and it was such a blessing to have a meal delivered. On top of that I had to ask people for rides and that was even harder. I really learned what it’s like to be on the other side of giving. I even had a friend come over and help me clean. It was awkward at first, but once I admitted that I couldn’t do it and I needed help, I was ok with it. It gave me a new perspective on what others might feel like. I thought that I had learned my lesson and that God was going to release me into something new.

Well, just after I finally get out of my cast…Dave loses his job. The next day, I get really sick. I was sick for more than 2 weeks. And right in the middle of organizing a benefit. So, now we have a house we can’t pay for, bills piling up and we need to sell our house. It was so overwhelming that I didn’t even know where to start. Since I hadn’t been able to do much cleaning over the past few months, there was much to do. Dave really started pressing in with God and spending daily time with Him. We knew God was calling us to sell our house and pay off our debt. We just didn’t want it to happen this way. But God had different plans.

Oh – our God sighting today was at Napa Auto Parts. Both of our vehicles have brake problems right now. A few days ago Dave bought break pads for the van and put them in. So, the front breaks are fine now. Thank you Lord that my husband can do that for us. Ok, so today we’re talking about how bad the breaks in the car are. We can't agree and what place to go to, but Dave passes TWO places and says "we need to go to NAPA". We go to NAPA and Dave comes back out asking if the car is pulsating. Yes, it is so we need new rotors. That’s a bummer and this is going to cost about $130+. Well, we don’t have much money. Every penny we spend takes away from our mortgage and food. Which by the way is pretty much all we’re paying. Except for our utilities to keep our gas, electric and phone on. So, Dave goes in to make the purchase. When he comes out he has this huge smile on his face. Apparently, the store clerk said “you look like a guy who could use a break”. Literally! Ha, ha! He decided to give him a discount. The total purchase was only $77! Almost half what we thought it was going to be. Thank you Lord! Dave asked the guy if he was a Christian…what do you think he said? Of course…of course this was a gift from God. Lord, how amazing are you!!!! You told that man that we needed a break – in more than one way. WOW!!!

I can’t wait to see the God sighting tomorrow!

Saturday, May 12, 2007
Today didn’t start out so great. First of all, when Dave finally got home last night at 11:30 pm, I was mad. I had been worried. Wondering what might have happened. The conference he went to, “The Father’s Love” by Leif Hetland was to be over at 9 pm. I thought it may go until 10 pm but the building closes as 10. So, when he still wasn’t home by 10:30, that’s when the worry started. Lord, now I see that I should’ve just turned it over to you. But I was also disappointed. I had hoped on him coming home and us talking about the night. Well, we did make up and I got over it and we had a wonderful ending to the evening.

This morning I had over slept and couldn’t get online to get my investment club stock reports done. I was in a hurry and frustrated and Dave was trying to be a “fixer”. The thing is that he couldn’t fix it and I was only getting more frustrated. When he told me that I was out of luck and I just needed to except that, I snipped at him and told him “That really helps”. He got angry and stormed off. He started yelling and slamming stuff in the garage, saying that he wasn’t going to the conference. I couldn’t believe where this was coming from. I went out there and told him that this had nothing to do with the conference. We talked and all was good. He apologized and handed me the descriptors of our DISC profiles. He pointed out how his primary emotion is “anger”. My primary emotion is “optimism”. OK, that’s weird I thought. I don’t know if that’s my primary emotion. But whatever.

I pray that you would send buyers to the Bentz home today. They are having an open house and I just pray that they would get an offer as well.

Thank you God for all that you’ve done. Thank you that we haven’t had many showings this week which has given us time to spend together and with you. You are amazing and YOU use everything for good. Today is a gift. Thank you for that gift! I pray that there would be many God sightings in the lives of my friends and family. I pray that they would see them clearly and know that they are from YOU!

Dave was filled with God’s love at the conference today. Thank you Lord for the opportunity you gave in allowing him to go. We ended the evening with a nice walk and stopped at the park to play with the kids. We all had a great time and are very tired. What a beautiful day it was and a beautiful night as well. All is good in the Engman house! We love YOU!

Sunday, May 13, 2007
Mother’s Day! My family cooked me breakfast this morning and then we went to church. It was a great service. Leif Hetlund gave his message about The Father’s Love and used the eagles as a comparison. He gave the story about the courtship of a pair of eagles. How the female picks up a stick and carries it up to 10,000 feet and drops it. Then the male goes after it and brings it back to her. Then she goes and gets a heavier stick and only brings it to 5,000 feet and drops it. Same thing, he goes and gets it before it hits the ground. She continues this until she finds a stick equal to their body weight. She brings that to 500 feet and drops it and the males risks his life to get it for her. Then they lock talons and the honeymoon begins. When they have eaglets, the moma takes her babies out to teach them to fly. She has them on her wing and then lets them fall. They flap their wings trying to fly while the daddy circles above, watching. When they start to fall, closer the ground, the daddy dives down and catches them. That’s what our daddy, Father God, does for us. He can fly faster than I can fall!!! What a picture. He won’t let me fall. He’ll catch me. Amazing! I was in tears. How I needed to hear that. Dave and I are going through a molting process. Similar to that of Eagles. The story of how they go through the molting process is quite amazing.


Monday, May 14, 2007In the midst of this storm there is a rainbow. It’s God’s promise. Everything will work out. Now, Dave and I are charged with the task of making sure that we go down the road God wants us to. WE are seeking confirmation on the Well Foundation. Is this indeed what God wants. We both feel that it is, but we are going to seek Godly counsel on this. We will seek some of the pastors at Hosanna! This is very important to me. I want to be blessed by them in this. The other thing we need is for God to give us a mission statement. How can we help others and allow others to know it in one sentence?

Some thoughts:
The arms reaching and the feet walking beside those in need.
Helping families one at a time.
Mentoring to those in need.
August 2007
I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t written all summer. It’s the end of August. I’m so disappointed in myself. Well, I’m going to start to go back and try to write to the best of my memory for the rest of May, June and July.

Date?Pastor Pat stopped me at work and told me to check my mailbox. There was $100 worth of Gas cards and a $200 Rainbow Foods gift card. She said that God told her what to give us and just how much. Thank you Lord. You are awesome and I praise you for your wonders! We are so blessed and you continue to take care of us.

Monday, July 30, 2007This was a bad day to start out with. I called Dave at work and was asking him what we were going to do about our mortgage payment. It’s the 30th…and if we don’t pay today, we will be 60 days late. And soon after that…they will start foreclosure proceedings. We ended up getting in an argument. Dave had told me to just give it up. We were not going to make our payment. But I was determined to figure out a way! In the heat of our argument, I said some things to him that were not nice. I ended up in tears and he hung up on me.

I was on the couch crying when Dave got home. He came home right after he hung up in the middle of the day. We talked and prayed. We were asking God where we were going to get $2000 in one day. Then the phone rang. It was my mom. I tried to hide my tears but she knew something was wrong. I told her about our situation. She said she could give us half and suggested asking Dave’s parents for the other half. Reluctantly Dave did it. And they borrowed it to us. We may not always like the way God provides, but He does. All the time! God uses everyone to bless His children. Our parents may not know it, but He does use them. I thank God for our parents.

August ?, 2007
It's been so hard because we keep lowering the price on our house. We are below what we actually owe on it and almost at what we paid for it 4 years ago. Not that the money matters but it's still hard. I really am ok with it. Although my flesh gets in the way and I struggle. My prayer has been that if we need to sell our house this cheap that the Lord would bless someone by it. That the people that buy our house would know that this is a blessing from the Lord. If that is the case, then this will ALL be worth it. I just want to see God's hand in all this. I want for Him to be glorified and for us to be His servants. That's all.

Monday, August 27, 2007Today I’m going to really make the time every morning to spend with the Lord. I know that is what He desires and I just want to please Him. This has been such a hard time lately. Mackenzie keeps asking to get school supplies and we just don’t have the money. I’m so frustrated with our situation. Lord, I just give it to you!

Dave went to a meeting at the Farmington Lutheran Church. He’s been building a relationship with our neighbor, Craig. I pray for that relationship.

Mackenzie had a tough day today. She is feeling persecution from her friends. It’s because of her Christian beliefs that this is happening. I was reading about persecution and how it will come to those who seek righteousness. Mackenzie’s friends have been playing a wizard game. They’re making potions and doing witchcraft. Dave told them that it says not to do this in the bible and that Mackenzie is not allowed to play such games. Well, they are taunting her about this game. They go off and play it leaving her behind. When she confronted Ally about this, Ally told her that she does things behind her parent’s back and so should Mackenzie. But Mackenzie held strong! Praise God! She told me about this and I told her that she would be rewarded for this behavior! She was in tears and so upset. I know it was hard for her, but she remained steadfast in God’s eyes.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007
I started out my day in prayer and reading the Bible. I’m reading the Sermon on the Mount. I’m reading it to study about the Judgment Day. Trying to figure out what it is that God wants me to know about that day.

Today, we had our staff meeting at church. It’s always great worship time. After the meeting, Pastor Pat came up to me and said that she wants to take my children school clothes shopping. I was in tears. God, you are so amazing. I just know that Pat has a straight line to you. You speak to her often and not only does she hear you, but she listens. My plan was to ask Violet what help we could get for school supplies. I was so dreading that. And then when I got back to my desk, there was a message. She wanted us to come and get our school supplies from her. I was so humbled. What a lesson on humility. We now know what it feels like to have to be on the receiving end of these gifts. It’s so hard. It’s humiliating. Thank you Lord, for giving us a heart for this.

When I was standing in line, waiting for my family to have dinner at church, I was embarrassed. Embarrassed to be there. Ashamed that I have to be in that line. Feeling inferior to those around me. When approached by my co-workers I made excuses for being there. Instead of just admitting that I was there because the meal is free and it will help us financially. And admitting that we were going to have to use the back to school blessing ministry. I just feel for those that have been or are in my situation. I pray for each of us Lord. Help us. Help me to get over the humiliation and learn about humility. I will study that this week Lord. You are such an amazing God. You are teaching Dave, myself, and our children what it means to be humble and what it means to be on the receiving end of your gifts. Thank you!

After we got the school supplies, we went to Target. I got to get $100 in clothes, shoes, socks, etc. for Amanda, Mackenzie, and Mitchell. It was so fun to see them excited. What a blessing that was for our family. I pray that my children will truly realize what this means and that they are thankful for these gifts. They each got a pair of shoes, clothes, socks and underwear. All were much needed! Thank you Lord! And as if that wasn’t enough…Dave had went grocery shopping and he was going through a separate check out line. Well, Pastor Pat went over to him and paid for our groceries too! $225 worth of groceries! AMAZING! WHAT A GOD WE HAVE!

This is what our church is about! It gives! It gives to so many. I wish people understood what a place we have to worship at. Not that Hosanna! is perfect or should it be held upon a pedestal, but Hosanna! really does care about the community. That night, prior to Pastor Pat coming up to Target at 9:00 pm, she had taken a homeless family out to dinner. That’s what she does. She blesses those in need…for our God!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007
This morning Dave and I sat down together and started reading our bibles. We had a good time reading to each other, sharing what we’re learning. We should have more days like this.

It’s a big day today, because we have 3 showings! Wow! What is God doing here? Tomorrow is a big day for us because we will be 60 days late on our mortgage if we don’t pay it. Well, we don’t have the money to pay it. And we’ve borrowed as much money as we can…so we’re on our own. Well, not on our own, but heavily relying on God. So, getting an offer on our house will be good in the eyes of the mortgage company. You see, if we don’t pay our mortgage on the 30th…it’ll be 20 days until we go into foreclosure. What about foreclosure? Well, it will make the chance of getting into another house pretty hard in the months or years to come. It doesn’t honor God. At least I don’t think it does. We’re trying so hard. We’re trying to be obedient to Him. We’re praying that we don’t have to go down that road.

We had Mitchell & Mackenzie’s open houses at school this afternoon. That was fun. They both met their teachers and had fun putting their new school supplies in their desks. I pray that their teachers know the Lord and that they are loving Christian’s. Thank you Lord.

After that we went to Skateville for Mitchell & Mackenzie’s Birthday Parties. Another blessing…my mom bought us 2 free parties at my uncle’s silent auction. It was a fun night had by all. My mom, dad and Dede came. It was good to see my dad out. Mackenzie is having friends sleep over tonight and hopefully they won’t stay up all night.

Thursday, August 30, 2007It has been a pretty peaceful day thus far. I fed the kids breakfast and then headed for my corner to spend some time with the Lord. I finished the Sermon on the Mount and had a chance to read some other scriptures about the Judgment Seat of Christ. I feel armed and prepared. Well, with knowledge anyways. One thing I meditated and prayed on this morning was when Jesus tells us…”you have not because you ask not”. Well, I’m asking Lord. Sell our house. Please Lord. I was on my knees for this reason. Surely Lord, you will bless us today with an offer on our house. I’m not spending my day worrying about our mortgage payment. Instead, I am giving it to you. This is YOUR house. You know what we need. I’m praying about it instead of worrying about it.

My friend, Toni C., just called a bit ago. She would like to give Mackenzie some of Megan’s clothes that she won’t wear. What a blessing! We truly are blessed. Our friends, our community, our church. What amazing people God has surrounded us with.

It is 7:19 pm. I’m feeling pretty down right now. (To be perfectly honest) Lord, please help me. I’m frustrated. We’ve had no offers. Dave has had no paycheck since starting Avodah. We will now have to wait until November at the earliest to get health insurance. That is if Dave gets paid in September and if we have money to pay for health insurance. I just don’t understand. And I know that I am blessed. I know that my situation is nothing compared to others. So, I come to the cross and I pray. I pray that the phone would ring and it would be our realtor calling with an offer. Lord, please hear my prayer. I ask this in your precious son Jesus’ name. Amen!

I’m off to help Cindy and Greg paint their new home that they just closed on today!

Friday, August 31, 2007
Well, at about 7:45 pm last night, we got a call for a 2nd showing! Praise God! Please Lord, let this be the one who buys our home! I was able to spend a good hour with the Lord this morning. It feels so good to put Him first every day.

I helped Greg and Cindy for a bit while we had our showing today. It was nice to spend time with Cindy. We haven’t really been connecting much lately.

Saturday, September 1, 2007
Well, Praise God! Today we got an offer. I have to admit…I was so excited when the call came in…until I heard what the offer was. We originally had our house listed for $329,900. We then lowered it to $324,900. As time went on we realized that we needed to do something big. We had to go to our bank and see if they would do a short sale. Well, they will. So, we decided to cancel our listing and re-list the house for $299,900. This was really hard because we owe $309,000 and we will have to pay taxes on the difference. We then lowered the price to $294,900 and then our final price of $289,900. This is really competitive. So, the offer they gave us is for $260,000 with us paying 3% closing costs included in that amount! Plus they want us to buy them a new washer and dryer. And they want our extra fridge and freezer!!!! WHAT?

Ok, so I was a little hurt, angry, upset, etc. I didn’t behave in a very grateful manner. So, after much prayer, repentance and thankfulness, I know I am forgiven. I wish I would acted more grateful. After all, this is an answer to MANY prayers! And now it’s as if I’m telling God that this isn’t good enough. So, Lord I am sorry! Please forgive me.

I pray Lord, that you will give me another chance. Lord, we have another showing this afternoon. I ask that you would give us another offer. Lord, I will receive it with gratitude. Thank you Lord. You are so amazing and your timing is perfect. I know that I learned that I still have some pride in me that needs to go. I am prideful of this house. I was offended and I need to get rid of the spirit of offense!

We have a family reunion today with the Masurka’s. It should be fun. We’ll be going to the Fort Snelling State Park.

Sunday, September 02, 2007
Another beautiful morning spent with the Lord! I had a late night last night. After the reunion, we went to my parents house to get our dog and talk about what we could do to help them get ready for us. That talk didn’t go so well. My dad is just such a crab and doesn’t want anyone’s help. After we got home I spent the evening at the neighbors. That was fun. Suzie Basset has tumors on her uterus and is having surgery next Friday. Lord, please give me the courage to go over there and pray for her before she goes in. Some of the families in the neighborhood are bringing them dinner next weekend.

Today, Dave said…”let’s start tithing again.” So, we’ve decided that we are going to give the Lord 10% of everything we get. We will pay Him FIRST…before we pay our bills! This is a big decision, but that’s what the Lord asks of us and we want to honor Him and be obedient. This is the only place in the bible where He tells us to “test Him”. So, we are. Well, we are choosing to trust Him. Trust that He will provide all our needs.

Well, we got a phone call at church today from Jean Wagner. Apparently, the people that came to our house on Saturday are pretty interested. They wanted to know where the bus stop is and they were video taping our house while they were here. Praise God! I pray that they will make an offer! That is so amazing! Here we decide to tithe…and give the full amount and already God has blessed us!

Later we went to dinner at Tim and Lynn P. They are the ones that introduced us to Al Newman. Al and Debra were there along with some other nice families. While we were there, Bud called and said that a third party is interested in our house. They wanted his fax number so they could fax an offer over to him!!!! Praise God! You are amazing Lord. I feel like God is telling me that this is my reward to putting Him first every day. He’s telling me that this is what He has been longing for all along. Daily chats with His daughter, ME! I’ve tried to do this, but have never really been a morning person. But I’ve asked God to please help me with that and He has. If I put off spending time with Him, it’s too easy to forget or get too busy. So, thank you to Tony Caterina for the word of knowledge from God. What a gift.

Oh, Jim Busscher called when we were at the barbecue. He wants to donate $500 to the tournament. How amazing is that?!

Lord, I pray that we get all three offers tomorrow. I pray that they will be good and they will bless us. Thank you Father for your love. You are truly our provider. You are our all in all. We love you Father. In Jesus’ precious name I pray. Amen!

Monday, September 3, 2007
Well, we got another offer. Praise the Lord! It is a great offer. They offered us $280,000 and only want us to pay $2500 in closing costs. Now that’s an offer. Thank you Lord. They are so nice. They said they don’t want anything extra and won’t ask us to fix anything on the inspection unless it’s major. We are bargaining with them and have told the other family that they need to come up way more on their offer. So, we’re just waiting for them.

Thank you Lord, for all that you are doing. It’s so amazing to see how you are working in our lives. You are faithful and you take care of us.

The Lord has revealed to Dave that the Golf tournament needs to be FREE! Free for everyone. Ok, this is going to be a huge step of faith. If we don’t get enough donations, how are we going to pay for the tournament? Lord, this is your tournament, Avodah belongs to you, all the money belongs to you! You are our provider. You are so faithful. We are truly trusting you.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007
The first day of school! I decided that I was going to get up extra early so I was sure I had enough time to spend my time with the Lord. It was wonderful. I’ve done this EVERY DAY since I made the commitment. This is huge for me! I’m really proud of myself. I pray the Lord will continue to help me stay on track. It’s made a big difference in my day. I need you Lord. Work is getting busy! I’m so blessed to have the team I do. It was fun to tell everyone that we’re on our way to selling our house.

Oh…another thing. I asked Jim how he wanted to list his and Rose’s name on the program for the golf tournament. He didn’t know what I was talking about. When I reminded him about the $500 he said, no, that’s not for the tournament. That’s for you and Dave! I was so touched. Like, what????? You and Rose just decided to give Dave and I $500!!!!!! Our God never ceases to amaze me. I am humbled. I’m amazed. I’m blessed!!!!!! THANK YOU GOD!

The kids seemed to have a fun first day of school. The Lord is good!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007Today, in my God time, the Lord revealed to me that I would be giving my testimony at the women’s retreat next year! Yikes! What was even more scary was the fact that Wendy was really excited. She hasn’t come up with the theme yet and thought this would be perfect since it all started at the retreat last year. Ok, so Lord, this is your deal. I’ll do whatever you want me to do.

Our story really is amazing when you look at all the stuff we’ve had happen. I can’t even believe half of it! WOW!

We are waiting for the purchase agreement from the buyers. We’ve selected the second offer we got. We did get another higher offer from the first buyers, but it still isn’t close to what these buyers offered. The second offer they gave was a net of $270,000 and they took back the other wants they had. But still, it’s not even close. So, we’ve accepted the other one. And this one just feels right. The realtor who came last week really seemed genuine when he said that we have a nice house. It just feels really right. Thank you Lord.

The only snag now is that the guy at our bank is going on vacation for 1 ½ weeks. He’s apparently the only guy who can do this. So, we’ll have to wait to find out if the offer is approved. He seems to think it will all be fine.

Sunday, September 09, 2007Today started out great with spending time with God and then church was even better. The worship was amazing and spoke to me. Right to my heart. It’s a new season at Hosanna! and it’s a new season for us. It was funny because during my God time as I was looking outside at the trees, I realized that summer is coming to an end and fall is upon us. I was thinking about the new season and how much has happened since last winter. We’ve been going through a molting process and now we’re coming to the end of it. I was thinking how our talons are growing back and our beaks are coming in and we have new eyes. Just like that of an eagle that goes through the molting process. We are now getting a new set of eyes. We see things so differently now. It’s amazing what this kind of thing will do to you. Especially when you rely heavily on the Lord. That’s what He wants. Anyways…so I spent the morning thinking about that and then I go to church and that’s what Pastor Bill talks about. A new season. It feels good. I’m thankful that I’ve been journaling because I’ll always have this to go back on. But I’m thankful that I can also put this behind us as we begin the new season. We’ll always have it as a part of us and we’ll never forget, but we do need to shed our old leaves. We need to do this so that new ones can grow back.
September 2007
Something really neat happened. Our buyers came by to have an inspection on the house. We left and when we came back, there was a beautiful plant with purple flowers on it. (my favorite color). There was a card sitting next to it. On the front it said "You are a blessing". Then on the inside the buyers had written us a note. I'm going to paraphrase because I don't have the card right in front of me. "Thank you so much for accepting our offer. We know that this must be a tough time for you right now. We want you to know what a blessing this house will be to us as we could not have afforded such a beautiful home at more than this price. We will cherish your home and we will be blessed to raise our children here as you have yours. We give thanks to God for you." WHAT????!!!! I was in tears. I called our realtor and she was in tears. She said that she's NEVER had a client receive such a card and flowers too! Wow God! YOU ARE SOOO GOOD!!!! That has been our prayer over the past month. That if we had to go through this and "give" our house away, that it would be a blessing to someone else. How gracious of our God to show us that?! I just can't believe it. As I type this I'm in tears again, because this has been a painful journey but right now I can just smile at what an amazing God we serve!
Now to get packing! We close in October...less than 4 weeks!
As we pack we will now go to my parent's house to help them finish remodeling their basement. How strange it seems that I will be back home living with my parents. It's surreal. BUT I do trust God and I know that He has a plan for us. I pray that I will ALWAYS see His works in everything we do.
At times I can't believe how God has provided for us. All the while, we still have not charged a single thing! No income from Dave and a small income from my part time job at church. But yet all the while God has been providing our EVERY need. Not necessarily every want, but certainly every need. Dave continues to work at Avodah and he continues to place people into jobs. How ironic is that? The way this was "supposed" to work is that companies would pay for the people that Dave places. Like a placement agency. But that is not the way it's working. The companies that Dave is placing these people at can't afford to pay for it. Dave wants the people to work so he places them anyways. :) I just chuckle at this. What is God up to?

As I look back and reflect on these past few months, I have to thank God. I have to thank Him for all He has done. I'm sure that one day we will share our testimony. We have to tell people how much God cares and how He does provide for our needs. When we started on this journey we had no way of knowing what this would look like. We always thought that we would sell our house, make enough money to pay off some of our debt and then down size on a new house. We never planned to take this path. But if we had not been down this path, how would we ever have learned about God's provisions? How would we ever have received ALL this LOVE? I'm amazed. I'm at a loss for words.
I can't wait to share the next chapter of our lives because it's going to get even better!
Click here to read Part 4.
Christine