Our Home - Part Three :) (last part!)

You can read part one here, and part two here.  :)

A few days later, they called us back and gave us a counter-offer.  We had made a very optimistic offer, so we didn’t expect them to accept our first offer.  The counter offer was very good though.  They said they would pay 6% of the closing costs, which our realtor had never heard of them doing, and that they would pay for a 1 year home warranty.  They also said they would fix our air conditioner, which HAD to be done considering we’re in the middle of the summer in Texas.  ;)  We planned on closing on June 30th.  Are you doing the math?  That’s right—we made an offer on this house less than a month after we first saw it, and without looking at other houses.  Crazy, right?  Only if you’re looking at it from your own perspective, and not the Lord’s.  Trust me though—we knew it seemed crazy.  I was really nervous about telling our parents because I feared that they would think we were crazy.  In fact, I didn’t mention how quickly it all happened at first, because anybody’s first reaction would be to worry that we were making a poor decision.  However, we knew that the Lord had brought us to this point, so we followed His leading.  So, we started packing.  Fun.  Especially with an almost 2 month old baby.  ;)

  

I was still concerned about J working so far away from us.  I know people commute all the time, but at this point, I was still very new at the whole motherhood thing and wanted him nearby.  He had been looking online for jobs in "Townville", and found one listing on Craigslist.  Just one job listing in "Townville".  It had no details about how much it paid, the benefits, the hours he’d have to work, or really any details at all about what the job required.  All he knew was that it was in "Townville", so he applied for it.  A week later, on June 22nd, he went in for an interview.  We continued to pray that if God didn’t want him to have this job, then he wouldn’t get it.  We also prayed that if God DID want him to have the job, then He would help the interview to go smoothly and that He would influence those who interviewed J in his favor.  

  

The interview went really well.  J was interviewed by the owner of the company who told him that he would get back to him very soon.  Of course, we didn’t know how soon ‘very soon’ meant.  We felt like he would get the job, but we didn’t know for sure.  We just kept praying that the Lord’s will would be done.  (I told y’all we prayed a lot—I wasn’t exaggerating!)  A few days later, J found out that he had gotten the job!  Not only that, but we were getting insurance immediately!  This was PERFECT, considering that our old insurance would be ending the day before our new insurance began.  Coincidence?  I think not.  With this new job, he’d only be 15-20 minutes away from home, and would be working 8-5.  We were SO happy and thankful.  Everything was going SO smoothly that it couldn’t have been anything but the Lord working everything out!

  

We ended up closing on July 1st and moved in the next couple of days.  It was a whirlwind!  What would you think if a friend came up to you and said, “Guess what??  I just saw a house in a different town and am going to buy it without looking at any other houses!  Not only that, but I’m going to buy it and move into it all in a little over a month!  Oh, and we’re going to do it all while being new parents with a newborn baby!”  What would you think?  Crazy.  That’s what I would think.  That’s what I DID think.  Thankfully, this is NOT how God thinks.  He sees what He wants for us, and tries to tell us what He wants us to do.  When we listen and follow His guidance, He works out the details.  This isn’t the first time He’s worked fast in our lives.  In 2007, we decided to move from Texas to Missouri to go to graduate school.  We decided this in May or June and moved in August.  We didn’t even know where we were going to live until 2 weeks before we moved, but we knew He’d provide.  When we were wondering if we would move back to Texas in 2009, we found out he had gotten a job, found a house to rent the next day, and moved back all in a matter of two weeks.  Later that same year, we had been trying to decide when we should start trying to have a baby.  One evening, we discussed it and just decided that the timing was right.  I found out that I was pregnant with M a month later without letting any of our family know that we were even trying to have a baby.  Let me point out that God gave us boldness to step out of our comfort zone and do things that seemed crazy.  God has worked out BIG things in our lives VERY quickly.  So a lot of things have seemed crazy in our lives and very scary, but every time that we have followed these ideas that seemed out of the blue and crazy, He has blessed us SO much.  Will things always be perfect when we follow Him?  Nope.  Life is hard, and following Christ is hard.  However, it’s also easier than not following Him in some ways.  We ALWAYS have hope.  We ALWAYS have a friend who understands EVERYTHING we’re going through, when nobody else can.  When we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, we always have the hope of eternity in Heaven one day.  

  

I’m so very thankful that God thinks big for our lives.  If you had told us a year ago that we would be living in our own house out in the country, and that we would have a vegetable garden, kittens, chickens and pigs, I would have laughed in your face.  Not because I didn’t want it, but because I never expected it would have come true.  We are blessed, and we are thankful for all His blessings. God is good, and that’s an understatement.

As always, if there is anybody that wants to talk about any of this, leave a comment or contact us.  I love making new friends!  :)

Have a happy Wednesday!  :)