God Works in Mysterious Ways

Dan & I have been wrestling a lot lately about our current church situation. It's always difficult to know when it's time to move on. We've toyed with the idea of ending our ministry here and moving on to a new location. It seemed like the time was right.

We also found out recently that our landlord is switching over to a woodburning system this winter which would cause a huge problem in our living situation. Nathan & Emily both have asthma and wood smoke triggers asthma attacks in both of them. However, the rents in this area are outrageous and we can't afford to rent a new house. So given all of this we really felt that it was time to move on. We were praying that the Lord would show us very clearly what to do.

We talked with our church planting director yesterday morning and asked him to pray with us as well. We got off the phone and the Lord answered our prayer within 15 minutes! A gentleman we know called us and asked if we knew anyone looking for a place to rent.

He had a house that is available immediately, is $100 less than we are paying now and is much larger. That alone is unbelievable because most of the homes this size are renting for at least $300-$500 more than we are paying. It's in the center of town so we will be closer to everything. On top of all of this, he is going to fill the oil tank up for us for the first time so we don't have to think about that right away!

I know God does not always work this way, but in this case Dan & I looked at each other and knew that this was clearly God telling us to stay here. The best part is that I will be able to run my girl's program out of the house. Since our church will be moving to the local Veteran's Hall, we were not going to be able to have 3D Girls this fall. However, now I can continue this wonderful ministry.

As of August 1st, we will be in a new home. I'm excited but overwhelmed. I have a ton of work to do in the next 2 1/2 weeks.

I thought I'd share some pictures with you.

The front of the house.
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Side view and the entrance we'll use.
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Front yard. There is a train platform directly across the street.
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View out the back window.
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Living room. The fireplace divides the kitchen and living room and you can access it from both sides.
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Living room windows.
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Kitchen.
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The other end of the kitchen.
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There is a full basement, 3 bedrooms, and 2 full baths (one is quite small). We are so excited. We really felt that the Lord just opened this up and is reassuring us that He wants us to stay here. It was definitely the answer we needed and we are excited to see what He has in store for our ministry.

I'll keep you updated!

Comments

  1. Dear Terri,

    Wow ~ how very exciting! The house looks lovely and homey inside and everything outside is beautiful too! It is so encouraging when we see the Lord work and give the direction that we need!

    Rejoicing with you ~ God is so good!!

    Blessings,

    Sharon

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  2. Congratulations Terri!!! God is amazing isn't He?!!!! I pray your move goes very smoothly!! Take care!~Wendy

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  3. Terri, thank you for sharing this. I really needed to hear this story tonight. This is so encouraging to me! I know God is going to do great things with your family!
    Love,
    April :0)

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  4. That is so nice the way everything is falling in place for you!

    The house looks beautiful too!

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  5. Wow - with those views and you call it the centre of town?! It's certainly not like an English town centre!

    I'm so pleased for you and encouraged to see how God has guided you so clearly.

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  6. You know I'm just THRILLED for you :) And how wonderful of the new landlord to fill that oil tank!! My MIL called last week and said they had thiers filled this month...and I'm not sure how big it is...but she said it was over $1300, and that wouldn't last them thru the winter :O! She's in PA...so cold there too. What a wonderful gift and blessing! We'll keep praying for a smooth transition, and more blessings along the way!
    Love You,
    Laura in VA

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  7. Oh Terri! I am so excited for you!! That is AMAZING! The house looks great and I know your kids will love that new yard too!
    God is so good!!!
    Hugs,
    Michelle

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  8. Hi Terri,
    How exciting. I love the kitchen. God is so wonderful.He will lead us if we will just be still and listen.
    Hugs,
    Elizabeth

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  9. Praise the Lord, Terri. Isnt it wonderful to have that sort of definite answer to prayer, tho as you say, we cant always expect it in that way.
    It must be such an encouragement for you both.

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  10. Thats great because I want you to stay here too!!! If you need any help please let Juan and I know. We have a truck.

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  11. Love the house, Terri! I hope that you will be very blessed there. I do have one thought though. I wonder how much the cost to fill the oil tank is and how efficient is the heating system. In other words, how much more will you have to pay to heat the house in the winter.

    If you use the fireplace, won't you have the same problem with the children's asthma?

    Everything looks beautiful about it, though. Lovely yard for the kids to play in. The house is very roomy and looks very pretty.

    What kind of noice will you get from the train station or trains?

    Just some thoughts. I don't mean to sound discouraging and I am very happy for you but just wondered if you have considered these things.

    Hope your move will be an easy one. I wish we could be there to help. Maybe Charlie and Tracy could help.

    Love you, Mom

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  12. Terri,
    Congratulations and praise the Lord! :)
    Miriam

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  13. Terri,

    I thought I'd let you know that Tracy, at Unless the Lord has a terrific recipe for laundry soap that you might be interest in.

    Love,
    Mom

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  14. Terri - this is wonderful news which you so deserve. If only we lived closer we could help out!

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  15. WOW! How wonderful and exciting for you all! It's so great when God gives clear direction like that! I'm so happy for you...your new home looks wonderful...so spacious and what wonderful views!

    I'm sure the house move will go smoothly Terri.

    Love, Tina :)

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  16. Hi ladies! Thank you for your wonderful encouraging comments. They mean so much to me. This was so clear that I know the Lord is in it.

    Mom, we already have all the answers to the things you mentioned. We know someone else who lived there before and they said it was a wonderful house to live it. We won't be using the fireplace to heat the house so that is not an issue. I was there for 4 hours yesterday cleaning and even with the train coming on the hour it wasn't bad. The house sits far back from the road and the train only sits at the station for about 3-5 minutes and blasts it's horn once as it pulls out. Other than that it's dead silent there.

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  17. Wow Terri! This is wonderful and exciting for you! I bet you can't wait to get everything moved and get organized in there!

    D.

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