The tides change…

One obstacle was sickness. Our toddler had the croup and a bad cold within two weeks from each other, both lasting a week each. Once he got better, the baby and I both got it! Our family went to the doctor seven times that month! Since we didn’t want our 4 month old baby to get as sick as our toddler had been, JW and I decided to fast together and pray for her. Looking back now, we realize it was the first time in 12.5 years of marriage that we had fasted and prayed together!

Anyway, that very day I get an email about a house for sale less than a mile from our family and land. It’s a nice two-story brick house with an open floor plan like we wanted in a very prominent neighborhood. What grabbed our attention was the price. It was a foreclosure!

We were able to look at the property that very day. Because we had put our house for sale and were thinking of listing it with an agent, we had a realtor contact that was able to bid for us. It was a small window of time to bid, so we prayed for God’s wisdom and guidance.  We also found out that same night our cousins had a contract to sell their house after only two weeks for sale! They were ready to start the process to buy our house!

So, we bidded an amount that we felt was still an excellent deal for the property, then prayed and fasted for the week we had to wait. And wouldn’t you know it? We got the bid! 😀 We’ve been earnestly awaiting the appraisal. We found out Monday that the house, “as-is” and only needing minor repairs, appraised for $65,000 more than our bid price! Not only that, but the square footage had been way off too. Our current house is 1,733 sq. ft. This house is over 2,600 sq. ft.! We’d been praying for room to grow and God answered. Actually, God answered exceeding abundantly above all that we asked or thought to ask…just the way only He can and does! 

Because God recently provided bonus money through JW’s work, we have the money to close. And due to the small loan we were going to use to complete the tiny house on the land, we have money available to make the minor repairs needed before we move in. And to top it all off, the sale of our current house should pay off the new house and all debt! When God works, He goes big! He has truly blessed our socks off. 🙂 **Update: Since the purchase, we’ve discovered our bid price was only $2400 more than another! God just let us know we didn’t waste any money overbidding!**

I forgot to mention, the day JW placed our bid I read the following in my devotional: 

Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you. (Genesis 13:14–15)
No desire will ever be placed in you by the Holy Spirit unless He intends to fulfill it. So let your faith rise up and soar away to claim all the land you can discover. S. A. Keen…Look as far as you can, for it is all yours…As He opens your understanding, enabling you to see His fullness, believe He has it all for you. Accept for yourself all the promises of His Word, all the desires He awakens within you, and all the possibilities of what you could become as a follower of Jesus. All the land you see is given to you.

Isn’t that amazing?!

Isaiah 64:4 (NIV) Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.