God is faithful, He is in control.....Waiting.....

Well, I woke up feeling a little discouraged today.....we are at a standstill.  We first saw this property one year ago on March 11, 2010.  We struggled with the choppy, outdated house, but placed our first offer in May, then backed out due to the inspection which brought more "issues" to our attention.  The price came down again and we placed another offer in August.  We closed September 15, 2010.  It's been a long journey and things have not moved at the speed we would like!  Our rental lease ends July 14, 2011.  That's now less than four months.  I don't see how we can possibly get all of this work done in less than four months.  We are waiting on drawing revisions to resubmit to the County.  The existing septic tank is in the middle of our continuous front porch footers (yes, the County requires continuous footers even though it's only a front porch, so we need to "arch" over that) and get the LVL designed between the family room and kitchen so we can remove the studs/wall. 

All I can say is that God is in control and He is good, faithful, and knows EXACTLY what's going on.  We are completely dependent on Him.  I believe that we have prayed through every step and every decision.  And (I think) Scott and I have done everything we can to do our homework, turn things around when people were waiting on us to make decisions, etc.  And yet, here we are.  I can't help but wonder if God is doing this on purpose to remind Scott, me, and the children that He is indeed all powerful, in control, and we are completely dependent on Him for everything.  Hmmmm......

This was the kids' memory verse for last week's Chapel Day....

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.  Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.....The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, You make the way of the righteous smooth.  Yes, LORD, walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You; Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."  ~ Isaiah 26:3-4; 7-8 

I do not like waiting for anything!  But, here we are Lord, waiting on You....God - please help me to be patient and trusting as we wait on You to move.  Please show us if there is anything that we should be doing and please help us get this house done!  Truly, Your name and renown ARE the desire of our hearts.

Scott has not wasted this time waiting however.  He submitted our plans to two cabinet people (really hoping Kitchen Designs won't be too expensive - they did our last cabinets), has met with several window and siding people, and done tons of research.  He met with a contractor on Monday and he didn't get home until 9 pm last night meeting with another contractor and the John Deere rep.  This contractor put the roof on at our Settler's Mill house - he did a great job.  We have been praying for a good quality used tractor, but so far, we haven't seen one.  We still have another month or two until we need one (when the weeds start growing like crazy!)....so we'll see.  Good news is that the rep thinks we can go a little smaller than we originally thought now that he has come out to the property and sees what we have and what we plan to do.  Anyways, Scott put the kids to bed (yes, they were up late!), then didn't go to bed until after midnight researching window options (again), then he was up around 5am on his way to work (the job where he gets paid!).  Praying that God will give him rest and strength for this schedule.  I don't know how Scott does it. 

Also remembering those suffering tremendously in Japan....praying for them to see God's glorious hope and light in the midst of extreme darkness.....Praying for the earth and seas to quiet, for the nuclear reactors to be still, for the comfort of the people, and rebuilding......

My waiting is not so terrible.....It's only a house.  I thank God that we have such a comfortable one to live in while we renovate the other one - it is a mess over there!  Thankful for healthy kids.....

Oh yes, we did receive a very interesting phone call/offer last night...more about that later after we find out more details....

Waiting on the Lord,
Dawn