"Not By Might nor By Power But By My Spirit says The Lord"-Zechariah 4:6
Do You Remember?
Over the last couple of months, the Holy Spirit has been asking me to remember what He’s done for us in the past. To remember His goodness and His mercy, and His faithfulness during trials.
It's been just over a week that we’ve been living in the house you see photo’ed above! It still feels very surreal to be in this home, but I can’t wait to share the story with you!!
Nothing Goes As Planned
Our family motto over the past year has been “Nothing Goes As Planned.” We’ve always aimed to follow the leading of Christ. We pray, hear His voice and obey-but in the journey of walking by there's a lot of learning along the way! I’ve learned that some things are best not planned when walking by faith.
My husband Brent always reminds me that we must take ONE-DAY-AT-A-TIME. This has been a stretch for my personality as I like to have a plan in place. But Jesus tells us the same thing in Matthew 6:34. Jesus must be our daily bread, and daily we must seek Him for direction. I’ve learned that when some plans are interrupted I must be flexible to go with the Lord where He leads. It always turns out much better than I could've imagined on my own-even when it looks pretty scary, chaotic, and messy along the way, and even when I don’t fully understand! Oh, the meltdowns in between! Can I be real? It's easier when you're finally on the other side. Take heart, though, if we do it right, He's doing something deep down in our hearts along the way, and there's much eternal value!
And don't forget, how do we handle unmet expectations when plans are interrupted? That’s been a challenge for me too. Learning to yield, trust, and be okay with NOT knowing what's next.
Along our journey, a lot of people have asked us things like this:
Them: "How long will you RV?"
Me: "I don’t know!" ( I know what I hope)
Them: "Where will you end up living?"
Me: "I don’t know!" (There are many options!)
Them: "What’s next?"
Me:" "I don’t know!" (We are waiting on the Holy Spirit to show us!)
Now of course, we use wisdom and still make plans but we leave room for God to redirect us if he says to go another way. When you follow the Spirit's leading, there is an element of not knowing what's around the corner! And in these past few months He was sure to do that in some ways we didn’t expect.
As we reflected on the months behind us and the days ahead, our children’s hearts have been yearning for a house again. This would come up often in casual conversation. They’ve quickly outgrown the renovated bunkhouse, and we felt the need to be back in a house! God was stirring our hearts to be close to family again and to be available to lend a helping hand if needed. Our family will always be our first ministry!
The Transition
The reality of some of this transition became clear when we were hit with a challenging time a few months ago. We had just returned to North Carolina from Montana and settled back into the area. Brent was promoted at the campground upon our return- after the owners had encouraged him to return, guaranteeing plenty of work on the construction crew. And then, only a month later, we were blindsided when they pulled Brent and the rest of the construction crew aside to lay them off and cut hours. Brent was laid off entirely; it was shocking and discouraging! The very next day, Brent's truck broke down (this was how we moved our home all across the nation)! The best comfort we had at the moment was when the Holy Spirit reassured us that He had a plan in place.
After all that happened, we asked God what He was doing to redirect us. I’ll be honest; it was a pretty trying time. We were walking by faith, doing everything we felt God was directing us to do, and much of it was falling apart. But God kept saying, “yield,” “trust me.”
Fast forward, Brent relocated back to Virginia for work, but we were separated for a month because there weren’t any campgrounds available for us to move our "home." We remained in NC while Brent was in VA. Then, finally, in September, there was an opening at the Jellystone in Natural Bridge, VA. And that’s where we were until we just moved. It wasn’t ideal because Brent’s commute to work was two hours each day. But we continue to be amazed as we follow where God leads.
The manager hired me over a 5-minute phone call (talk about the favor of God), and my work was so flexible with our family's needs! Since I was work- camping, we were compensated no site fee the whole time we were there…saving us an estimated amount of $1200 each month! God has truly given us favor!
Declare this over your life, "May the favor of the Lord God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us-yes, establish the work of our hands." -Psalm 90:17
God provided us with some incredible ministry opportunities while we were there, including leading someone in a rededication to Christ!
All the while we were at the Natural Bridge campground, we were calling other campgrounds and waiting for a site to open up in a location much closer to Brent’s work, but there was no change for two months. The campground was going to close for the year on November 20th, so our prayer was that something would open up by then! I would joke with friends we would talk to and tell them they needed to include November 20th in their prayers. I think it worked! You’ll see why.
Another Housing Miracle
The cost of homes are incredibly high right now. Not to mention the interest rates. Also, we didn’t think we would qualify with a traditional mortgage lender for a house because of our transient lifestyle and inconsistent work history while RVing this past year. Although we know we can, with the traditional mortgage application process, there are many hoops to jump through and proof we need to provide. This was a very similar obstacle we faced in the last blog post I described. This is why I think the Holy Spirit wanted to remind me of what He did in the past. Because He did it before, I knew I could stand on His promises that He could do it again! God often works in ways that are contrary to man's wisdom. He is a creative God. He is a God who can do things “outside the box.”
"The Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy" Revelation 19:10b
A Prophetic Word to Hold On To
Earlier, over the summer, when I was talking to my dad he was encouraging us that we needed a house again. I just kept saying, "Yes, I agree. I don’t know how we will get one, but God does!" Dad prophesied that we would have a house before the end of the year. I thought that seemed pretty far-fetched (my faith was not high at the time); a lot would have to change---and how? (This was even before we knew Brent was going to be laid off) But I agreed that God could do it! So after he prophesied that, our prayer continued to be God, would you make a way for us ....to be in a house before Christmas!
Right On Time
Many of the campgrounds I called said they would have an opening for us by November 1st. Once November 1st arrived, they changed the date on us again due to a county audit. :( The campground we were at, was going to close very soon, but God kept saying, “Can you trust me?” And all I could think is that it has to be God to make a way. God provided a house for us just nine days before we moved to KC, so I knew God would come through with a campsite for us. He reminded me that He can do things in miraculous ways, and we need to leave it up to Him and just wait on him.
Then November 15th came around, and God showed us He had something else in store. All the while we were hoping a campsite would become available, He was working out a way for us to get into a house! We never set out to have a house like this, but God is Jehovah Jireh and we felt He was directing us to be able to live here!
We’ve just moved in and it's been a little over a week! Here's a picture of us on the porch.
Brent took the picture so he's not in the photo. :(
God made a way for us, and we couldn’t have done this on our own. It was 5 days before the campground closed for the year. There are many things that God did to surpass our expectations. But this is who God is! This is His character! He is a generous and loving God who cares about His kids desires and needs.
It’s been awesome to see the hand of God and His generosity through the process, too. We gave away all our furniture when we sold our house in 2022. Even our beds. So we had absolutely nothing to fill the house when we moved in... Now, we did manage to purchase mattresses but that's all for now! As our family and friends learned of the house, they had couches, tables, and other items they didn’t want anymore, so they were gifted to us! So our space is slowly coming together and we thank God every step of the way!
"But my God shall supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:19
"Again, truly I tell you that if two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you." -Matthew 18:10
For now we are renting, but we fully trust that God will make a way for us to be able to purchase this house! Would you agree with us and pray that God makes a way? Our season as missionaries on the road has taught us so much, but we sense that the landscape of our ministry will transition to marketplace ministry (Brent) and ministry out of this home (Brent and I together). There is much more to say on this topic but much more for us to pray about too. As Brent would say, we are taking it ONE-DAY-AT-A-TIME! 😊
If you're believing for a house or property, please reach out and let me pray for you!
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