The plan was to rent a place for a couple of months...wait for our tax refund......and put that towards a home to buy. As you know.......most of us haven't seen that refund. And may not for a while. Hey, being as vague as the government here on this.
So we saved enough for the move, for the first few months of what we would spend. BUT we did not plan on waiting so long to be able to move to a home. Now, had we known it could take months we would have just rented a house for 6-8 months moved all our stuff there, but how were we to know? Then the disastrous rental that we were at- that we lost a few thousand on....yeah....not good at all.
You could see where our faith has been a little shaken. Our fears are creeping in. Why ......? The list could get so long, and yet we know that God led us here. We have been in "this spot" so many times. We have encouraged others "in this spot". We have let it roll off our tongue- the Lord will provide, but now we ourselves are "here again".....and it stinks.
So here's our sign: venomous snakes in area......satan tries to attack us. Make us believe that we are wrong for trusting, making that decision to move closer to family. That snake starts arguments over silly things in our lives. Things that don't matter. Well- EVEN WHEN IT IS HARD WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN! NO TURNING BACK!!! We are here for the long haul. We are praying and keep standing firm on HIS WORDS OF TRUTH!
Today Jason heard something on the radio from a pastor that talked about running. He said that runners will run hills to get the strength. I remember doing that my senior year of HS as I thought it was a great idea to go out for track. I remember thinking why are we running hills this isn't cross country? It is for the strength.
So right now we are running that hill. It is hard. Our faith sometimes waivers. We question ourselves. We question our sanity. BUT we are gaining strength- NOT OURS- from GOD ALONE! PRAYING, READING HIS TRUTH, and HANGING IN THERE!
Praying your hills will help strengthen you too...even when you don't want to run them.
Praying for the perfect house AND your refund!!!
ReplyDeleteI'll be praying for our refunds together!!!!
ReplyDeletePraying for you guys. I was at a prayer meeting a couple of weekends ago and we were talking about the end battle we are preparing for as Christ's army. Well...I'm getting the sense that the Battle is truly NOW. Satan has been out to attack Christ's people in so many ways, shapes and forms. But we have the One on our side, the One who through ALL is possible, the One who will bring us to Eternal Life. Trust, Faith, Warfare, and like you said, strengthening, is absolutely what we need right now. Good thing we aren't called to fight this battle alone. Know that when it's hard for you to keep sight of the end of your battle because you're in the midst you are surrounded by the spiritual cloud...our prayers, love and support!
ReplyDeleteIt feels so scary while you are in the midst of it- but hang on and keep the faith. God has a plan for you and it will be revealed.Thank you for your honesty. The hills and valleys are so scary but with God it is all possible.
ReplyDeletePraying for you all!
Praying for you.
ReplyDeleteWe, too, are running hills.
ReplyDeleteWe, too, hear the snakes hissing.
We, too, were planning to use our tax credit to LIVE on.
We, too, are seeking Him daily for wisdom and strength.
Wishing our hills were closer, so that we could run them together.
:) :) :)
That's a pretty good sized pool! (Especially compared to our 2 ft by 4ft wading pool)
ReplyDeletePraying for you guys to continue to get settled and for that Refund to show up quickly.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics. And great perspective on those hills! :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if people are waiting for refunds for Intl adoptions too. Our paperwork was pretty intense, finally done. Are you in Brandon? Will continue to keep you in my prayers
ReplyDeleteKeep putting on the Armor dear one!!!!
Oh I'll be praying for you - what a time you are having. Sounds like God has something big in store for you with all of the attacks you've been under right now. I hope you get your refund quickly.
ReplyDeleteGlad the new rental is so much nicer - love the pool!
Have a wonderful day
Renata:)
My first official long run, I came to the end and it was a hill. My legs felt like jelly and wanted to quit. I came around the corner only to see it was longer and steeper than what I had just done. So I quit. Much to my regret, I quit. I never forgot that. I can't change it either. But I decided that I would never again walk up that hill. Now I do hill workouts there.
ReplyDeleteI say all of that to say I've used that memory in life too. Don't let this hill trip you up. Breathe deep, remember the big perspective and keep living a life of faith.
"For without faith, it is impossible to please Him."
I'll be praying your refund comes in soon. We are in big need of ours too...and just found out it will be another month until we see it...then I read your post. It let me know we aren't alone in this.
Praying for you all.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. I needed encouragement too.I'm praying for all of you too.
ReplyDeleteWe're waiting for our adoption refund too.We've resent our documents and are just waiting. We want to do another adoption. We seem to being hit with tons of little expenses.You know when the house and car seems to be in some type of conspiracy or hormonal mood. It's making us doubt if we should try for that adoption.
What a Great house you found -- the kids look so happy in the pool. Our kids hit the pool full body (not just feet) in ohio today. Amazing what they will endure for some fun and splashing. The pool is such a great bonding toy.
ReplyDeletePraying the nice IRS examiners are very speedy with their work and check writing.
IRS told DH that we had to resend decrees to a diff location because it would take a MONTH for the IRS to forward our return/decrees sent in originally to the examining location.
I am so glad for the new house with the "little" pool. I know it doesn't really look all that little, but with all of your kiddos in it, it kind of looks like a big bathtub!
ReplyDeleteI too am waiting for the IRS to send my refund! It's especially hard since I prepare taxes for a living, did quite a few for others with the adoption credit and they all got theirs, and then the IRS decides to review mine! Oh well, I know it will come eventually. Meantime I am grateful for those that made it refundable to begin with.
Keep your chin up. And don't plan anymore! You know we all just get ourselves into trouble when we plan! LOL!
Praying with you through this trial. Good to know our lives are in His very capable and loving hands:)
ReplyDeleteTrials are hard. Praying for you. Thank you for being an encouragement to me with your post here. I sense we have a few hills coming in our future...
ReplyDelete