WRONG! I mistakenly thought I would have to go through everything on my own since Brian would be in Dayton already. And it took me a bit to figure out how to give myself over to receiving help, but I did. AND THAT MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!
So, we had to sell our house. I think those words strike fear into the hearts of many. It wasn't something I was looking forward to either. Having to sell and wanting to sell are two different emotional landmarks. I was having to sell. It wasn't that I didn't like where I lived (I loved my land!) or that I couldn't wait to get into a better house, it was something that had to be done because Brian couldn't stay in Dayton with friends indefinitely. Well, I guess, technically, he could. But we wanted to keep those friends and we aren't big on "mooching" off of others. Besides, that would not be "moving" when God asked us to. We had to give ourselves over totally to His will. And His help.
We called our neighbor to see if he would be interested in buying our place. He had once expressed an interest in it because he had owned our property before. Our neighbor values his privacy and while he could not take on another loan to purchase our place, he could pick his neighbor. The family that owns the land that backs up to our neighbors was interested. On December 3rd, they came to check out the house. They loved it. It took one phone call to iron out the details and reach an agreeable price, but it all worked out rather smoothly. We did not have to list the house. We did not have to spend any money prepping to sale. We did not have to leave appliances or anything we wanted to keep. We did not have to wait for their financing to go through because they paid cash. We made a profit on the sale of our house. We closed exactly one day from the day they came to look at the place: January 3rd. They even let us stay 2 weeks after we closed on the house...without charge!
Can you imagine things ever going so well? I couldn't. In the 2 weeks after we closed on our house in the country, I would drive down our road and see the 4 or 5 houses with "sale" signs in the yard. Some of those signs had been there for years, others several months. Mine? NEVER. I could not help but get a bit emotional. I would think to myself, "I asked for help. God sure knows how to answer!" Only HE could answer so wonderfully. What glory!! I could not imagine things going so fast. I could not imagine....but HE could.
My asking for help did not end there, though.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Why move to Ohio?
He spoke to Brian (my husband) and told him to move to Ohio to help some really great friends with a church plant there. Sounds simple, right? But how many people, even if they are Christians, actually move when God tells them to move?I must admit that I was hesitant at first. I mean, I was quite settled in Kentucky. We had the beautiful acreage that we desired, perfect privacy, great neighbors, family nearby, and our first year of home school was going wonderfully. Why move? And if we were going to move...why Ohio? I had many questions spinning around in my head. I made a list of pros and cons. There were really only two pros and a whole bunch of cons. But I could feel it, even if I didn't want to. I could feel Him tugging, too. So, I did some heavy praying. I needed a revelation.
Brian was doing some minor online house hunting in the Dayton area. The housing market is down in the area, so deals were to be had. I liked that. So, I put that on my pros list. Of course, there was that big thing called a JOB that needed to be taken care of. Brian wasn't going to quit his job in Kentucky until he had one in Ohio (though he had been itching for an excuse to quit the job he had.) He posted his resume on Monster.com. I really did not think that anything would happen...not really. The economy in general stinks, but if you know anything about the economy in Dayton...well, most of the factories, etc. had packed up shop and moved elsewhere. There is a rather large group of workers without work. So, my selfish side took some solace in the fact that the odds were against us. Shame on me!
Two weeks. Yeah, two weeks. He had a job offer. Not just a job offer, but one that was a better job with better health insurance and pay. They not only wanted him, but they wanted him y-e-s-t-e-r-d-a-y. This was at the end of November...he started on December 6th. He explained that he had to give his current employer two weeks notice. Not that his old employer really gave a damn. I mean, he worked there since 2003. He had no room to move upward. He was losing pay every year because he did not get a raise (no one did) and the health insurance was skyrocketing. In fact, the open enrollment for health insurance was upon us and we realized that we would not be able to survive on his salary alone anymore. When Brian gave him his two weeks notice, what do you think happened? Did they ask, "Oh, why?" Or, did they say, "Gee, hate to see you leave." Nope. They said, "You do realize that you have used more vacation time than you have earned. We will have to take it out of your final paycheck." A day. He was over by a day.
God wasn't just leading us to Dayton. He was providing for our family when we were in need. We couldn't survive on his salary anymore. He was moving us to a place He needed us to be and where we could have our needs met. I asked for a revelation. Ding, ding, ding! I had it.
The story doesn't end there, though. We still had to sell our house and find another one. And Brian was due to start work in two weeks while we were still in Kentucky. There was much to be done and most of it would have to be done by me. Right?
Brian was doing some minor online house hunting in the Dayton area. The housing market is down in the area, so deals were to be had. I liked that. So, I put that on my pros list. Of course, there was that big thing called a JOB that needed to be taken care of. Brian wasn't going to quit his job in Kentucky until he had one in Ohio (though he had been itching for an excuse to quit the job he had.) He posted his resume on Monster.com. I really did not think that anything would happen...not really. The economy in general stinks, but if you know anything about the economy in Dayton...well, most of the factories, etc. had packed up shop and moved elsewhere. There is a rather large group of workers without work. So, my selfish side took some solace in the fact that the odds were against us. Shame on me!
Two weeks. Yeah, two weeks. He had a job offer. Not just a job offer, but one that was a better job with better health insurance and pay. They not only wanted him, but they wanted him y-e-s-t-e-r-d-a-y. This was at the end of November...he started on December 6th. He explained that he had to give his current employer two weeks notice. Not that his old employer really gave a damn. I mean, he worked there since 2003. He had no room to move upward. He was losing pay every year because he did not get a raise (no one did) and the health insurance was skyrocketing. In fact, the open enrollment for health insurance was upon us and we realized that we would not be able to survive on his salary alone anymore. When Brian gave him his two weeks notice, what do you think happened? Did they ask, "Oh, why?" Or, did they say, "Gee, hate to see you leave." Nope. They said, "You do realize that you have used more vacation time than you have earned. We will have to take it out of your final paycheck." A day. He was over by a day.
God wasn't just leading us to Dayton. He was providing for our family when we were in need. We couldn't survive on his salary anymore. He was moving us to a place He needed us to be and where we could have our needs met. I asked for a revelation. Ding, ding, ding! I had it.
The story doesn't end there, though. We still had to sell our house and find another one. And Brian was due to start work in two weeks while we were still in Kentucky. There was much to be done and most of it would have to be done by me. Right?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The First Post
I am sure you are wondering why a move to Oakwood would be so exciting that it warrants its own blog, right? Well, there is a great inspirational story that brings our family to this place. And besides that, adapting to the type of lifestyle that Oakwood offers in comparison to the life we had in Kentucky should prove amusing if nothing else. I will have much more on that later, though.
Four months ago I had never even heard of the City of Oakwood. Now, I am sitting at my computer... in my house... in Oakwood. I have only moved three times in my life before this (not including a college dorm): an apartment to get out of my parents place, our first "starter" home, and our house out in the country. We had always wanted land. And that is what we had...until He spoke.
I didn't hear Him, though. It was Brian who heard His voice telling us where to go. The details were not very clear at first, but He soon dissolved any fog blocking our view from each step we should take. It was pretty amazing how fast things happened. And it was all because of Him. Less than 2 months. Insanity, some would say. A superb testimony, others. What will you say when you hear the story of our move?
Four months ago I had never even heard of the City of Oakwood. Now, I am sitting at my computer... in my house... in Oakwood. I have only moved three times in my life before this (not including a college dorm): an apartment to get out of my parents place, our first "starter" home, and our house out in the country. We had always wanted land. And that is what we had...until He spoke.
I didn't hear Him, though. It was Brian who heard His voice telling us where to go. The details were not very clear at first, but He soon dissolved any fog blocking our view from each step we should take. It was pretty amazing how fast things happened. And it was all because of Him. Less than 2 months. Insanity, some would say. A superb testimony, others. What will you say when you hear the story of our move?
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