Oh where or where can it be?

"Oh where oh where has my little dog gone?"

Those who know me, know that this would not be something I would say, especially with much concern. lol I'm not a dog enthusiast but I am very fond of cats, which, Lord willing, we will have 2, I think.

One thing the owners of the 2919 McQuades house have been saying is, "where oh where have the septic and well gone?" YA! Imagine! We've asked them to clean out the septic because we anticipate a problem with it and since the water did not pass, they need to shock the well but, they can't seem to find these two big underground reservoirs. I find that quite funny.

The morning that my husband called me to tell me this, I had prayed that God would place His hands on "our property" to keep the ground warm so we could have the addition's foundation poured. I guess the people couldn't see through God's hands. lol It might also be that God wants us to have the house cheaper. Only He knows.

As of today, we told our agent that there are two preferred options.

1. At the 75 000.00 price they do the work of finding the well and septic, and get them clean and functioning.

2. Lower the price of the house and we will take the house as is, we will take care of the well and septic.

Obviously there's a third option being, they do not want to do either and we look elsewhere but I can't shake the thought that God wants us to have THIS particular house. I could be wrong.

We keep praying that God close the door if it is not His will or open it wide if it is. With this offer, it will do one or the other.

God has blessed us over and over through this journey. Although, we might live with my mother for a few days or weeks, I think it's more painful for her than for us.

The timing of it all, to us, seems very off but I know that God makes no mistakes and He promises in His word, especially in Philippians 4:19, "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches and glory." I can expect amazing things from Him who owns all the cattle and the hills, the oceans, the fish etc. He has all riches to His disposal and I'm not worried about where we will live in 6 days.

I told God this morning as I spent time with Him. "You are a miracle maker. I know that You are fully capable of having the agreement, the sale papers, the bank papers and the documents by the lawyer, signed sealed and delivered by this afternoon, if You wanted to. If it is Your will, I know it's nothing for you to do it. I especially know that it's nothing for you to have the closing on the 31st of October even if people say it's not very possible. This is an opportunity for You to get glory, to be lifted up before all men. If it is Your will for us to have this house, please allow for the closing to be October 31st, 2008."

I know that if God chooses to close on another day or even on another house, there is good reason for it. I wouldn't want to be where He isn't. I want to live in the house that God has for us. I don't want to settle for less than what He has for us.

When we have God as our Saviour but also as our life Gardener, we can expect to live in a fruitful, luscious garden filled with different beautiful perfumes of flowers never imagined.

Keep trusting.

With certainty

God's Word says in Proverbs 16:9, "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. "

What peace there is when we seek to walk in God's footsteps. His direction is stable, secure and gives certainty to our direction.

I know with certainty that God wanted us to move. I shared how He showed both my husband and I, His direction for us. When things get a little hazy, we can look back and know that we are doing the right thing. The other part that gives me peace is that both Moe and I ask God daily to intervene in our life that we would not step out of His path which is laid out for us.

I remember, almost 8 years ago now, when we first went to Charity Bible Baptist Church. We were looking for a building to have our services in. Pastor and the trustees had found a building and pastor was sharing with us the different things that would have to be fixed. One thing he said and stayed with me is, "If God doesn't want us to be in this building, I don't want us to be in it, because it will never be right and always be a burden."

That is how we feel about this house. We know that it has a lot of necessary repairs to do, then there's the addition, which is necessary to us. We know that if God wants us in this house, He is already gone before us and preparing our way for the renovations. If God does not want us to have THIS house and we buy it anyway, it will never be quite right, the renovations will be difficult, costly and never ending.

I don't want to be without God's blessing on my life. It's so much safer there. He is my shield while in the storm. "though the storm builds all around me, I am safe in the arms of the Lord"

As for details about the work we've been doing. I called a friend of mine to see if my drawings of the inside of the house were ok; he is an architect. He offered to draw the outside of the house and a section of the house for City planning to accept us for a building permit. He found out for us what we needed and is drawing what we need, all for free! Needless to say, we have a gift for him. What a blessing! God knew we would need this and He laid my friend on my heart to call him and voilà! Taken care of by God. Imagine! "How great thou art!"

I went to Kent Building Supplies yesterday, with the kids. As I was looking at the paint chip colors, a total stranger came up to me. He was in his late 60's I'd say. I thought he was going to say something about the kids but to my surprise, this is what he said. "Excuse me. You don't know me from a hole in the ground but I saw your family and thought it was worth giving the compliment." I was taken back at his boldness and determination. "It's a blessing to see a woman dressed and looking like a lady." I really didn't expect that. I only had my black skirt with tights and dress shoes, a black t-shirt with my jean blazer, but I was blessed, reminded that I was doing what God expected of me.

I'm not perfect by any stretch, believe you me! I do although know by experience that when you ask God to guide your life and every direction you take, He is faithful to show you and remind you that you are on the right track.

Well, I found the colors I needed, I made little cardboard squares for each room so I could visualize the colors for those rooms and make better color choices for curtains and other accessories. I went shopping with my mom to get fabric for 2 rocking chairs we have but $$$$ I didn't buy anything. :)

Today I called the lawyer to give him a heads up about the house so if we decide to purchase it, once we get all the quotes, things will be ready to go. The only quote we are waiting for is the building supplies cost, and we are waiting for them to find the well...lol so they can shock it and clean out the septic because we don't quite like THAT shade of green, when it comes to lawns. lol

By the way... it's difficult to know when the right time is to start packing, so many things we need. Well this morning, my oldest son said, "Hey maman! We move in 8 days!" with his excited tone of voice. Needless to say I did a big "GULP" sound and said to myself, "OK! NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME TO START PACKING!" (nervous laugh)

Stay tune, I might have news shortly about our decision!

Where do I even begin?

I don't even know where to begin. Things have been going fast and crazy. The bible says in Proverbs 11:1 "A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.". This can be hard to accomplish when circumstances arise, but it has been a blessing that within our home, and relationship with one another; although not perfect, has been balanced and not stressful.

We received news from the inspectors and some things have become speed bumps in the process. We were told that the foundation and house are solid although there are things that need to be repaired which can be costly but we anticipated most of those "findings". I called the "news"; the inspectors report, a speed bump because my husband and I took this time to pray and ask for God's guidance. Thus far, we asked Him to close any door that He would not want us to enter and we wanted to make sure that if this was a closed door, we would recognize it.

In Luke 14:28, "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?". We want to be realistic yet faithful.

We continued getting the appropriate quotes and seeking out contrators etc. We have a peace that this is the house God wants for us. Until He closes the door shut, we will continue to walk on this journey He has for us.

Today was men's breakfast for the men of our church, where the pastor also teaches biblical truths to these men. My husband usually takes our sons, which one was at a sleep over so he took the youngest with him. He leaned over to whisper in my ear that if I wanted to take the girls to have breakfast at "Hyne's" I could. So, once they left, I leapped out of bed and got the girls ready, our beds made, got myself ready and out for breakfast we went! We had a wonderful time practicing those lady like manners; even I had a hard time keeping my elbows off the table. lol

We then headed to the "Home Depot" to check out he paint colors. Imagine, I have 11 rooms to choose colors for which will blend and be soothing and fit the farmhouse feel. What fun it was! I loved it. It's so exciting! Then we, the girls and I, went to the light fixtures department. wowwwwwww! Where to start? I am a retro/contemporary girl but slowly God is showing me the beauty of country. I surprised myself when I saw the raw iron ceiling fixtures and was taken by it. I had to develope a theme, a consistancy in the design. I like the raw iron look but I also like the brown instead of black. It had a hommier look. I finally started finding the "matching" fixtures and styles. I went from aile to aile (there was only 4 but on both sides). When the wheels started rolling (the wheels in my head that is) I got excited about our new home to be. I wasn't hyper excited, just comforted excited, knowing that God was before us and He is there to help us all the way, even in the simple things like lighting fixtures.

My husband and youngest son where already home when got home so I got to share the excitement with my husband about my finds. We then tackled the last of the dirt pile. YIKES, finally it's gone! (2 dump truck loads of fill and top soil)

The journey continues as we contact Foundation companies for the foundation and possibly the septic tank, the electrician to rewire the whole house, then get quotes on the other things like the lighting fixtures, flooring, paint and on and on.

Believe it or not, this is actually fun. My husband and I, although very occupied with this project are so enjoying the knitting God is doing in our family and the many blessings He is bestowing on us. He gives us sooooo much more than we deserve.

Keep waiting on Him.

Some light fixtures we like and a photo of the house we want to renovate.

It has been a long time!

Much has passed since I last blogged. The Lord has been working things out and let me tell you where we are at.
At the end of July, we attended a church camp meeting. During one of the sermons, I felt the Lord pressing on my heart that we needed to move, not chairs but home. I went to the altar and told the Lord that if He indeed wanted us to move, He had to tell my husband Himself, which would be confirmation to me that it was of the Lord and not of myself. I knew Moe liked where we were and I could not change his mind, but if it was of God, his heart and desire would change.
That was the Wednesday evening service, we had dessert after and I said nothing. We got up the next morning, washed up, went to breakfast and I had not said anything yet. As we walked back to the camping trailer to get ready for the morning services, I reached for the door handle at the same time as Moe. He then said, "I guess we're moving eh?" " Yap! I guess so." The Lord had prepared both our hearts, it was of the Lord.
That afternoon, we went to visit friends of ours who have a goat farm. I knew what was going to happen. You see, my husband always dreamt of having a farm, a chicken farm. He was going to be taking notes. That made me nervous since I as city girl as it comes. I even like contemporary/retro design! God would again, have to work in my heart. I felt quite ill while we were there. We assume it was the spoiled piece of tomato I taste tested but I think my nerves were really part of the equation.
I start feeling better after a good talk with the Lord. He reminded me that if it was His will to allow us to have a farm, He would provide for me, a farmers heart.
Well, we came home a few days later, started repairs on the house, then called a friend of mine who is a real estate agent. He sent a stagist to help us know where to put the most work and within two weeks, the house was ready to be put on the market. In total, that took about 5-6 weeks. The sign was on the lawn Wednesday night the 24th of Sept. We had a showing on the Monday, but no sale. We had another on the Thursday evening and they made us an offer. We countered it and by noon Friday, we had the house sold. 8 wopping days it took to sell the house!!!
The offer came with a closing of October 31st. That is not a misprint, we are to be out October 31st which is in a couple of weeks. We found a farm house about 20 min. from town. We put in an offer MUCH lower than the asking price and they countered for not much more than we offered. Again, of the Lord. Today, the inspectors are going to see if the house is worth investing in. Actually, they are there as I am writting this.
If they say this is a good home to work with, we will be putting an addition and renovating the existing house. This house is small; 19x19.
I will be putting regular updates of what God is doing and how He is leading.
Through all this, I look back and am amazed at how far God has brought my family and me.
It will be a year this Friday that my father in law died. My husband took it VERY hard and struggled for a while, but praise the Lord it was for a while! The Lord has been good to both Moe and I. Our relationship is better than it ever was, and I only have God to thank for it.
Through this renovation and purchase of the farm, we will grow closer to one another but more importantly, draw our children closer to Him and ourselves. Hopefully, the neighbour's will be willing to build relationships with us so we can draw them also to Christ.
Enjoy the before and after pictures.

How annoying am I?

Yikes! Did I step on someone's toe????
It just struck me funny, that in chapter 11 of Luke, the very God who not only gave life to the priests, pharisees, scribes etc, and He was The one who create and gave them their "office". He saw these people of that office (standing/authority) and the same of many generations past, killing the prophets that He sent to guide them and speak wisdom to them, and yet they stood before Him boastful and arrogant, trying to trip Him up in His words.
Imagine this. He is all knowing! He stood before them, knowing their thoughts now and many generations ago. The history of their hypocrisy, pride and godlessness. Knowing that He will be soon a volunteer to their acts of violence and cruelty. It must of angered Him. God allowed them their standing and authority among their people and they abused it, thinking they were hiding their motives from the Son of God Himself.
When we look at our kids and they get sossy with us, prideful and arrogant, does it not boil up inside of us? We can quickly get angry at them but how much more merciful was and is God.
Reading Luke 11:37-54, at first I can hear the frustration in His voice but as I continued to listen to Him give the historical accounts of the prophets, I could hear the pain in His heart for those who loved, served and obeyed Him, yet who were killed by those who were sinning wickedly but that God was trying to reach out to because of His love for them. (not their sin)
Can you see this?
God over top, watching those who love Him desiring to serve Him so they risk and some loose their life by reaching out to those whom God is trying to gain back to Him.
God gave me an "office", a responsibility for young children whom He has lent me for a season and those of others while in Sunday School and by example of my life. I know that in my everyday tasks, although I have not killed anyone... yet... LOL (just kidding), I get swelled up with pride.
God is over top, watching me, who has been given an office over "our" children. Do I have the same compassion for them as they learn or even disobey, as God has with me? Does my heart feel the pain of the consequence of their unwise decisions? Does my heart desire to reach out to them even in their moments of frustration or rebellion? I can be so filled with pride at times, that compassion is far from me.
Oh how I want to have compassion for the loss and the wicked, even if it meant my life, but am I willing or just too proud?
Let's keep searching to be like HIM.

To be... or not to be...

I arrived from a women's conference a couple of weeks ago. It was such an encouragement! Since then, certain things that the Lord showed me has been a learning curve for me. One thing I prayed before I left was that He would not let me forget what He had shown me.

I wanted to share with you one of the things He has allowed me to remember because it has given me a new freedom.

Do you ever feel anoyed by all the things you have to do? Clean the house, make meals, wash the clothes, fold then iron them (my kids put them away), clean the house again, make your bed, vaccum, clean the house again, another meal etc. It seems like it never ends. Sometimes when I get consumed with those things, I get bitter that I'm the only one doing it, even if it is my "job". This thing that God has shown me, through the preacher who preached on the last evening. He said, that we should not be bitter with all that we do; we should consider what we do, a blessing to others.

Have you ever read a passage of scripture or heard the preacher say something over but THIS one time, something about it rings true. The Holy Spirit taught me something, I can do what I do to be a blessing instead of it being a burden.

The past few days have been extremely hot and humid. I've also been trying to do the things that I can't get to when we homeschool, so I've been really busy and it's been a burden at times! God is so good because He would, as soon as bitterness entered my heart, remind me of what Bro. Osteen said. I quickly told myself, do this (whatever it was) to be a blessing. Instantly my heart changed. Folding the clothes so my husband wouldn't have to search in the basket became a blessing I could give him. Washing the floor, again, was a blessing for my family, to be able to enjoy a clean floor. Washing the egg residue on the siding of our house (kids in the neighbourhood threw them on our house), a blessing for those walking behind our house to go to the city park. Picking up some toys from the livingroom floor to bless my kids who aren't old enough to endure such heat and were in the sprinkler.

I love doing things for others, like cooking a meal, making a dessert, sending a card or buying something special but somehow, doing my househod duties to BLESS my family, never crossed my mind. Funny enough, in return, I have been blessed. I have not had bitterness in my heart and I've even seen my love for my family has grown even more.

I encourage you, when you are discouraged and feeling the burden of our responsibilities, remember you have the opportunity to bless that person who will be touched or exposed by you doing that such thing. How would or did you feel if that person did it for you. Remember that blessing you would have, and give it to them instead. You will also get the blessing. The more you bless others with your giving of time and work, the more blessings you will receive.

Keep being a blessing.

Like mother like centurion... (?)

We, as mom's, think that other than the everyday chores, raising kids, meals and wife related responsibilities, we are not important. We could never be so wrong!

I read Luke chapter 7 and couldn't help but see the similarities between the centurion and us.

Definition (Wikipedia www.wikipedia.org ) of centurion: a professional officer of the Roman army. In comparison to a modern military organization, centurions covered a whole range of ranks. Ordinary century commanders would be equivalent to a modern army lieutenants or captains. The senior centurions leading cohorts would be equivalent to lieutenant colonels. Centurions often suffered heavy casualties in battle, generally fighting alongside the legionaries they commanded. They usually led from the front, occupying a position at the front right of the century formation. They led and inspired their men by example. They also sought to display the skill and courage that got them to their rank in the first place. It is for these reasons that they often suffered a disproportionate number of casualties.

In Luke 7:2-8 "And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth [it]. When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick."

This centurion had power and the respect of those around him. These elders thought highly of him for his generosity even though he was not "one of them". He also had the respect of his servants for they also met Jesus on His way there but they delivered the message that the centurion did not consider himself to be worthy of Jesus being under his roof.

As highly regarded as he was, as respected as he was, he still recognized that Jesus was above him and that his dear servant could not be spared unless Jesus did something. This centurion had so much faith in Jesus that he asked Him to just speak a word and he knew his servant would be healed. Just like in the beginning, God spoke everything into existence.

How is this comparable to us as moms?

1.He also had someone in authority over him and was an authority over many

2.He also cared for those he was responsible

3.We are on the front line for our children having experienced life, in prayer, informing ourselves of an environment before leaving them in it.

4. We lead our children and inspire them to do right or evil, by our example.

5. We show them why we are who we are and that age alone makes us adults, but wisdom, discernment, humbleness and a hope in Christ is what makes you a respectable adult.

We need to recognized that we have a difficult task, one that we can't do on our own. We need to humble ourselves before God and offer our children to Him in prayer and our lives in sacrifice. Our relationship with God must be pure, sincere, honest and growing so He may heal them, preparing them for the tasks He has for each individual child we have.

Being a mom is a larger responsibility than we thought before we had our children, is it not? It is one that is life changing for both mother and child. We have the "power" to draw our children to Christ or away from Him. Oh how much I want my children to love and serve God with all their heart because of who God is. It seems too simple of a concept, to live our life in a way that pleases God, but it will ultimately lead others to Him, more importantly, our children.

Keep praying, leading, fighting the battle and caring for those you have authority over.