Only God...

Hello, Readers.  For those of you who have been reading my blog - my apologies to leave you hangin' after my last post.  LOL!  It was truly not  intended.  For those of you who are first-time readers you will need to catch up and get important background information.  Go back to the post "Come and See What God Will Do!"  This is where the series begins, which  tells how, through miracles, the Lord provided for my family during the difficult years of 2007-2009.

Here is just a little reminder of where we left off:

 God had opened the door, in a very short span of time, for Brent to have a job interview in Iowa.  And if all went well, our family would have a fresh start in life.  A few days before the interview, while I was praying, God gave me a vision of a white house with a big, front porch.  I knew we were moving to Iowa and God had a house for us.  The day of the interview, Jeff (one of the guys from STI), told me about a country house for sale by owner.  The owners, Tim and Theresa Hoffman, were customers of STI.  Jeff thought that they may be willing to rent the house to us.  Jeff drove me by the house - it was the house in my vision!  I could not see the inside, as the Hoffman's were on a cruise.  After the interview, I drove Brent out by the house.  We were in love with the property:  50 acres - 38 timber, 10 tillable, pasture, yard, North Skunk River running through the back of the property, and lots of barns, sheds, and a chicken coop.  We went back home and waited a week to hear about the job.  Brent received a job offer which paid $15,000 more per year than his current job and would receive a $5000 moving bonus.  The following weekend, we drove back to Sigourney, IA.  We met and had lunch with the Hoffman's then headed to look at the house.

That takes us to where I left off. 

*I want to note two things that you need to remember when reading the rest of this post:

-  If you remember, due to our bankruptcy, we could not purchase a home.
-  When filling out the "Background Information" part of the application, I decided to tell the truth about our financial history.  Bob Sinclair, STI Owner, knew this before offering Brent the job.

So, we have looked at the house and head back to the Hoffman's to discuss details.  We sat down at their kitchen table.

Are you ready for this?  :)

Tim asked, "So what did you think of the house?"

"We loved it!" was our reply.

"Well, we really do not want to rent it.  I do not have time to deal with being a landlord," said Tim.

Deep sigh and sadness - but only for a moment.

I said, "We cannot buy a house at this time."

"I know all about it," said Tim.  "Bob, told us about your financial hardships."  (Bob took the time to talk with Tim and Theresa on our behalf, without us knowing.  They set all this up without us knowing.  God had orchestrated it all from start to finish, as He does our whole lives.)

Then he said, "We would like to sell it to you on contract."

Brent and I looked at each other...speechless.

"What?"  Brent asked.

Tim answered, "We would like to sell the property to you on contract.  How does $150,000 sound?"

OH MY GOODNESS!  Surely my readers know that this was an amazingly low price for 50 acres.

Sometime about now, Brent and I were in tears.  Joy and astonishment abounding...

Then Tim asked, "Can you afford $850 monthly payment?  That includes the taxes and insurance."

Brent and I again looked at each other.  We were paying $500 in IL, but we were getting a good pay increase.

"Yes, we think we can afford that." 

Then Tim said, "I would imagine you want to fix some things on the house, so we also want to give you $5000 for repairs."

WHAT?  More tears.  Overabundant joy!

I began asking questions:

"Do you want a deposit?"

"No, we trust you."

"Who should we call to get the utilities in our name," I asked.

Tim replied, "You have enough on your plate.  We will take care of that after you get moved in."

WHAT?

Then he gave us the key!  It was on a key ring that had the name "Daisy" on it.  Daisy was the barn cat on the farm.

"When can you move in?"  Tim asked.

We thought a few weeks.

I asked, "Do you want us to sign anything?"

"No."

Somewhere amongst the conversation and the tears of joy, I told them of my vision of the white house with the big, front porch.  We were all in tears.  What God just did for us, to this day, still amazes me.

Immediately, the Hoffman's and the Lybarger's became friends.  :)  The relationship we later formed was truly a beautiful one.

We left for the four-hour drive home to IL in awe and thanksgiving.  The whole time asking each other, "Can you believe what just happened?"

We were moving to Iowa!  In less than 5 weeks, we heard about a job and moved to our new farm.  Still unbelievable when I think about it.  Yet believable after all God had shown us over the years.

*Right down the hill of our new farm, is where Tim Hoffman grew up.  He was a farmer and owned fields by our new home.  While he and Theresa were building their new home a couple miles away, they stayed in the house we were buying.

The story never really ends.  In my blog posts that follow, I will be sharing about our move, the miracles yet to come, and things the Lord taught us while living on a homestead. 

The "Going Home" Miracle - The Rest of the Story

Hello!  If this is your first time reading my blog, you best not start here.  :)  To catch up and get important background information, go back to the post "Come and See What God Will Do!"  This is where the series begins, which  tells how, through miracles, the Lord provided for my family during the difficult years of 2007-2009.

Well...I left you hangin', didn't I?  Let's see - where did we leave off?  Ah, yes, here it is - the last paragraph of the second half of part 4 in our series:

"We met the family for supper and told them all about the day.  Sunday we made the four-hour drive home, still not knowing if Brent would get the job offer and no other details about the house."

*I forgot to share a couple details in the first half of the story:

1) We were given some application paperwork to take home, fill out, and fax back to Sigourney Tractor and Implement (STI), IA. 

2)  Brent was told he would hear about the service manager position in about a week.

This is what our timeline looks like as of now:

Monday afternoon - I talk with my brother, who lives in IA, about renting his flip house (joking).  Start thinking about living near my family; ask children what they think; they love the idea.

Monday evening - I tell Brent about the day's events.

Tuesday noon - Brent comes home for lunch.  He had looked on the work website and found three John Deere Service Manager positions available in IA.  One is the perfect location.

Tuesday afternoon - I call the contact person (Bob Sinclair, owner) for the job to get information and brag about hubby's accomplishments.  :)  He wants to talk to Brent.

Tuesday evening - Brent talks with Mr. Sinclair.  He wants to interview Brent that coming Saturday.

Friday morning - leave for Iowa.

Saturday morning - interview, tour of the town.

Saturday afternoon - While Brent is testing, some men from the store take Brooklynne and me to lunch.  I talk with Jeff about rental houses.  He tells me that some customers of theirs have a house for sale, but thought they would be interested in renting it to us.  After lunch, Jeff takes me to see it - THE HOUSE FROM MY VISION:  the white house with the big, front porch!

Saturday late afternoon - After the interview/testing process, I take Brent by the house. 

Saturday evening - We have supper with family in Iowa City.

Sunday - We drive home.

Monday - I fill out the paperwork and fax it back to the owner.

*Important information you need to know about the paperwork we filled out and faxed back to STI:  the application/paperwork was routine, but there was one part that made me a little worried - the background check.  We had nothing on our records, except the bankruptcy.  Would that show?  What would the owner think?  Does it hurt Brent's character?  What should I do?  Well...I told the truth.  I wrote down our story - the bankruptcy, the sinful financial choices, the adoption expenses - all of it!  I took a chance.

Now we wait...and wait...and wait.  Thinking, praying, talking, wondering, dreaming.

So, we are now to the following Monday - 1 week 2 days since the interview.  Brent decided to give Jeff a call.  He was second in charge at STI.  Jeff told Brent that he was going to get in touch that day.  They wanted Brent to come back for a second interview on Tuesday (the next day) and to make him a job offer!

Brent took the next day off and headed back to Iowa.  I waited all day to hear from him.  Finally, late afternoon, I got the call.  $15,000 more a year than his current job (salary) AND a $5000 moving bonus!!!  My head was spinning. I could not believe it; but I could believe it.  Ya know what I mean?  God providing again.

I think it was the next day that Jeff called, and told Brent that the couple (Tim and Theresa Hoffman) that owned the country home for sale wanted to meet our family that Saturday!  We were to meet Jeff and he would have us follow him to their home, where we would have lunch.  Then we would go look at the house.  Now remember, I have only seen the outside of the house.

The Hoffman's are one of the nicest couples I have ever met in my life.  We had a nice lunch.  Theresa fell in love with all of the children right away.  We felt very comfortable in their home.

After lunch, we drove over to the house.  It was only a couple miles down the road.  I remember it to be a rainy day.

First the inside - it was an old farm house.  3 bedrooms, one "other" room, 1 1/2 baths, large kitchen, dining room, and living room, enclosed back porch, and a basement good for storage only.  I loved the layout.  It needed updated for sure and the main bath needed a lot of work.  There was green shag carpet on the stairs and in one bedroom, and red shag in one of the other bedrooms.  The rest was hardwood floors.  The laundry hook ups were on the enclosed back porch.  The kitchen floor needed replaced, badly.

God had truly worked a miracle in our hearts.  We used to try to "keep up with the Jones's; now we didn't care - and we loved this old farm house!

Now for the outside:  50 acres:  38 timber, 10 tillable, pasture, yard, North Skunk River running through the back of the property.  Also on the property was a big barn with cement floors, stalls, original milking stanchions; two other barns in the pasture, a two-room chicken coop (told it was the deluxe model in its time); a huge machine shed; another small shed; a garage.

WE LOVED IT!!!

Now, we needed to head back to the Hoffman's to discuss details.  The story takes a big turn.

Stay tuned...