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.