Monday, August 23, 2021

Mountain Moving

Just when you think God is content with you where you are, He decides to move you.

In this case, literally.

Within two weeks, God has merrily turned our entire world upside down. The person we were helping get back on her feet found an apartment. We thought she was going to be with us for another year. That was the pebble that released the avalanche. I believe all my husband had to do was decide what he really wanted out of life, and when we started talking about the possibilities, God chose to take over.

You don't want to get in Gods' way when He has a plan in mind!

The house would be too big for the two of us once our son moved out and our daughter returned to college. So we talked about the possibility of renting out the rooms or renting the house entirely. Should we start that dream business of a cafe bakery? Where would we start the business if that was what God wanted? Would we keep the house and rent it out or sell it? 

The possibilities were unfathomable. There were too many choices to make.

Then we gave it to God. I think He breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, these people were giving Him complete control over their lives. It was about time!

Brace yourself when God takes the wheel.

My husband not only found a house, but it also had a storefront attached. It had a four-car garage and a giant cedar open-air workshop on a third-acre plot of land, right between two mountain ranges, near the top of a vast hill. However, the store had been shut down five years ago, and the owner retired. 

But was it for us?

A few days later, a realtor friend called (without knowing we were looking for a place) and asked if we were interested in selling our home. After talking to him about the possibility, we took a day trip to see the mountain property, and though there's a lot of clearing out and renovating to do, it would serve our needs perfectly. It even had an arbor loaded with grapes for making jams and jellies, a pear tree, and a chestnut tree. Roasting over an open fire, anyone?

The store used to sell gas, but they removed the tanks and pumps and dug a new well before putting the property up for sale. Farmers were all around us. One farmer has beef cattle, another has milk, cream, and cream cheese, and there's corn everywhere you look. 

And right smack in the middle of the property was a newly refurbished outhouse. We had a good laugh over that, and we're glad the house itself had two bathrooms. We figured the outhouse was for customers and would be a novelty for tourists. And there would be tourists. The town has a whopping population of twenty residents, and the house/store was on the main thoroughfare between two more prominent cities. We'd be the only rest stop for fifteen to thirty miles in any direction. The only places nearby were RV parks and campgrounds- perfect for our business- with a few tweaks.

Was there a catch? A little one. We'd have to sell our house because we had too much tied into debt and the remaining mortgage. However, if we sold our house, we could buy the new property outright and be out of debt completely, with no mortgage. We'd have to sell, buy and move within a few weeks.

Yikes!

The paperwork had been signed, sealed, and almost delivered. Unfortunately, the purchase of that property is contingent on selling our house. We need to fix this place up a bit to make it ready for sale, and I'm packing like a madwoman so we can move as much as possible into temporary storage so the handyman can pretty up the place. It's all for looks because the main repairs were done years ago- Thank God.

We've had this dream for decades. And now it's coming true.

Instead of us moving mountains, God's moving us to the mountains!

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay 

What are those tweaks, you ask?

We talked with a few locals, and they told us the old store was the hub for the locals who needed basic supplies. It was a variety store that sold gas. However, we planned a bakery cafe and decided to have a section for basic needs for the locals. We don't have everything worked out yet, but I take notes when the ideas hit me.

To be honest, this was all going to be my husbands' baby. I was there to work the store and do what I could to get it going. God wants me to be a writer, and that won't change. He also made me creative, and after talking with the locals and the owners' son, I realized God also wanted me to be an integral part of this business. Fishing season is in the spring, and hunting season is in the fall. I can create items to sell in the store for the locals, sportsmen, and campers alike.

Above the store is a second floor, with a small room and a large one. Both are filled with natural light. We're considering using the small space to build a mini test kitchen and create an online TV cooking show. The big room might be used for my sewing and writing space and store storage- we'll know better when we move there.

I can't tell you how excited we are!

We've lived in the city our entire lives. We'll miss everyone terribly, but God has been weaning us away from here for a while now, and we both realize God wants us to move on. 

You'd think I'd be panicking. I thought I would be! But the second we both saw that house and store, we knew it was for us. God is paving the way, and as the handyman finishes, there's a line of buyers waiting.

My husband will finally be able to breathe the fresh air his lungs crave. My body and brain will be getting a lot of exercise. We even have friends close by if you consider forty-plus miles close. I guess, when you think of mountain roads, that is close!

God is amazingly good!

Thursday, August 12, 2021

Through Me

People do it all the time. I know I've done it. We claim aspects of God without claiming the power behind those aspects.

All. The. Time.

I guess I don't know my own strength.

I've gotten through this before; I can do it again.

If I can do it, you can too!

People marvel at our triumphs from adversity, but we often forget to give the Big Guy credit. Maybe we're too afraid to sound 'religious.' Maybe the person we're talking to is a known atheist or unbeliever. Perhaps we're scared of persecution in the middle of being praised.

Maybe it's a mix of all of those things.

I inwardly cringe when I find myself doing it. I cringe after I've done it. I had an opportunity to praise God, and I dropped the ball. It's so easy to drop it. Persecution is prevalent nowadays.

But when I ask for spiritual, physical, or mental strength, He still gives it when I genuinely need it. All things go through Him. All things. Nothing comes from me; everything comes from God. Believers often forget that. I should know- I've probably done it more than most. 

Image by Colin Behrens from Pixabay 

Through Him.

We are His light bulbs. We shine, but only when we plug into Him. We might think we shine when we aren't- we're a bulb with no power to make us glow. 

We need power from an outside resource. Oh sure, we can hook up to a car battery, but we might explode. We can wire ourselves to a 9-volt battery, but the glow would be dim and not last very long. We were meant to shine with the power of God, the everlasting source of steady, reliable energy. 

Not only does He make us shine, but we also illuminate others through Him. And the more we praise Him, the more we shine. Isn't that fantastic?

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine! 

I love that song. Hmm...I wonder if God sings that about us?