Thursday, October 7, 2010

According To His Plan

Life has been good. Nothing has "upset the apple cart" so to speak, lately. We've kind of been in cruise control mode, I guess.

Just about two weeks ago, we got a call from our landlord (a very special person to us - he and his wife mean the world to us) saying they were moving back in three weeks (life changed drastically for them very quickly) and we would need to be moved out. I would say that definitely "upset the apple cart" (no offenses have been taken - it just meant life would be crazy for the next three weeks).

We put life into high gear and started searching immediately for a new place to live - as in right after Walter hung up the phone.

We discussed and agreed that we needed to move out of our current city because finances have been so tight. If we could move to another city that is more central to where our 'hub' of life is, we might be able to breathe a little more financially. Not to mention, our drive time will be cut dramatically.

We contacted a realtor and asked him to look for something for us. Our price range is not very high but we are trying to be wise and live within Walter's base pay (you see, we made some foolish financial decisions over the years and have learned our lesson the hard way). We tried to look at some condos but weren't able to get in and look at them (God did not want us to live there, but the property was absolutely gorgeous!).

We decided to look at apartments. We just happened upon a set of apartments that we didn't even realize were there. We stopped in, found out there were openings, looked at one of the apartments, they accept dogs, talked with the manager for a bit, found out they are having a move in special, and went on our merry little way.

I actually liked the apartment. Sounds weird to me when I haven't lived in an apartment for 20 years now, but I really did like it.

We looked at 2 houses in our current city. One really needed work and we just didn't care for it. The other one was beautiful but was really out of our price range when everything was considered.

We found some other houses in our price range in our new city. We called for information and left messages for the property managers to call us back. Went and drove by the neighborhoods of those houses and I just didn't care for the area. There wasn't a sense of peace about any of them. Looked at another set of apartments as well, but again, didn't have peace with those.

My mind kept going back to the first apartment. In my mind, I could see us living there. I could see the whole place set up with our furniture in it. I mean, everything in my mind said that was to be our new home. I called Walter and told him (he thinks I'm weird, but what's new about that? :) ). He asked if I wanted to keep looking. I said no.

We got the application, filled it out, gave the money required with the application, and waited to see if we would be approved. I tell you, I felt like I was walking on pins and needles the whole day waiting to hear back from the manager! But alas, she called and said we were approved! Hooray!!!!!

God works everything according to His plan and according to His timing and it's all done perfectly every single time! He just amazes me over and over again. My husband asks me why I am always amazed that God does everything perfectly for US. My response is always the same - I don't know!

So...........here are the things that show us that we are moving to the EXACT spot God wants us to be at.
1. We don't have a lot of money to work with - the move in special was a $199 deposit and the first month's rent is $500 off
2. The paperwork we got when we originally looked at the apartment said they accept dogs but they have to be 25 lbs. or less. Well.........I didn't see that until we had decided to apply for the apartment. Walter said he would call and ask about that. He did but what he said was, "What's the weight limit for dogs?" The manager's response was, "The weight limit is 35 lbs." When Walter told her what the flyer said she said, "Oh, that's a typo!" Our dog weighs 35 lbs.!
3. We were approved (that one is kind of a "DUH" thing)
4. We actually had every penny we needed to move in (including the $500 dog deposit)
5. Apparently we were going to have to pay an extra $25 per month for a second parking space but we didn't know that. The manager told us that fee would be waived because she hadn't told us about it.
6. While we were signing the lease, we found out our November rent will be prorated because we signed the lease a week into October. We will be saving almost $150!
7. We decided to move next Wednesday because it's Walter's day off and since we've signed the lease we might as well move in. Unbeknownst to us, our church's normal Wednesday night service had been changed to Thursday night. So we don't have to be in a rush to get everything done and head on to church.
8. The one physical belonging I care most about is my piano. It was my grandmother's. My grandfather bought it for an anniversary gift to her a very long time ago. If we were to get an upstairs apartment, it would have to go into storage. But....it would get ruined in storage. Well guess what? We got the only downstairs apartment that is currently available. I don't have to worry about that anymore!
9. There are some little things I was concerned about. Where our parking spaces would be in connection with where our apartment is. The first one is right in front of the apartment. The second one is caddy corner to the first one. The garbage dumpster is right across from the apartment. The laundry room is just down the building from us.
10. We are within walking distance to the post office and the closest grocery store (if I actually want to walk).
11. We are in a gated community with a security guard on duty 24/7.
12. It's a very quiet community (I like that - can't handle a lot of action, noise, drama - I like peace and quiet)

I am sure there will be more things in the very near future that I will be able to point out as well.

Now, we don't know why God would have us to move to an apartment at this time. But, just like He has always done, He will show us in His time and according to His plan!

My Blessings Today

1. I woke up
2. I had a great night's sleep
3. The sun was shining
4. The weather was PERFECT
5. The kids got their schoolwork done
6. My husband still has a job
7. My husband got paid today
8. I have a GREAT marriage
9. All 5 of us are healthy
10. I live in the USA
11. I am saved by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died, was buried, and rose again the third day for my sins!
12. All my children are saved
13. God has allowed me to live another day
14. We signed the lease on a new place to call home and got the keys - yay!!!!!! (can I get an AMEN?)
15. We have a nice car that runs great and I absolutely love it!
16. God protected us as we ran errands today
17. We were able to eat out tonight
18. We were able to buy groceries
19. Was able to talk with Lyndsey and my sister a couple of times today
20. I know people are praying for me and my family!
21. I had food enough to eat 3 meals today
22. God provided food, clothing, and shelter today
23. Our November rent payment has been prorated and we are saving almost $150
24. I have a great church and church family!
25. I have LOTS of friends!

There are probably others that I can't think of right now, but I'd say I am richly blessed! How about you? Isn't God AMAZING?