Believe it or Not?

The last that we heard was that the seller was going to make the repairs by this Friday. I am a little skeptical based on the fact that we put our offer in on this house back on June 10th and here it is July 24th. Our lender says she has never had the seller do any repairs. We have heard that more than once - "This has never happened" "We've never had a bank do that before" "This has happened to you, but this is an extremely rare occurrence". But it is best to keep a positive attitude, right? God can orchestrate any detail and use any person to accomplish His desires. We rest in Him and realize that there is a spiritual battle going on as well. The Taylors tried to close on their house on Monday and went to do the walk-through and the seller hadn't even attempted to move out! They went back Tuesday did the closing and tried to move some things in on Wednesday and someone (the seller?) told them that they couldn't because there were some problems with the title transfer.

We're just packing a few things here and there, enjoying time to hang out with the kids, reading, and Ken is finishing his paper - he has it more than half done. Jeff Brock asked Ken to speak on Sunday while Pastor Miller is in Montana for Kathy's mom's funeral. Hopefully the folks from Main Street Station will come to church again.

Hurry up and Wait

We are so thankful that we do not buy a new house every day. It has been a learning experience each step of the way. Sadly we have learned not to be so trusting of those who claim to be looking out for our interests. After waiting for over a week for an appraisal to be completed our lender called and said that she had bad news. She said that the water heater, the furnace, the gas meter, and the plumbing had all been stolen. She also said that they do not give loans for houses that need that kind of work, but if we were to get those things replaced they would be glad to give the loan. Throughout the day we called the real estate agent and the next door neighbor. As they investigated they found that the water heater and furnace were still there but the plumbing was indeed missing. Our real estate agent and a representative for the bank that is selling the property took some pictures and are talking to the seller to see if they have insurance that would cover the repairs. There was no forcible entry. Whoever came in probably had been through the house pretending to be interested in purchasing the property and had the code from the key box that agents use to get in.

We know that God is in control. He knows the timetable. We trust Him. Our lender said that the devil must not want you in Cleveland! We know that there is a battle going on that we cannot see so we continue to prepare to go.

Glitch

Hi! I'm guest-blogging for the D's, as they don't have internet access right now.

They've been expecting a call from their lender all week, and it finally came. But the house has apparently been robbed of at least its copper pipes, maybe more, so the loan is on hold until that can hopefully be fixed.

Communication between the D's and the various agents is difficult to manage right now, so please pray that all of this will be straightened out. The D's know that God is in control, and they are resting in that.

This week's VBS has taken the D's on as their Penny Parade project. The money may go toward an alarm system!

Details Oriented or OCD?

Occasionally we will watch a detective show called "Monk". The main character is an investigator who is being treated for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. His attention to minor details will often solve the case. I am amazed that while we may consider attention to detail odd or remarkable it is not strange to our Creator God. Attention to details is His specialty. When I breathe a prayer like, "Dear Lord, could you please give us some moving boxes?" He responds with a friend calling after 9 pm saying, "our new neighbors put out their collapsed boxes for the garbage man - but you'll have to come right away because the truck comes pretty early." Now we have boxes, nice ones, and it looks like there will be plenty. Thank you, Father.

We Have a Signed Contract!

While we realize that things are not final until the keys are in hand - this is definitely a positive step. The seller gave us a closing date of July 30. We have a week-long speaking engagement the second full week of August but we could be moved in by the end of the month. Knowing that we would need to care for those who help us with moving and fixing I began to pray for sales on food and pop for our workers. Last night I was in Kroger and saw people loading up 12 can packs of Coke, Pepsi, etc. It was on a great sale! They also had many 10 for $10 deals. Thank you, Lord!