provision

just thought you all should be updated….as we continue our packing…

that we officially have a place to live!

God has been SO good to us…so sweet in His provision…going above and beyond our wildest dreams.

before i tell you the details, i must tell you something very important.

we do not deserve what we have been given. we did not work hard for it, we did not save for it, we did not pray enough for it…it is simply a gift that God has provided for us. and i want you to see His Glory in it. (fyi…we are, or course, paying for it, but even the price and the ability to do so is a part of His provision!)

i will spare you all the details of how this came together for us, how we are affording it, and how perfect the timing was. all that i would love for you to know is that it is completely, 100% God’s abundant provision for our family. it is a picture of His generosity and kindness, and we are overwhelmed with gratitude and thanksgiving.

so…with that said…we will be living, at least for the next 7 or so months, in a cute little place, smaller than where we are now (you’ll get a chuckle out of the size of the kitchen compared to my present kitchen…and the kiddos will be sharing a room)…but what it lacks in space it makes up for with the most magnificent backyard. here is a picture from our back porch steps:

after our first date, jake and i happened to write a letter to each other at the same time (we were living in different cities), that just so happened to include the same verse. it has become our life verse.

it is:

Ephesians 3:20

“now to Him who is able to do immeasureably more than all we can ask or imagine…”

i cannot get that verse out of my head over the last few days. because this next home where we are moving is more than we could’ve imagined or asked for!

once again, God is giving us an everyday reminder of the Good News. this home will remind us on a daily basis of the Gospel…of Jesus’ abundant love, poured out on us freely. that we get exactly what we don’t deserve. cause isn’t that grace anyway? that God gives us His love, His rescue and salvation, even though there is nothing in us that could ever deserve it, ever work hard enough for it, ever earn it??

in a way, there is a part of me that feels embarassed and ashamed to tell you of this gift of a beachfront home. my flesh wants to tell you that we saved months and months and worked so hard to make it happen. i want you to think that we deserve it cause we make enough money, or that we saved enough to afford it. or we waited long enough for it. or we prayed hard enough. but truth is, none of that is true.

but my flesh battles the same thing with the Gospel. i want to earn God’s love. in fact, alot of my days are spent trying to. doing enough good, staying away from bad, checking off my list of things to make God pleased with me. that’s my flesh. but the Spirit of Truth wars with my flesh, and gently reminds me that if i could earn my way, please God enough, then i wouldn’t need Jesus, and His death on the cross would’ve been for nothing.

but isn’t it true that we try so hard to please God? isn’t there something in each of us that tries to earn God’s favor? or at least tries to make sure we don’t make Him mad? or we try to work hard enough to get His blessings?

the most amazing thing about Jesus is that He cannot be more pleased with us than He is right now. there is nothing we can do to make Him love us more or bless us more. and there is nothing we can do to make Him love us less. NOTHING. absolutely, insanely crazy, isn’t it? but its absolutely, insanely true!!

Ephesians 2 reminds me:

¹ Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. ⁴ But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, ⁵ that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) ⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done

this new home of our’s will remind me of that. and today, as you read this, i’m praying that the news of our new home will remind you also of the most amazing Good News of God’s mercy, grace, and rescue for sinners such as me!

i’ll officially give you the tour once we are all settled. i realize that i also still need to tell you more about just why we are moving. that is coming!!

until then,