So today was really an incredible day. We all had our quiet times and then enjoyed just a fun time together at breakfast. One of those times where you sense God smiling with you as you enjoy each other's company. How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity Psalm 133:1. We then piled into the car and drove an hour to Brooksville to our friends, the Kessel's, house. We enjoyed 'little church' on the way up, and then had such a great time of fellowship there with the Kessels, enjoying lunch together and just reconnecting with them was such a joy. Right before we left to come home, we received the call from our realtor with the offer on our house. After we piled back into the car to head home, we talked to our realtor at length and came back with our counter-offer. We prayed and when she called back, we had a deal.
So we arrived home and I immediately called my family to let them know. Then Noah and I left to run a few errands. We went to a Publix on Bloomingdale Ave that I don't normally go to but as I was in the check-out I saw a lady walk in who I recognized as the former owner to our house. So I said her name and when she turned around I told her, "Guess what - we just got a contract on the house!" We have lived here all this time (13 years)and have never run into each other except once at a wedding and another time at a funeral. One of the first things she said to me was that she never goes to that Publix, and I had to say, "me too!!' So anyway, it was great talking to her and she said a few times that they would be praying for us. What a divine appointment that felt like!
Well, we came home and enjoyed a nice pizza dinner together - it really felt like a celebration. Then we had our blessings time, and man was it sweet. Tim and I just take the kids on Sunday nights and bless each of them with words of encouragement and just our hearts for them. Prayers were said, and then bedtime.
Today I have really experienced the God With Us of Immanuel. I want to set today as a marker and come back to it when times get tough down the road and I question if we're really doing what we're supposed to be doing. Although I experienced sadness today at the reality of leaving a home I've loved, I've been more convinced than ever that God is leading and providing, so with that I have felt great comfort and joy! We'll continue to update as we go..