Friday, April 1, 2016

Weekend of ABUNDANCE

On March 19th, we had our huge moving sale!  We spent two weeks getting things together & priced.  It was a very long two weeks to have piles and boxes all throughout our house.  Josie kept saying, "Mommy, this is a BIG mess!"  But, we pushed through and finally made it to Saturday!

We spent the evening before prepping & setting up with some friends.  We planned to hold the sale inside of the house because of the threat of 90% chance of rain.  We had things set up in the living room, dining room and guest room. At 3 am Saturday morning, I was wide awake & decided that I was believing The Lord for good weather.  So, I started setting up tables in the front yard at 3:30 am. I'm sure it was quite the scene!

Our friend Susana arrived around 4:30 am to help us finish setting up & also to help us pray the weather away!  At about 6:15 am, it started to drizzle on everything we had already set up outside.  We both started praying & within minutes the drizzle was gone!

We started the sale at 7:30 that morning ... little did we know we would end up having an almost 12 hour yard sale. The last couple left at 5:45 pm!

The day was full of emotions.  Not only was it hard to watch everything that we own get carried off ... but we had several unexpected friends show up that we had not seen in so long.  Friends from high school, Daniel's youth pastor, friends from our old church, and other amazing people that we have met along the way.  It was just incredible to see the Lord bring people back into our lives through this ... it definitely encouraged our hearts & showed us that the Lord has provided an amazing support system for our family!

Here are a few of the moments that stuck out to us from Saturday:

-Around 9 am, we had a lady show up to the sale and tell us that she saw the post on Facebook and had to come to support us because they have family friends that live in SC that are leaving in 6 months as missionaries to Honduras!  She gave us their information for us to be able to make contact with them in hopes that we can all serve together there someday!

- My best friend from high school's mom & brothers showed up later that morning.  It was very emotional to see them pull up and filled our hearts with so much joy to see them all again!  As we talked about how long it had been and how much we had all been through together, her mom shared that she was amazed even at the connection that her daughter had adopted her son two years ago who is Honduran!  We had no idea & had never heard his story.  Tears continued to flow and it was just so amazing to see God add another confirmation and connection to our day!  Just a short while later, my sweet friend & her beautiful family showed up so we got to meet her precious son.

- Later that afternoon, a soon-to-be teacher came with her mom to purchase an easel and some of Laura's teaching supplies.  As we talked, her mom asked about what our next steps would be in the process with Youth for Christ.  I told her that we would first be attending language school & she immediately lit up and shared with us that she has a best friend that lives in the same city that we will be living in!  She got our information and said that she is going to pass it along to her friend so that she can help us find an area in the city to live & a church to attend!

-  Out of all of the awesome ways that the Lord showed us His hand that day, the MOST incredible thing was the weather.  Not only did it NOT rain on a day that was predicted as 90% chance of rain ... but it was HOT.  The sun was BEAMING down on us & it was just the greatest feeling.  We know that He heard and answered our prayers for the weather that day!

It is so comforting to know that the Lord has shown us in so many ways that we are in His will. Those moments were ways that He showed us that He was in each and every detail!


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So ... why call it a weekend of abundance?  Sounds silly, right?  To sell everything you own  ... yet walk away feel more fulfilled and satisfied?

The world would measure abundance with a number  - how much of something that you have.

If we looked at our weekend through the eyes of someone on the outside, abundance would be the last word that we would use to describe what happened.  We sold 2/3 of everything that we own.

But with everything thing that sold & with every step we take away from the world's concept of abundance, we are taking a step towards what the Lord considers to be abundance.  He has really shown us over the last month that He is the ONLY One that can truly fulfill.  THAT is where abundance can be found.

It doesn't matter how many people we had help us set up, how many showed up, how many helped clean up or how many have genuinely walked this journey with us step by step.  In the ones that have come alongside of us, an abundance of love, help, and encouragement has been given & we have been so thankful.

We are learning daily that abundance is not a number.  It is more about depth.

After everything was finished, we enjoyed a yummy dinner with friends & reflected back on all that God did throughout the day.  Josie girl fell asleep early but woke up around 9pm upset, so I went in to lay down with her.  While I was putting my sweet girl back to sleep, our sweet friends Sarah & Christine cleaned up our kitchen and did the dishes.  Such a simple task that truly meant the world to me ... to have friends that love us enough to take even a few small things off of our plate!

As the day came to an end & everyone left, Daniel & I stood in the middle of the dining room and looked around at what was left in the house.  We had prepared ourselves to feel torn & unsettled for a few days ... but we were surprised that those feelings were no where to be found.  Turned out that we didn't feel like we were missing anything.  We both agreed that we felt more content and fulfilled than when the day had started.  We found ourselves closer than ever to living an abundant life.

So, as we finish out our last few weeks in our house before moving in with Daniel's parents ... we are praying for the Lord to continue to show us more about finding abundant life in Him.

We are choosing to accept & not expect.

Accept all that He provides and chooses to give us.

Accept what others are willing to do to support us & praise Him for those that are willing to be with us every step of the way!

Accept HIS timing and not ours.

Walking away from the world's view of abundance ... leaving all expectations of others behind.

Embracing & accepting His abundance as we abandon.

That is what He has promised.



The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 

John 10:10






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