Blessings and Battles

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Ephesians 6:12

            Our journey continues and we are moving forward again in the relocation process.  Soon we will be reunited as a family under one roof in a rental home in Springfield, Illinois but honestly, not at all how I had envisioned it.  Before anyone gets real excited…the Newburgh house has not sold.  Our realtor, Jenna, has been working so diligently for us and has produced showings and even some people walking through at an open house, but still the right buyer has not emerged.  So again, I appeal to you all to be faithful in your prayers for the sale of our home in Newburgh.  God has a plan for this sale.  Brad likes to say, “God’s not going to show up, God’s going to show off!”  Please keep Jenna and the sale of our home in your prayers and if you think about it, tell God I’m ready for him to show off at anytime!!!  Anyway, I had envisioned us selling our house within 4 months and being moved by Thanksgiving.  Neither happened, so we wait and see what God is going to do.

            Currently I am looking forward to cooking Thanksgiving dinner for Brad’s family here.  It’s going to be a great day because not only is it Thanksgiving, but my birthday as well.  So not only pumpkin pie but birthday turtle cheesecake from Sam’s Club for dessert!  YUM!  It will be the last big holiday we celebrate in Newburgh and so I want it to be special for everyone.  Then the days that follow will be busy with packing and sorting what to take and what to leave behind and staging our home for showings and open houses while we are away.  The rental house is only a two bedroom one bath home…so we are taking just the basics with us.   It’s going to be an adventure for sure and again, we covet your prayers in the transition period of being a family again under one roof, transitioning the children and me from our home and friends in Newburgh to a new place, church, community, and settling into the rental house.  We are grateful for the opportunity to be together again and begin serving RCC and the community as a family.  This home allows us to rent month to month, have our two dogs, and do exactly that.  What a blessing!

            Lastly, I want to talk about the verse I posted above and share with you where we are right now because over the last several months our situation has grown from just trying to sell our house and reunite again as a family into an all-out spiritual attack.  I’ve grown up in church, knowing the Lord and loving Him and have read this verse many times but never really experienced it until the day Brad left to start as the Preaching Pastor at RCC.  Since that time our family has been engaged in a spiritual battle we’ve never experienced before.  It has been one continual thing after another, after another, after another for the last six months.  This past week we had the smoke detectors, which are hardwired (so when one goes off….the other seven go off), go off at 4:30 a.m. and then three more times in the next 2 hours.  An appliance broke, and another item in the house broke within the next two days.  We have just had the refrigerator replaced under the home warranty and the van had a part recalled on it and while they were repairing that found another issue. 

            When these things started at the beginning of the summer it was annoying to be honest to have these “inconveniences” take place and even more annoying when they wouldn’t stop.  Since September it’s become tiring and I find it no coincidence that it is continuing.  Personally I have been experiencing things I’ve never experienced my whole life and at some point I hope to share that part of the journey with you, but until that time, I am asking you all to please pray for God’s protection for our family as we continue on this journey to RCC.  That He would be a shield about us.  That we would be able to put on the full armor of God so we will be able to stand up under this onslaught so that when this battle is over, He can be glorified and praised for the victory!

            As believers our only offensive weapon is the sword of the spirit, God’s word.  So if any of you have Scriptures that would be appropriate for us, I ask that you message me with those please.  We also as believers have the joy of coming alongside others as they go through these trials in life and so many of you have done that for us so I want to take this time to say, Thank you!  Thank you for your encouragement, prayers (please don't stop those!!!), and support.  We would not have been able to make it these last months without you.  I am so grateful for God’s family.  God bless you all and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!