Monday, April 5, 2010

April is here

Its a new month with already exciting things happening. Janelle and Jeremiah got baptized on Easter. Its was a very exciting day for us. Grandparents came to watch along with our dearest of friends. With all that has been going on in our lives, having our children give their lives to Christ makes all the stresses in life fade away. Because really, isn't this what its all about?

111 John 4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth

Yes, we still have an auction date the 30th of this month. Yes, we still have no direction from the Lord as to where we are going to live. Yes, we continue to walk forward in total faith. We do not know what is going to happen except we do know that God is in control, He will provide, He loves us, and He has entrusted us with this journey. We pray daily that we will bring HIM glory in all that we do, say and think. The enemy wants to scare us and destroy our family. Our strength comes from the Lord and daily we pray for HIS strength and HIS direction.

Today another load to the storage unit. On a practical note----its very challenging to pack. When you don't really know what to get rid of or what to save makes it so hard to know what to pack. But we do only what we know for the day and leave the rest for the Lord to show us.

Last week we did decide to list our property up for sale again. We have made many improvements thinking we will just live on the property, but we kept asking ourselves "is this what the Lord wants for us?" We can only know by opening up EVERYTHING to Him and laying it out there for the Lord to show us HIS WILL. That is all we want to do is Live out GOD's WILL for our family. And if that means to give up all we have than we are willing.

Please continue to pray for us. We love you all and thank-you for your prayers and concerns for us. We will keep you posted as things happen.
Blessings to you all!!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

sorry for the delay

Its been awhile since we last posted. There has not been much change in our circumstances. We have been quiet, seeking the Lord and waiting for HIS lead.
So far, all we know is that we have a date to be out of our home and we have a storage unit to house all our things. God has not made it clear to us where we are going to live. We continue to trust as we take each day captive and pray that all we do and say brings HIM glory.
Thank-you for all your prayers.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

this is so hard to do

Keeping you all updated on what is going on with us is so hard. Everyday there is something new. I will try my best. For now we are packing. We rented a near by storage unit that is climate control as we have a piano and IF it looks like we have to store it, then it should be safe. We just started packing and so far I have 25 boxes done. I am writing in a notebook what is in every box. I had to do this because I do not know how long our belongings will be stored.
We are moving somewhat forward with our other property. We are planning (Lord willing) to convert our barn into a home. We only need a very small amount of money to complete this. We have only so much so far to start the process. We do stand in awe at how God provides. So far some friends have offered to help us for free in building this home. We are so very thankful for this. We know that we cannot do this on our own and we have to rely on God to supply. Mike designed a VERY basic home and has all the drawings done. He has mapped out exactly how far we can get with the money we have. We are not sure how God will supply the rest which we figure all said and done will be about 50 thousand. I say all this because the last thing I said in previous posts was we were looking for a free mobile home to move onto the property to live in while we save $$ to build. Mike was getting very frusterated to learn that the mobile might be free but the cost to move, set-up and permits is too much and would not be a wise decision.
We want to make sure we are constantly praying about our ideas and asking if they are God's ideas. We did get a couple of answers from the county that points us in the direction to move on our property and build. We have to keep praying that God will provide the rest of the money. Mike is still not working as much as he would like. But again we continue to trust.
This is a hard road to travel. We are not doing this alone. We are clinging to God every second of this journey. It's very hard to lay your life out there for all to read about. We have decided to open up our life and share everything that is going on because we feel the Lord has asked us to. Not sure why, but we keep coming back to the thought that everyone has a story to tell and everyone should share it. You never know who will read about it and who can be encouraged through your life. We are a walking testimony of God's faithfulness. He promises that he will never leave us nor forsake us. I might get a bit down and discouraged some of the days but that is because we still live in the flesh too and we have to fight through those thoughts. God is loving and full of Grace for us.

Joyce

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Cranium Caps by janelle

It was such a joy to deliver 36 hats to Children's Hospital. I have taken the last 3 months making them. I first made signs and asked for people to donate fabric so I could take on this project of making and donating hats to the Craniofacial dept. at Children's Hospital.
I would like to share with you how this all began.,
When my baby brother was diagnosed with Craniosynostosis it meant he was to under go a major surgery to correct it. He was basically going to have his head re-shaped. The doctors told us what it would be like in the hospital and what recovery was going to be like. One small thing they mentioned was he needed to wear a hat when going outside. They did not want the sun to shine on his incision. Well, a friend made and gave us a hat for Jireh. It was a bucket style hat with many different prints of fabric. We had Jireh wear it while he stayed in the hospital. We received so many compliments from doctors and nurses that we decided to ask our friend to teach us how to make the hat. I decided that I would start to make them and by Jireh's 3 month post-op appt. I wanted to have over 2 dozen made. I ended up with 36 hats completed and presented them to Jireh's doctor's on 2-8-10. My goal now is to make 50 more by the summer of 2010.
I wanted to do this because Children's hospital is an amazing place and I have personally experienced there care back in 2004 when I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. I remember the excellent care I received by all the doctors and nurses and then watching and hearing about the excellent care my baby brother got just made me want to give back in some small way to Children's. I hope that others who are going through this kind of surgery will be blessed by getting a hat and hoping it will make their stay more encouraging.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Interesting phone conversation

Mike just wants to be completely honest with everyone involved in our foreclosure process. So he called the company handling it. There was a mistake on our paperwork and he just wanted to them to know the correct legal description. He ended up talking to a gal and shared with her some of our plight with Indy Mac bank. After a few minutes of sharing, she asked if Mike would write a letter explaining all that we have been through. She wanted to "see" the documents that he had talked about and thought that she might be able to go through back channels and maybe, JUST MAYBE!!! get something done.

We are not holding our breath here. We really have no idea what she is talking about. We are still moving forward and organizing our thoughts and making plans to move. But we find this interesting that there are still so many "bunny trails" that need to be played out. This is definitely NOT a typical foreclosure here. We were even told that by the lawyer who looked over all our paperwork several weeks ago. This is a true God directed journey. We would never have planned nor desired to walk this road, yet here we are. To God be the glory, great things HE has done, so Loved HE the world, that HE gave us His Son. That is the story, not our little plight. It's the Love HE gave us, the strength that He is displaying through us, and the Grace HE continues to pour out upon us. That is the story! To God be the Glory!!!!!!!

Monday, February 1, 2010

we have a date

Its so bazaar to go through something like this. We get visitors from who knows where to drop off notices. We never know who will stop by. It was late friday night about 10pm and sure enough we have someone tape a 2 page notice to our front door without knocking then they take 1 picture of the place and drive off. Very strange. But now we know that our little house has a date to be auctioned off. April 30th. If the house sells we then have 20 days to move out.

The Lord has made it very clear to us that we need to take our other property off the market and make plans to live on it. We are stretching our minds and considering just about anything to live in. From free mobile homes, free garages to a travel trailer or 2. Its all still in the air right now. It makes the most sense to live there. Then we can concentrate on paying off debt that we have. We thought all along that the Lord wanted us to sell our other 5 acres to clear our debt and remodel our home. But after trying that for 2 years it just seems as though all along the Lord was saying I have already provided for you, its just right there!

Now we walk forward in faith that the Lord will provide a home for us to live in. I am not picky anymore. I can make just about anything into a home. I think our family will do just fine with this new adventure. It might look strange to others but for us, it will be our new home.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

still waiting

All though we are still waiting upon the Lord for answers, I am blown away at how beautiful the week has been for us. So much sunshine for us washingtonians is just not normal. Could this be a new normal for us? Hope so. We are taking the rest of the week and weekend to continue to pray about a clear direction on what to do/where to live. I am so thankful that the Lord has given me much peace this week. I have been able to keep up with homeschooling and cleaning out some things. Its always good to get things cleaned and evaluated before a big move. We will have much to do in the weeks to come.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Be still

We still have no answers. Lots of ideas but ALL of them take money that we just do not have right now. So instead of getting really frusterated we are going to take a break for a few days and just be still and know that God is God. He will reveal the answers in His timing. We are to just trust and keep living life. Now, that is not easy for me. I have found that going through this kind of experience can very easiely cripple a person. You have to force yourself to live, get out of bed, be wife, mom, friend, daughter, homeschool teacher, caregiver & homemaker. These are all things that are very hard for me when I do not know what is going to happen. I do not know where I am going to live. I do not know what to pack. I just have to wait upon the Lord, pray and listen.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

praying for a clear direction

We are so thankful for those who have responded to our current posting and have encouraged us. Thank-you all for your prayers as we travel this journey. Right now we have an idea that we are researching as to where we might live. We want to wait to say any specifics because the Lord might have a different plan and we want to be open to HIS will for us. The process is so overwelming to think about. I am constantly leaning on HIM and HIS word to get me through every situation that comes up throughout the day. I know that Mike is waiting upon the Lord for direction and will do some research in the next few days or so for some more concrete answers. This might be the direction the Lord has for us.
Currently with the forclosure, I was told by the bank that they are setting a date for the place to go to auction on Feb. 1st. Then we will have an idea of how long we have here. I will keep you all posted as you follow with us.
oh---
p.s. Does anyone know of a FREE mobile home that someone wants to get rid of?

Saturday, January 16, 2010

So much happening

It has been far too long since we have blogged. We have been going through so many things with our home life that we have neglected to share it with you. We do rejoice in the Lord that Jireh is doing wonderful. He continues to amaze us in his healing process. God has blessed this little guy and has given him a full recovery. At 8 months old now he continues to grow and do new things everyday. Currently he is doing a very good army crawl. We have had to make sure everything is picked up on the floor and that the gate is up. So back to our home life situation that I am talking about. We remind ourselves that even though the outcome in our circumstances are not our choice, God is control. We lay our lives in HIS hands everyday and in every step of this journey we are on. Right now it just does not make sense to us. But it looks like after 5 1/2 years and 7 floods we are reaching the end of our time in this home. We are sad at the thought of never completing our plans here. We had so many plans and ideas that we had looked forward to but it appears to not be God's plan. So with heavy hearts we are looking for a new home to rent or lease and start completely over. Joyce


Let me step in now and see if I can explain our situation with our home and property. WE refinanced our home with Indy mac federal in June of 2007. When we refinanced they pulled a flood determination to see if I was correct in telling them we had flooded and needed flood insurance. Flood insurance is required by federal law for any mortgage to be funded for a home in Special Flood Hazard Area. When we received the closing documents, there determination said we were not in SFHA. Well if you remember January 6Th of last year we had one of the worst floods to ever hit our area. Water was in our home for 4 days. We went to FEMA to see how to deal with the flooding and were told, " You should have had flood insurance." We explained we did not have it because the flood determination said we were not in SFHA. FEMA sent me looking for the correct flood maps and lo and behold we ARE in SFHA, since Nov. of 1999. I contacted Indy mac on January 10 of 2009 and was told, " Not our problem." I have been in an ongoing battle with them ever since. I have sought the advice of dear brothers in the Lord to help me to seek the Lords will as to our home, mortgage, flooding etc. I believe the Lord gave me the tenacity, the direction and the courage to go after and fight for our home and property. In September of 2009 I advised Indy mac again that the home has been destroyed by flood and that starting then I was not going to make any payments until they helped us out with the flood damage. In November they finally wrote a letter to tell me that, " We are advising you that your home is now in SFHA and you will need to get flood insurance. " I called the person of the letter to ask when this changed, and was told the maps had been recently updated to now include our property. Remember, FEMA had already gotten me the maps showing we have been in SFHA since Nov. 1999. I explained this to the person and was told, " we will have to get back to you." This is not the first lie we had been told from Indy mac. They have continually lied and or forgotten all about us. In December we received two letters sent on consecutive days telling us that they (Indy mac) had goofed and that they would be sending out and adjuster to look at the damage to the property. Wow, Praise the Lord. Finally we would be getting some answers. On Dec. 16, 2009 at 10:30 am one Mr. Kevin Pike showed up at our door to assess the damage done to the home. He was supposed to be from Colorado and his arrangements took some time to get worked out. He and I had talked several times by phone. After being here for a few hours and taking a lot of pictures he announced he was done and would send in his results. On his way out I asked him for a business card, and after looking in his satchel for a few seconds, he said I don't have any with me. I was OK with that seeing as we had conversed several times before by cell phone. As the days passed I called to ask the signer of the letters, where we stood on the flood damage. She has never returned even one phone call. I had become concerned so I tried the cell phone of Mr. Pike. It is not a working number any more. I tried one more time to a Ms. Rachel Hoffman with Indy Mac bank. The one who has never returned even one phone call since Mr. Pikes visit. I demanded a phone call back. This was on Dec. 30Th. At 9:50 that evening while I was at a Men's meeting, we were served with a foreclosure notice. Not only had they lied about there intentions of fixing our home, they now are in the process of taking the home away. I sought advice from friends and family as to a good Lawyer. On Thursday Jan. 7Th we sat down with a Lawyer who explained that yes they had not done what they were supposed to and they may have lied, BUT there was nothing we could do. We were faced with give up, or try to work out a resolution with Indy Mac. Joyce and I sat the kids down and discussed with them our options. I asked them to take the weekend to pray and seek the Lord in there hearts as to what we should do. The following Monday we sat down as a family and we all talked. The family wanted to see if we could stay. On Wednesday the 13Th of January I contacted the loan resolution department of Indy Mac to discuss what It would take to reinstate our loan. The woman I talked to was very pleasant and walked us through the process. I asked her about the flood damage and was told that they were just waiting for paper work from the insurance department. I could call back on Sat. the 16Th. and they would have all the reinstatement fees$$$$$ and the progress on the insurance paper work. I had a little glimmer of hope. Well now for the truth of the story. I called on Sat. and was told in no uncertain terms that I can either come up with a huge, huge amount of money and get my loan reinstated or they were going to foreclose. PERIOD.... There is, was NO insurance claim. If I hadn't pulled flood insurance, " then there is NONE..." I have fought the good fight, finished the course laid out for me. I am confident that I have Not blemished the name of our Lord with my tongue or my actions. I do believe a great injustice has been done. Yet I will trust the Lord and give him all the Praise. It was and is his home as long as he desires it to be. This is merely a snippet of what we have gone through and I do apologize for not keeping all more aware of what has been happening. I covet all of your prayers as to the Lords leading and our ability to walk in his great provision.



In Him Mike

Ps. We are Praising our Lord for his marvelous work in and through Jireh.