The last few days have been a whirlwind of unpacking boxes, straightening the garageful of boxes to see what we need now and what can wait, getting appliances, filling closets with clothes, putting beds up, loads and loads and loads of laundry and at the end of the day falling into the bed so tired that sleep comes instantly!
The first full day in our house we still didn't have a refrigerator or stove. I had asked the Lord to supply our need for them and to lead Gary to just the ones He wanted us to have. Jimmy and Alicia came down from Ohio and spent the first two days here helping us unpack, situate furniture in the right place and other "getting settled" work.
Alicia got online and looked in the local shopper for appliances. My husband had seriously looked before we even moved and hadn't found what we needed (or the price we needed) so now we were down to the wire! We couldn't move the food from the parsonage refrigerator to our new home till we had something to put it in!
The first night Jimmy and Alicia and family were here we ate pizzas from Little Caesar's and the second night our dear friends Brother Dave and Sister Carolyn Carrol brought chili, pumpkin cake and a cobbler over and ate with us. (Brother Dave pastors Tabernacle Baptist Church of Crossville, TN) We had a wonderful time of fellowship with them.
My husband had called about a refrigerator Alicia had found and they were asking about $300 but said they'd go down to $225. It was a side by side and almond color. Both of those things were nice but the nicest part was that it was in our budget! The men went to see it and in a little bit they were home with a refrigerator. The man we bought it from went down to $200 and even loaned us his refrigerator dolly to get it home to us! Now that's a nice person!
I had felt so calm about it because I knew the Lord was picking our appliances out but I did think that we were getting down to the wire on the timing!
Well, there sat my beautiful "new" used refrigerator but I still needed a stove. We were still rejoicing over how nice the refrigerator was when the man we bought it from called. I thought he was probably wondering where his refrigerator dolly was since we'd stopped to eat and hadn't returned it yet.
Instead his wife called to let us know he'd found a stove for us! Now that's what I call really nice! She said he was getting a pigtail for it right then and if it worked we could have it for $125. Once again, that was right in our budget! It did work and the men ran over there again and got us the stove.
It is almond and trimmed in black (just like my refrigerator)! They look like they were made for each other. So the Lord not only provided a stove and refrigerator on the very day we needed them but he also made them match! Isn't the Lord so very good to us!
Since I gave the Lord everything in my life He has done so much better a job of providing things for me than I could ever do.
Brother Dave commented that it is so good to know the Lord cares for even the small details of our life. That is so very true!
So now I feel like a homemaker that just had her right arm returned to her after losing it for a week. Life without a stove and refrigerator is not comfortable for a woman that loves to cook!
Yesterday my husband got to preach at Calvary Baptist Church in Winchester, TN. We had a wonderful day with the church family there. Our drive down was one of breathtaking beauty. The redbuds were blooming, the sun was shining and we were driving on some of the prettiest views I have seen in TN.
I saw many beautiful homes as we drove and thought to myself, "I'm so thankful the Lord is the one who picks my house out too." I don't deserve the lovely rental He's provided us, but here I sit. Our yard is shady and I have a front porch that I can sit on and drink my coffee, read my Bible and listen to the birds singing. It's all too big for me but He's so good at organizing it all and providing just what we need (and even want!).
I've divided this move into phases. Phase 1 was just getting into the house and being able to survive. It's completed. Phase 2 is going through boxes and deciding what will come into the house and what will go into storage while we live here. I'll also be sorting out rummage items, items to go to Goodwill and items to throw away. I've already spent one day working on Phase 2. I'm hoping to do a certain amount of boxes each day while the children do their school work. Hopefully it will go smoothly and quickly!
So ends Chapter 2 of the move of 2010 in the Neal family....more to come on this book I'm sure!
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