Stress?

Maegan mentioned after my post from last night that it sounds like a stressful time. And while I totally understand how you could get that impression, her comment prompted me to share some things that I ran out of time for last night.

By God's grace alone, stressful is not at all the way that we have been experiencing this time. He has been so good to us, and He has kept His faithfulness in the forefront of our minds. The last several days have been a wonderful time of rest in Him and sweet fellowship with each other and with family. We are waiting with a great sense of expectation to see what He is going to do in our lives.

As regards our vehicle situation, we are looking to see what He has for us. Our gray van is done for... it's old enough and worn enough that the cost of repair would exceed its value. The Lord has already shown us a few options.

Our dear Byrd family has together promised $3,000 toward a new vehicle! Through a trusted friend of a cousin, we have the opportunity to purchase a 1999 15 passenger van in excellent condition for $6,000. $3,000 puts us halfway there. We are reluctant to go into debt for a van when things are already so tight for us financially, so we are praying about that option.

There is a slightly older van for sale by owner about 50 miles from here. We don't know much about it - it is a 1996 and is reportedly in good condition. They are asking $4,500. We will probably be looking into that, but my personal thoughts are that God can provide $3,000 more as easily as $1,500 more, so I'm not deferring to the cheaper van yet. :-)

The other possibility so far is that we have been offered a Suburban by some friends by home. A Suburban officially only has belts for 8, though another friend of ours is able to install an additional belt. We will be looking into that possibility as far as legality and such, and continuing to pray for wisdom and guidance.

We are so grateful that we can trust that the Lord will guide and direct our steps, and that He will provide abundantly for all of our needs.

The next big adventure on our list, aside from continuing to watch the Lord work to provide for us, is a trip to Florida to see my G'ma Dawson. She's my last grandparent and we haven't seen her for about a year and a half, so we don't think we should miss this opportunity to go visit her. A family member here in NC is loaning us a mini-van, so we will be caravaning with Papa and Mama.

And now, a Quiddler game is calling me! More later...