If only the weather would have been nice...

If you were to have a garage sale what is the one key ingredient that will get people to come and look at what you are selling? Sure having a sign in the yard is helpful. An ad in the paper goes a long way as well. Case in point; we had people at our house at 6:15 a.m. waiting, I didn't even know where our garage sale signs were. Again those are both great things to have but what I am really pointing to is the need for decent weather. It doesn't have to be 75 degrees and sunny, it can be 50 and overcast and people will come in droves. We worked really hard to get everything ready for our sale, this has become an art form for us over the years. All the clothes were laid out beautifully, everything was priced to sell, and then it happened. The weather threw us a curve. Like I said cold weather won't stop people. It will if it goes from drizzling rain to periods of heavier rain to sleet to snow to sleet to snow to rain then back to snow off and on for hours. Sorry if that last sentence ran on, but that's what the weather did. I was so happy that no one purchased our propane space heater because it gave the few crazy people a little warmth in the midst of the mess. We did actually sell a lot of stuff to those who braved the elements so we are grateful. All the money for this sell and the one we will probably have next week is going into our "moving fund". I am glad to say we now have enough money to pay for the gas to get out there to Columbia. Please pray that the weather is much more suitable to having a sale next weekend.

Jeff

Like a lead balloon?

This past weekend we went to visit my parents and my sister and her husband. I have been hesitant to share about our move until I was a little more sure of it myself. I also wanted to do it face to face. On the trip up, I asked Kara if she thought we should warn the kids not to say anything about moving. She said that she didn't think they would mention it. You guessed it! In unison Samuel and Kensley said "hi, did you know we were moving"? Not quite how I had hoped to break the news but very effective at getting everyone's attention. They were very shocked that we will be moving so far away but I think they got a sense of how God is working in us.

Kara is in Little Rock right now with the kids during spring break. Our house is so quiet, almost too quiet. Last night I had to turn the fan on to make some sort of noise so I could fall to sleep. While they are gone I am trying to finish up some cabinet projects and get ready for our garage sale this weekend. We both have really taken a hard look at all of our stuff. We have so much stuff that we don't even know what it is. The idea of moving anything more that we have to is helping us to decide which stuff to sell. Ever notice how many of one thing you can accumulate over the years? I've found enough paint to cover our house 15 times too bad its covered in brick and aluminum siding.

Sorry for the rambling, it must be the quietness here. If you have a chance say a prayer for us as we attempt to have this garage sale. It will take a lot of effort to get everything put out. I do like having garage sales though. If for nothing else to get a glimpse into how God has wired some of the people that will come our way. I pray that in some way we can see them the way God sees them and meet a need that they weren't expecting.

Jeff

What in the world is God thinking?

Okay so what is our main reason for wanting to start a blog? It boils down to this, if what God is doing in our lives can be put out here for anyone to see, maybe it will prove to bring glory to Him. We will not in anyway propose that we are living so right that what is going on in our lives will bring you closer to God. We just feel the need to share this new and exciting journey that he has us on.

So what is this journey he has us on? For a little over a year we have felt a gentle nudge that where we are living and what we are doing is just a little too comfortable. I have a great job and make a reasonable salary for what I do, so it doesn't make sense to just move on. On the other hand the nudge hasn't gone away. We live in a great town with good schools, our church is a place to get fed weekly, and despite the economic issues, we are doing well. It looks like we are crazy to entertain what we are about to do, but our faith in what God is doing in us and will do through us, stirs us to move. So we will.

Sometime this summer we will relocate our family to Columbia, South Carolina. We don't have family there. We don't have close personal ties to the area. We don't have jobs. We don't have a huge bank account to live on for years. It's in looking at what we do have that makes all this possible. We have faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We have faith that this stirring in our hearts is from God, and that he will provide for us. I am sure our friends, families, and my co-workers think we are nuts. Oh well, what do you do? Maybe this journey will increase their faith in our incredible Creator.

This is a really scary reality for us, but at the same time it is so exciting to pursue what we feel God has placed before us. We have been blessed with great kids, a strong bond of marriage, and an ever growing love for our God. We have great friends and a place that feels like home. This all might make no sense to you, and that's okay. We just choose to follow where we feel He is leading us. We hope that by what we share you can be blessed, laugh along with us, and see Christ working in us.

Jeff & Kara

It has started.

Okay so we are totally new to blogs, blogging, blog designs, you name it. On the other hand we have really enjoyed watching and reading other people's blogs. It seems to be a great way to communicate what is going on and easy for others to jump in on. So this is ours. We are just learning what to do here so forgive us in advance for goofy looking stuff. I imagine as we start to get things figured out this will be an incredible tool for our family and friends to enjoy what God has in store for our family. Jeff