Faith & Freedom Lifestyle

|October•28th•2022| The day we decided to put our house on the market. We had only been home from Snowbird for 5 days, and many conversations had taken place between Josh and I during that short time. Mostly through text because he has been on a second shift rotation.

Side note: Josh has been working on a rotate shift pretty much our entire marriage. This past rotation was second shift, completely opposite of mine. All of our conversations lately are either through text messages or late at night when he gets home. We are anxiously waiting for the day when he will finally start his new position, permanently on first shift, as a design technician for the engineering department. This is another example of God’s faithfulness in our lives and a long awaited answer to a prayer. However, that is another story, for another day!

Throughout our conversations we covered pretty much everything. God’s design for our lives, our goals, dreams, concerns, fears, what others would think, what was best for our boys (including their input), plans, timelines, our crazy amount of STUFF, storage options, living quarters, maybe upgrading to a larger camper to live in temporarily, buying land, building again, wanting to be debt free, what our budget would look like, and what sacrifices we were willing to make to see some of these things come to fruition.

The really cool part about all of this is the peace and excitement that’s encompassed our hearts. To be honest, I almost don’t recognize myself. To know me is knowing I like being in control of my circumstances, organization and always having a plan. However, I think Josh has been secretly waiting for this day to come! He is very unattached to “things” and lives his life a little more freely. He likes to just go with the flow most of the time. As much as I hate to admit this, I am way more emotionally attached to our stuff. I know this process is going to be very hard, but it is in-fact that…a process. Satan knows my weaknesses. He comes to steal, kill and destroy anything that is good. I’ve been in a constant state of prayer for my heart to change. I look at what all we’ve literally built, and I start second guessing God’s plan. Satan lies. He lies through our eyes, he lies through our emotions and he lies through temptation. When he starts to creep in, I’ve decided to deflect with this scripture: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8). It’s working!

Kyle and Ali, the couple we met at Snowbird, are still very involved in our journey. Ali will text me randomly to let me know she is praying for us. What she doesn’t know is that those text messages always come at the right moments. It’s also nice to have them as a reference point when we need direction. They have been in our shoes and they know every emotion we are feeling. They always bring us back from the ledge, reminding us of the big picture and end goal. Looking back, Ali said it was the best experience she and her family ever had. She even admits that she misses living in their camper! Whew, that is encouraging!

Stepping out on Faith

Josh and I (without even having a conversation about it) had Taylor Potter on our hearts to represent us as our real estate agent. Apart from wanting to help her business since she is new to real estate, we felt at peace having her represent us as clients. This journey is exciting, but it’s going to be extremely emotional. If anyone understands life-change, it’s her. I invite you to listen to her testimony:

When Josh and I decided to step out on faith, we knew that our plan might not be Gods exact plan. However, we have to start somewhere. If selling our home is the first step, He will provide the right buyers. If the Lord calls us to stay, then we will. Either way, we will be obedient – and have joy. October, 28th was the day we decided it was “go time” and here was our text message to Taylor:

She is passionate about our journey, she gets it, and she is invested in seeing it through from a spiritual standpoint. She was at her office a few mornings ago working on some things for our listing, and she was listening to “Goodness of God” by Jenn Johnson. I am so thankful she reached out to me that day. My spirit was hanging in the balance, overwhelmed. This song pierced my heart and brought back that unexplainable calmness. Thank you for being you, Taylor!

If you’re following our story, thank you. You are now caught up to present day! We aren’t sure what’s next…but we are here for it! We hope our journey encourages others who may also be at a crossroads. Not every story is the same, but God is. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Every step we take will be entrusted to Him. Even though our human instinct is to panic, He has instilled that calmness that we can’t explain. He can do that for you too. It starts with a little bit of faith and a lot of letting go.

So far, there have been numerous blessings come our way since this journey started. They were not sought after, they just came. That’s how God works. Having faith in the unknown is difficult, but He continues to show us that we are not doing this alone. It’s almost as if He’s walking beside us, with His hand on our shoulder, comforting and encouraging us with each step we take.

His goodness is definitely running after us…

“What’s meant for you will flow into your life effortlessly. You don’t have to stress, worry, chase or fight for it.”

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