LANA:

I get to write a pretty awesome post tonight.

If you didn't catch my incessant second-by-second Facebook status updates yesterday, we've got some pretty incredible news.

Yesterday morning, DH was offered the same movie catering position he interviewed for earlier this month. They wanted him to be at work on March 14th. Two days after his last day at the Fireside. One day after we start paying rent on our Oregon apartment.

He will not be jobless for even a single weekend in Portland.

Humbled. Grateful. Excited. Joyful. In love with our Father Who is never late. Can't you just see Him grinning and chuckling a little as He sees us going crazy over His gift? Because we put our trust in Him and Him alone - not a job waiting for us in Oregon - He got to let us know now beyond the shadow of any possible doubt that we are moving under the cover of His blessing. This is love.

What I'm learning is that our migration west is not just about God wanting us to 'be happy' or eat more fresh fish. He likes to give good gifts to His children, yes, but ultimately this is a faith journey. It's all about the single most important thing on this planet - our relationship with Him. He's been drawing us close and teaching us about Himself over the past several weeks, not for His sake, but for ours. God is God and is unchanging; He will be the same whether we pray to Him or not, or whether we ask for His guidance or not. That the God Who made the whole universe loves us enough to use our desire to move cross-country to teach us about Himself in such a personal way is astounding to me. Life is so full. Whether we're in a valley or at a peak, He's waiting for us to seek Him out so He can enrich every moment. I could go on and on right now; I just think He's pretty amazing. I love these kinds of days, when He acts in such an easily recognizable way.

And look. Look above at how much I wrote about DH's new job versus how much I wrote about Him.

Guess I'm a little more excited about one over the other.

Interesting...

LANA:

After having the rug pulled out from underneath us somewhat with the interview and DH not getting the job, I prayed for a sign if we should stay and wait for the next interview, or move on ahead without one. Overnight, Abbamart sold $400+ worth of product. It was not a legendary, solve-all-our-concerns sort of situation, but it reminded me that after a year of being sort of a nice thing on the side to help with groceries, Abbamart really could be something now. Maybe something enough to count on a bit along with our savings to float us a few months while DH job-hunts. After all, one interview cost us about $900. Do too many more of those, and we might as well have paid rent in Oregon for 3 months.

But the job market is rough out there, and that's no joke. The doubts started creeping in again. It could turn into a bad situation if we move and he doesn't find work. We were still scared... and that's the responsible thing to be, right? No guaranteed money coming in, no security, right? We could burn through everything we've worked so hard to obtain.

I told my mom everything we were considering, expecting to hear, 'You guys are crazy to think about taking a risk like that.' But instead, she asked me, 'What are you going to do in faith?'

You mean... without a job? What are we going to do in faith about moving to Oregon without a job for DH? She said yes, to show that we trust that God will keep His promises. He's definitely told us we can go. Why were we so worried that He wouldn't take care of us and help DH find work when we get there? What were we waiting for?

Um, OK. Mom tells me to do something in bold faith. A step out of our comfort and cautious and yes, even our common-sense zone, placing the situation squarely in God's hands like He continually tells us to. Yielding control and doubt and fear and taking a leap of faith. And see what happens. If we take a step and the doors don't open, step back and pray some more. OK. The Israelites had to battle for their entry into the Promised Land, too. Just because we've been promised something doesn't mean we should wait around and do nothing. We have to do our part.

So, with the help of a friend in the area, last week we chose an apartment complex in Beaverton, OR and applied for a unit coming available March 13th. It cost $80 to apply. I told our property manager that we are planning to leave next month if the apartment accepts us.

Then Abbamart exploded. In less than 2 days, it brought in about $1700. Can you believe when that happened, my first thought wasn't 'Thank you for this, God!! Thank you so much for this HUGE, UNMISSABLE sign of assuarance that You can and will take care of our family!' I was caught up in the work and demand of getting all the orders filled for hours upon hours before I talked to my mom again, telling her about the flood of business and she laughed and said, 'See? What are you scared about? Move, and don't worry anymore.'

God knows what we need. He is God over money, food, safety, and loves us more than we love our own children. I know we'll be OK. God's got the perfect job all ready for DH at the right time. He knows how important work is and He won't forget or be late with it. He won't give us more difficulty than we can handle with His help. Taking our step of faith made this beautiful truth very real to us once again.

We are moving to Oregon!