Click the picture for a fun but powerful song. Today I want to go all the way back to a day before the Puppy drama and tell you what I've wanted to tell you for several months now. We were at church and I was talking to my friend Rebekah. We have become fast friends because we have such similar stories and can encourage each other in the midst. She asked if we had a 2nd bathroom, yet. I laughed because it had just been a discussion at work. They couldn't imagine how we only have 1 bathroom with 9 people. I told her that the 2nd bathroom is only a dream right now. That's when she told me that she and Zach would like to make it a reality. Zach is an excellent worker who knows what he's doing when it comes to all this house stuff that we just don't understand. He also runs a store in BG called Winnelson which supplies contractors especially with the supplies they need to do their work.
I had to work hard on the basement that week because it was a huge mess, you had to be a contortion artist to get through it. I knew there was no way they could work well on the plumbing for the bathroom with it like that. The boys were a big help and we got it cleaned up so I actually accomplished another goal!! The next weekend Zach and his son along with James (another friend from church) showed up with supplies provided by a small prayer group to work on getting us a 2nd bathroom.
That morning I had to work but I was so concerned about making sure the work area was ready for them and trying to figure out food that I forgot, until Marty said something that triggered my mind, "Oh no! I'm supposed to be at work right now!" I was almost an hour late. Thankfully, my boss was gracious. I wondered the whole time I was at work what I might find when I got home. Would the walls be up? How fast would they be able to work? I hope I didn't forget to move anything out of their way. Time couldn't go fast enough. I just wanted to get home and see the progress.
Finally, work was done and I headed home. As I entered the back yard there were old metal pipes all over. Marty's blue eyes sparkled as he directed me to the basement. It felt like walking into a different house. Pipes that had hung low were gone and in there place were red and blue pex pipes that hugged the ceiling. They didn't just run the plumbing for the bathroom. They were replacing every pipe in the house! I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Do you have any idea how long it took us to run 4 feet of pipe for the upstairs bathroom!? In only an afternoon they had the old pipes ripped out and new ones going in! As if the speed and quality of the work wasn't astounding enough, we had all new pipes! If you remember when we moved in, pipes kept breaking and we wished we could replace them all but the ability just wasn't there. We figured we'd just have to keep patching them as they broke. But look what God can do!!! They are all replaced. The water pressure is so much nicer and the water that comes out is visibly cleaner. It even feels softer. I just can't put the thrill of God's amazing provision into words.
I walked down to the IGA to get some lunch meat for lunch. On my way home I got a call from James' wife Ramona. She wanted to help in some way but didn't come because she has 6 small kids herself and didn't want them in the way. She wanted to let me know she would be bringing supper for us. That was awesome because I had no water and didn't know for sure how long that would be. She brought us a feast! She even made two loaves of homemade zucchini bread.
By the time the day ended and everyone went home we were all well fed and the new clean water was going throughout our house. Everything was in place but the bathroom still wasn't much further. I wasn't sad though, even just what was done was enough to cause my heart to rejoice for a very long time.
The next morning at church Zach asked if we would like to work on it again that day. This time Rebekah and I talked and both said we needed to go grocery shopping because neither of us had anything to feed our family that evening. I told her to just come over and we would work something out. It was so cool! When we put what she brought with what I had and what James brought we had so much we even had left overs! We called Ramona and she came over, too. So between the 3 families we had 19 kids running around playing in the yard with Puppy, while a couple of the older girls helped Rebekah and I cut up the stuff for soup and such. Ramona arrived a little later but I was glad to have the opportunity to give her a little break from cooking. It was so fun! I told Rebekah I felt like we were in the old west where the women were cooking and the guys were building the barn while the kids played and helped. There was just such a peaceful sense of friendship and contentment that made everything feel like a piece of Heaven. We ended the evening with all the kids piled in the living room watching Veggie Tales and eating ice cream. I know God was smiling as he watched His kids working together.
The next weekend my dad and brother Aaron came over and helped Zach as they worked on moving doors and filling in walls. When everyone left we had a water heater just for the 2nd bathroom and the beginnings of a shower installed. We had a shower from the awkward bathroom but it was so tiny. When Zach saw it he said there was no way we were going to use that and he brought a wall to wall shower that is so much nicer than what we had in mind. It is just blowing my mind how God is providing a 2nd bathroom for us and on top of that it is far beyond what we had dared hope. It will still be small because that's the space we have but it will be so nice. Again, it is another example of how when we put our trust in God he will provide more than we can ask or think. That's not to say we've waited perfectly patiently or even that we somehow deserve any of this. You have read my blogs, you know how we have struggled, but in God's grace He has granted this one thing and because of His great riches when this is all done we will have a very nice bathroom AND not be a slave to debt. PLUS, we have some really great friendships being built.
Thank you to everyone who is helping to make this possible. You are an answer to our prayers and not just an answer but because of your obedience you get to be part of the exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever ask or think. And thank you to all who have faithfully prayed. This is an awesome blessing!
I had to work hard on the basement that week because it was a huge mess, you had to be a contortion artist to get through it. I knew there was no way they could work well on the plumbing for the bathroom with it like that. The boys were a big help and we got it cleaned up so I actually accomplished another goal!! The next weekend Zach and his son along with James (another friend from church) showed up with supplies provided by a small prayer group to work on getting us a 2nd bathroom.
That morning I had to work but I was so concerned about making sure the work area was ready for them and trying to figure out food that I forgot, until Marty said something that triggered my mind, "Oh no! I'm supposed to be at work right now!" I was almost an hour late. Thankfully, my boss was gracious. I wondered the whole time I was at work what I might find when I got home. Would the walls be up? How fast would they be able to work? I hope I didn't forget to move anything out of their way. Time couldn't go fast enough. I just wanted to get home and see the progress.
Finally, work was done and I headed home. As I entered the back yard there were old metal pipes all over. Marty's blue eyes sparkled as he directed me to the basement. It felt like walking into a different house. Pipes that had hung low were gone and in there place were red and blue pex pipes that hugged the ceiling. They didn't just run the plumbing for the bathroom. They were replacing every pipe in the house! I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Do you have any idea how long it took us to run 4 feet of pipe for the upstairs bathroom!? In only an afternoon they had the old pipes ripped out and new ones going in! As if the speed and quality of the work wasn't astounding enough, we had all new pipes! If you remember when we moved in, pipes kept breaking and we wished we could replace them all but the ability just wasn't there. We figured we'd just have to keep patching them as they broke. But look what God can do!!! They are all replaced. The water pressure is so much nicer and the water that comes out is visibly cleaner. It even feels softer. I just can't put the thrill of God's amazing provision into words.
I walked down to the IGA to get some lunch meat for lunch. On my way home I got a call from James' wife Ramona. She wanted to help in some way but didn't come because she has 6 small kids herself and didn't want them in the way. She wanted to let me know she would be bringing supper for us. That was awesome because I had no water and didn't know for sure how long that would be. She brought us a feast! She even made two loaves of homemade zucchini bread.
By the time the day ended and everyone went home we were all well fed and the new clean water was going throughout our house. Everything was in place but the bathroom still wasn't much further. I wasn't sad though, even just what was done was enough to cause my heart to rejoice for a very long time.
The next morning at church Zach asked if we would like to work on it again that day. This time Rebekah and I talked and both said we needed to go grocery shopping because neither of us had anything to feed our family that evening. I told her to just come over and we would work something out. It was so cool! When we put what she brought with what I had and what James brought we had so much we even had left overs! We called Ramona and she came over, too. So between the 3 families we had 19 kids running around playing in the yard with Puppy, while a couple of the older girls helped Rebekah and I cut up the stuff for soup and such. Ramona arrived a little later but I was glad to have the opportunity to give her a little break from cooking. It was so fun! I told Rebekah I felt like we were in the old west where the women were cooking and the guys were building the barn while the kids played and helped. There was just such a peaceful sense of friendship and contentment that made everything feel like a piece of Heaven. We ended the evening with all the kids piled in the living room watching Veggie Tales and eating ice cream. I know God was smiling as he watched His kids working together.
The next weekend my dad and brother Aaron came over and helped Zach as they worked on moving doors and filling in walls. When everyone left we had a water heater just for the 2nd bathroom and the beginnings of a shower installed. We had a shower from the awkward bathroom but it was so tiny. When Zach saw it he said there was no way we were going to use that and he brought a wall to wall shower that is so much nicer than what we had in mind. It is just blowing my mind how God is providing a 2nd bathroom for us and on top of that it is far beyond what we had dared hope. It will still be small because that's the space we have but it will be so nice. Again, it is another example of how when we put our trust in God he will provide more than we can ask or think. That's not to say we've waited perfectly patiently or even that we somehow deserve any of this. You have read my blogs, you know how we have struggled, but in God's grace He has granted this one thing and because of His great riches when this is all done we will have a very nice bathroom AND not be a slave to debt. PLUS, we have some really great friendships being built.
Thank you to everyone who is helping to make this possible. You are an answer to our prayers and not just an answer but because of your obedience you get to be part of the exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever ask or think. And thank you to all who have faithfully prayed. This is an awesome blessing!
RSS Feed