AMAZING: God Answers!
 
On July 6 we began to request prayer for 4 urgent requests in this news entry:  Current standing of each request, in chronological order: 1. 100% Financial Support: Within minutes of posting these requests, God began to answer our prayers. I received a response to my email from Pastor Brent Armstrong of Oakwood Baptist Church saying they had voted to take us on for support. That brought our support to 91.62%. We have some other churches who have taken us on, yet had not started support. I prayed specifically that God would work out those details. During the week of July 13, I received a call from one pastor requesting the form to start his church’s support. Then another church, who had an accounting error that caused them to miss our support, sent us an email indicating they had found the error and were sending a check to fix the problem. God answers!! Please pray with us that God would complete our support needs by August 7. 2. Sale or Rental of Our Greenville Home Within 24 hours of our request for prayer, we had scheduled 6 showings of our home. Within 7 days we had a taker! We have finalized all the negotiations and are packing all of our things to be out by August 14! God answers!! 4. Purchase a Suitable Home in Atlanta We know we have a difficult situation for us to get financed. For the past year, we have been living on faith. We have had no discernible pattern for our income. All of our support will begin once we are in Atlanta, so only when we arrive will we have a steady income. Put all that together, and you will find a poor candidate for a loan. To make matters worse, IndyMac Bank, which had over $18 Billion dollars in deposits and holds over 50% of the countries mortgages failed. On July 11th it reopened under federal control. At the same time Wachovia Bank, the fourth largest bank in the country, saw it’s stock fall 80% from it’s previous year levels. When banks fail loans don’t happen. On Monday, July 7th, my mortgage advisor called me to say that if we did not put in an application that day, we would miss out on the only loan product that would enable us to get a home. After July 7th, all no-income-verification loan products were going to stop nation-wide. We had to put our application in AND have a house selected on the same day. I was nervous because I had seen my credit in the weeks before; it was one point lower than the required level for this loan product. Additionally, we have looked at hundreds of homes in the last few months, but had not found one that was suitable and within our budget (this has proven to be challenging because housing is sooooooo expensive when compared to Greenville, SC; more than double the cost for a comparable home). The only thing we knew to do was act. Christa and I put in the application and put an offer on a house. Within 24 hours our loan application was approved! I worked as a loan originator for 5 years and NEVER got a full approval that fast. Add in the market situation and we see the impossible made possible before our eyes. The offer on the house was just the start of negotiations. We made 7 counter offers before we came to an agreement. I got the news on Sunday afternoon, THEN... 3. Sale of Our Car ...Five minutes later, I got a call. Someone wanted to buy our car! We finished the deal the very next day! God answers!! Quick Lesson: Taped to our fridge, I had a list of things for which we were praying. After God did miraculous things with our house, our financing, and our support, I had a lot of items crossed off. I looked at the one for the car with disbelief and made a half-hearted prayer. Within the hour God answered it. Why did my faith recede? All too often, we place limitations on God: He can do this, but He can’t do that. Yet, the very essence of being God is limitlessness! There is no end to His power! There is no end to His generosity! There is no end to His love! There is no end to God! Not only is He able, but He also loves us! Matt. 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Rom. 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? FORGIVE ME LORD, FOR MY LACK OF FAITH! Mark 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Please join us in looking to God with faith that He will bring in our support by August 7th! 4A34D63F-7E03-48C8-8F24-CC7CAD617BCB.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0
Tuesday, July 22, 2008