Exceeding, abundantly above all we ask or think.....

That's what my God can do!!!

Once again I'm overwhelmed by His provision!!

Wait until you hear this....you will be as amazed as we are by how God has moved in our lives concerning this move.

Obviously we found a home!! But not just any home....the perfect home as if it were tailor made for us!

Tuesday afternoon I was searching craigslist just hitting refresh, refresh, refresh waiting for something new to pop up. We had been doing this for about two weeks to compile our list of possible rentals.... almost all of which are already rented or ended up not being the "one".

Previously, I had only searched for listings with images because I like instant gratifacation, but about mid-afternoon I decided to expand our possibilities and search for homes both with and without photos. About 10 minutes later, up popped an interesting listing without an image.

We immediately called on it and were greeted by a very friendly gentleman who e-mailed us more details within minutes. We were one of several calls he had gotten on the home.

As soon as we saw the house, we knew that this would be a great place for us. We e-mailed back and forth with the owner for most of the day and finally decided that we just could not let this one go.

Going on faith alone and without scheduling a viewing for our friends in Spokane to fly over and be our eyes, we filled out an application on Tuesday night. Some things you just have a "feeling " about, ya know? Being a Christian, I knew this was a peace from God and felt no doubt in proceeding site unseen. David and I could hardly wait until the following day to find out if we got the house or not. We were notified on Wednesday afternoon that we got it!!!

Wait...it gets better!

When Jon (our new landlord) called David to let him know that he wanted us to rent his home, he also offered their knowledge of the area should we have any questions about how to get around town. I overheard him ask David ( hard to not do when you have your ear pressed as close to the receiver as humanly possible without actually being the person holding the phone!) if we were "church going people" because he had a great church to recommend. My heart just about jumped out of my chest because I had been searching churches in the area for about two months trying to find one that fit our needs. One of the toughest things about moving around the country is trying to find a good local church in a timely manner. Nothing is worse than visiting a different church every week for months and months until you find one that fits. Having someone else's recommendation is so valuable and if nothing else it provides a great starting point.

We told him that we indeed were believers and were very interested in learning more about the church he and his family had attended. He then shared with us that his parents were missionaries in Russia! We have the common bond of knowing Christ!

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As soon as David hung up the phone, we ran ( well, David ran. I hopped!) upstairs to google the church Jon had recommended.... The Rock Church in Monroe, Washington.

WOW!!!!!!!!!

One click on the GRID 29:11 link and I knew that this church would be worth a visit!

The "29:11" caught my eye immediately because my life verse is Jeremiah 29:11. Upon reading more about GRID 29:11, I discovered that the name came from the very same verse!

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Both of my boys long for a vibrant, active youth group with a "cool" factor.

Zach being 16 years old is at such a turning point in his life right now. He's trying to determine if his parent's faith is going to be his faith. He's questioning where God fits into his life and what it means to be a follower of Christ. He needs strong Christian mentors who fit the 16 year old standard of cool and who are not full of rules, but instead are full of the abundant life that Christ offers. When I saw that skateboarding ramp in the youth center and read up on the mission of the church and youth group, I knew that this would be a place where Zach would feel free to be himself and also find the love of Christ through the leadership of mentors that he could relate to.

My 14 year old Michael saw the website and was just thrilled with the prospect of attending a church that seems to focus on today's youth.

Madison was excited too that this church includes 6th graders in the youth group.

It's nice to see excitment in my kids over the idea of attending church instead of robotic obligation.

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I showed Bren the children's page and she's asked over and over to see it again. It looks like an awesome children's ministry!

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Just a another "wow" moment about yesterday.... From reading about the pastor of the Rock church, I learned that his parents who were the former pastors, died in an airplane crash off of Point Mugu, California in 2000. We were stationed there just after this crash and I remember standing in front of the memorial that was built on the base thinking about all the families that had lost loved ones on that tragic day.

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One more fun little thing....one of the classes in the children's ministry is called "lime lights"! Cute, huh? My photography business is called limelight 31. Not exactly a twighlight zone moment, but I thought it was a neat coincidence.

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Who would have thought that one little listing on craigslist could provide such confirmation that God really does hear our prayers, knows our needs and loves us like crazy?!!

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OK...the suspense is over.....Here are some photos of our new home!!!

2,500 square feet of wonderfulness in Marysville, Washington.

http://windermere.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Listing.MultiImageViewer&ln=27180647&pub_mls=1

And further confirming that God really does care about the little things...note the view that this home has?! Remember my posting a while ago about really hoping for a home with a view in Washington?

Exceeding, Abundantly!!! I'm just saying.