08 June 2010, 0011

It’s been almost a month and a lot has happened and so much more has yet to happen.  We have made a deposit on a double-wide mobile home that was a repossessed.  It has been refurbished and is in good shape.  There are some minor cosmetic issues, but overall it’s a great deal.  It looks like we’ll be able to pay the thing off with some money from the 401K and equity from our house.

Things that have been done:

·         Picked a general spot for the home.

·         Got permission from Grandmother to use that spot.

·         Contacted a realtor.

·         Repainted colorful and interesting red wall in the kitchen with nice light brown.

·         Painted baseboards.

·         Had carpet guy come to house for estimate.

·         Informed my students and most of my family that I quit.

I was going to list the things that still need to be done, but that may be too monumental a task.  The average reader could lose interest and I could lose my mind.  One of the more stressful things is the lack of income.  Am I actually quitting a job without one on the other end?  That’s crazy, especially in this economy.  My Dad in particular will be worried.

By yesterday morning I was pretty morose.  Having to get up at 4:30 in the morning to go to drill didn’t help much.  It wasn’t a very busy day for us so I managed to make it into chapel.  After singing a couple of songs (it’s always interesting in the army to see how quietly a Soldier can sing) the Chaplain said that he wasn’t going to preach, but just take prayer requests.  The thing was on my mind so I asked for prayer for me and my wife because I have quit and was moving and needed a job and although I know it’s a faith-step, it is still scary.  That turned the service into encourage LT Crow day.  Of the 8 or so people there, 5 of them were currently or had at one time lived completely on faith.  For a whole year, some of them would get a check from somewhere every month without having a steady job.  Each one of them reminded me that I was stepping out in faith and being obedient.  As long as I could bring my thoughts captive to Christ, then He would take care of me.  Wow!  Just the fact that those words came to me at that time was proof enough.  It has been a much better time since then.  On the way home from the Reserve Center, I remembered that I had made a point to thank God and praise him for what He was doing despite the way I felt.  It was not heartfelt.  It was not what I wanted to do, but God honored even that.  We are very lucky to have a God who is so faithful.

Today, Anna and Melissa (her sister) painted baseboards and we all took turns pressure-washing the drive and sidewalk.  I took some time to straighten the house and do some housework just for my peace of mind.  At 10:30 or so, we took a trip to Wal-Mart to get some boxes.  Trips to Wal-Mart are kind of an event for us.  I guess we’re getting ready to be good country folk.