The Hawkins Rerun: The story of our house...(a long but good one)

   We closed on our house yesterday...which sounds like a common occurrence. But for us, there is a neat story behind this house.
   You see, almost 6 years ago, Josh was planning to flip a house in Greensburg. When he went to get a loan, he discovered (via the bank) that there were several liens filed against him and against his dad by the state of Indiana for failure to pay taxes on their businesses. What the state of Indiana apparently didn't catch onto was that Josh had been out of business for several years, including the time his dad was being penalized (for when his dad had re-opened a danish shop in the same building). So, Josh and his dad had to take paperwork to the proper people in Indianapolis and get it cleared up. Well, of course, a mistake like this can't be cleared up that simply...Josh's credit has been ruined for years and will not be cleared until the 7 year time frame has passed.
    Meanwhile, long story short, we moved away from Indiana a few months after this discovery. We were able to purchase a home in Tennessee (having sold ours in Indiana very quickly...which is another great story as well--for another time) and get cleared for a small loan because of Josh's employment. However, we were unable to get a home equity line of credit later (to do some changes to the house)...which was when we realized we felt stuck.
    Josh resigned from his job in 2009 and has managed to make money via ebay sales and other odd jobs here and there for periods of time. We tried to sell our house in TN in '09 to the spring of '10 with no luck. We realized if we sold the house, we'd have to find something within the range of profit on our house sale because there would be no way to get additional funds from the bank.
Then in August of 2011, we felt spurred to move to Indiana. Although it seemed like a sudden decision, God had been preparing the steps (as usual) and we had peace in the massive amount of uncertainty (like...are there any jobs?). We trusted...and God led. While working on a re-model job, Josh thought to contact the swim team in Greensburg (where we had worked before leaving Indiana). One thing led to another, and after we had already put our house on the market, Josh landed a job coaching swimming again in Greensburg.
    Next, we were concerned about selling the house...knowing we had to be in Indiana by Nov. 1. If we couldn't sell the house, we would have to rent it to make money over a 2-3 year period before being able to buy something (since we couldn't get a loan). Or...should we just leave it empty and hope it sells sooner than later? Oh yeah, how about all those foreclosures about to hit the market. That could hinder ANY sale of a house...so should we rent it or sell it for pennies just to sell it? I definitely had to trust God and pray every time that anxious feeling started to rise in me with all of the "what if's" and the "how in the world's".
    When we had our house on the market the previous year, we had like 4 showings a week...but nobody was interested with even a hint of an offer for the many months on the market. This time, once on the market, we had very few showings, but we managed to have a couple strong interests that kept us hopeful right away...while trying not to get our hopes up too much, ya know.
    Just about the time I reached my "whatever" moment...and let go of the worry within the situation...should have known...that's when God started to really work. Why? Because I don't think I'm in control anymore...and I quickly see evidence that God is fully in control.
   So, Josh had gone to Indiana for a couple days to sign employment papers and take a load of our belongings to his parents' house. Some folks came to look at the house Saturday and the next day at church our realtor let us know they asked to see disclosures...which made us hopeful of a greater interest (while trying not to be too hopeful!)
   On Tuesday, they made an offer...and after a couple counter-offers, we had sold the house by Thursday. The whole selling price was a faith walk in itself since we were forced to take such a loss on the house...pricing it to sell (for a huge loss at that price due to the market) and still having to negotiate below that for greater loss. But, the peace like a river that passes our understanding was present...and I couldn't worry. I kept reminding myself that God is completely aware of this and has been since Creation!
   So, then we had to wait 3 short weeks for the closing...which is never certain in this day and age. So, again, lots of trusting and letting God be in control here! :) I must mention, too, that the closing the buyers requested was the same time frame we were planning to be on our way to Indiana. Need I say it? ...God is in control!

   Fast-forward...we packed, closed on the house, and moved to Josh's parent's house on Friday, Oct. 28. Josh started coaching on Monday, Oct 31. And we began house-hunting right away, of course. I have to admit that after loading and then unloading all our stuff, the idea of moving again didn't delight me and I actually found myself hoping we didn't find anything too fast so that I wouldn't have to turn around and re-load everything! Selfish, I know! :) But I was exhausted, too!
   So, Josh and I drove up and down streets, found some places of interest, but nothing was seeming "just right". However, after a few weeks Josh's dad had come across this old farmhouse north of town on 2.5 acres...with a large pole barn. I hadn't understood at first where the property was, but after a couple weeks I took interest in it. Jack had thought of Rachel and Eric (Josh's sister and husband), but I told Josh I wanted to take a look. (Turns out Rachel and Eric weren't interested.)
   The house was a foreclosure...needing a good amount (like lots and lots...and lots) of work. But, if one can see beyond the visible to what it can become (much like God does with me daily), it's a gem. However, we knew there was someone with an offer on the house, waiting for a government loan approval. We didn't hold our breaths...but Josh and Jack both contacted the realtor with interest.
   Josh had asked another realtor (who had been keeping Josh informed of foreclosures) to let him know if this house went back on the market. Well, in true God fashion, on Thanksgiving night Josh got an email stating this house was back on the market. By now, we had had time to think about the property and we felt like it was a very promising option (if you're still reading at this point...here are a few of the perks---3 miles from town, 2600 sq ft., lots of land, a huge pole barn, woods behind, farmland around...does it get better...oh yeah, the asking price was really low). So, we set up a time to look at the house on Saturday, made an offer on Sunday, and accepted the counter-offer (half of what we had total to work with) on Tuesday. That left us with half the profit on our home in Tennessee to gut the house and make it what we desired it to be. (Oh wait, that was exactly what we were hoping to do...find a cheap "needing fix-up" house, gut it to the floor plan we wanted, and make it our own. Funny that God knew the desire of our hearts and blessed us!!!!)
   Three weeks later, we paid cash for our home and still have cash to fix it up...oh, and---this is the best part--- we will be living debt free...which was the ultimate desire of our hearts! Now you tell me, is God faithful, loving, generous, and worth trusting? I can honestly say that this process (from 2006 to present) is not at all how I would have brought us to where we are right now. In fact, my solution to the desire to be debt free always involved finding some way to use a chunk of money (coming from who knows where) to reach that goal. However, the timing from Thanksgiving to Christmas has been no irony in setting the tone for this blessing. Wow, God is truly bigger than I've let Him be!

   So, today...we went to our "new" house, walked around, felt overwhelmed by the amount of work needing to be done, talked about where to start...and found the most comfortable place to start! We stood in the front room (which we think will eventually be part of the family room) and prayed. With tears of joy and praise to God, we prayed for the blessing of our home and land to be a revolving door of blessing to whomever walks into our home. Our boys hugged each other and us and kissed each other and us as we held them during our prayer, but Josh and I already have visions of making it a place for our kids, other kids, you, and whomever else to hang out and have a place to be! While we were prepared to massively downsize and live in a much smaller space (willing to make it work), God said, "Nope, look what I have for you!" And we stand in awe...

   Now, here are some pics I took today. Not sure you can truly see how bad the inside is, but the plaster walls will be ripped out. We'll try to salvage as much wood trim as we can (which after looking at it today, will create its own challenge) to keep an authentic look. And who knows what all will happen. Enjoy the views...(seriously, the camera makes this all look good! and you can't smell the stagnant smell inside)...