It’s A New Day!!!

Happy Monday, y’all! After sharing our home decorated for Christmas last week, I’m going to be a bit quieter over the next couple of weeks as I intentionally spend more time with my family and less time with my laptop. 😉

I just wanted to share a bit of exciting news. No, I’m not pregnant. 😉

After working at Nucor Steel {an AMAZING job!} for seven years, Ernie resigned to work from home  and to follow the dreams that God gave him many years ago…those dreams have been on hold for a long time.

It truly brings me to tears to type those words. ^^^^

You might think it’s a little weird to get all personal here on the blog, but I firmly believe that this story needs to be told. Because I know for a fact that we aren’t alone in the struggle and hardship. I’ve shared bits and pieces before, so I’m going to give you the short version.

2006: Married and living in House #1. I was selling high-end furniture (great job!) and Ernie was an electrical engineering co-op student working at Nucor.

2007: Lost a baby to heaven in July. Living in House #2. Ernie graduated in December.

2008: Discontent with House #2. Made several foolish financial decisions. Bought brand new house {House #3} we could afford at the time. We were betting on the future…that didn’t last long.

Late 2008: I resigned from my furniture sales job and the economy crashed. That was a rough weekend…only a foretaste of what was to come. I started a blog, but didn’t write on it much until 2009.

2009: Ernie’s paycheck was cut to 1/3 of what it had been. I had no income. We had a new baby – Ridley. Ernie took on a second job – working 60+ hours a week to barely make ends meet. This was the hardest year ever for us. We have said many times since, “Thank the Lord we don’t have to live 2009 over again.” I began blogging fervently and sharing life with the world. I was home with a baby 24/7 and I needed some adult conversation.

2010: Put our new house on the very sluggish market. We were so sick of debt and being under its bondage we decided that we would rather live in a cardboard box and have each other than have that house. Finally sold it after many months. Moved back to rental House #2…making it House #4 with the intention of buying that property. I made lots of friends online through the faith, food, frugal and decorating/diy niches.

2011: We discovered mold and termites in the house and had to terminate our contract at House #4 and we moved to another rental House #5. We loved this house. LOVED it! I kept on decorating, blogging and sharing. It’s a lot of work and takes a lot of time.

2012: We brought Cameron home to this house. Late in 2012 our landlord let us know that he needed to move into our house because of personal difficulties. So we had to move…again. House #6 was a two story townhouse. We loved the space and storage inside, but we had no yard. And the street was super busy.

BUT, we were content. We were happy. We were finally figuring out what’s most important in life – peace with God and peace with others…and less debt. We did Dave Ramsey, but it still felt like we were throwing our money at nothing. It was very frustrating and it didn’t feel like we would ever have financial freedom.

2013: Our beloved Memaw unexpectedly went to heaven in May. Our hearts still grieve and the tears still flow. As Providence guided, we were able to move into her home in the Fall right before Thanksgiving. This “House #7” is truly home. It’s right next door to where I grew up. There’s space for the boys to roam and play. And grandparents and an aunt and uncle are neighbors. It is the perfect home for us.

2014: We started this year with hope in God and looking ahead with excitement for the future. We saw the possibilities, but we knew we just needed to stick with it for a while longer before making any changes. Ernie kept plugging away at his Monday-Friday job. I could tell that his passion was elsewhere, but he kept on because it is his duty to provide.

A few months ago I read this post “Why I Told My Husband He Could Walk Away” and my heart changed from one being controlled by fear of the future to one knowing that the God of the past is the God of the future and HE is a provider. I began really praying that the Lord would provide deliverance for Ernie so he could follow his dreams and passions of geeky programmer stuff like creating phone apps, seminary studies, writing and teaching, etc.

Little by little we have been able to pay off debts that we’ve had for a long time. On October 23rd, we paid off a debt that had been literally hanging over our heads and keeping us in bondage for SEVEN years.

Ernie and I discussed his leaving his current job this coming April/May, but a few weeks ago he asked me what I thought about his leaving sooner…like before Christmas. In true Myra-fashion I started freaking out. Like, OH MY WORD! Are we ready for this?! All those little “What if’s?” popped up in my mind. But I had to shut them down. The Lord had been preparing the way…and He had prepared our hearts for this moment in time. I knew the time was right.

We have made REALLY stupid, immature decisions in the past. We have placed our bets on the future that it won’t ever change. But now we know better. We are making this change with our eyes wide open trusting the Lord to guide and direct us as He has in the past. Our hearts are full of gratefulness and amazing excitement!

We are buying our house Lord-willing at the end of this month as long as all the red-tape/legal stuff comes through on time. It will be ours – no loan. We plan to pay off our vehicles in early 2015.

I know you are probably wondering how Ernie was able to leave a very good job to come home. It boggles my mind every day, but my two accidental entrepreneurial ventures {MyBlessedLife.net and Young Living Essential Oils} are providing above and beyond our wildest dreams! I have worked many, many hours, months and years and I’ve lost a lot of sleep, but I did it {and still do} because I LOVE IT! I never expected that my passion of decorating, DIY and sharing natural wellness would help provide for our home in this way. We feel so very undeserving of this immense, unexpected blessing.

My very favorite part of our story is how God has changed our hearts. Our desires, hopes, dreams and wants have changed. We want simpler things rather than more fancy things. We don’t need a big house like we used to think we needed to be happy. We are happy and content here in the present with just the things God has given us. We want to give. We want to bless others. That is our desire.

Unfortunately, we had to come through very, very rough times to learn these lessons, but my prayer is that we won’t ever forget. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

No matter where you are or what your situation is – there is ALWAYS hope. I want to yell that from the rooftops.

I know what it feels like to feel hopeless. I understand the stress of not having enough to pay for groceries.

I get how it feels to have massive credit card debt, loans and an exorbitant house payment. I get the stress of not seeing your spouse because you’re like ships passing in the night, just trying to squeeze more out of your pennies.

There is always hope.

And a lot of times God brings it out of the most unexpected places.

Freedom doesn’t always happen overnight. It is a process. It is a HARD process, but God’s timing is perfect.

Today, on this beautiful Monday morning, my husband is home and a new day dawns at the beginning of this chapter of our lives.

My sister-from-another-mother, Emily has a similar story that you must read today as well.

Be filled with hope, my sweet readers!

xoxo

Myra