Unevenly Yoked

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I wanted to thank everyone for all their prayers, advice and encouragement regarding this family issue we are dealing with. You will all never know how much I have been blessed with each and everyone's thoughts. Josh and I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to pray, for sharing your personal experiences and support.


After praying about this, I have decided to remove this post in the best interest of my family. God knows my intentions were soley to seek the wisdom/advice, not to break the trust of the people who are the most important in my life. I have saved all your comments and read them more often than you think, but have also chose to keep them "hidden" for privacy reasons.

I hope you understand.

*~Michelle~*

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me,
and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
~Psalm 28:7

Almost six months ago.....Josh and I took a leap of faith. You see.....God placed something on our hearts over the past year....

He whispered ideas in our dreams.
He nudged us at Christian festivals.
He poked our ribs listening to certain messages about the youth.
He brought messages about the importance of preparing the next generation.
He smacked us upside the head when reminding us of our talents and what we are called to do.

....so we could not ignore it any longer.

In this unstable economy and living already on a tight budget, we decided to apply for a refinance and take out a decent amount of equity on our home. It wasn't an easy process.....there were so many stumbling blocks and frustrations along the way.....looking back, we know it was the enemy trying to foil our plan. But we just kept trusting in God and knew that if this was what we were supposed to be doing, it would all work out and the loan would be processed.

.....and it was, and just like God.....we ended up with a lower rate and a higher appraisal on our property.

The day the check cleared......we started this journey. We knew we would have to do pretty much ALL the renovation work ourselves to make every dollar stretch. How thankful we are to have Josh blessed with the wisdom needed for all the construction that was necessary . We give God all the praise for the strength He gave to Josh as he worked 4-6 hours every night after working 8-9 at his "day" job.

Most would have given up when fingers and hands were split/bleeding from the labor, back pain was excruciating, and exhaustion was taking a toll on your physical and emotion self.........but Josh kept his eyes focused on God's goal....and pressed forward.

I could share so much on what we have gone through to bring this project together.....but I think that the photos will prove that "all things are possible with Christ" and we did it. We could have never done this without Him.....and this is all FOR Him!

So now......I present to you.....the future home of Bible study/worship center for our kids and their friends. We converted our two car garage into a 600 sq. foot great room for our family and friends. We have a friend, a youth pastor, who will be joining us for our special nights, getting "down with Jesus" with the teens and preaching the Good News. Of course there will be pizza, video games and bonfires too! We want to continue adding to our "Heaven Hospitality" welcoming list.

Josh also invested in tons of equipment for a recording studio that is located in the adjacent room where he is donating his time/talents to aspiring Christian musicians/bands.

So here it is.....from start to finish.

(remember this?)

We are so excited to see what God has planned......we know and trust that God has had His Hand on this since Day One. We trust and believe that the angels will be celebrating, singing, and praising Him along with us!

Have a blessed week~
*~Michelle~*