Our Next Exact Place

"From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live." Acts 17:26

Be encouraged! The story of God's hand in our lives over the past few months:

January 3, 2007
David declines a job offer from Huber+Suhner that he'd been trying to get for 2 years. The original offer was a work-from-home position that would allow us to stay in Fort Worth, but the company went back on their original offer and decided they wanted David to office on-site. We felt like it just wasn't a good time to move to Chicago.

January 10, 2007
David gets notified by Motorola that his employment of 10+ years will be terminated May 18. They gave him 4 months notice so he would have the opportunity to find a new job. If David left Motorola before May 18 he would not be able to collect his severance pay.

January 12, 2007
Our friend & neighbor, Gerry, passed away after several months in the hospital due to complications from his paralysis and pneumonia. He and his wife, Helen, were a big reason we felt called to stay in Fort Worth--to do life with them after Gerry came home. Their daughter, Marcia, and her family planned to return to the US in May, so we began to pray that Marcia would buy our house after we put it on the market.

January 17, 2007
David accepts the job with Huber+Suhner under these terms: A May 21, 2007 start date, A spending allowance for moving expenses including trips to Chicago to find a place to live for both of us, and the opportunity to live and work in Switzerland in the future. His boss will be a friend and former colleague from Motorola, who understood that it would be a huge benefit to us if David could collect severance pay. One thing they couldn't do, though, was guarantee the sale of our house--for this, we prayed, and were on our own with no financial guarantees.

February 19, 2007
We put our house on the market with a lady we really liked, though we thought she was a little crazy for saying the market wasn't soft--she also said she is the selling agent for 60% of the homes she lists.

February 26, 2007
After one showing we had an offer on our house. The potential buyer loved the colors and her friend said it was "exactly what she was describing." She wanted to know what time frame would work for us. We requested to close as soon as possible and then rent back from her until May 19, our move date. Our realtor showed the place, so that means we pay 1% less for realtor fees. The buyer's name is Marcia!

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

March 1, 2007
We sign a contract on our house.

March 5, 2007
I begin searching for a job online and sending out resumes. I didn't expect to hear anything or get any bites, but emailed David one posting I applied for that seemed particularly interesting to me with Liquid Productions.

March 15, 2007
We plan a H+S funded trip to Chicago for March 30-April 1 to find a place to live.

March 26, 2007
Pat from Liquid Productions calls me about my resume and work examples. She was excited about my resume and wanted to meet in person--conveniently, I was coming in town on Friday! We set up an interview for Friday at 12:30. The job sounded even more interesting after she described it further.

March 30, 2007
David and I land in Chicago and begin driving around neighborhoods immediately. He drops me off for my interview downtown at 12:00. The interview went very smoothly, the people were nice, and we all left interested in the possibility of me working there.

April 1, 2007
After looking at over 20 places David and I (with eyes glazed) went back to the landlord of a flat we really liked in a neighborhood we really liked and ask him to negotiate his posted rent, which was at the very top of what we were willing to pay. He went down $100/month and we signed a lease!

April 6, 2007
Geff called from Liquid Productions to offer me a job! I will start May 29 (so I'll have a little over a week to settle in), and will be able to take 2 weeks off in the fall to go to Switzerland with David (part of his training).

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

April 8, 2007
Happy Easter! Jesus is Risen, and we are joyful to experience another new beginning in our lives--God has taken care of EVERY detail of our upcoming move. We will close on our house April 16, I have a job lined up in Chicago, we have a great new place to live that will accommodate the dogs, and all that's left to do is have a garage sale and clean. Movers will come and pack us up, drive to Chicago with our stuff and unload it in our new flat.

We are moving (literally!) forward with confidence that this is God's plan and will for our lives. He has smoothed the path before us and we are in awe to experience His precision and care of even the smallest details of our brief lives on this earth. Max and Loxley wanted me to write that they are looking forward to dog parks, sweaters, and playing with their upstairs neighbor Chloe.