Unless To Lord Builds

                by Julia Nalle                 

 ~$6519.35~

Unless the Lord builds the house,
 those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.

 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one's youth.
 Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Last weekend Rob and I felt the Holy Spirit tapping on our hearts about helping the Dewberrys adopt Taylor.

We looked at our schedule over the next two weeks and shook our heads in utter dismay.

It was absolutely NOT a good time to be doing a fundraiser.

That was putting it mildly.

I'm leaving for the Virginia Homeschooling Convention tomorrow (Thursday) for three days of selling and right afterward we are taking Aaron to Wilmington, DE for a three day appointment with some specialists who are going to be working on his arm.  (I'll share more of that story another day).

We have curriculum that is currently selling but we have not finished writing it.  Deadlines are looming.

Our stress level is high.

Our exhaustion level is even higher. 

On top of that.... After committing to yell for the Dewberrys....  Rob woke up on Monday feeling sick and after a trip to the Dr., he has been diagnosed with a virus that isn't going to be gone in a matter of a few days.  Ugh!

This is NOT a good time to do a fundraiser.

UNLESS THE LORD BUILDS THE HOUSE...

Unless the Lord builds...

I sat in church during prayer time on Sunday reading those verses over and over again and praying for God to build this house.  As I sat and whispered prayers over this family and their great need, feeling overwhelmed at how much needed to be raised in such a short amount of time, I was reminded how utterly dependent we are for Him to be building - not us.

Here's the honest truth.

This is His building project.

On every level.

Rob and I don't have it in us right now to do more than share the amazing news that someone was willing to match donations up to $10,000.00 and then cheer wildly when we see how many people are giving their hard-earned cash for Taylor.

We figured it was completely the right timing because for us it was the completely wrong timing.

The same holds true for the Dewberrys

It was also the wrong timing.



 Conventional wisdom would have said wait to raise the funds - at least part of them.  And most of the time people should have at least something in their bank accounts before jumping.  There is wisdom in taking inventory.  I am not a big proponent of cliff jumping without some kind of reserve though I know God does provide.  But sometimes... sometimes...

Sometimes you have to cliff jump when it is the Holy Spirit standing right behind you and pushing you off the cliff!

They jumped.

They jumped praying and believing that GOD WAS BUILDING THEIR HOUSE.

We agreed to help them believing that God is building their house.

He's raising up their family... their labor over the last months is not in vain. Their sorrow will soon turn to joy.

And when God is building the house.... When it is in His design... using His blueprint... When He is directing the process...

Then rest is assured.
"For he gives to his beloved sleep."

This is God's building project.

He's building the Dewberrys house.

I'M GLAD.

I can't build houses.

I can't fund families.

I can't stir hearts.

I can pray.  I can give. I can yell. I can grab friends to help yell beside me.
(THANK YOU PATTI FOR ANSWERING THE CALL).

I can cheer wildly when I see Him stirring in hearts.  Our hearts.  Your hearts.

I can stand in awe as the house is being built knowing that all off us are part of the house design.



Each and every one of us who has responded to the Holy Spirit promptings.  We are helping build a house.

A family.

A Mom and Dad.  A brother.  A sister.

You are taking part in the impossible.

THANK YOU.
You have given  $6519.35  which means that only $3480.65 is left to raise to meet this MATCH GRANT.

If you haven't given... will you throw a donation in the bucket?   Get this house built?

THANK YOU!!


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So here's the deal... There are -TWO GIVEAWAYS with our TEN for TEN in TEN days!!

One of the Giveaways is the MacBook Pro Laptop.

You can enter into that Giveaway either here on my blog or tell Patti on her blog!!

On top of the MacBook, Rob and I and our wonderful BiblioPlan partner are again offering a free BIBLIOPLAN COMPANION e-reader - winner's choice for either the ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL (soon to be published), EARLY MODERN OR MODERN COMPANION TEXTBOOK!!

THE OTHER GIVEAWAY is a whole host of very sweet prizes (see below).  You can enter into that Giveaway HERE.

You have several ways to donate to Taylor and her family... (all are tax deductible)....

REECE'S RAINBOW FAMILY SPONSORSHIP PAGE

or 

PROJECT HOPEFUL
PH DONATION LINK

 or 

TEN FOR ORPHANS


So donate, then leave a comment on Patti's blog for the MacBook/BiblioPlan Giveaway.  And then leave a comment on THIS BLOG for the 2nd Giveaway.

AND REMEMBER.... PUT YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME IN THE COMMENT SECTION ON EITHER BLOG.  We ARE going to be checking to make sure that the winners actually did donate.  This is to keep it fair for everyone. The minimum donation to be entered for the Macbook Giveaway is $10.00 and you can earn extra entries by Facebooking or Blogging.  But we can't check winners if you leave only a strange user name because we can't check that against the donations received.  SO IF YOU WANT TO BE LEGITIMATELY ENTERED.. YOU NEED TO LEAVE A FULL NAME.