God always provides :)

It's the end of summer, and that means a few things to us. One huge one for us is that it's almost the time of year when it cools off enough that we can get out and enjoy being outside again. Yea!! :)

On the other hand, though, the busy season at our Marquette house is winding down... which also means that money will be tighter until summer rolls around again.

So as we've been working on our budget and looking at the numbers, we've been praying some very specific things.

• That we can get some more fall renters for our Beach House.
• That we can get just the right longer-term renter for our Beach House for the slow season.
• That we can sell some things around the house to help with food, gas... those sorts of expenses.

We started praying these things in earnest on Sunday. And less than a week later, we've already had some answers! :)

• We have some new guests for September who have already mailed us their money! :)
• We heard from a realtor in Marquette about some possibilities for longer-term tenants for our house. We'll keep praying and see what God has in mind for us.
  
• I listed some curriculum on ebay that we're not using, and someone did a "buy it now" last night for one of them! Now I can put a little gas in our Suburban.
  

Funny story about our Suburban... our gas gauge just started acting crazy in the last week or so, fluctuating wildly between full and empty. Having forgotten this, I was out with Marissa running a few errands on Wednesday. The gas gauge had last said 3/4 full, so I thought we were good, but once out, I saw we were almost on empty.

On the way home, I heard spluttering, then we were OUT of gas. Thankfully, I was in a good place with a wide dirt shoulder, so we pulled over and I called our pastor's family who live nearby. Nobody answered. So I said to Marissa, "It's hot out.... but it's walkable. Are you okay with walking home to get the gas can?" She said yes, and we started on our way. (It was going to be a long walk.)

I got on the cell phone to call David & tell him what was up, and heard a vehicle pulling up beside us. I glanced over and who would it be, but our pastor! It was so amazing how God had provided a "rescuer" even before I had made that call to their house... he was on his way back home and had no idea we'd just called their house.

We were so very thankful for the ride, the gas in their gas can, and for being able to get home rather soon instead of having to make that long, sweaty walk in the heat of the day. :)

It's been a really great week in seeing God provide for us! I have a few things to list on Craig's List today, and I still have a couple things on ebay that close in four days. It's really exciting and encouraging to see how God has answered prayers this week!