His supply

Since I retired, Mama and I have been praying for our finances. Our focus initially was for the little bit of extra we needed month to month just to make our budget, especially with the farm expenses added in. But now, making two round trips a week to Glen Rose has added about $100 a week to our expenses at -when I take the Sequoia. So, there is from month to month the need to bring in a little bit of extra money just to balance out the checking account. And to that end Mama I have been praying.

I believe that to answer that need, God set things in motion at my old employer that would open the door for me to do some contract teaching for them. My old boss, Crystal, contacted me via e-mail last week and asked if she could meet with me to gauge my interest and to find out what I might need in order to take on that responsibility Mama and I had lunch with her today. It was good to see her and good to hear that things are going OK at work. However, the person who replaced me as instructor left the company last week. Since the teaching assignments for the year were divided between him and one other person in the company, his resigning from the company means that more than half of the classes that are scheduled for this year have no instructor available within EWN. I am definitely interested.

I waited till very late in the lunch to mention the price tag associated with that sort of contract work. About two years ago a colleague of ours who also retired from the company did some contract teaching for EWN, and I did not feel that the price that they were paying him met the standard that I would need in order to take on that added workload. So, I asked if that was the going rate or if I could negotiate a higher rate. Crystal asked what rate I would like to suggest, and I told her. My suggestion was higher but not unreasonable. She promised me she would see what she could do. 

When Mama and I both hugged her goodbye, we left with the impression that maybe the old rate was what I would be paid and I'm OK with that but not excited by it. About two hours after the lunch Crystal texted me to tell me that she had negotiated a better rate than what I had suggested. I am not sure how long I will pursue the added responsibility of teaching one class per week, but it looks like it could be a long-term opportunity. And opportunity provided by the Lord at just the right time, for just the right amount of money. It always fascinates me how God is able to do that in our lives.

Meanwhile, here at the farm, I spent the day redoing the structure that will hold the roof on the repurposed duck pen. That is now complete. Tomorrow I will attach the roof panels to that structure and all the repairs will be completed. Just in time. We are supposed to see significant rainfall Thursday. 

Additionally, Mama and I have made upgrades to the craft container. The shelving that I had bought for that craft container, that turned out to be not what I had anticipated, has found places in the garage and in the craft container to which that shelving is perfectly suited. I have held off buying shelves that resemble the ones we have already sitting in the craft container holding totes full of crafting materials, so we are a little bit short on shelving that I had planned to have available. 

However, last week Norman hauled home two enormous file cabinets. The company looking to relocate those enormous file cabinets simply wanted them moved, so Norman hauled them here thinking that he would resell them. The more we looked at it, that seemed problematic simply because the file cabinets are so large. In order to put them to practical use we are going to install them in the craft container beside the shelving in the back of the container. That will give us the additional shelving that I have procrastinated in purchasing. Again, one of those wonderful coincidences that seemed to happen when we pray and lift up our needs to the Lord.

Also, Norman has found several opportunities to earn some money over the past few days. Those opportunities look like they will turn into long term contract work for him. We certainly have been praying that the Lord would supply for him financially, and there was no slacking on his part to try and find opportunities for work, but nothing seemed to pan out until now. Anyway, those little things and the timing of these little things always works out perfectly in God's way. We just have to be prepared to do what it takes on our part to make the most of those opportunities once God opens that door.

The same thing will happen eventually for Victoria as she looks for a permanent residence in the Milton/Pensacola area. Right now, she feels like she's spinning her wheels. We feel that she is being prepared for what God has for her somewhere in the very near future. Staying steadfast in our faith and remaining faithful to what God has given us to do while we are looking for other opportunities is often the most difficult part of living the Christian life because we want to quit and move on before God is ready. But that patient waiting is also the most blessed part living the Christian life. 

When those blessings overtake us, it is absolutely glorious.