Tuesday, August 16, 2016

The Barn Sale

Forgive me while I play catch up.

It seemed like everything hit the same week and now we are in full swing of getting ready to go back to school. I have so much I want to document but I cant move forward without going back first.

The week leading up to our first barn sale I had the flu, probably the worst I have had it in a long time. On top of that my older two had their final week of swimming lessons and throw in life in general it was a busy week to say the least.

I know if you follow the Three Oaks Facebook page you have seen these pictures, but my mom and dad do not have Facebook and have never seen them so just scroll along for their sake ;)


The dream for having a barn sale has been planted in my heart for as long as I can remember...not all of the details were there but the heart behind what I want it to be has been there forever and I believe with all of my heart it is part of God's purpose for my life. I don't know how long or what the long term outlook looks like, but I know without a doubt it is where he wants me right now.

I love the idea of having a sale each season because my babies are still young and need so much of me, but with anything I still had to learn to balance everything and there were times I was overwhelmed. Actually if I didn't know so strongly in my heart this was something God wanted me to do I would have let it go. but I pressed on on the hard days because HE told me to.



I can remember one day in particular the kids and I were on our way to the store and I was completely overwhelmed so I pulled into the field where the barn is, left the kids in the car (in the air-conditioning) and told them not to move. I walked into the barn and started crying. It didn't last long because the Lord spoke to me and told me to keep trusting Him. to keep taking simple steps and he would provide. So that is what I did. Each day was committed to my family first and each day little pockets of time surfaced where I was able to accomplish things.




People would ask me about my plan... if it was to rain, if no one was to come, etc. and deep down in my heart I would hear the Lord say not to worry so I didn't.

I had complete peace for the first time and even when I was so sick I knew this was something he wanted me to do.

And the day of the sale we had perfect weather.



And we were amazed at the amount of people that came. And people didn't just come, they were so sweet. so supportive and encouraging of my little dream.



And in my heart I knew it was all because of the Lord.

And now that school is getting ready to start and the next sale is just a few months away I feel like I need to hurry and catch up, but I just couldn't do that without first going back and giving thanks.


the week before the sale one of my children was heavy hearted about an issue with school starting. so we committed to praying about it every night and I encouraged them to have faith. we since then have had many talks about being patient, having faith and trusting God's plan. I shared with them how I was trusting God with the barn sale and following his lead. How I was having faith.

Last night as I was tucking them in they said " Mommy, you had faith and trusted God with your barn sale and it turned out so good "

It was so encouraging to me. To realize that they saw me live out my faith.

I share all of this because maybe you can relate? Maybe you have a dream deeply rooted that you are just waiting for God to bring to the surface? Maybe you are in a place in your life where you are just doing good to get through the day and all of this seems nice but unreachable.

Please know I have been there. I was there exactly a year ago. I was sending my oldest off to kindergarten and approaching a due date where there would be no baby. I was broken and hurting in the deepest of places. I was in no place to chase any dreams and I did good just to get through each day. To say it was a hard time in my life would be an understatement. It was the worst time of my life.

But I decided to fight through and trust God even though I was unsure. And I can tell you He has been so faithful at restoring my heart and pursuing me. So wherever you are I encourage you to trust Him. He has a plan for you wherever you are.

Thank you for reading here. Thank you to everyone who came to the sale and has loved and encouraged me.

You may remember a post back in the spring where I walked after a bad hail storm.

I had all these dreams swirling around in my heart and the Lord put this verse on my heart and it has been what I stand on when I feel small.

"Now to HIM who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
Ephesians 3:20


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Your barn sale was a great!! I could tell you worked hard at getting everything to look just right. With three kids in tow, I cannot imagine how hard it is to get everything done. Looking forward to your next barn sale.

Alyssa said...

Thank you Betty! It was so good to see you and I am so thankful you came! Its almost grandbaby time isn't it! Cant wait to hear when she gets here!