When we got home Peggy and I talked about number 900.  We loved it, but it was over “the Ridge”.  I started thinking was there another way to get to it?  I pulled out a map and to my surprise there was another way to get there.  We decided to go during the week back up to the property and go this new way.  Wow, were we surprised.  This road was four lanes ¾ of the way.  We still went over the first mountain ridge that we had gone over the other way, but it was not straight up and down.  Then we had to turn on another road and go 17 miles out in the country.  It was curvy, but flat.  We did not have to go over “the Ridge” and this way was actually closer to another, larger town in a different county. 

As we looked back we saw the Lord’s hand in this whole thing.  We thought we wanted to be on the other side of “the Ridge”, but He knew we should be on the opposite side.  We are so glad for His guidance.  It is so much easier to get to the farm and to get in and out for family and friends on this side. 

We parked close to the place we parked the first time.  We started to walk down the creek again.  As we got close to the cave I stopped and I looked surprise.  I pointed to the cave and asked the boys, “What is that?”  “It’s a cave, it’s a cave!”  I can still hear that ringing in my ears and see them in my mind.  They were so excited.  They had prayed for one and the gracious Lord gave two little guys one.  Since then we have found two other small caves on the property.  More on the creek cave later.

When we got home we knew we would love to buy the property, but there was one problem.  About 3-4 years into our marriage we felt the Lord leading us to be debt free, including a home.  We had sold a house and could not find one to buy so we rented.  We have continued to rent even until today.  We did not have the money to pay cash for the property or even much for a down payment.  We decided to pray and fast and seek counsel from like minded friends.  To keep this short, after prayer, fasting and counseling, we felt freedom from the Lord to borrow funds to purchase the property. 

We contacted the realtor and started the biding process.  My brother from OH had bought several rentals and he gave me some advice on bidding.  Peggy’s brother also gave us some good advice on how to get the best deal.  We were excited, but also very nervous.  We knew how much we wanted to pay and started our bidding low. 

To take a detour for a minute, there was 5 acres that connect to our property.  There was a couple from NC bidding on it.  When we first looked at number 900 it was listed as 100 acres, but by the time we had started bidding on it it was 83 acres.  Seventeen acres was cut off and the couple from NC was buying it.  Those 17 acres were pretty steep and he wanted it to hunt on.  It also had a spring on it that none of us had seen even the realtor.

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Posted by Kitty

I have enjoyed reading your story thus far. I really hope you are able to get the house and land that you are praying for. Things when left in Gods hands, will work out for the best.
Have a blessed week,
Kitty

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Posted by Purewater

I am glad I found your blog. It is nice to read about a homestead from another man's perspective. Most of the blogs that I have found are written by women and I was starting to feel out of place!

You have an exciting story going! I love the mountains in Tenn! We've only been there a few times (as some of your beloved tourists, no doubt.) As a matter of fact, I proposed to my wonderful wife, Lisa, at Cades Cove on the porch of John Oliver's cabin. (We are tourists of the wildlife and mountains instead of the stores and shops.) My mountains here in eastern Kentucky are only small hills compared to over there!

About spell check: I often write on Microsoft Word with spell check and then copy and paste onto the new entry form. It doesn't seem that you are having any trouble, but I thought I would mention my idea since you brought it up the other day in a post.

Looking forward to reading more about your place and progress in the future!

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Posted by Kerkhoff

Henry- what fun reading your story! May God continue to bless your family with faith in His majesty!

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Posted by HSBFrontPorch

My husband, fooddude, is following along with your blog too, but as I read this it reminded me so much of our own story. We got our 45+ acre property for the same price that we were going to pay for a 5 acre deal that fell through. And since then we've discovered that we may actually even own more land than that. We kind of feel like the Lord has done a Jabez prayer thing with us - He has blessed us indeed and enlarged our territory!
~Nancy

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