400 posts, the Sabbath is here

Dear Family and Friends,
This is the 400Th post since I began anew with "adjusting to life without Nan". It hardly seems possible and yet time moves forward and we are either swept along or ahead of the flow. I experience both from time to time. Today has ended up being a rather remarkable day.
With Ken safely at a meeting this morning I was able to bypass our normal walk. I did quick research and left early for Vacaville. Arriving early I found a perfectly maintained home with a retired couple who were a delight to visit with. Finally I pulled myself away, shot the comps and left for Antioch. Once again I found a nearly perfect home, clean, well maintained and selling for just $200,000, less than half its value 18 months ago. All of the comps were higher, this means the values are still dropping in this area. The house had only been exposed to the market by the bank (its owner) for 19 days before selling. Then I left for Tracy where I met up with a friend, Nanette. She and Wes have been special people to Nan and I for many many years, since we arrived in Tracy. For those of you who know them you already know how special they are and for the rest of you, Wes is from Texas and has a hug and enough love for everyone he ever met and Nanette is perhaps one of the worlds best grandmothers. In fact I had arrived in Tracy early enough for a quick stop at CostCo to purchase drinking water, I love their price and the 35 bottle package. Amazingly there was no wait at the checkout, that's a first. After I left the appointment in Tracy I drove back home to quickly log the credit card payment I had received this morning and prepare a deposit for the bank. As I opened the mail box I was overjoyed to discover three checks. So I had an income today nearly matching the house payment! I was so humbled and overwhelmed by the turn in fortunes. As late as Wednesday I simply could not see how I would ever find enough funds to cover the house payment. O yea of little faith!
I'm looking forward to tomorrow and having Keanna and Kallie come to visit. I'm going to have some high powered help and together we'll have a wonderful Sabbath afternoon and evening.
This morning as I drove to Vacaville Laura Ingram had a guest who has written a book based on some exhaustive research. The book is about surviving. It was a wonderful interview and filled me with hope as he described many of the experiences I can identify with. I'm hoping to locate the book and devour it. He mentioned that there are about 5 different approaches to surviving a bad experience and one of the approaches is to have a community of loving, supportive people and a strong faith in God. Once again I was struck by the strength that has come from the wonderful people God has surrounded me with. Strength, wisdom, practical advice and a willingness to engage and be involved. I no longer stress over being anxious to "repay" every one that has helped. I now believe that God will guide me to those I can help in the future.

So my good friends and family members, you are the greatest asset a person could ever hope for.

love

tim