We're moving to Austin

I just wanted to share this letter that I wrote to our friends and family just in case anyone missed it...

You may have heard that our family has some big changes ahead of us. Dave and I have been discussing, thinking about and praying about the possibility of moving to Austin, TX for almost a year now. Then at the end of September Dave was laid off from his job. Dave's parents live in Austin and they've offered to let us live with them until Dave finds a job and our house sells. So it's official. We're packing the truck on the 18th and heading to Texas on November 19th, the Monday before Thanksgiving.

So why Texas? Well first, with our decision to have me stay home with Jonah we've been looking at ways to decrease our expenses. We've checked out other areas locally like NW Indiana, Wisconsin and further south in Illinois, as well as other states with a lower cost of living. In researching Austin we've learned that their overall cost of living is about 20% lower than Chicagoland and housing costs are about $100,000 less for the same type of home. But we aren't making this decision for purely financial reasons.

I know it might sound crazy to some of you, but we truly believe that this is where God wants us. Dave and I both have a very close relationship with God and we trust that he has a plan for our lives. So we do our best to follow His will and for that we know we'll be rewarded, maybe not in this life, but some day. Sometimes the choices God asks us to make are easy and clear cut. Sometimes they're difficult. We've been praying about this for a while now. I really dug my heels in at first and didn't want to move mainly because a majority of our friends and family live here. I'm comfortable here. I know my way around. Faith was born here. The list goes on and on. But God persisted... and He's been slowly changing my heart.

In February on the way to work one day I was really struggling with this calling. I asked God to show me a sign if we were supposed to move. Literally a few seconds later I started gaining on a truck stopped in the other lane. It had the outline of the shape of Texas on the back of the truck. As I got closer I realized what was written inside the outline... "Lisa". Lisa in Texas. You've got to be kidding me!!! Seriously. I didn't think it was for real, but here's the logo: http://www.lisamtc.com/smalllogo.jpg. I've never seen this before in my life and never again since. Um, that couldn't have been a sign for me. Just a bizarre coincidence.

Then a few months ago I really felt like God was telling us to go. I prayed, "God, I really think we're doing fine here. We seem to be making ends meet (barely), but we're fine. We don't need to move. The only reason I would consider leaving is if Dave lost his job, which isn't going to happen. Everyone at Dave's work loves him. He's doing great. Ok, well if you really want us to go please let us just stay until Jonah's birthday." Dave lost his job on Friday, September 27th. Jonah's birthday is September 28th.

So for fear of lighting striking (j/k) we're going. No more signs. No more tests. I can't ignore it anymore. I thought I would be a lot more anxious and scared about the move, especially with Dave being out of work going on 6 weeks now, but God's just given me an amazing peace about it all. That's how I can tell we're on the right path. It's the same "peace that transcends all understanding" that I felt after we had Faith (Philippians 4:7).

We know that our news may have already found its way to you or you might be hearing this for the first time. Either way, please feel free to contact us with any questions. We also wanted to take this opportunity to let you know how much we love you. We're so blessed and grateful to have you in our lives! We'll definitely be back to visit a lot and once our house sells we're planning (God willing) on getting a house with room for guests. Hint hint. So please keep in touch and plan your next vacation for the Lone Star State!

This is an exciting time, but it's also a little scary and there's lots to do! So we would really really appreciate your prayers. We could really use prayer specifically 1) for getting our house ready and packed (especially with Jonah around it always takes three times longer to do everything than you think it should... that crazy little monkey =), 2) that our house would sell quickly and in this market that we would at least make enough to cover moving expenses and a few months' living expenses since Dave is out of work, 3) that Dave would find a good job quickly (he's got quite a few leads so we're hoping something happens quickly with that), and 4) for God's peace to rule in our hearts as well as in the hearts of our family and friends that are here in Illinois.

Thank you again so much... for everything! We are so blessed to have you in our lives! We love you and we'll miss you!

Blessings! Blessings! And more blessings!

FAITHfully,
Lisa, Dave & Jonah Hackbarth