Six Months: A Final Update on Us

We're coming up on the six month "anniversary" of one of the biggest changes in our family's life since its inception: Danny losing his job of over 9 years.

Five months ago, I shared an update with everyone about the incredible and various ways that we were seeing the Lord's providence.

What has transpired in these past five months has been...
tough.
scary.
worrisome.
tearful.

But it has also been...
rewarding.
faith building.
prayerful.
and blessed.

I originally shared some things that we were going to immediately implement to help save some money. There is no doubting that line drying clothes, eating out less, cloth diapering more, and cutting out extracurriculars helped us to make it. Danny's Lowe's 401k and some old Savings Bonds helped too. But we still faced hardships.

We never did hear back from Lowe's about their investigating the legitimacy of Danny's termination and we were denied unemployment. {And after much prayer decided against filing an appeal...}

Danny shared with me early on in this "adventure" that he had always had working for himself in the back of his mind and that he had long been growing weary of the working environment at Lowe's. Fear had always kept him from quitting. Understandably so, when you consider all of the comfortable "benefits" that we enjoyed {full-coverage healthcare, a nice little 401k and stock options, 3 weeks paid vacation each year.}

I will not lie. I loathed the idea. I grew up in a family that was self-employed and even though there's no doubting the perks that come with it, there are also some quite noticeable downsides too. It was not exactly something I wanted for my family. {Of course, I really can't go with that argument though, because I also used to say that I wouldn't get married or have children, either...} ::Sigh::

So he decided to start his own company... Danny Barth | Handyman Services. For the first couple of months he was continuing on in doing odd jobs and things were surprisingly good. Heading into Christmas, things started to slow down, as is to be expected. But a couple of friends of ours that also run their own businesses, offered Danny some work as an Independent Contractor and kept him working.

A few of Danny's projects... top left: small engine repair, top right: car detailing, and on bottom, home improvements like new door installation {left} and installing porch railings {right}.

The Lord has really prospered and grown these working relationships and now most of Danny's time is spent working with our friend Jeroen and his company, EUROfloors. Danny is feeling the truly rewarding nature of being in business for himself and will be the first to tell you that he is blessed by these business partnerships with fellow Christian business owners.

Danny on a EUROfloors job site, installing epoxy flooring in a hospital.

I suppose that's why I put "Final Update" in the title up there. Of course, in actuality this whole blog is most often updates on our family, but with regards to Danny's losing his job, it feels like we've turned a corner. Or maybe it's just that I've turned a corner in my way of thinking... instead of wondering how long we'll have to go on without a "steady" source of income, I've settled into the notion that my husband feels led to work for himself and that if I trust him and the Lord on this one, we may eventually prosper in ways that I cannot see.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and continued encouragement. They have been such blessings to us!