Thank you to so many of you for your enthusiastic support! I didn't realize how many people cared about this yard sale. Prayers were being offered near and far, from all reports! I don't know what to say!
Let me try to recap the answered prayers.
1)
The location was ideal. Better than at our church. Let's just say the zip code helped,for starters. Mitzy (our cg leader's wife) grew up in the home that her parents restored the 1905 farmhouse on a large acre to a show-stopping, head-turning grand estate. I'm sure passersby and frequent gawkers just wanted to set foot in the back yard . The home is on a well-traveled road with safe and plentiful parking on a side street.
2)
The weather was perfect. Sandwiched between windy overcast skies that moved out Friday, and torrential rain that came in this morning (Sunday) was Saturday's storybook weather .Cool enough for people to reach for long-sleeved clothing for sale, yet warm enough to make them pick up summer clothes also. Cool enough for people to want to eat to keep warm on homebaked goods but warm enough for kids to want drinks. We didn't separate baked good sales from other sales, but if I had to guess, we probably made at least 1/3 on food alone! And such variety! Brownies, cookies, Rice Krispies treats, shortbread, pumpkin loaf, sprinkled cupcakes, chocolate-covered apples, banana-pecan tea loaf, Jewish apple cake (which, the Lord knew--but the baker did not-- is Mitzy's dad's all time favorite. We gave it to him as a thank-you for letting us use their place.
3)
Shoppers came early, while we were still setting up, and still came while we were packing up. The only lull coincided when we really needed it to--about 11:00, I think, when we had been on our feet since 6 a.m.
4) Remember I posted that God had burdened me to pray for
a woman who would come shopping but what the Lord wanted to give her were the words of eternal life? And remember that someone (me) doing pricing in the garage a couple nights before, nearly vetoed putting out the Bible on cassette because it was on cassette? (I had asked the group, "Does anyone listen to tapes anymore?") Well, this lady came around 10:10-15 I think, and was just sort of roaming, picking stuff up, putting it down. Moving about aimlessly.
This is the story as Brian told us after she left (he had served her, and I missed it! I was helping elsewhere, but this is way cool). After finding nothing to satisfy her, she picked up an item and exclaimed, "This is it! I KNEW there was a reason I was still milling around!" She held up the Bible on Cassette to Brian. "I need more Bible in me. I can listen to this in my car and I don't have to spend 75 bucks to get it on CD!"
By far, that was the HIGHLIGHT of my day!!!! She had come looking for something, and left with the words of Eternal Life!!!!
5)
We had help. In addition to Jim and Mitzy, Paul, Sarah, Stephen, and me, two others came to help. Brian showed up before 6:30 a.m and stayed till almost 6 pm. What a heart he has. A joyful, helpful, evangelistic, great-with-kids guy, a grad student in something like biocellularnuclearphysics kind of thing that impresses me. He even laughs at my jokes! I told Paul he is son-in-law material. He said, "Zo, he's 28 years old." I reiterated, "He's son-in-law material. I didn't say WHOSE son-in-law." Also Karen L helped a good deal with her usual cheery attitude.
6)
I didn't lose my cool, even when once offended and once irritated. The offense came about 1:30. We had marked everything half price at noon (except baked items, which simply got negotiated). EVerything including my beloved Apple dishes which Paul had given me as a gift a few years ago, I had treasured them, but God graced me to pack up for the sale.
A 43-piece set, mind you, including platter, large serving bowl, sugar bowl, creamer, spoon rest. This woman about 55-60 years old sees the price had come down from $30 to $20 to $10. It was kiiling me.
She says, "Are any of the dishes chipped?"
Just one, I showed her.
"Will you take 5 for it?"
I wanted to cry .Five dollars? "I'll meet you halfway at 7.50," I said, regretting the words as they spilled out of my mouth.
"Seven fifty? Hmm. I'll have to think about that." She walked away.
The thought crossed my mind, "Good! Walk away! I'd rather just GIVE something to a grateful person than sell it cheap to a greedy one!" But I didn't say it. I just thought, "Bet that's how God feels." Not that He sells anything, but the idea of His giving an abundance and we sometimes have this attitude,"I'll have to think about that"--and walk away from Him.
7)
Some shoppers gave generously. While we were counting our money inside the house (Sarah and I), which Mitzy told us to do despite my reluctance to take a sit-down break while others worked, a man bought 4 baked goods. When he found out it was for a missions trip, he forked over 20 bucks. A couple with a stroller bought 13 dollars worth of stuff, handed me 40 and said "keep the change."
8)
We got lots of laughs. The mannequin in the picture has been a conversation piece in Mitzy's parents' home for years and years. We dressed her the night before in some outrageous combo of donated clothes, wig, and cowboy hat, put a different neon green Thought Bubble near her and changed it from time to time throughout the day. Stationed at the "entrance" she got 7 offers to buy her and who knows how many strange looks.
9) Mitzy's girls (esp Natalie) played happily with Joel all day long. Rode bikes, played school, found toys on the tarps, ate donuts in the carriage-house-turned-garage, took a couple video breaks. Only two "incidents" required disciplinary action in the course of a very full day.
10) We are exhausted to the bone. but rejoicing that our efforts were not in vain. Back hurts, feet are tender, brain won't work fast (if at all). I was "sorely" tempted to stay home from church and rest. Take a sabbath on the couch with Bible and journal. But the conviction came strong: Paul got up and went early to play on the worship team even though he was sick with a fever and ached all over, AND when I heard Sarah upstairs taking a shower for church, because not only did she did do massive amounts of work to get us ready for the sale, she worked the sale all day, helped clean up till 3:30, she then went and worked her regular job for over five hours last night! She is daughter-in-law material for some other blessed family. IF her daddy and I can ever part with her. Which I doubt. We might share her if she
promises to live next door and not cart off grandkids to Russia or somewhere!
Thanks again .I'm including some pictures we took. Wish I had taken more but I didn't want to be too conspicuous, and besides, business was booming! The baby I'm holding is the cutest blue-eyed bunny in the whole world. His name is Noah and he belongs to Kelly who baked oodles of goodies for our bake sale, enough that we could share the leftovers among the help and take some home for breakfast!
