Mike & Theresa Duursma
Mike & Theresa Duursma
Our Grace Beyond journey began back in 2002 , though at the time we had no idea . We were living for ourselves and were not seeking guidance from anyone . We had been attending Calvary for about a year and were very comfortable sitting in the back unnoticed . We had just purchased an old farmhouse and some land . We had big plans that included renovating the house and after about five years we would build our dream home on a lake at the back of our property . We were living the dream , at least our dream .
Before we knew it , our deadline was up and it was time to build . We started clearing the land where we wanted our home , ordering perc testing , getting the plans drawn up and hiring a builder . In 2011 , sitting in our very comfortable back row seats at Calvary , we heard Pastor Jim speak on extravagant gifts and by the end of the service God pierced through our hard hearts . We were in tears and knew at that very moment that we would not be able to build the home we had dreamt of . Instead , we were led to start praying about what God would have us do . We prayed and our kids prayed . Years passed and as one thing after another was breaking in our farmhouse that was built in 1854 , we were feeling like we were left alone in the desert . We pleaded with God to show us what he would have us do , stay in the farmhouse or build a more conservative home on our property .
In 2015 , God clearly told us that he did not want us in our farmhouse , so we started praying over where on our property he would want us to build . We would do prayer walks on our property as a family and individually but we were not hearing an answer so we continued to pray .
When we were told as a congregation to pray for the Grace Beyond project and specifically what God would have us pledge , our family started praying . Mike and I prayed separately and came together once God had given us each our number , and of course it was the same number . We were both concerned where this money would come from but we prayed and He told us that we were to sell our rental property to get it . This was particularly difficult for Mike . This was not just a rental property . This was the first home he had ever purchased , the home he refinished and put his blood , sweat and tears into . This was the house where he brought his first child home . Yet he was obedient and the house went up for sale . It sold and we didn ’ t hesitate in doing what God asked us to do for the Grace Beyond project .
In June of 2016 Mike and I had an argument . Neither of us knows what it was even about , but it was a good one . The kind where you can ’ t even be in the same room as the other person . So I sat in my chair and opened my Bible and started praying while Mike went outside to work on our old farmhouse . After about 35 minutes I grabbed my iPad , opened it up and saw a listing for a house for sale . I thought it was a little strange and wondered why this house with the correct amount of space that we would need was on my iPad . I quickly dismissed it and moved on to my email . Later after dinner , I opened my iPad again and saw another listing for a different house for sale . Yet again it had
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