On our last episode we took you on a tour of our new house, sans furniture. Since then, I embarked on The Great Furniture Search with two great friends. Heather Goode is the most adept bargain finder I have ever met. And Casey Wells has the ability to find the most ridiculous junk and turn it into the coolest decoration. So a few Saturdays ago, we planned to take on Gainesville armed with a meager budget, empty house, and a passion for negotiation.
The morning started with a phone call from Heather. We hadn’t planned on going out until later (due to rain and a daughter’s basketball game), but like a true amazing bargain finder, Heather set out on her own in the morning anyway. She called, having found some good porch chairs and a couple smaller items we might want. As she went to pay for the items, the man asked her if that was all she was interested in, and then directed her to a room in the house to pay for the things. Inside the room, he explained that everything was free. They wanted to explain the free gift of salvation to people. What a great idea! Heather thought, but there are people who really need this and I can afford it. But God interrupted her… Whether you think you have earned enough to pay for your salvation, or whether you think that someone else needs it more than you do… We’re all in the same boat. We desperately need God to pay for what we can’t. And now we have two great chairs on our porch to remind us of that incredible truth!!!
… but that was only stop number one.
After Heather shared this great story with us, she told me about a place called the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. It’s a retail shop where Habitat sells the unused the building supplies, furniture, and random items that they didn’t need for their houses. But the store is only open until 1 on Saturdays, so Corey and I would have to go before us girls got together. Heather warned us, sometimes you find amazing things… sometimes there’s nothing there. But it wouldn’t hurt to try, right?
As soon as we walked in the finds began! Right there at the door was an oversized armchair/loveseat with ottoman. Cheap. Behind that was an amazing bookcase. Towards the back was a coffee table with two matching end tables. There were tools Corey needed. We walked out under a $100 with most of the things that we really wanted!!
As we were driving home… oh so excited… I said to Corey, “The great news is that we just got so much stuff for such a little price, that now if we need to spend some extra money on a dresser (my #1 must have item to find that day) then we can afford it!” Corey stopped me, “No honey, we need to wait for a really good deal. Just suffer a little longer and then we’ll get to put our clothes away.” NOT what I wanted to hear… but he was right.
I’m on the phone with Casey telling her about our amazing finds as I walk upstairs and there, sitting outside our apartment was a dresser! Our sweet neighbor was moving out and didn’t want it. There was the number one thing I wanted and it was free!
Reminder… at this point we have spent only $100, and our house is almost furnished.
Thinking the day couldn’t get any better, I met up with Heather and Casey. Stop number 1? The side of the road where someone had put these great Adirondack porch chairs by the trash can… Perfect condition! (except for the REALLY bright spray paint… but what’s a little paint?) So now we have a total of 5 porch chairs!
Stop number two was a local thrift store. Corey and I had been the day before and he found a couch… if you can call it that… that he decided was the perfect level of comfort for him. It was hideous, but he liked it. I took Heather and Casey to it and Heather proclaimed, “In the name of Jesus we will find something better than THAT!” And we moved on…
We visited a few more places… and at each turn found a few things that were decent for decent prices… but each time Heather and Casey held me back, “No… let’s keep looking.” That’s when we entered Little Mexico.
Gainesville has a large Mexican immigrant population and with that comes a large section of town that feels like you crossed the border. It’s GREAT! Heather took us to a large yellow building that just says “Thrift Store” outside and we walked into the Jerusalem of Thrift stores. There’s an entire ROOM of appliances, a ginormous room of clothes, and then in the back is more housewares than you could dream of. We got bags worth of kitchen utensils, a microwave, and wicker chest. And because everything is Mexico-style… there’s no prices. We just took it all to the front, prepared to negotiate. But her offers were SO low there was no need!
Uber-excited with all my new housewares, I didn’t know if I could take more. Heather suggested a furniture-liquidator store to look for a couch. Usually the prices are too high for our budget, but it couldn’t hurt to stop, right? We walked in to see plush leather furniture and, though the prices were INCREDIBLY low for the quality, it definitely wasn’t our budget. We walked toward the back (the place where all good deals live) and stopped at a couch and loveseat set with no price on it. The arms were a little worn, but why not ask? As I stood with a guy who was looking up the price, Heather and Casey kept walking. Suddenly, from the back I hear gasps and sighs.
I turn around and Casey and Heather have plopped into the most perfect couch I have ever seen. It’s the color we wanted in our living room. It’s the size we wanted. And from their gasps, it was apparently the comfort we wanted too! Of course there’s no way we could afford it, right? I sat and fell in love… and then saw the price. Wow… that’s really cheap! But it’s exactly $29 more than I have. So I continue walking around the store, finding things that just don’t live up to that couch. In the back there’s a sleeper sofa that’s a similar color and pretty comfy… but Heather, Casey, and the guy helping us convince me that it would just be mean to have Corey move a sleeper sofa to the third floor apartment.
Finally we move back to The Couch. I look at our helper, with the most pained look, and meekly ask, “Would you come down on the price at all?” “Sure!” he says. My mind races… “Okay Laura, here’s your chance. You can’t blow this. Pull out all the negotiator stops you know… Remember South Africa… guatemala….” But before I can begin he starts with $15 off!! I bite my lip… and he goes to $20 off!!!
I look up at him… “Sir, I can only give you this much in cash right now.” and without a hesitation he says “Okay!” and we have the best couch in the world!!!
wow… Life can’t get better, right? With my wallet emptied out, we decide to stop by one store on the way home. I wanted to see if it was any good, anyway. Inside I find a wooden salad bowl set. We received a very similar set for a wedding gift and VERY begrudgingly let it go when we moved. Corey has reminded me often of those bowls and how much he misses them. And here was a set so similar! Sad that I didn’t have just $6 more, I shoved my hands in my pocket to walk away. Oh wait! What is this in my pocket? Out comes exactly $6. I have no idea when I put change in my pocket… but I nearly cried. (I know it’s a salad bowl, but still!)
And so The Great Furniture Hunters headed back home… overwhelmingly excited about all the ways God provided for each amazing item.
A few days later our sweet friends The Pitts brought over a second dresser, a tv, and a complete dining room set for us as well. Really? Our house is absolutely filled with amazing furniture and we haven’t put a dime on credit!
And as if I wasn’t overwhelmed enough that day… We got a phone call from our pastor here letting us know that everything was worked out and we are officially the new pastors of Lake Lanier Club apartments!!! We now have a comfortable house, filled with reminders of God’s provision, and the job we’ve dreamed of doing. I’ll write more about our job soon…
I think Casey summed the day up well, “Think you’re where you’re supposed to be?”
This is great! Needed to hear a story like this today. Stacy and I miss you two a lot, all the time 🙂
This is such an awesome story. Christina and I were literally laughing out loud as we pictured Corey finding that hideous “couch” 😉
sooooo cool Laura. and WHAT fun too!
love you guys down there!
Ah, but it’s not just a bowl, it’s the Love behind the bowl, the provision beyond our needs to our wants…brought tears to my eyes 😀 LOL. What an awesome Abba we have…
That flowery chair is the coolest thing I have I ever seen in my life. No exaggeration.
I’m with Speedy on the couch!! Thanks for the play-by-play. It was exciting to read and, as usual, God gets the glory 🙂
I meant to say …the chair, not the couch, the big, bold, flowery chair that has LAURA written all over it.:)
If only I could have been there to witness this expedition. My favorite part was the proclamation you could find a better couch, “In Jesus name.” Do you think that would work on my wife?
“Karyn, in Jesus name, we are not having Hamburger Helper for dinner tonight.” Yeah, I know, she’s pregnant so I should let her eat what she can.
BTW today begins the second trimester!
YAY for awesome things and God’s provision!!! This is really encouraging- as we have no furniture right now, AND no home, and are getting married in a month! Thanks for sharing sister!
ps- does this mean you, Casey, and Heather will come to Michigan and help me find cool things? hehe
Praise Jesus! That is such a great story. I love it when God provides like that. It is such a beautiful thing. Love you and can’t wait to see you next weekend.