The House That God Built

By Brent Peterson

Have you ever heard from God? Have you ever seen miracles? Have you ever gotten to be part of something magical/supernatural? This is the true story of some who did. Do you hear from God? Do you recognize God's voice? If you have ever wondered if the miraculous seems to be relegated to biblical times, this may help you to see that it's not. If you are willing and courageous, the door can open for your own story. Well, this is our story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886169898

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The House That God Built

Brent Peterson

ISBN 979-8-88616-988-1 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88616-989-8 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Brent and Bonnie Peterson

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

About the Author

I heard it like this: A man went to the dentist.

After his cleaning was over, the dentist sat back and said, Another perfect checkup!

The man smiled and said, Thank God!

The dentist, somewhat offended, said, Well, I don't believe in God.

His patient responded, But why not?

If there is a God, why is there so much wrong in this world?

Well, I don't believe in dentists.

Snorting, the dentist asked, Oh, why is that?

Well, if dentists were real, why is there still tooth decay?

Well, not everyone comes to me. And some that do don't follow my instructions.

Exactly.

—Tony Perkins

Everyone who was a part of this wants it known, To God be the glory! And thank God for the experience of a lifetime.

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, in the land of Greenacres, Washington, there lived a woman named Sherrie McGowan. She was a hardworking woman who was well loved and respected by all who knew her. Sherrie made her living training, breeding horses, and giving riding lessons. She had a lovely accomplished little stallion named Sun Dun Quincy, a.k.a. Froggy, whom she had rescued from being castrated at her father's ranch when he was a yearling.

Her father had enough stallions, and the colt's intelligence made him troublesome. Froggy was always looking for something to get into. One day Froggy was particularly ornery, and Sherrie's father had enough. He called and said, If you want him, come and get him! Sherrie thought he was teasing her. She had always wanted that colt.

Yes! I want him!

Then come get him. You have to deliver two other horses for me on your way home. You have twenty minutes. The clock starts now!

He hung up.

Without pausing Sherrie hollered for her two boys to get into the truck. She hitched up the horse trailer and raced to her father's ranch. She made it without a minute to spare. Froggy was hers!

As the years passed, she turned that ornery colt into a magnificent, wonderful, multifaceted, accomplished stallion with a reputation for passing his athleticism and personality on to his foals.

She had a large barn with many stalls and an indoor arena. Nothing fancy, but she used it well and took care of it as best she could. Sherrie's home was another matter altogether. It had been built but not very solidly in 1901. It was in a sad state of disrepair and was just plain worn out.

Years before, when her husband had bought the place, he had the best of intentions to fix it up. He promised he would be able to build her a new home within five years. Now twenty years later, it was obvious that wasn't going to happen. Sherrie's husband had long since left her with a disheveled home and two teenage boys to raise.

Throughout the years, Sherrie leaned on God and His promises. She refused to give up hope, for her husband's return to the family and for a new house. She came across a biblical scripture that she claimed as her promise from her Heavenly Father:

By wisdom a house is built and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. (Proverbs 24:3–4)

She believed God was telling her that He would provide her a new home. She started telling people just that. She was told by many she was wrong for expecting it. Some thought she was nervy or nuts. So she quit talking about it. But she did not quit believing because of her faith in God. Her life was full. It was full of joy and full of purpose, though at times she cried out in loneliness and frustration at how long it was taking to see the manifestation of the promise.

She did everything to the best of her ability and for the glory of God. She raised her sons up to be fine men. She raised and trained her horses to be gentle and useful. She shared her love for her Savior Jesus whenever she could. When she came across another scripture, she clung to it as well:

Therefore, I tell you whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24)

Seven miles away from Sherrie's ranch was another household. In this home, Brent Peterson and his wife, Bonnie, were raising the last of their five children. Brent was a general contractor specializing in custom homes. His earliest memory was of wanting to build houses. He started working in the construction world at fourteen. He never faltered in his desire…until now. He was tired—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He wanted change, but to what he did not know.

Brent ventured out to try a few things, but they didn't pan out. In fact, the ventures and investments left them nearly broke.

Since he was the sole provider for his family and had been since he married at eighteen, he felt trapped. His formal education ended when he quit school and went to work full-time at sixteen years of age. Since then he had attended the school of hard knocks. He had served the Lord faithfully since he accepted Jesus as his Savior at twenty-one. Not that either Bonnie or Brent was perfect. They knew they were far from it. But that kept them mindful of how much they needed God and how much they needed Jesus, their Savior. But even that seemed tiresome.

Brent would laughingly say he was having a midlife crisis. But it wasn't funny—not to him or Bonnie.

The consequences of the failed ventures plunged them into bankruptcy that embarrassed and humiliated them. They sold off everything they owned outright to cover as many debts as they could. Among the things they liquidated were the boat that had been such a source of fun for the family and the backhoe that was a valuable tool. A garage sale cleared out all the miscellaneous. They had discussed selling Bonnie's horse, Sugar. But with no papers proving her pedigree, she wouldn't bring much. Bonnie was a firm believer that selling your pets was like selling family. After many heart-to-heart talks and unending prayers for a solution, they decided to sell the home they had built and lived in for fifteen years. With all but the youngest of their children now grown and out of the house, downsizing seemed logical anyway. They put their home on the market and started looking for a piece of land to build on and start over.

In the meantime, they tightened their belts. Bonnie gave swimming lessons, taught water aerobics classes, provided childcare for neighbors, and decorated cakes. Whatever she could do, she did. A few times she looked for work outside the home. But her job resume was pathetically empty, and when her beautiful truck that was her fortieth birthday present had to be returned, it would have been impossible to get to a job anyway.

At times she prayed for God to show her how to fix it. All she would hear was Be still and know that I am God. So she worked very hard at being still. Many criticized her for not contributing more. Though she was scrambling on the outside, she knew she had to not interfere with the work God was doing in her and Brent. She could only hope He would hurry up about it. Bonnie took comfort from her dear friends, Denise Watke and Linda Payne, who stood with her through it all.

Just a mile north of Sherrie's place was an unfinished house that was begging for someone to love it. The setting was lovely, and the bones of the house were intact. But the contractor had died before it could be finished. So it sat for a while looking somewhat forlorn from its perch on the hill.

Linda and her husband, Jim, were dear friends of the Petersons. They decided they were just the ones for the job. After jumping through some difficult hoops, they purchased it. Excitement filled them as they thought of the adventure of bringing this house to its full potential. They hired Brent to finish it for them with the added bonus of telling Brent and Bonnie that they could live in the basement while they built their new house. Now if their house would just sell!

Two miles south of Sherrie was an eight-acre parcel for sale. One day Brent and Bonnie came across it while they were out driving and dreaming. So they called on it. They received no response to the message they left. After several tries over the next few weeks and still no response, they drove out again to see if the land was still available. They also wanted to see if it was as perfect as they remembered. Their hearts sank when they saw that the for sale sign was no longer there, both wondering if this was the end of this particular dream. Brent was not one to give up easily though, so they drove to the house that was south of the piece of land to see if someone there might know who owned it. Driving up the long driveway, they passed a sign saying World's Best Pies attached to the gatepost. They laughed together, saying these would be good neighbors to have. Bev Read stepped out of her home as Brent got out of the truck. She informed him that she and her husband, Scott, owned the land. They had let the listing run out because the realtor had not been very professional. They were still interested in selling. They exchanged phone numbers with a good feeling about the whole thing. They drove slowly back down, taking in the land with their eyes, imagining their home sitting in the middle of it. It was a lovely piece of land, an open rolling field graced by just one old apple tree. They could see the home they had dreamed of sitting on it. But some more pieces would have to fall into place before they could offer on it.

They went back a few weeks later to discuss a potential deal. Though the Reads and Petersons had never met before, there was an instant rapport between them. Brent and Bonnie had a price in mind. But before they could offer it, Scott suggested the exact same price! A deal was struck with the Reads carrying the contract until Brent and Bonnie's house could sell. It felt as though the pieces of the puzzle were all falling together. The Petersons dared to hope that the struggles they had been going through were coming to an end.

Denise was a lifelong friend of Bonnie's. The two of them had raised their babies together, prayed together, and exercised together, their lives completely entwined in one another's.

Denise kept her old Morgan mare, Cassie, at Brent and Bonnie's house with their horses. It came about one sad day that Cassie breathed her last breath. When the ache of the death had faded some, Bonnie made an offer to Denise. Bonnie's stout sorrel mare, Sugar, would make a wonderful mama. What if they found a nice little stallion