Wow, it appears I haven't written a blog post in over a month. It's not that nothing has been happening in life, but apparently I haven't sat down to write lately. Today I just want to share something the Lord has been teaching me recently as we have been going through a waiting period in our adoption process (I'll give you a more detailed update of where we are in the process in the next few days).
This afternoon I read these verses, "One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, 'Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.'" (Luke 18:15-17 NLT)
Thanks to some pretty awesome 2-year-old Sunday School teachers (affectionately known as Miss Susie and Mr. Jim), Nathan came home about a month ago quoting John 3:16 in its entirety (minus a few wording mistakes...we'll give him a break...he's only 2). This clued us in that perhaps we should start working on Bible verses at home as well, since apparently he is capable of learning quicker than we thought. So for the past couple weeks, we've been working on Proverbs 3:5, one of the first verses I remember learning as a child. The whole verse is "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." So far, Nathan says "Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord!"
Today I was struck by the truth of this passage in Luke combined with my son's simple understanding of Scripture. God says to us "Trust in Me (and I will lead you)!" My son--a little child--is getting it. But how often do I forget to receive truth like a little child and instead allow Satan to twist it slightly? Mommy's version of Proverbs 3:5 too frequently reads like this: "Trust in the Lord, if the circumstances seem to make sense according to the plan you thought you had. And on days that really don't make sense, it might be ok to worry a little bit and start to doubt God's promises. And really its ok to start making a new plan (or several possible backup plans) in case what you thought was Plan A doesn't pan out. Then pray that the Lord will bless your new plans."
What an awesome reminder in my little boy's simple understanding: "Trust in the Lord." The biggest thing the Lord has been teaching me through this adoption journey is to trust in Him for WHO He is and not just for what He does. Circumstances do not dictate whether the Lord is who He says He is--He always was, always is, and always will be Who He says He is! May we all come to Jesus as little children, ready for Him to touch us and bless us in His great love!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Monday, April 8, 2013
Little Blessings
Today I just wanted to express gratitude for a few little blessings we've experienced lately:
1) Remember our stolen tires? Well, they are still MIA, but our homeowner's insurance has decided to cover them at full replacement value! This means that with Daniel's awesome bargain-hunting skills, we actually could come out with a few hundred extra dollars from the insurance than it is going to cost to replace the tires. I suppose we should never underestimate the Lord's provision in the midst of bad circumstances :-).
2) Some awesome friends are loaning us ALL of their little girl's baby clothes for each size we need, as their little one will finish up sizes in perfect time for our little girl. What a blessing to have brothers and sisters in Christ like this, allowing us to set aside a bit more into our adoption fund.
3) Some other awesome friends have donated items for us to sell at a local kids' consignment sale this weekend (If you live in the Grant County area and have never been to Kidsignments, check it out here. You won't want to miss this sale!). According to the electronic tagging system, you've donated over $400 in item value! We'll keep you posted on the earnings.
4) The new Embrace adoption and foster care support group meeting on the first Wednesday of each month at Brookhaven: what an encouragement it was to meet with others who have adopted or fostered or are just beginning their journeys as well. We felt so refreshed and renewed in purpose after this first meeting and can't wait for next month!
Thanks so much for all your prayers and encouragement! We are nearing 30 weeks of pregnancy and can't believe our little girl will be here before we know it! We are thanking the Lord for this little gift of life He has decided to bless us with and can't wait to meet her :-).
Praying you experience the Lord's greatness today!
1) Remember our stolen tires? Well, they are still MIA, but our homeowner's insurance has decided to cover them at full replacement value! This means that with Daniel's awesome bargain-hunting skills, we actually could come out with a few hundred extra dollars from the insurance than it is going to cost to replace the tires. I suppose we should never underestimate the Lord's provision in the midst of bad circumstances :-).
2) Some awesome friends are loaning us ALL of their little girl's baby clothes for each size we need, as their little one will finish up sizes in perfect time for our little girl. What a blessing to have brothers and sisters in Christ like this, allowing us to set aside a bit more into our adoption fund.
3) Some other awesome friends have donated items for us to sell at a local kids' consignment sale this weekend (If you live in the Grant County area and have never been to Kidsignments, check it out here. You won't want to miss this sale!). According to the electronic tagging system, you've donated over $400 in item value! We'll keep you posted on the earnings.
4) The new Embrace adoption and foster care support group meeting on the first Wednesday of each month at Brookhaven: what an encouragement it was to meet with others who have adopted or fostered or are just beginning their journeys as well. We felt so refreshed and renewed in purpose after this first meeting and can't wait for next month!
Thanks so much for all your prayers and encouragement! We are nearing 30 weeks of pregnancy and can't believe our little girl will be here before we know it! We are thanking the Lord for this little gift of life He has decided to bless us with and can't wait to meet her :-).
Praying you experience the Lord's greatness today!
Monday, April 1, 2013
Help bring a little one home!
Today I wanted to take a quick second to give you an opportunity to help bring a sweet little girl home to her family. This is Andrea, a young lady waiting to be adopted by Dale and Carrie Bradford.
We know the Lord is about the business of setting the lonely in families, and He gives us the awesome blessing of participating in what He's already doing! Would you consider joining with the Bradfords to meet their first $2,000 goal? Starting today, if you make a small donation of just $5, $10, or $25, you will be entered to win a Kindle Fire, Build-a-Bear gift card, or a gorgeous jewelry set from The Paper Rose. Your small donation will make a big difference to Andrea as you help give her a mommy and daddy (and two sweet siblings!) who will also help her learn about her heavenly Father who loves her so deeply!
Visit the Bradfords' blog post here to donate today or to read more about how you can be involved in their adoption journey.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Why now? And how?
For the past few weeks (ok, really since we found out we were expecting again back in October), I have been pondering these two questions: Why has God placed such a tremendous burden on our hearts to adopt right now? Why did He not instead give us peace about waiting a few years? And how in the world are we, as a young family with now two little ones already under our responsibility, supposed to dedicate time and energy to raising funds, completing paper work, and travelling to bring our third little one into the family while changing diapers, shaping little wills, and dealing with pregnancy, nursing, and newborn sleep deprivation?
When I started this blog, I really thought this would be an exciting way to keep you all updated on how God was providing in amazing ways to bring our little one home quickly. What I didn't expect was to instead be sharing with you each week how the Lord is shaping our hearts and causing us to surrender our wills, plans, and timing again and AGAIN to His perfect plans, perfect will, and perfect timing. I knew this adoption journey would require trust and surrender and obedience, but I didn't realize how much of the journey would be about growing deeper in these areas and not about adoption at all.
One of the first verses I learned as a child was Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take." Entering into our adoption journey, I have been so thankful for scriptures I learned as a young child as well as scriptures given to me by others to encourage us along the way. Proverbs 3:5-6 are packed with truth: words I grasped even as a little one but which speak to the very depth of my heart now. This journey really has been all about the Lord teaching me to trust Him with all my heart--not just once at the beginning of a journey, but along the entire path. That my understanding is not His, and that He WILL show me which path to take as I continue to seek Him.
Along with learning how to trust the Lord, I have also been challenged with this verse from Psalm 37:7, " Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act." Being still has never been easy for me--as a young child I was always on the go, doing or creating something, and as a student I always threw myself completely into the task at hand. I'm an achiever--I love to have a goal, a plan, and put all my energy into making it succeed. The problem is I forget about being still in the Lord's presence. When I do focus on being still in His presence, I begin to see His will and His plans unfold, but I forgot to CONTINUE being still. Instead I latch onto the initial limited vision He gives of His will and run with it, depending on my own understanding. The Lord is teaching me through this adoption journey that trusting Him requires continually being still before Him. It is not a journey of doing and achieving; it is a journey of trusting, seeking, and waiting.
And so to answer the questions why now and how? Why adopt now--because the Lord loves His little ones in crisis now and desires to set them in families now, and because I need to learn to trust the Lord now and be still in His presence now. The months or years it takes for us to complete our first adoption are irrelevant--I must learn to seek the Lord and be still in His presence. And for the how--I don't know HOW the Lord will act, but I do know as we remain still in His presence, He WILL act. The Lord has recently given me these words from Exodus 14: 13-14, "But Moses said to the people, 'Don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.'" What an awesome God we serve who requires nothing more of us than to stand still in His presence and watch Him fight! He will fight to bring one of His dear little ones into our home in His perfect timing, according to His plans.
Take some time today to be still in His presence and wait patiently for Him to act!
When I started this blog, I really thought this would be an exciting way to keep you all updated on how God was providing in amazing ways to bring our little one home quickly. What I didn't expect was to instead be sharing with you each week how the Lord is shaping our hearts and causing us to surrender our wills, plans, and timing again and AGAIN to His perfect plans, perfect will, and perfect timing. I knew this adoption journey would require trust and surrender and obedience, but I didn't realize how much of the journey would be about growing deeper in these areas and not about adoption at all.
One of the first verses I learned as a child was Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take." Entering into our adoption journey, I have been so thankful for scriptures I learned as a young child as well as scriptures given to me by others to encourage us along the way. Proverbs 3:5-6 are packed with truth: words I grasped even as a little one but which speak to the very depth of my heart now. This journey really has been all about the Lord teaching me to trust Him with all my heart--not just once at the beginning of a journey, but along the entire path. That my understanding is not His, and that He WILL show me which path to take as I continue to seek Him.
Along with learning how to trust the Lord, I have also been challenged with this verse from Psalm 37:7, " Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act." Being still has never been easy for me--as a young child I was always on the go, doing or creating something, and as a student I always threw myself completely into the task at hand. I'm an achiever--I love to have a goal, a plan, and put all my energy into making it succeed. The problem is I forget about being still in the Lord's presence. When I do focus on being still in His presence, I begin to see His will and His plans unfold, but I forgot to CONTINUE being still. Instead I latch onto the initial limited vision He gives of His will and run with it, depending on my own understanding. The Lord is teaching me through this adoption journey that trusting Him requires continually being still before Him. It is not a journey of doing and achieving; it is a journey of trusting, seeking, and waiting.
And so to answer the questions why now and how? Why adopt now--because the Lord loves His little ones in crisis now and desires to set them in families now, and because I need to learn to trust the Lord now and be still in His presence now. The months or years it takes for us to complete our first adoption are irrelevant--I must learn to seek the Lord and be still in His presence. And for the how--I don't know HOW the Lord will act, but I do know as we remain still in His presence, He WILL act. The Lord has recently given me these words from Exodus 14: 13-14, "But Moses said to the people, 'Don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.'" What an awesome God we serve who requires nothing more of us than to stand still in His presence and watch Him fight! He will fight to bring one of His dear little ones into our home in His perfect timing, according to His plans.
Take some time today to be still in His presence and wait patiently for Him to act!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
El Elyon: Ruler of the Universe, God Most High!
So this week has been anything but "normal" in our lives. We began the week as you know finishing up our first blog giveaway, which the Lord blessed greatly by providing the remainder of the first $10,000 needed for our adoption! Yahoo! But, as we all are well-aware, the enemy did NOT approve of God's working and felt the need to add in his own attempts to discourage us, cause doubt, and dishearten us.
Here is the breakdown of his attempts, all happening within 48 hours of celebrating the Lord's blessing:
1) on Monday night, we came home from a short trip into town to discover that all of our all-season tires for both vehicles (rims included) had been stolen out of our back yard. The approximate value of the tires and rims was around $1000. (And on a side note, the police car in our driveway terrified Nathan so much he wouldn't sleep for hours but shook with terror screaming "Police! Police car!!" despite our attempts to convince him that the police are the good guys and our friends. Thankfully he has mostly gotten past this apparently terrifying experience :-).
2) On Tuesday, we found out that during our home study, a local medical office entered the billing wrong for one of our physicals and charged us for not a preventative health checkup but more of a specialized visit, resulting in an extra $100 fee that we have to pay out of pocket.
3) On Wednseday our garbage disposal bit the dust, resulting in nasty water leaking all under our sink and causing us to decide if we will replace it (for another $100) or simply run pipes in place of it.
So, humanly speaking, by Tuesday night we were starting to get quite disheartened, thinking about how we'd been blessed with several hundred dollars toward our adoption, only to be hammered with over $1000 in loss so quickly. The devil began planting thoughts in our minds like, "Did God REALLY ask you to adopt? I mean really, this is not going well. You can't even get "ahead". What are you doing?" and "You're having a baby in June. Just give up on this whole adoption thing for a few years until life is more settled and stable. Did God REALLY say you were to take this journey now?"
But the Lord is so SO faithful to "outspeak" the devil in moments like this. Through His Word, reflecting on the "stones of rememberance" He's placed in our lives to this point, and through encouraging small group discussion last night, He reminded us that He is indeed El Elyon: the Ruler of the universe, God most high! Our midweek small group has been studying the names of God, and this was one featured several weeks ago but is resounding in our hearts today.
We'd like to leave you with this passage of Scripture today as we're praising the Lord for WHO HE IS! He speaks truth into our hearts as we trust Him, and He is so faithful to guide us in His paths as He rules over all! May you be encouraged by His Word today:
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
Remember the wonders he has performed,
his miracles, and the rulings he has given
Psalm 105:1-5
Here is the breakdown of his attempts, all happening within 48 hours of celebrating the Lord's blessing:
1) on Monday night, we came home from a short trip into town to discover that all of our all-season tires for both vehicles (rims included) had been stolen out of our back yard. The approximate value of the tires and rims was around $1000. (And on a side note, the police car in our driveway terrified Nathan so much he wouldn't sleep for hours but shook with terror screaming "Police! Police car!!" despite our attempts to convince him that the police are the good guys and our friends. Thankfully he has mostly gotten past this apparently terrifying experience :-).
2) On Tuesday, we found out that during our home study, a local medical office entered the billing wrong for one of our physicals and charged us for not a preventative health checkup but more of a specialized visit, resulting in an extra $100 fee that we have to pay out of pocket.
3) On Wednseday our garbage disposal bit the dust, resulting in nasty water leaking all under our sink and causing us to decide if we will replace it (for another $100) or simply run pipes in place of it.
So, humanly speaking, by Tuesday night we were starting to get quite disheartened, thinking about how we'd been blessed with several hundred dollars toward our adoption, only to be hammered with over $1000 in loss so quickly. The devil began planting thoughts in our minds like, "Did God REALLY ask you to adopt? I mean really, this is not going well. You can't even get "ahead". What are you doing?" and "You're having a baby in June. Just give up on this whole adoption thing for a few years until life is more settled and stable. Did God REALLY say you were to take this journey now?"
But the Lord is so SO faithful to "outspeak" the devil in moments like this. Through His Word, reflecting on the "stones of rememberance" He's placed in our lives to this point, and through encouraging small group discussion last night, He reminded us that He is indeed El Elyon: the Ruler of the universe, God most high! Our midweek small group has been studying the names of God, and this was one featured several weeks ago but is resounding in our hearts today.
We'd like to leave you with this passage of Scripture today as we're praising the Lord for WHO HE IS! He speaks truth into our hearts as we trust Him, and He is so faithful to guide us in His paths as He rules over all! May you be encouraged by His Word today:
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
Remember the wonders he has performed,
his miracles, and the rulings he has given
Psalm 105:1-5
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Giveaway winner: CONGRATULATIONS!
First of all, I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to each of you who participated in our blog giveaway! Many of you donated, shared, and blogged about our adoption during the past week, and we are so grateful! We were able to surpass our goal of $10,000 and now have $10,125 in our adoption fund! Thanks again for your involvement. And now...time to announce the winner:
Congrats to Andrea Vinluan!!! She will receive all the amazing items that were part of our giveaway! A special thanks again to all our friends who donated items:
Brenda Romine of The Paper Rose for the beautiful metal work bracelets
Lindsey Hawk of Lindsey Hawk Designs for the family photo session/design work
Kimberly Cromer for the beautiful basket
Melissa Jo Smith for the awesome handmade washcloths
Leanna Pagdin (visit her Etsy store here) for the lovely handmade necklace and earrings
Jewel Romdenh for the Cambodian jewelry, scarf, and wallet and the handmade journal
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU ALL for partnering with us! Please continue to pray with us as we move forward in this adoption journey as we continue fundraising, applying for grants, sending applications to agencies, and waiting for a little one to be placed in our family!
Congrats to Andrea Vinluan!!! She will receive all the amazing items that were part of our giveaway! A special thanks again to all our friends who donated items:
Brenda Romine of The Paper Rose for the beautiful metal work bracelets
Lindsey Hawk of Lindsey Hawk Designs for the family photo session/design work
Kimberly Cromer for the beautiful basket
Melissa Jo Smith for the awesome handmade washcloths
Leanna Pagdin (visit her Etsy store here) for the lovely handmade necklace and earrings
Jewel Romdenh for the Cambodian jewelry, scarf, and wallet and the handmade journal
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU ALL for partnering with us! Please continue to pray with us as we move forward in this adoption journey as we continue fundraising, applying for grants, sending applications to agencies, and waiting for a little one to be placed in our family!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Goal 1 MET!!!! 24 hours left in giveaway!
Well, the first VERY exciting bit of news is that our goal of hitting the $10,000 mark has been MET! We are currently standing at $10,100! Praise the Lord with us for His continued rich blessings, reminding us of His call to us to pursue this adoption journey. This means we are at 33.7 percent of the anticipated funds needed to complete our adoption!
The second exciting bit of news is that it's not too late to be entered in our giveaway! It is open until tomorrow, Monday, March 11, at midnight. Remember you can be entered in these ways:
1) Donating just $3 to our adoption fund will earn 1 entry. Click the PayPal link to the right to participate.
2) Donating an amount of $10 will earn you 4 entries, $15 will earn 6 entries, and $25 will earn you 10 entries!
3) Sharing this post on your Facebook page or Twitter will earn you an additional entry, and you may share the post up to 4 times during the week for 4 additional entries. Simply leave a comment on the blog here and let us know you've shared the giveaway info!
4) Blogging about our giveaway will earn you an additional 3 entries. Leave us a blog comment letting us know you shared :-).
5) If you don't have Facebook, Twitter, or a blog, simply share this via email with a few friends and let us know via a blog comment, and we'll also give you an additional entry.
If you haven't had a chance to view the fabulous items available in the giveaway, click here for a list of what you could win!
Thank you all SO MUCH for your participation! We have been so blessed to have you partnering with us on this journey.
The second exciting bit of news is that it's not too late to be entered in our giveaway! It is open until tomorrow, Monday, March 11, at midnight. Remember you can be entered in these ways:
1) Donating just $3 to our adoption fund will earn 1 entry. Click the PayPal link to the right to participate.
2) Donating an amount of $10 will earn you 4 entries, $15 will earn 6 entries, and $25 will earn you 10 entries!
3) Sharing this post on your Facebook page or Twitter will earn you an additional entry, and you may share the post up to 4 times during the week for 4 additional entries. Simply leave a comment on the blog here and let us know you've shared the giveaway info!
4) Blogging about our giveaway will earn you an additional 3 entries. Leave us a blog comment letting us know you shared :-).
5) If you don't have Facebook, Twitter, or a blog, simply share this via email with a few friends and let us know via a blog comment, and we'll also give you an additional entry.
If you haven't had a chance to view the fabulous items available in the giveaway, click here for a list of what you could win!
Thank you all SO MUCH for your participation! We have been so blessed to have you partnering with us on this journey.
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