Today for the first time ever Zoe and Nathan have been sleeping for over an hour at the same time. (YAHOO, play the Hallelujah chorus!!!) So, for the first time since Zoe was born, I had some quiet afternoon moments to read Scripture and reflect on the past year. In our MOMS group at Brookhaven, we've been reading the book Grace for the Good Girl: Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life by Emily Freeman. By the way, if you ever have a chance to read this book--READ IT! I'm only half way through, but the Lord has been challenging and convicting me through every page. Today as I was reading through a chapter the Lord took me on an incredible journey through His Word, highlighting His amazing gift of love and grace, and I just can't help sharing one very awesome passage of Scripture with you today. So in light of this Christmas season as we celebrate the amazing gift of Christ's birth, here are the words of peace, love, and joy that the Lord overwhelmed my heart with today.
Therefore,
since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace
with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because
of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved
privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look
forward to sharing God’s glory.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And
this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God
loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts
with his love.
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now,
most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though
someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially
good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For
since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son
while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the
life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Romans 5:1-10 (NLT)
Today I am SO SO SO thankful that "while I was utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for me." Let's rejoice in God's deep love this Christmas season :-).
Monday, December 16, 2013
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
David Enoch Piette
Dear friends, for those who have been praying for my sister, I received word yesterday that her little baby has gone to be with Jesus at 16 weeks. She delivered him at the hospital last night; a little boy named David Enoch, who was taken directly to be with God.
Please pray for continued peace for their family in the coming days. Thank you for praying with us. We are thankful for the Lord's mercy in quickly bringing our little nephew into His presence, and we rejoice looking forward to spending eternity with him some day!
Please pray for continued peace for their family in the coming days. Thank you for praying with us. We are thankful for the Lord's mercy in quickly bringing our little nephew into His presence, and we rejoice looking forward to spending eternity with him some day!
Monday, November 25, 2013
A full heart
Today I am thankful for so many things, and since I haven't done the thanksgiving Facebook posts everyday, thought I'd share a few things I'm thankful for as we travel to visit Granny and PawPaw in Louisiana.
#1) The joy of little ones
This past weekend we were blessed to visit my sister Bethany, brother-in-law Tim, and the cutest nephew in the world, Elijah. Saturday was Elijah's first birthday, so we were so excited to be able to share that special day with them as we don't get to make the long drive south very often. Nathan and Elijah had a ton of fun playing together, and Zoe spent most of her time giggling or sleeping, so we had many moments of joy.
#2) Peace in storms
My heart is also full from some heavy moments we shared together this weekend. As I've written before, Bethany and Tim are expecting their second baby in May but have been given a diagnosis which will send their little one directly into Jesus' arms without a divine intervention of healing. Yesterday I was able to go with Bethany to see an ultrasound. It was surreal thinking this may be the only chance I get to see my niece/nephew in action, but my heart has also been filled with peace knowing that this precious little one will enjoy her/his mommy's love and protection until the Lord so tenderly calls her/him into His presence. What a great promise we have in Christ! This life is such a short time in light of eternity--and the hope we have waiting if we give our lives to the Lord is so great!
#3) The joy of the Lord!
Yesterday I was also able to worship with my sister and family at her church. My heart was filled to overflowing hearing my sister beside me and watching my brother-in-law in the choir singing their hearts out to the Lord. These two are displaying the joy and peace of the Lord in the midst of trial in such a beautiful way. Only in the Lord can we find such great strength, peace, and hope! He gives great joy in the midst of suffering.
#4) The Lord's provision
Three times in the past week our battery has died in our new-to-us van. Today I'm thankful it died while we were at Bethany's and not in the middle of Mississippi or Alabama somewhere. I'm also thankful for the great guys at AutoZone who replaced it for us quickly.
#5) In-vehicle DVD players
Yep, not spiritual at all, but oh so wonderful as we're driving, driving, driving, and DRIVING! The kids have loved watching and listening to the Wiggles, Toy Story, and Jay Jay the Jet Plane (and I have enjoyed a few mostly-quiet moments!)
Today I'm finding joy in the midst of circumstances. Praise Him today for His goodness!
#1) The joy of little ones
This past weekend we were blessed to visit my sister Bethany, brother-in-law Tim, and the cutest nephew in the world, Elijah. Saturday was Elijah's first birthday, so we were so excited to be able to share that special day with them as we don't get to make the long drive south very often. Nathan and Elijah had a ton of fun playing together, and Zoe spent most of her time giggling or sleeping, so we had many moments of joy.
#2) Peace in storms
My heart is also full from some heavy moments we shared together this weekend. As I've written before, Bethany and Tim are expecting their second baby in May but have been given a diagnosis which will send their little one directly into Jesus' arms without a divine intervention of healing. Yesterday I was able to go with Bethany to see an ultrasound. It was surreal thinking this may be the only chance I get to see my niece/nephew in action, but my heart has also been filled with peace knowing that this precious little one will enjoy her/his mommy's love and protection until the Lord so tenderly calls her/him into His presence. What a great promise we have in Christ! This life is such a short time in light of eternity--and the hope we have waiting if we give our lives to the Lord is so great!
#3) The joy of the Lord!
Yesterday I was also able to worship with my sister and family at her church. My heart was filled to overflowing hearing my sister beside me and watching my brother-in-law in the choir singing their hearts out to the Lord. These two are displaying the joy and peace of the Lord in the midst of trial in such a beautiful way. Only in the Lord can we find such great strength, peace, and hope! He gives great joy in the midst of suffering.
#4) The Lord's provision
Three times in the past week our battery has died in our new-to-us van. Today I'm thankful it died while we were at Bethany's and not in the middle of Mississippi or Alabama somewhere. I'm also thankful for the great guys at AutoZone who replaced it for us quickly.
#5) In-vehicle DVD players
Yep, not spiritual at all, but oh so wonderful as we're driving, driving, driving, and DRIVING! The kids have loved watching and listening to the Wiggles, Toy Story, and Jay Jay the Jet Plane (and I have enjoyed a few mostly-quiet moments!)
Today I'm finding joy in the midst of circumstances. Praise Him today for His goodness!
Monday, October 28, 2013
Through the valley
Wow, what a year this has been. When we started this blog over a year ago, its primary purpose was to keep you informed of our family's adoption story. Which, at the time, we assumed would be pretty straightforward--complete home study, raise funds, apply to agencies, wait for a match, drive/fly to meet child, bring child home, finalize adoption. Our time frame, we expected, would be around a year.
About 1.25 years later now, we are sitting on an expired home study, simply waiting out our agency's mandatory "wait" period before we can resume paperwork in March due to our unexpected little Zoe entering the family in June. We love her to pieces and can't imagine life without her--and we also think our agency was quite wise to require us 9 months to adjust to this little bundle of spunk, energy, activity, loudness, hyperactivity...well...you get the picture. Her name means "full of life." So she is.
In the past year, the Lord has walked me through some deep lessons of faith and obedience and has taught me that God is who He says He IS, not just what He does. My view of God has been deepened so much to see that His character, at this present moment, is so incredibly AWE-some. HE is worthy of worship, not just His acts. I have come to love an awesome GOD, not just His awesome works (and how awesome they are!!!)
I have wanted so desperately to relish in this recent faith lesson, but the Lord does not allow us to become content after periods of growth. Instead, He continually draws us into a deeper walk with Him. Most recently, the Lord is taking our family into new territory of faith and trust--through the valley of grief.
Last week, my dear sister Bethany had a routine ultrasound, and suddenly things became not so routine. Her doctor believed there was something called a cystic hygroma growing on her baby's neck--something that could indicate a range of things but could likely cause an early miscarriage. This news was so sad, and she was scheduled to see a specialist last Thursday to get a more exact diagnosis.
On Thursday, they received some of the worst news a parent could hear: their baby will grow to full term and be delivered straight into the arms of Jesus. There was no cystic hygroma as originally thought. Instead, their child is not developing a skull and will not survive outside of the womb. In the best case, they will have a few brief moments to meet their son or daughter before having to say goodbye.
So here our family's faith journey enters a deep valley--a valley full of heartbreak, sadness, and loss. Yet a road covered completely in the peace of Christ and the hope of eternity! A road that we know ends in renewed faith, steadfast hope, and a deeper love for our God who will carry us through. Are we praying for a miraculous healing? You bet! Our God does the most amazing things EVER! Yet we pray that through the circumstances He's allowing, others will see His deep love, peace, hope, and comfort displayed.
Please pray with us in these days. Emotions are running high, yet the unexplainable peace of Christ has been guarding our hearts and minds each day. In all that happens in the coming months, may His great name be lifted high and be praised in the lives of all!
-Mae
About 1.25 years later now, we are sitting on an expired home study, simply waiting out our agency's mandatory "wait" period before we can resume paperwork in March due to our unexpected little Zoe entering the family in June. We love her to pieces and can't imagine life without her--and we also think our agency was quite wise to require us 9 months to adjust to this little bundle of spunk, energy, activity, loudness, hyperactivity...well...you get the picture. Her name means "full of life." So she is.
In the past year, the Lord has walked me through some deep lessons of faith and obedience and has taught me that God is who He says He IS, not just what He does. My view of God has been deepened so much to see that His character, at this present moment, is so incredibly AWE-some. HE is worthy of worship, not just His acts. I have come to love an awesome GOD, not just His awesome works (and how awesome they are!!!)
I have wanted so desperately to relish in this recent faith lesson, but the Lord does not allow us to become content after periods of growth. Instead, He continually draws us into a deeper walk with Him. Most recently, the Lord is taking our family into new territory of faith and trust--through the valley of grief.
Last week, my dear sister Bethany had a routine ultrasound, and suddenly things became not so routine. Her doctor believed there was something called a cystic hygroma growing on her baby's neck--something that could indicate a range of things but could likely cause an early miscarriage. This news was so sad, and she was scheduled to see a specialist last Thursday to get a more exact diagnosis.
On Thursday, they received some of the worst news a parent could hear: their baby will grow to full term and be delivered straight into the arms of Jesus. There was no cystic hygroma as originally thought. Instead, their child is not developing a skull and will not survive outside of the womb. In the best case, they will have a few brief moments to meet their son or daughter before having to say goodbye.
So here our family's faith journey enters a deep valley--a valley full of heartbreak, sadness, and loss. Yet a road covered completely in the peace of Christ and the hope of eternity! A road that we know ends in renewed faith, steadfast hope, and a deeper love for our God who will carry us through. Are we praying for a miraculous healing? You bet! Our God does the most amazing things EVER! Yet we pray that through the circumstances He's allowing, others will see His deep love, peace, hope, and comfort displayed.
Please pray with us in these days. Emotions are running high, yet the unexplainable peace of Christ has been guarding our hearts and minds each day. In all that happens in the coming months, may His great name be lifted high and be praised in the lives of all!
-Mae
Monday, September 23, 2013
Isaiah James Cromer: Grant MATCH Opportunity!
Anyway, we'll update you more on our family soon, but remember that sweet little tiny Isaiah James Cromer? Well, take a look at these recent pics of sweet not-so-tiny Isaiah! This little man is growing SOOO fast and has captured his parents' hearts so quickly. He's already been in more states than most of us have (took a road trip to the annual Cromer camping excursion in Idaho already!), and I'm pretty sure we'll be arranging his marriage to our little Zoe. They love each other dearly already ;-).
I've been wanting to share an opportunity with you for a month now, but again, due to our sweet Zoe demanding every moment of our attention for her first couple months, I'm just now getting to share this. Isaiah's adoption costs have been close to covered, with just $6,000 remaining to complete the balance. We are praising the Lord for providing the Cromers with a matching grant from Hand in Hand Christian Adoptions! The matching grant extends through THIS Friday, September 27 (postmarked by). Please read the letter from the Cromers below outlining details of participating. We pray you'll consider helping them leap over this remaining financial hurdle by sending your tax-deductible donation to Hand in Hand on their behalf today!
Dear
Family and Friends,
Praise
the Lord for His faithfulness! Praise the Lord for His great and
precious promises! Praise the Lord for His gift of salvation for all!
Praise Him because “the Lord is a God who knows” (1 Samuel 2:3)!
As
many of you may have already heard we feel that God has called us on
a new journey to
provide
a “forever” family to a child through the process of domestic
minority infant adoption. The Lord's timing moved so quickly in this
calling that there was just 40 days and 40 nights between the time we
heard that Isaiah existed and the time we held him in our arms.
Isaiah James Cromer was born on July 15th weighing 6 lb 5
oz and 19 ¾ inches long. We were able to be there for his birth and
witness the miracle of life and meet the child God placed in our
family!
The
road to adoption is full of many joys and challenges, the greatest
joy being the inclusion of a child into
our family and the greatest challenge being finances. The costs of
adoption include the expense of a home study, lawyers, travel
expenses, etc., with the total cost for our adoption being around
$20,000.
We
were recently awarded a matching funds grant to help with the
expenses of our adoption through Hand in Hand Christian Adoption,
Inc. a non-profit private operating foundation. Hand in Hand will
match any funds that are donated through our friends and family for
the expenses of our adoption. All funds received through our friends
and family will be matched dollar for dollar by Hand in Hand up to
our awarded grant amount. All donations are tax-deductible. You
can find out more about Hand in Hand through their website at
www.handinhandadopt.org. If you have further questions about the Hand
in Hand matching grant program please feel free to give us a call at
(402)779-6499 or email us at mrs.cromer@hotmail.com. You may also
contact Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. with any questions you
may have. They can be reached at 913-248-5015 or by e-mail at
handinhandadopt@gmail.com.
Please
send all donations made payable to “Hand in Hand Christian
Adoption” postmarked by September 27, 2013 to: (for tax purposes
please include our name on the outside of the envelope only...do NOT
put our name on the check itself)
Hand
in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc.
Nathan
& Kimberly Cromer
18318
Mimosa Court
Gardner,
KS 66030
Thank
you for your all of your prayers and support during this exciting
time! We greatly appreciate your role in our lives as we become
Isaiah's forever family and raise him in the knowledge of the grace
and truth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Walking
Hand in Hand,
Nathan
& Kimberly Cromer
(402)779-6499
mrs.cromer@hotmail.com
Monday, July 29, 2013
Introducing Isaiah James Cromer!
For those who have not officially "met" this little guy, we'd like to formally introduce you to Isaiah James Cromer, born July 15, 2013, weighing 6 lbs 5 oz and measuring 19 3/4 inches long! So many of you have prayed with the Cromers during this quick journey--your prayers have been answered so sweetly and beautifully by the Lord during these weeks!
In case you have forgotten, you have THREE DAYS LEFT to participate in blessing the Cromers via our blog! All adoption donations received via our PayPal link to the right through the end of July will be used to purchase needed items for baby Isaiah! So far we have been able to provide the Cromers with a travel pack-n-play and have some left for some fun surprises at their baby shower (announcement coming soon!).
If you are local or prefer to shop online yourself, they are registered at Kohl's, Target, and Walmart.
Thanks again so much for your prayers! Please keep praying for Nathan and Kimberly as they adjust to life with a little one and soak up hours of newborn cuddles in the wee hours of the night :-). Our God is SO GOOD!!!!!!!
If you are local or prefer to shop online yourself, they are registered at Kohl's, Target, and Walmart.
Thanks again so much for your prayers! Please keep praying for Nathan and Kimberly as they adjust to life with a little one and soak up hours of newborn cuddles in the wee hours of the night :-). Our God is SO GOOD!!!!!!!
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
A Year's Time
This past week, I've been reflecting a lot on what the Lord has done in this past year. This year has been marked with the unexpected and unplanned as the Lord continually destroys our limited vision of what we THINK His plans are and blows us away with what He really has planned.
Last July was a significant month for our family. One year ago on July 14, we went to the first Embrace orphan care picnic. While there, we learned about a need for families to adopt minority newborns in the U.S. due to an increase in women choosing life for their little ones yet having to watch their babies enter straight into the foster care system. I vividly remember Jade Metz telling our family, Nathan and Kimberly Cromer, and several others about this need and feeling an unexpected immediate call to act. Daniel felt immediately compelled as well, and our adoption journey unfolded. That day I also distinctly remember walking to the snack shop at the park with Kimberly, talking about what we'd just heard and discussing why the Lord sometimes calls us to act and sometimes clearly asks us to "wait." At the time, she was being asked to wait.
The most interesting thing I'm learning about the Lord in this adoption journey is that sometimes His call to follow a certain leading does not look a thing like we expected, and His purpose for calling us to a certain thing is not always the end result but the process of learning about Him in the process. Just three months after we started our adoption journey, we discovered we were pregnant with Zoe. Thinking we knew the Lord's plan for our family (to adopt a little one within a year), we had not "planned" for Zoe to enter the picture! But as you know from reading my blog this year, the Lord has taken me through some serious conversations with Him regarding trust, His plans, His timing, and simply resting in Him and continuing to pursue Him, while letting Him work out the details of the call He's put on our hearts. So, this June, instead of completing "our" plan of a one-year adoption, we welcomed little Zoe Grace into the world. We chose her name based on its meaning of "eternal life given in God's favor," marking a significant milestone in our understanding of Who the Lord is and how beautifully He engages in our lives.
Zoe Grace was not the only beautifully created life in His plans for this year. Last week on July 15 (a year and one day after the picnic), Nathan and Kimberly met their newborn adopted son, Isaiah James. Today they are travelling back home with Isaiah as proud new parents, likely exhausted from newborn midnight partying but beaming from ear to ear each time they snuggle him close. My heart has been exploding with joy for these two ever since hearing the news of this adoption that only God could have arranged. Our friends have been praying for years that the Lord would open the door to having children become a part of their family, and they have so faithfully followed God's call to "wait" as well as His call to become foster parents, becoming parents to six children over the past year who have been blessed to enter their home. Their obedience to the Lord has been amazing, and we are praising the Lord again and again for blessing them with little Isaiah and answering their prayers!
This truly has been a year of the Lord weaving beautifully unplanned and unexpected adventures into our lives, and we praise God for all He has done and for Who He is! May His name continue to be lifted high.
Last July was a significant month for our family. One year ago on July 14, we went to the first Embrace orphan care picnic. While there, we learned about a need for families to adopt minority newborns in the U.S. due to an increase in women choosing life for their little ones yet having to watch their babies enter straight into the foster care system. I vividly remember Jade Metz telling our family, Nathan and Kimberly Cromer, and several others about this need and feeling an unexpected immediate call to act. Daniel felt immediately compelled as well, and our adoption journey unfolded. That day I also distinctly remember walking to the snack shop at the park with Kimberly, talking about what we'd just heard and discussing why the Lord sometimes calls us to act and sometimes clearly asks us to "wait." At the time, she was being asked to wait.
The most interesting thing I'm learning about the Lord in this adoption journey is that sometimes His call to follow a certain leading does not look a thing like we expected, and His purpose for calling us to a certain thing is not always the end result but the process of learning about Him in the process. Just three months after we started our adoption journey, we discovered we were pregnant with Zoe. Thinking we knew the Lord's plan for our family (to adopt a little one within a year), we had not "planned" for Zoe to enter the picture! But as you know from reading my blog this year, the Lord has taken me through some serious conversations with Him regarding trust, His plans, His timing, and simply resting in Him and continuing to pursue Him, while letting Him work out the details of the call He's put on our hearts. So, this June, instead of completing "our" plan of a one-year adoption, we welcomed little Zoe Grace into the world. We chose her name based on its meaning of "eternal life given in God's favor," marking a significant milestone in our understanding of Who the Lord is and how beautifully He engages in our lives.
Zoe Grace was not the only beautifully created life in His plans for this year. Last week on July 15 (a year and one day after the picnic), Nathan and Kimberly met their newborn adopted son, Isaiah James. Today they are travelling back home with Isaiah as proud new parents, likely exhausted from newborn midnight partying but beaming from ear to ear each time they snuggle him close. My heart has been exploding with joy for these two ever since hearing the news of this adoption that only God could have arranged. Our friends have been praying for years that the Lord would open the door to having children become a part of their family, and they have so faithfully followed God's call to "wait" as well as His call to become foster parents, becoming parents to six children over the past year who have been blessed to enter their home. Their obedience to the Lord has been amazing, and we are praising the Lord again and again for blessing them with little Isaiah and answering their prayers!
This truly has been a year of the Lord weaving beautifully unplanned and unexpected adventures into our lives, and we praise God for all He has done and for Who He is! May His name continue to be lifted high.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)