What's Ahead in 2010?

2009 was filled with trials. God allowed some difficult things to happen, not only in my immediate family but my extended family as well. It has been a year of sincere dependence on Him, and some much needed growth in our lives. We have all been stretched beyond our comfort zones and I give thanks for His work in us.

And apparently He still desires to stretch us more......He has put the desire in our hearts to grow our family. I have posted on this before as we began to discuss it, actually about 2 years ago. I don't think I posted much on it until around the spring of last year when we began to talk with more commitment in our hearts.

Several years ago, 7 years to be exact, we decided that 2 was enough. Our family was very comfortable. We had the blessing of having a boy and a girl and they were a great difference in ages. We were content and saw no need to let "fate" control our situation. By-the-way, I don't believe anything in life is controlled by some kind of fate, but only by the complete sovereignty of God, Creator. So how I thought a small surgery would keep Him from completing His plan for me is so ridiculous. And I actually began to pray that God would bypass any thing we had done to prevent pregnancy. He didn't choose to. So what then?

I knew our family wasn't done and Jeff agreed. We didn't really know what that meant though, adoption or fostering. We have been working through this decision for almost a year and we have had many stages to go through. We had a time of being still, and of waiting for God. We have had a time of research and anticipation. It has all culminated to a clear direction from Him that it is time.

And so.....we are in the very early stages of beginning an adoption. We are looking at a domestic private adoption. We have a specific financial goal we are trying to meet before we enter into a contract to begin the actual process of adoption. If you want to know 'why domestic' look back at my post in Aug. where I describe the lessons I learned in Romania. Also, God said so :).

Please pray for us as we are anxious to get this adventure started but know there are things to take care of first.

By the way, God may have said no to bypassing our mistake, but He has made clear why: a child exist or will exist that will not have what he/she needs unless someone says "we have room for you". That is the heart of our family; we have room.

Why Christmas Means So Much To Me

I have wanted to write so much more about Christmas than I have had time to. My heart is drawn to Christ during this time, more so than any other. I have found myself thinking more and more of Him who we celebrate. But, the thing I have thought most about is the fact that we barely celebrate Him at all.



If you took a survey about Christmas, especially among Christians, you would hear that it is the season in which we celebrate His birth. Yet, so much of the things going on around me have very little to do with Him.



It saddens me.

I have kids and I get so excited about buying them things. I look forward to seeing them showered with gifts on Christmas morning. We talk alot about their wish list almost daily and I'm so thankful for a time when I can focus on them in a way I'm not able to other times of the year.



But, what does any of that have to do with Christ?



Everything!!

Why do I shower them in gifts every December 25th? Is it because Santa deemed them worthy and I got the go ahead from him? Could they have possibly been good enough to earn such wealth of things? And what exactly is "good enough". What is the standard there?

I can tell you it is not because anyone deemed them good, it is not because they earned it, and it certainly is not because they met the standard of any man on this earth. I hope they never aim to meet the standards of the world. It is because I love them the way Christ loves me and it is because He gave me the greatest gift I could ever ask for........His life.

You see, I could never be good enough, could never earn what I've been given, could never meet the standards set for me. But, God knew that, so He set a plan in motion to redeem me. That redemption came through Christ. It is because of that Gift that I shower my kids in gifts. I want them to understand what unearned love is like. I want them to know how to accept free gifts and then to live lives in gratitude to the giver.

This is my goal. I want to live in response to the gift I've been given. I want my children to do the same.

Please be reminded this season that there is so much more to celebrating Christmas than a man in a red suit. He is fun, but he is not eternal. He may be known for giving gifts and doing good for others, but he didn't give his life in death so that you and I could live. That is Christ and He deserves the glory!!

Here are some scriptures to help us remember what He has done for us:

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

For grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

Prayer Request for a friend

I just wanted to put a plug out there for my dear friend Emily and her incredible family, all of which are dear to us. They are nearing the end (praise God) of their adoption journey. They have one final thing that has to happen: pass the courts. In order to do that, they need a court date scheduled. Please pray that those in authority would move quickly and their hearts would continue to be stirred for the families waiting on the other side of a very big ocean for their child to come home.

2 reasons for this specific request:
1-Courts are closed all of Dec. If there's no date in November, they will have to wait until after the New Year. Readers......they have seen her face, they know her in every way possible right now. Can you imagine what it would be like to know your son or daughter is waiting for your love when you have seen her and loved her for so long already yet you can't get to her? Not a fun place to be....

2-As soon as they get a court date they can purchase airline tickets and get all the travel plans set. Beginning Dec. 1st, cost of tickets literally triple. Triple I say! We're talkin a whole new fundraiser and there isn't time for that.

So, please pray for them.

If you want the full scoop on their story go to the blog listed on my list as "Journey to Rwanda"

Thanks Friends!

It's on it's way....Let's make it count!

Psalm 16:5-6 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

Okay, I know we haven't gotten to Thanksgiving yet, but I can't help but already be in the Christmas mindset. I love Christmas. The more I get to know God and grow in my Christian faith, the more I love Christmas. I love what it does to people. For a short time it brings goodness where it's lacking, generosity where there is greed, kindness where there is hostility, patience where there is intolerance, love where there is hate. Christmas is such a testament to the One it celebrates. It makes my heart want to be more and more lined up with His as I am reminded what my life should be like. It truly is a shame that these attitudes and Christlike behaviors are only glorified for a season, and not a lifetime. I speak about myself. I wish I could be in that "celebratory attitude" of Christ ALL the time.

I don't think I realized how important Christmas is to me and my faith until I heard a very unexpected comment out of someone yesterday. Wish list were the topic of choice and I made a comment about not destroying catalogues with markings. Well the comment I made led to this response, "then Christmas is useless". Even typing that to tell this story makes my heart sad again.

Once it was said it felt as if everything I believed, my entire conviction on who Jesus is, was mocked and trampled upon. It hurt my heart so intensely that I had to call my mom and weep until the hurt had eased.

The person who said it meant no harm at all. He/she let a knee jerk response come out without really thinking about the words first. And the maturity level would not have allowed better discernment. But, in thinking about this event over the past 24 hours, it has opened my eyes to an important lesson.

Our culture does not honor the King as He deserves. It's not just the Santa issue, or greediness, or even selfishness. It's complacency.

As Christians, young or old, our lives should celebrate Him EVERY DAY we have the breath to do so. We should not have to be reminded by a calendar, a toy catalogue, a holiday gathering, or a wish list. He is not just goodness "12 days" out of the year. He is the Savior of the world, He is my Hope.

If none of us ever receive another gift as long as we live, if we never see a decorated tree, or hear sleigh bells ring, and if we never have another chance to make a wish list......let us be reminded, oh God, that You have given us your all. You are our inheritance, our portion, and our revelation. May we never forget all that we have in You and may we celebrate with our lives giving thanks in all things to the One who redeems.

Lamentations 3:24 "The Lord is my portion", says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him."

Lock-Ins, Discipleship, and New Discoveries

I have had such a blessed weekend. Nine girls just left my home after spending 2 hours listening to me give advice to them about remaining pure. I had 2 hours to share with them some of God's expectations for them and the help He has provided. I don't know if you can imagine the joy it is to be around young girls who actually listen, who actually ask for advice, and who actually may live according to that advice. I am so blessed.

I'm talking about my discipleship group. Last year, our quaint group consisted of 4 girls plus myself. I grew to love them so very much. They are my other children. My life is so enhanced by my relationship with each of them. And now we have 9! The "originals" thought it was going to be quite a challenge to open our group to newcomers, but for me it has been such blessing. They are all sharing, confirming one another, building each other up as I sit and watch, and listen, feeling so privileged to be a part of it. Oh how thankful I am to the Lord for my girls!

And the night before last, I spent the entire night with these same girls and about 20 or so other youth at a lock-in. Besides being up until 4am and then laying on a concrete floor covered with thin carpet for the next 4 hours, it too was an amazing night.

One huge blessing was my daughter Macie, who is 8 years old and up for ANY challenge. She was so much fun! She participated in everything with everyone all the way up til bedtime, which was 3am. She was full speed ahead and she was lovin' it. We talked last night before bed about how much fun we had doing it together and the memories we made. I love that I serve a church that ministers to my whole family and allows us to serve as a whole unit. My husband and son were there as well but couldn't stay the night because of illness. (Sorry Codyman!)

The discovery that I made was how much I love young girls. At one point in the night, around 3:30 am, I was sitting on the floor and began to notice the pile of young girls circled around me in balls sound asleep, 2 of which had their heads in my lap. There were 3 grades represented among those girls and I adore all of them.

In the past 5 months or so, God has woven together relationships in my life, and I'm not really sure how it has happen, but I am so grateful for it! They have sorta just happened and I am realizing that God has a plan here. (Because I don't believe anything just happens) I'm seeing that girls really need someone to rely on, someone to trust, someone to love them unconditionally. I'm not always reliable, and I mess up sometimes, um, a lot of times, but I do love them unconditionally.

I'm discovering that I want more of this. I want more girls to love on, to encourage, to tell the truth to. I want a bigger audience to hear what God is teaching me. I believe He is creating these relationships in my life to give me more opportunities to share who He is and how He loves them like nobody on earth ever could.

So, I'm praying for direction. I'm praying that God will equip me to point them all to Him. I'm praying He will grow my boundaries and dissolve my limitations and use me in the lives of the girls of our youth group. And I'm praying that I not fail to be obedient to Him.