I am very joyful today y'all. Joyful in the blessings the Lord keeps pouring out and filling the holes in my sometimes doubtful heart.
A few days ago we received a wonderful surprise blessing that just brought me to tears. Not just because of the blessing itself, but because people are getting it. They are getting what we are doing for the orphan, not that this is something we are just selfishly doing for ourselves, but are wanting to be a part of what God calls us all to do. This just warms my heart. I want others to do something, not just for our adoption, but wherever God calls them.
So many of you, friends, give us the encouragement and blessings we need just at the right time. So many of you have blessed us with your gifts, your necklace purchases, and most importantly your prayers to our Father and his plan for the child or children that will be adopted into our home. I just don't even know how to express how much this means, and how grateful we are that you are supporting us and you get what our God commands, and that is to care for the least of these.
Nothing gives me more joy then to bless others who are adopting, or are in missions, or are in need, and to have our future children be on the receiving end of that right now is just so very special.
We still have a long way to go, but big things are coming, and I hope to announce one of them in the next week.
Brother and Sister through adoption not just into our family, but more importantly into God's....unconditional love shown here
** Side note ** We have sold out of our first order of necklaces, but have more coming very soon. Thank you friends who have been selling for us, but most importantly spreading the word about the least of these, and we will have more very soon. Let me know if you would like one; they are absolutely breathtaking pieces of work!
Please hear me when you read this. I do not come to you from a high place of preaching, nor do I come to you with this in a place of judgment.
I come to you from a place of longing to teach, a place of peace and understanding, a place of passion, and a place of unselfishness like I have never known before.
And most importantly I come to you from a place of biblical truth.
Three groups come up time and time again in the bible and I don’t believe it is because God was trying to fill up space on a page.
Just to list some: James 1:27, Deuteronomy 10: 17-18, Jeremiah 22:3, Psalm 10:14, Psalm 82:3
There is a new prayer I have adapted in my life and it is simply this. “Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours.”
We have learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names…before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do everything changes. Elena Jenyfer, DOB 3/7/07...days old here, and an orphan no more
Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours.
Every 2.2 seconds a child becomes an orphan.
Moses Girum DOB 5/4/2009, 2 months old, an orphan no more.....
Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours.
The Christian’s involvement in orphan care is not optional. We ALL must do something, and not just once so we can say we played our part, but continually. (See James 1:27)
Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours.
It just doesn't matter what career ladders we have climbed, or money we have saved, or gadgets we have owned, or huge homes and churches we have built, or how many sporting events our kids were in or awards we have won, but it will matter what we have done for the least of these.
Lord, Break my heart for what breaks yours.
There are children living in unthinkable, unimaginable places, orphanages that are understaffed, not enough beds,diapers, and food and they are dying. A majority of them dying alone and without love. Without the physical touch that we all desire from the second we are born. My friend, Linny, just recently loved on a 7 month old baby girl who was very sick. Her arm was the size of Linny’s thumb and she died. That is just one out of the millions that are suffering. I so badly want to go and love on them, and hope I can.
Lord, Break my heart for what breaks yours.
I can’t adopt every single 147 million orphans (I would if I could!), and adoption isn’t the only answer. My family is seeking what else we can do beside adopt the ones the Lord calls to our family; are you?
Lord, Break my heart for what breaks yours.
Jesus lived a life of servitude, and died for us who more times than not serve ourselves. I can’t do it anymore, and things are going to change. Besides our next adoption, my family is seeking God’s wisdom on what else we can do. Will you join us? Will you step up and serve the least of these; the heart of our God? I hope so.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.
I posted this link quite awhile ago, and I want to re-post it. Sometimes the things screaming in my heart are penned out much better by others than myself. No one can do it quite like Linny.
So when you read this, and I beg you to read it, please not only listen to yourself read it and be touched for the minute, but HEAR it and let it change your now and forever. Lord knows I am trying and I need to try HARDER!
Many Many things are touching my heart very deeply like never before... I feel a stirring to write about a lot of it, but cannot yet put it to words..that post may need to go on the other blog, but for now I want to share what I just read.
I have been reading in the book of Luke and as I was having just many various thoughts and emotions today I just asked the Lord to show me something with clarity when I read in my bible and this is what I read and it spoke to my heart.
Luke 8: 22-25 "Wind and Wave Obey Jesus"
Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His diciples. And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." And they launched out.
But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.
And they came to Him and awoke Him saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.
But he said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"
Where is my faith? Where is your faith?
Just now he whispered to my soul...Where is your faith daughter, do you not believe I can do this?
It is downright scary to actually start listening and doing what God asks us to do...it makes us more vulnerable than we want to be. When we start to be obiedient to what God wants for our lives the world begins to rip it apart and question it, and even we let worldly thoughts begin to break us down...
I have said I am trusting God in this journey, and I am. Although it can be difficult at times; ultimately I am trusting. I cannot believe the peace I feel with this adoption. With our last two it was hurry, hurry, hurry to the next step and at this point I haven't hurried; although a lot of days I want to, but I am waiting, and I am asking the Lord to show me HIS next step.
So as time eats away at this deadline, my faith is in Him and His plan.
A little update on where we are at in the process.
At current we have been approved to adopt with AGCI in their adoption program for Ethiopia. When we applied there was were some savings if we applied in a certain time frame. So our initial application was free, but we have to send our first payment with contracts in by May 12, 2011 or we will have to re-apply and pay $300, plus another fee that is currently being waved of over 1k.
With that being said we currently have $1,475.00 toward our goal of $7,440.00 that will need to be sent in with our contracts before MAY 12. I have not counted the Necklace fundraiser yet because we went out on a limb and ordered extra in the hopes we can sell them all. When that happens we should have around $500 more.
So what does all that mumbo jumbo mean? We still need less than $6,000.00 just in order to send in our contracts and get the paperwork process started. That is a big number to obtain in just a few weeks, but I am trusting God to provide in the way he sees fit.
Please continue to pray for us and if you feel led please feel free to give using the chip in on the side or you can still order a necklace.
I cannot say thank you ENOUGH to those who have committed to be in prayer and who have blessed us with support, but I thank you and pray for you.
Psalm 68:6
God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
Oh the heart of grace……This is something I am working on, poorly most times, but I am working on it. I will be honest; I can be one hot headed, stubborn, passionate chic; not going to lie about that. So for me, to try and take that stubborn passion and turn it into God centered grace has been a challenge to say the least.
Obviously, if you have read my blogs at all, you will note that I am extremely passionate about adoption, the orphan, the poor, and the lost, …EXTREMELY and I KNOW in some way shape or form we are all commanded to be passionate about this and continually do something about it; however you are led by God. What I pray is that you are truly seeking God’s plan in your story for the center of his heart, which is the least of these.
I touched on the emotion of our next adoption in this post not that long ago, and now I want to speak of the reaction I struggle with sometimes.
I am completely aware that the human side, the sinful nature side of us all wants to be first in everything we do. I heard not that long ago that you don’t have to teach a child to hit or be mean, it comes naturally, but we have to teach them that is sin and how to deal with it. How true that is! So going with this I am also completely aware that as we become transparent and vulnerable to others we are opening ourselves up to multitudes of judgment, and opinions, but also with that a multitude of Blessings!
With our first adoption, that had been laid on our hearts for years, it was a lot about the self fulfillment of having a family, becoming parents, but with our second and now our third it is more about following God’s will in our family, even when it seems impossible and even when we don’t do it the in the best way possible. So when those who we least expect make it hard or are non supportive or just plain don’t get it; it hurts a little. And every time it is hard not to react with my angry passion and instead go in prayer that God would use us and our adoption to touch, and to teach, and to bring him the glory.
You see I know that Satan will continue to attack us anyway he can along this path, and he will use the things he knows that will hurt us most, and I am telling you right now, as hard as it will be at times, WE ARE NOT GOING TO LET HIM WIN, and WE ARE NOT GOING TO LET HIM DEFEAT US!
We are fund raising, and we are asking, but if you don’t feel led to support us; IT’S OKAY! We are aware of the economy and we are aware of the financial struggles of everyone these days; we are experiencing it to. I told Kent the other day that I just think God is trying to use us and is putting us through this for a reason, and I just want to say that we are ready for the fight to bring the children God has planned for us home.
The things that hurt and the things that we don’t necessarily like or agree with will keep coming, and I will keep seeking God’s hand in it and asking if there is something I can learn, and if not, I am just going to forget it and pray because this is God’s story we are seeking to live out and he has the ultimate say because he is not man, and he is not bound by man’s sin. He can do what man can’t.. always.
So we ask for your prayerful support of our adoption; first and foremost. It truly means the world.
A huge THANKS to those who have ordered necklaces. Every time I felt defeated and vulnerable for asking I was blessed almost immediately with an order! Beautiful and so appreciated. We are looking at ordering extra so if you are a visual person and would like to see one before you agree to buy just let me know! (oh and I won the challenge… :) )
1 Peter 4:12-13 A Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through... Instead, be very glad-for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering...
Love this song below and felt it appropriate for me here and I hope it blesses you too….
