My, My, My...

This little cutie says it all!... God is faithful and God is still good!

Called to Help!

In January, Ryan and I took about 30 college students to Passion.Passion is a college aged conference that held over 40000 people! Out of those 40000 people, we break up into small groups. Those small groups consisted of about 8-10 people. In my totally random, find two strangers, make a group, small group, I met Rebekah and Will. They happened to be adopting from Ethiopia! (love it!!-Thanks God!!) They had just gotten their referral for a two month old baby boy they named Israel. Fast forward to April, and they have gotten all the clearances they need and are going to pick up baby Israel!! They leave very soon and are doing some last minute fundraising. The flights to Ethiopia are EXPENSIVE!!!

 If you want to help them chip away at the costs, head on over to Rebekah's blog and buy some of her super cute stuff!!! Here is the link : Saying Yes to Adoption

Here is a sneak preview of some of the items she is selling:
Hurry though! She is shipping on Friday!

Coasters- $10

Tukula Purses:

Navy/Maroon/Yellow Wristlets (1 available) $12

Wreaths $25

Remember, not everyone is called to ADOPT.

 BUT every believer IS called to do something. This small little act could be your something!

Training Date!

For our foster care licensing, we have to get two full days of more training. We finally got an email with our first date! On May 9th, we will get our first day of training! I am working on finding the second half either before that date, or shortly after. Whenever we have two days of training finished then we can schedule our home study!!! After the home study we will be licensed and waiting on the phone calls!!! We are praying to have all of this finished by the end of May!

Email Updates!

Good News! I finally got the blogspot "gadget" that will send email updates to my friends without blogs!! If you would like to keep up with this lovely little blog, then this for you!! I know y'all just can't wait for that! Haha. But seriously, if you want email updates just enter your email address over on the right side of the screen and click submit.

Thanks :)

That point.

Today I have reached that point. The point of control over my situation. I have exhausted very option to get a baby. There is no other "process" I can start to get closer to having a baby. I am dossier ready for an Ethiopian baby. I have done all of the stuff on our side for foster care. There is nothing left to do but wait. I have no more control.  

"There were scars before my scars
Love written on the hands that hung the stars
Hope living in the blood that was spilled for me
Ohh control. It's time. Time to let you go.
Control. It's time. Time to let you go."

Common Thread

Something freeing and exciting happened this weekend... I found my design motto. “The common thread in your décor is YOU!”. I read this on a blog and I was immediately sold. It’s perfect. Everything doesn’t have to match; in fact it doesn’t even have to make any sense. As long as all the pieces are things you love, it will work! I have been on a décor frenzy the last few days. I got some awesome chairs, a beautiful rug, a great ceramic elephant, and some pretty glass bottles! All for under $100! Here are some pics….

Love. Love. Love!

Announcing...

In November 2010 I got the baby bug. I wanted a baby, but I wanted to do foster care. Ryan wasn't super excited about it and honestly did not really care to do it. He knew it was something I truly wanted to do and he was supportive. So we started contacting agencies and found our match. We were eligible to foster through Theraputic Family Life. We started the paperwork process. Things were not going smooth. Everything we attempted to do just didnt work out. Looking back it was obvious that God was moving in us to get us to our Ethiopian adoption. I don't remember how it happend, but for some reason the foster care plan came to an end. We just didn't do it. We did start our adoption and you guys all know that story!
We found out a day before we were DTE that our agency had increased the wait time for referral to 18-24 months. This was a blow to us. However, it was also an unexpected reopened door. Ryan actually said we could start the foster care process again. He was 100% on board with it this time!

Everything about this go round has been different. Our paperwork is about finished, we have done our fingerprints (again!), we have completed our CPR/1st Aid training, and we have gotten our reference letters (again!). We are just waiting on our training (again!), and our home study (yep-again!).
We have been working on this stuff for about a month. It is flying by and our prayer is that we are licensed for emergency foster care by the end of May.

Our PLAN is (we know how well those work...) to be a family for a baby that needs a place to stay for a short time. Maybe until they get a permanent foster family, or maybe a just break from mom and dad. Really I don't know what this will actually look like. All I know is I am super excited and getting ready for a baby!!

This weekend my mom and I went out to our church's garage sale and to a few children's consignment shops. We had a great time and it was sooo unreal to be really preparing for a baby!! We didn't buy much because we have set pretty big age parameters. We are getting licensed for 0-4 years old, boy or girl! I did buy a bunch of cute girl clothes that I am currently washing right now!!

I have been hesitant to mention our new plan because I have been nervous it will fall through again. We are getting so close now that I don't mind sharing. If God has other plans for us this summer, we are open to it. But as of right now, we are planning to be welcoming children into our home!!  Please join me in praying it all works out!!

Request!

One of my besties is in the process of adopting domestically. They started their process right after we did ours. There was even a little talk about them adopting from Ethiopia too! However, God had different plans for them. They finished all their paperwork around February, and have been waiting for THE call since then! I know it doesn't seem like a long time, but "most" people we know or hear about get "the call" within the first few weeks. So it was a little sad at first, but then God occupied their minds with a mission trip to Ethiopia!! They have been getting prepared for the trip and staying busy, and  today they GOT THE CALL! There is a PRECIOUS little boy who is ready for adoption! My friends accepted the call.

If your like me you think that is it! But, it isn't! In this type of adoption apparently you get the chance say if you would want to adopt the baby. Then, they also ask other families if THEY would adopt the baby. So all these waiting families have an opportunity and deadline to accept the call. Then if they do, someone (IDK who?) will look through all the families and decide which family they think is the best match for the baby! Now, I might be totally off here. From what I understand that is how this works....

I have two reasons for blogging about their adoption. One because I am ooooooh so excited for them!! I almost started crying when she told me they got the call! Everything about this baby is just PERFECT for them!!! I am sooo happy and hopeful!!  Then, two because nothing is final yet! They have to get chosen to be this little boy's family. I want you to join with me to pray for God to allow my friends to become the parents of this little boy!!! God is good!! Pray that whoever is doing the selection will know without a doubt that they are his parents!! Lets lift up this family and pray that this waiting period is quick so they can get their sweet boy home!

Thanks :)

The Eye...

We had a fantastic Easter weekend. It was seriously one of the best! We had Secret Church (obviously lol) on Friday. Ryan and I got to spend alllll day together Saturday, and then we ended the night with dinner with my family. It had been awhile since we were all together! Then Sunday we went to church and then had lunch with Ryan's family. The beautiful weather all weekend was the cherry on top!

Yesterday was apparently National Siblings Day...

My Oldest Little Brother, Patrick. My hubz <3. Yours Truly. My baby brother, Jack. 

B.I.L's GF, Mandy. Brother-In-Law, Michael. Me. Hubz!

It's been awhile since I had an adoption update. Or at least I feel like it has. Today we got to move up one spot on the wait list! WooHoo!! #82!! I was a little more excited than I expected to be!

That is all that is new on the adoption front. Not much just waiting!

I was telling my bestie last night on our way home from our monthly bunco party, that I feel like we are in the eye of a tornado. Everything is very calm and quiet, but I feel the wind stirring around me. I feel like we are about to be sucked out of the calm and thrown into the storm. However, I think this is going to be a GOOD storm. Stay tuned for future developments!!!

Secret Church: The Cross and Suffering Part 5

Finally conclusions...

Remember...

This is NOT a complete outline. Some of this stuff might not make sense in this context. These are just PIECES of the outline and study that I underlined and thought were good! 


"God is the highest good of reasonable creature, and the enjoyment of him is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows. But the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean." Johnathan Edwards

There is nothing which shows our ignorance so much as our impatience under trouble. We forget that every cross is a message from god, and intended to do us good in the end. Trials are intended to make us think- to wean us from the world- to send us to the Bible- to drive us to our knees. Health is a good thing but sickness if far better if it leads us to God. Prosperity is a great mercy; but adversity is a greater one if it brings us to Christ. Anything, anything is better than living in carelessness and dying in sin. JC Ryle

We are different from violent criminals in degree, not in kind.

A humble view of man- his sinful depravity and small perspective- is essential for understanding suffering in your life and in this world.

God permitted sin and suffering in the world ultimately in order to make Good Friday a reality.

This ultimate reason we have suffering in the world: to exalt the glory of God's grace through the suffering of God's Son for the salvation of undeserving sinners. 

Satan intends every type of suffering to sabotage us.
God intends every type of suffering to sanctify us.

The completion of the Great Commission will include great suffering, but eternity will prove it was worth the price!!

The claim of Christ...
I am coming soon!
The cry of the church...
Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!




Secretchurch.org
Radical.net
prayforthehorn.com

Secret Church: The Cross and Suffering Part 4

Ending the New Testament... This might be a little more spread out. It was after midnight when we got to his part and I was having a little difficulty focusing!

This is NOT a complete outline. Some of this stuff might not make sense in this context. These are just PIECES of the outline and study that I underlined and thought were good!  

Satan's strategies to stop the church ultimately serve to spread the church.

They believed in the power of the gospel of God.

Proclamation of the gospel will always be challenged in this world.
Proclamation of the gospel will always be costly in your life.
Are you willing to go wherever He leads?
Are you willing to give whatever He asks?
Are you willing to sacrifice everything to finish the assignment He gives?
Proclamations of the gospel will always necessitate confidence in God's sovereignty.

Christ suffered to accomplish salvation.
We suffer to spread salvation.

The Reward of Suffering...
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw taht the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. Hebrews 11:23-26

Will we embrace our comfort, or will we embrace the cross?
Let's go with Jesus to the...
Dirty places
Despised places.
Dangerous places.
Will we live for pleasure in this world or paradise in the world to come?
The best earthly security is ultimately insecure.
The bottom line: It's worth it!

We learn to live for His reward.
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

Faith  that perseveres is prayerful in sorrow.
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently taht it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. James 5:13-18

Jesus deserves ultimate praise.
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you ahve made them a kingdom and priests to our God and they shall reign on the earth." Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering a myraid of myraids and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might honor and glory and blessing!" And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying" To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped. Revelation 5: 81-14

Secret Church: The Cross and Suffering Part 3

Now on to the New testament...

This is NOT a complete outline. Some of this stuff might not make sense in this context. These are just PIECES of the outline and study that I underlined and thought were good!  


Jesus has done what no one else has ever done or will ever do: He has resisted temptation fully and conquered sin completely. !!

We may not be certain of the cause of our suffering, but we can always be confident in the purpose of our suffering.

The reality we must face...
The danger of our lives increases in proportion to the depth of our relationship with Christ.
The question we must ask...
Do we really want to be like Jesus???

Jesus is Lord over sin, suffering, and Satan. 

"O death, where is your victory? O death where is your sting?" the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

Jesus is Lord over you and me.

But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is the word of faith, that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is the Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.- Romans 10:8-10

^^ That my friends is how you obtain salvation. It is a two part process. One without the other is incomplete and results in eternity in Hell. You must confess with your mouth that Jesus is the LORD and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. He has to become LORD of your life. It is not enough to simply believe in God. Even the devil believes in God and he is most certainly not going to be spending eternity in Heaven. You must surrender your life to Jesus and allow him to become the leader and Lord of your life. It is worth it I promise!! :)

Secret Church: The Cross and Suffering Part 2

Finishing up the Old Testament from Secret Church with David Platt.

This is NOT a complete outline. Some of this stuff might not make sense in this context. These are just PIECES of the outline and study that I underlined and thought were good!  

The Redeemer...

He seeks the outcast as his family.

"With goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack??- A.W. Tozer

He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. They turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world. Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen. Job 37:11-13

Possible Questions to Ask in the Middle of Suffering...

• What areas of my faith are being refined through this suffering?
• What is God revealing about Himself through this suffering?
• How can I rely on God more as a result of my suffering?
• What sin(s) do I need to repent of and renounce as a result of my suffering?
• How can this suffering drive me to find deeper reward in God?

Confidence Amidst Suffering...Psalm 27

Do we find God useful for our circumstances, or do we find Him glorious regardless of circumstances?

Suffering drives us to God's Word.
To learn it.
To believe it.
To obey it.
To love it.

"I never had in all my life so great an inlet into the Word of God as now [in prison]. The Scriptures that I saw nothing in before are made in this place to shine upon me. Jesus Christ also was never in before are made in this place to shine upon me. Jesus Christ also was never more real and apparent than now. Here I have seen him and felt him indeed. ... I have seen such thing here that I am persuaded I shall never while in this world be able to express. ... Being very tender to me, God hath not suffered me to be molested, but would with one scripture and another strengthen me against all; insomuch that I have often said, were it lawful I could pray for greater trouble for the greater comfort's sake." John Bunyan

Remember my afflictions and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to and end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." Lamentations 3:19-24

"The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust- there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of this steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. Lamentations 3:25:33

"When we see this love at work through the heart of Hosea we may wonder if God is really like that. But everything in the Word and in experience shows us that He is. He will give man the tress of the forest and the iron in the ground. Then He will give to man the brains to make an axe from the iron to cut down a tree and fashion it into a cross. He will give man the ability to make a hammer and nails, and when man has the cross and the hammer and the nails, the Lord will allow man to take hold of Him and bring Him to that cross, and in doing so will take the sins of man upon Himself and make it possible for those who have despised and rejected Him to come unto Him and know the joy of sins removed and forgiven, to know the assurance of pardon and eternal life, and to enter in the prospect of the hope of glory with Him forever. This is even our God, and there is none like unto Him." Donald Grey Barnhouse

God's capacity to forgive is greater than our capacity to sin.

God uses painful experiences to accomplish His sovereign purposes.

God is our satisfaction.
God is our strength.
God is our victory!
Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor the fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength, he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. Habakkuk 3:17-19

Sin is too subtle in us.
Sin is too seductive to us.
Sin is too strong for us.
We are desperate for a Savior!

The problem of evil and suffering in the world is ultimately a problem with people's heart.
Only Jesus can change the hearts of evil people. 
Therefore, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus is the foremost fundamental, necessary, nonnegotiable way to address evil and suffering in the world. 

THE GOSPEL IS THE ANSWER. 

 

Secret Church: The Cross and Suffering Part 1

I can't imagine a better way honoring Good Friday than spending 7 hours going through the entire book of the bible. Yes, it is extreme. Yes, it is odd. Yes, it is amazing! Seriously, I left last Nov. wanting more, and I left last night wanting more. Hungry for God's truth. I am going to type up some of the things I underlined. I am doing this for me to process what I experienced last night. I am doing this for you in case you missed it and what to know Why there is suffering?!

This is NOT a complete outline. Some of this stuff might not make sense in this context. These are just PIECES of the outline and study that I underlined and thought were good! 

Mystery: An assumed truth which the human mind cannot comprehend but which we accept by faith.

"Where are the men and women of this generation who will hold their lives cheap, and be faithful even unto death, who will lose their lives for Christ's, flinging them away for love of him? Where are those who will live dangerously, and be reckless in this service?"- Howard Guinness

"Believing that further delay would be sinful, some of God's insignificant and nobodies in particular, but trusting in our Omnipotent God, have decided on certain simple lines, according to the Book of God, to make a definite attempt to render the evangelization of the world an accomplished fact. ... Too long have we been waiting for one another to begin! The time for waiting is past! The hour of God has struck! In God's holy name let us arise and build!  We will not build on the sand, but on the bedrock sayings of Christ, and the gates and minions of hell shall not prevail against us. Should such men as we fear? Before the whole world, aye, before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless, namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God, we will venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only in our God than live trusting in man.  And when we come to this position the battle is already won, and then of the glorious campaign in sight. We will have the real Holiness of God, not the sickly stuff to talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts; we will have a Masculine Holiness, one of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ.

Example of Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility:
When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.  Psalms 105: 16-17
The responsibility of man cannot be ignored.
The will of God cannot be thwarted. 

We have a Lord who is WITH us.
God is with you in your exaltation.
God is with you in your humiliation.


God's providence is only the foundation for embracing life's pain.

God takes evil and turns it into good.
God takes suffering and turns it into satisfaction.

God is ever-present.
"But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" He said, "But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you; when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve god on this mountain." Exodus 3:11-12

Were all human beings suddenly to become blind, still the sun would shine by day and the stars by night, for these owe nothing to the millions who benefit from their light. So were every man on earth to become atheist, it could not affect God in any way. He is what He is in Himself without regard to any other. To believe in Him adds nothing to His perfections; to doubt Him takes nothing away." - A.W. Tozer

He is God!

Old Testament: Blessings and Curses.
God promises blessing for obedience.
"And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and bless shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and  your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out." Deuteronomy 28:1-6

God pronounces curses for disobedience.
"If you are are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sickness grievous and lasting. And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will bring upon you, until you are destroyed. Whereas you were numerous as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God. Ans as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it." Deuteronomy 28: 58-63

New Testament: The Cross and the Curse.

• We are under the curse of God's law.
• Christ came under the curse of God's judgement.
• We can stand within the grasp of God's grace.
• We can ignore the curse.
• We can work to overcome the curse.
• We can embrace the curse and run to the cross!!

Again...This is NOT a complete outline. Some of this stuff might not make sense in this context. These are just PIECES of the outline and study that I underlined and thought were good!  

It is finished.

Last year was my first Easter to actually understand what all was going on. My eyes were opened to the sacrifice Jesus made for ME. This year is no different. I still am so new to this and can't believe this is what happened.

Ryan showed this video at The Cellar on Wednesday and I thought it was perfect.

Once and for all

Once and for all
You offered up Your life
For one and all
For one and all
The perfect sacrifice
Atoning blood was shed
Love conquered when You said...

It is finished
It is done
To the world salvation comes
Hallelujah, we're alive!
Hell was silenced when You cried:
It is finished
It is finished

Who is this king
Who is this king
So mighty and so strong
He is the one
He is the one
The earth has waited for
God's remedy for sin
With mercy for all men

It is finished
It is done
To the world salvation comes
Hallelujah, we're alive!
Hell was silenced when You cried:
It is finished
It is finished

Well the earth shook and trembled
The sun bowed it's head
The veil of the temple was open for men
As Jesus went down in the cold of the grave
Defeated the darkness when He overcame
The keys of the Kingdom were placed into hands
Of children and priests and of fishers of men
Through all generations His voice will be heard
Creation resounds the victorious words!

It is finished
It is done
To the world salvation comes
Hallelujah, we're alive!
Hell was silenced when you cried:
It is finished
It is done
Now completed, the work of Love
Hallelujah, He's alive
Join the song of the ransomed Bride
It is finished
It is finished
It is finished!

Goodnight Tree Hill!

Oh the end. What a great ending to a great series. One Tree Hill has been my jam for as long as me and Ryan have been together. There were a few seasons I didn't see live because we lost the CW, but one summer in college I caught up via two episodes a day!! I really don't think there is an episode I haven't seen. NINE SEASONS! Wow. In honor of a great show ending....

I thought this was the perfect ending!

This song will always take me back to highschool and One Tree Hill!