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Revelation 3: 7-8 "What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open. I know your deeds, see I have placed you before an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and not denied my name."
Monday, February 20, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday Feb 19th, 2012
The Journey is The Blessing
Something occured to me this weekend....something that I so often forget.
In busy everyday life...and with our own selfish desires...its so easy to overlook.
The journey.
Defined as: The act of traveling from one place to another. A passage from place to place.
How quick are we to FOCUS on what we want?
Even if we what we want is a good and noble thing...we tend to want what we want, when we want it.
Demanding that life treat us fairly and abide by our rules.
We are so determined to reach our destination that we so often forget to stop...
breath...
be still...and enjoy the journey along the way.
Friends...I want to share with you the blessing we received this weekend.
We have stories to tell, stories that provide wisdom about the journey of life. What more have we to give one another than our 'truth' about our human adventure as honestly and as openly as we know how?
Faith isn't the ability to believe long and far into the misty future.
It's simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step.
- Joni Erickson Tada
It's simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step.
- Joni Erickson Tada
On Monday we started looking at plane tickets for our trip to Virginia. As you can imagine flights were pretty expensive due to the fact that we were looking to travel in just 4 days and it was a holiday weekend. The cheapest flights we could find were around $700-900 each...and we needed 3 tickets! Each night we would check the rates again and as you could probably guess...the prices were increasing. We prayed each night asking God what we should do, that He would lead us and open doors for us. We were eager to buy tickets but knew we could not afford them at that price. Thursday afternoon we decided we would just make the drive to Va...afterall it was only a 10 hour drive. Before bed on Thursday we decided to check flights one final time. To our surprise we found 3 tickets for $230 each!!!! We immediately started to book them, filling out the forms online as quickly as we could in hope that this wasn't a scam! Cole decided the computer was taking too long and he didnt want to risk losing these flights at this price so he called the airline directly. The woman on the other end proceeded in telling us that it was impossible. That those tickets simply did not exist in her system and confirmed that the cheapest seats she had were several hundred dollars more. Cole got off the phone and we continued with the transaction online. Clinging to the end of our chairs...hoping it wasnt some fluke....to our surprise...the transaction went through. We both just looked at each other...neither of us saying a word....and knowing with all of our heart that God provided those tickets. Tears swelled up in my eyes and Cole just smiled and said to me, "God is so good....no doubt He is in control."
Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Upon getting to Virginia we promptly received a phone call from a translator...a woman I have never met...eagerly awaiting to meet us and help us in any way she could. We picked up our rental car and headed straight to meet her. She greeted us with a warm embrace and offered to get to work for us right away. At this point we hadnt made any reservations or thought much about all that our trip would entail. But that was no problem....we were quickly offered a place to stay out in the country. A cozy, quiet cottage on a horse/cattle farm. All of our needs were met and taken care of during our stay. We pulled up to the cottage right around sunset and as we stared out into the horizon we took in all of God's beauty around us...feeling so blessed just to be alive...and to be on this journey. The mountains were majestic underneath the glow of the pink and orange sunset...all shouting "Look at us!!!! You are His creation and He has made this for your pleasure!!!"
We were greeted by a Pastor's son, Josh and his daughter, Ro Ro....again...complete stranger's. He warmly welcomed us and gave us a quick tour of where we would be staying. After talking with him for an hour or so we couldnt help thinking how awesome God is and how amazing it is the way He brings His children together.
Cole said to Josh, "We can't help being in awe of God's goodness...here we just show up on your doorstep and you give us the keys to a place on your property...God's grace and mercy are just unbelievable." Addie quickly made a new "bff" and they proceeded to be inseperable for the rest of the wknd. We went from complete strangers...to loving each other in a powerful way...saddened by having to leave by the end of the weekend.
The blessings continued on throughout the weekend.
Each moment became cherished in my heart and in my mind.
We dont know what the outcome will be...or where the road will lead us....
we dont even know where the destination is anymore.
God showed us this weekend....He loves us.
He cares for us, He has a way and He is in control.
We just have to believe and trust.
Follow in obedience.
He will provide.
Joy will be ours from having front row seats along this journey...
no matter where it leads!!
To Him be the Glory!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Monday Feb 6th, 2012
Hebrews 10:39
"But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."
Cole and I got married and like any other young couple had our 5 year plan, our 10 year plan....and so on and so forth. We had spreadsheets, and timelines, and hopes and dreams of how our new life together would play out. Two children...a boy and a girl...of course. We started saving for college for both of them right away. We even planned out their future on our spreadsheet...what they would be named, how far apart they would be, how much we would spend on thier sweet 16 vehicle, where they would go to school, their wedding time frame...etc. What we didnt plan for was the fact that we would be unable to control God's plan for our life!
As many of you know we have been blessed with a beautiful 6 year old little girl. Addison. She is our joy and our love for her is unmeasurable and undescribable by mere words. Oh how we have longed for a second child...and she has longed to have a sibling. Over the past 5 years we have tried and tried to make this dream of ours come true. We have prayed, and begged, and pleaded with God. We have cried and hoped. Every month I have eagerly awaited for "that time of the month" to come and go....just so we could try again the next month. We have been to doctors and they have tested us in just about every way possible. We have bought ovaulation watches, and ovulation tests, we have tried thermometers and supplements, and tried all of the crazy advice given to us by all the fertile parents out there. We have tried "not trying" .... we have gotten fat, and been lazy, taken vacations, and tried being less "stressed" all in hopes for getting pregnant. Over the past 5 years we have had several miscarriages. We have watched all of our friends have baby, after baby, after baby. There is just something about being a woman...and not being able to carry a child...that makes you feel pretty defeated and useless. As the years went by and each month became another reminder that I was not going to get pregnant we came to the realization that we had to let go of our plans...we just had to let them go. Finally...last year....we started to consider adoption.
After several International trips and seeing the real need these countries have for basic things: water, food, shelter, protection....love....there was no denying...God had a better plan for our life!!! Seeing the poverty and loving on these kids...man, it just makes you want to adopt them all!!! International adoption is without a doubt where our heart is and where we have felt led to move forward.
Psalm 10:14, 17-18 "You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may oppress no more."
So this is where our journey begins...we have spent the past 6 months truly seeking God about this adoption. We spent the last few months working with All Gods Children and were denied by them last week due to the nature of Cole's job. Last night we applyed for adoption thru the Bethany Christian Services, Adoption Agency.
We ask for your prayers and for your support. We do not expect this to be easy...in fact we expect it to be one of the most challenging endeavors of our life. We will need your prayers. The Lord promises that wherever two or more gather in His name that He will be right there amongst us! What a promise!! We hold firm to the promises of His word and we know that no matter what His answer or what the outcome of any situation is....He is right there with us every step of the way! He will sustain us, He will encourage us, He will protect us, He will comfort us...God is so good all of the time. In a World that is so lost, so fallen, and so seperated from Truth ... He shines bright.
"But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."
Cole and I got married and like any other young couple had our 5 year plan, our 10 year plan....and so on and so forth. We had spreadsheets, and timelines, and hopes and dreams of how our new life together would play out. Two children...a boy and a girl...of course. We started saving for college for both of them right away. We even planned out their future on our spreadsheet...what they would be named, how far apart they would be, how much we would spend on thier sweet 16 vehicle, where they would go to school, their wedding time frame...etc. What we didnt plan for was the fact that we would be unable to control God's plan for our life!
As many of you know we have been blessed with a beautiful 6 year old little girl. Addison. She is our joy and our love for her is unmeasurable and undescribable by mere words. Oh how we have longed for a second child...and she has longed to have a sibling. Over the past 5 years we have tried and tried to make this dream of ours come true. We have prayed, and begged, and pleaded with God. We have cried and hoped. Every month I have eagerly awaited for "that time of the month" to come and go....just so we could try again the next month. We have been to doctors and they have tested us in just about every way possible. We have bought ovaulation watches, and ovulation tests, we have tried thermometers and supplements, and tried all of the crazy advice given to us by all the fertile parents out there. We have tried "not trying" .... we have gotten fat, and been lazy, taken vacations, and tried being less "stressed" all in hopes for getting pregnant. Over the past 5 years we have had several miscarriages. We have watched all of our friends have baby, after baby, after baby. There is just something about being a woman...and not being able to carry a child...that makes you feel pretty defeated and useless. As the years went by and each month became another reminder that I was not going to get pregnant we came to the realization that we had to let go of our plans...we just had to let them go. Finally...last year....we started to consider adoption.
Psalm 10:14, 17-18 "You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may oppress no more."
So this is where our journey begins...we have spent the past 6 months truly seeking God about this adoption. We spent the last few months working with All Gods Children and were denied by them last week due to the nature of Cole's job. Last night we applyed for adoption thru the Bethany Christian Services, Adoption Agency.
We ask for your prayers and for your support. We do not expect this to be easy...in fact we expect it to be one of the most challenging endeavors of our life. We will need your prayers. The Lord promises that wherever two or more gather in His name that He will be right there amongst us! What a promise!! We hold firm to the promises of His word and we know that no matter what His answer or what the outcome of any situation is....He is right there with us every step of the way! He will sustain us, He will encourage us, He will protect us, He will comfort us...God is so good all of the time. In a World that is so lost, so fallen, and so seperated from Truth ... He shines bright.
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