We're ADOPTING!!!!

It is with excitement and peace that I get to say we are adopting!!!!!  We serve a faithful God and we feel blessed that he would honor us with his presence and ask us to be parents of more children. 

I am amazed at the total paradigm shift that has happened in our hearts these 21 days.  I know it can only be of God.

I have so much to say....but where to start???

Saturday late morning when Abbi woke up her first question of the day was, "Are we adopting?"  Then, "Mom do you know the answer and just aren't telling me?"  "Maybe." I said. :)  So the girls went on a sister date and Stacy and I sat down to talk. 

If you've been reading our blog maybe it's seemed obvious to you, and if I'm honest from the beginning I felt like this idea of adoption would become a reality.  But it seemed like such a hard decision.  Not the adopting.  That part is easy.  But to lay down our will and give up our American ways of thinking and be DIFFERENT.  That, my friends was the struggle.

And as we struggled God changed our hearts and our perspective, and there has been so much peace.

So when the girls came home they were besides themselves to know the answer.  I, being the faithful wife, thought it would be best if Stacy told them. 

And so in a monotone voice he said something like this, "Well we think it seems inevitable that we will adopt someday......"  He also said some other stuff but in the meantime I was thinking in my head, "Your killing me Smalls!"  And then I said, "Girls this is such a great picture and reminder of how guys are different from us."

Well Faith was jumping up and down even though he hadn't really said anything and Abbi being ever so blunt screamed, "Will you just spit it out! Are we or are we not adopting?!!!"

I could handle it no more.  I finally just said, "Yes. We are adopting!!!!!"

Let the screaming be heard through all the dirt fields. :)

Stay tuned.  The fast may be over but the game has just begun.  (Sorry for another sports metaphor.  I can't help myself.)

Tomorrow I want to tell you about all the other signs around us we passed as God led us to this conclusion....We're ADOPTING!!!!!

Candie

God at Halftime

Remember how I said that God will show us his will and that often times we are too busy to see the signs pointing to Him?  I have to say that these three weeks have been an overwhelming time of God revealing himself to us. 

Friday Abbi had a basketball game and during halftime there is a talk given to the fans.  This time when the girls left the court they shut the door to the gymnasium.  "CLUNK"  Anyone who knows me or has sat with my for any amount of time knows that I'm a one-liner girl who really tries to behave.  But I somehow manage to always throw a side comment around.  Now mind you, I'm not saying malicious things.  For instance after I heard the door clunk I said to Stacy, "Oh boy they really don't want us leaving!  We're stuck!  Let me out!!!!"  Got it?  Just juvenile stuff like that. 

So imagine to my surprise when the referee was the speaker and she said, "I'm the pinch hitter tonight."  (Did I mention Stacy and I have been baseball and fastpitch coaches?  We get that language.)  And the ref had our attention.

Guess what she wanted to talk about?

Unconditional love that we should be giving to those around us.

Guess what else she talked about?  Adoption.  Yep.  Is anyone surprised by this if you've been reading our blog? 

Didn't think so.

So while the ref talked about how she adopted 2 kids who are African American and how proud she was of that fact, Faith elbowed me in the side.

And then when she told us that her sister adopted 3 kids from different countries, Faith elbowed my in the side.

And when she told us that her brother adopted a son, Faith elbowed me. 

3 siblings adopting 6 kids......

By now my side was sore and I began to think that the door that is never closed during halftime was slammed shut by God.  And I had a picture that he was in Heaven saying, "Got them now."

But it's only Friday and we still have another day to fast.  Maybe we'll really hear from Him on Saturday. :)

Abbi's Dream

Jesus loves the little children of the world.  He is not a God who is reserved for adults who can intellectually converse about the finer points of Christianity.  He is a God who welcomes children into his arms.  He's their protector.  He's their Father.  He desires that they know Him.

I believe last night God had in mind to show Abbi how important she was to him.  He wanted to speak loudly to her.  He wanted to make himself known to her. 

Abbi had a dream! 

In her dream she was walking into Family Video to get a movie.  Behind her was a toddler girl wearing a white knitted winter hat and a white coat.  Abbi turned to this little girl and picked her up and said, "Sarah, which American Girl Movie do you want to watch?"

And the dream was over. 

Abbi tried to recall her face but she only remembers she was fair skinned but with some type of ethnicity that she couldn't name. 

What a fun morning the two of us had!  I should mention that Abbi is very insistent that God is telling us to adopt.  As a matter of fact she thinks we should adopt a girl from Boston.  No joke.  It's what she's been saying for weeks.

Anyone who knows Abbi knows that she is very driven.  When she gets an idea in her head....watch out!  So since Day 1 of our fast she has asked the question, "Do you think God is telling us to adopt?"  I remember looking at Stacy and thinking, "Oh gosh, this is going to be a LONG 3 weeks!"

In case you need reminding, Stacy and I have been totally content being the four of us.  Totally content to walk into the next phase of our lives.

But how ironic that the little girl in the dream was named Sarah.  The first thing that came to my mind when Abbi told me her name was the picture of Sarah in the Bible who was listening (eavesdropping) while the LORD told Abraham:

"I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."
 

What did Sarah do?  She laughed to herself as she thought:

"After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?" (They were already old and well advanced in years and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.)
 

I love the next part:

"Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, "Will I really have a child now that I am old?  Is anything too hard for the LORD?  I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son." But Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."  (Genesis 18:10-15)
 

I titled a blog "The Laugh Could be On Us" yesterday.  I'm not sure that it was prophetic, but I do think it's funny.  It's almost so funny to me that I could laugh out loud.   But I won't.

Tonight as I write this and meditate on this passage I'm struck by the fact that Sarah was afraid.  Was she afraid because she got caught laughing?  Or was she afraid because the dream she had her whole life to be the mom of a son was going to come true?  How many years did she want to be a mom?  How many months passed and her menstrual cycle testified that she would never be a mom? 

I know infertility.  I can identify.  And yet God says, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" 

I don't know if you want a baby.  I don't know if you have longed for something that has never come to pass.  But I want to encourage you.  Nothing is too hard for God. 

And tonight I apply that truth to myself.  God can give me energy and all that I need should one day I have a daughter named Sarah.

Candie

 

 

Asking for Dreams

This is the last week of the fast.  We still don't have an answer.  Mostly God has been working on our hearts.  Which is great, but now we are asking for dreams from Him.

I believe dreams are one way God talks to us.  I've often laughed in the past that sleeping is the one time God fully has my attention.  So the dream I'd like to have would look like this:  There would be a child, or baby, or children and they would be wearing a uniform with the name SHIPMAN on their back.  Or maybe it would be all of our family walking off into the sunset with matching jerseys.  A bright light could shine on this child or children.  I'm just saying...obvious would be awesome!

And so last night I had a dream.  I was telling Abbi that I had to get on a plane right away and that she would be coming right behind me in a couple of hours.  Then I got on a plane and looked out the window to the runway of our small airport in town.  And then I woke up!

When Abbi was born we all flew together to Oklahoma.  This could be a whole other blog post but suffice it to say, we flew from Washington to Oklahoma via Colorado and got to the hospital with time to spare.  Abbi's birthmom wanted me to be at her birth so badly she refused an epidural so that Abbi didn't come before I got there.  At 3:30 a.m. when Abbi came into the world the doctor asked who was to get Abbi after he cut the umbilical cord.  Jenny said, "Give her to Candie, she's her mom."  I will forever love that woman.

Anyhow, needless to say, I've thought a lot about that dream but I don't have any answers so I'm praying God reveals something to me.

Stacy had a dream the other night that he was at a home building site.  He was with an inspector who was there to inspect the foundation.  As the inspector brushed off the dirt from the foundation he revealed that it was made entirely of stone.  And he said, "Wonder why they did that?  Most people don't build a foundation out of stone."

So Stacy prayed and asked for wisdom.  When he talked to me about it we agreed that we felt God was telling us that we were building our family on a firm foundation.  Matthew 7:24-27 testifies:

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rains came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
 

As I read this verse I am convinced that 'doing' the will of God is not optional.  If I don't do what God tells me, the Bible says I am a fool.  And so tonight before I go to sleep I'll pray for dreams and wisdom to know God's will for our family.  And then I'll pray for courage to DO what he is asking us....whatever it may be.

Candie

The Laugh Could be on Us

Do you ever wonder why random thoughts show up in your brain and you can't stop thinking about them?  Maybe it's because it's single digit degrees outside.  I don't know.  But today I've been thinking about the pool/water park. 

Last year was our first summer in the cornfields and one of the perks is a water park.  We spent lots of hours on the lazy river.  It was glorious!

Now you can't see the layout of the park so let me explain.  You go through the clubhouse and the first area is the kiddie/baby area.  This is where all the new parents or parents of multiple little ones stay.  You see many pregnant moms and much younger-than-me-looking women.  Then you walk by the 3 foot pool that is for older little ones, but still mostly for parents and their kids.  Next is the lazy river with an 'island' in the middle of it.  This island is where we sit.  It's close to the lap pool and deep end with diving boards and a slide.  We can watch the girls do their pencil jumps if we feel the need.  But pretty much we just lay there and soak up the sun and read a book.

Every time we went to the pool Stacy and I would say as we walked by the baby pool, "Yep, we just get to keep walking.  Bye-bye babies."  Or we would say, "Thank God we aren't in this section!"  Or, "Aren't those the good times...strollers...umbrellas...paraphernalia."  And we would happily walk to our island with a water bottle and a small bag.  Please don't be offended.  We don't hate babies.  They are really cute.  We just were so happy to get to our lounge chairs without the worry of a drowning child!  We were free!!!!  Definitely that chapter of our lives was closed.

Yet today as I think about our walk to the island I kind of feel like the joke might be on us.  What if God tells us to adopt and we get a baby?!!!  There goes our island. 

But it's been a good chuckle for me today.  This summer I may be crying.  Just kidding....maybe.

Candie

Everyday Encounters

Today marks the fourth week that I've been sick.  Needless to say I'm not a happy camper.  And yet I wonder if God has allowed me to stay sick so that I have no energy to do life as usual?  Instead I have enough energy to think and nap and if I'm really lucky, do the dishes.  Mostly I've had time for God encounters.  I've been able to see Him in ways that most likely would have never happened with a healthy body.  So I'm choosing to be thankful tonight.

I think everyday God wants to share with us his will.  But I also think most days we are too busy to hear his will.  I love that a random thing can happen and after thinking about it, we realize that it was God.  Take for instance Stacy's encounter with an old friend today.

While getting milk at the farm tonight Stacy ran into a guy with whom he did bible study 15 years ago.  They hadn't spoken in years and yet tonight they both were getting milk for their families at the farm.  (I should mention that we haven't gone to that farm to get milk in almost a year.)  As they started talking about how we've settled in and where we were going to church "Bob" mentions that he and his wife are getting ready to go to the Philippines to bring 4 children home.  Their oldest child is 25 and the youngest at the house is 13.  And now in a couple months they will have 4 more...through adoption. 

He goes on to say that he has grandchildren and has worked at his job for 25 years.  He wonders when the next phase in life will start and when they'll stop bringing home children.  Stacy guesses he's close to 50....much older than us.  (The italics is sarcasm.  We are 44 and 45.  50 used to seem OLD, but not anymore!)

The men get their milk and go their separate ways.  Stacy gets in his truck and dials my number.  "You aren't going to believe who I just ran into...."

Coincidence or a God ordained encounter?  What do you think?

Saturday Morning Breakfast

God has been faithful to show up for breakfast during this fast and today was especially epic.  I can't think of a time where Stacy, Faith and I ate breakfast together with our Bibles open and then shared what we each had been reading.  Usually we read the newspaper and catch up on what is happening in the media, so while Abbi was sleeping in her teenage slumber, we sought after God and enjoyed his Word.

The cool thing is the thread that spoke to me.  Can you see it?

I was reading in Matthew.  Matthew 16:24-26 says:

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, "if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.  What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?  Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
 

Today I've been thinking about that cross.  I may not be headed for death carrying a cross like Christ, but what are the things in my life that I'm needing to give up?  And I saw a picture of me taking papers and nailing them to the cross.  Each paper representing what?  What do I need to give up?  What do I need to sacrifice?

Then Faith read 1 Peter 3:13-17:

" Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?  But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.  Do not fear what they fear, do not be frightened.  But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.  It is better, if it is God's will to suffer for doing good than for doing evil."
 

There's the "W" word again....

But I thought about the off chance that God asks us to adopt and decided that would be a HUGE life change that would most likely bring lots of questions and comments from other people.  And I thought, "What kind of answer would we give?  Would we impact others and point them to Christ with our answer?"  And even if it seems like we would suffer from a worldly point of view (ex.: starting all over in the middle of our lives with a "second chapter" family), wouldn't we be blessed by God if we were doing his will?

Then Stacy finished off with 1 John 2:15-17:

"Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."
 

Are you serious? 

I'm not sure words are necessary.

So thank you God for showing up to the breakfast table.  Thank you for your Word and for the wisdom and instruction it brings to those who seek you. 

Candie

The Daily Walk

How do you know if you're on the right path in life?  How do you know it's God speaking to you?

I believe God speaks to us in many ways: dreams, the Word of God, through other people, through nature and through circumstances to name just a few ways.  Sometimes it's obvious. Loud. And sometimes it is in the still quite times.  But I love that the God of the universe is willing to talk to me!

Today I was reminded of that as I read His Word. 

"O LORD, by your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life.  You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty and they store up wealth for their children.  And I - in righteousness will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness."  Psalm 17:14-15
 

Anyone seeing a pattern here?  I'm not searching topically while I have my quiet time, and yet the same subjects keep coming up!  I know that God historically has to tell me things more than once.  (Hmmm.....what does that say about me?)  But when discerning his will, or trying to figure out if I'm thinking right, I've noticed that I see the same things over and over again.  It's almost like on the path there are road signs from God saying, "Come on Candie, you're on the right track.  Stay the course."

My bible has some commentary and so today how fun it was to read this:

"We deceive ourselves when we measure our happiness or contentment in life by the amount of wealth we posses.  When we put riches at the top of our value system, we let power, leisure, and financial security overshadow the eternal value of our relationship with God. We think we will be happy or content when we get riches, only to discover that they don't really satisfy, and the pleasures fade away.  The true measurement of happiness or contentment is found in God's love and in doing his will.  You will find true happiness if you put your relationship with God above earthly riches."  Life Application Bible
 

I was just tickled when I read that!  Yep, his will is all that matters.  Am I beginning to sound like a broken record?

Now it would be super nice if God had a BIG sign that said:  ADOPT or DON'T ADOPT.  I'd really like that....a lot!  But I'm reminded once again that the life of faith is one day at a time with God.  How my flesh and the coach in me would love to see the whole game plan and then run it myself.  But you know what, that would defeat the purpose of life in Christ.  I need him daily to speak to me and let me know if I'm on the right path.

On another note, God has been impressing upon me that I need to get back to the basics with our budget.  Since moving to Illinois this Nutritional Therapist has been in shock as to the food choices we now have and I haven't really gotten in the groove of knowing what grocery stores have what or where the best deals are.  Stacy is my 'hunter-gatherer' for groceries so I make the meal plan and list and he gathers for us!  While I'm totally blessed by his willingness to go to the store, God has been disciplining/rebuking me a bit with regards to the things I need to be doing to help our budget.   So it's time to suck it up and get back on track.  I'm praying God will show me how to cut our food budget and yet still eat to the standards we have for our family.

And another thing:  I'm so blessed by my girls.  Every night we talk at dinner about if any of us have heard from God about adopting.  Both of them have such big hearts.  They both have plans to adopt when they have their own family, so Faith said yesterday, "I'm always going to say yes to adopting".  Stacy and I just looked at each other and said, "Well we must have done something right, they both have the heart of Jesus."   I just love them!  :)

Candie

 

The Inheritance

Part of my daily devotions includes reading the Proverb of the day that corresponds with the date of the month.  An example is on January 13th I read Proverbs 13.  Lo and behold I read this verse:

"A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous."
 

I must admit when I read that verse my first thought was, "A-ha! That's the verse I've been looking for!"   I need to have a nest egg to leave to my girls and their children so we aren't suppose to adopt.  (Least any of you think that nest egg exists, let me put your thoughts to rest.  It only exists in theory.)  But a nagging thought kept arising: What does that verse really mean?  What did God intend by that?  And so I meditated on it, and cross referenced, and prayed and thought some more.

I want to have the mind of Christ to understand his will for us regarding adopting.  I really don't want to use verses out of context to fit my thinking. 

Job 27:17 says:

"what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver."  (Job is talking about the fate of the wicked.)
 

Ecclesiastes 2:26 is the other cross reference for Proverbs 13:22:

"To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.  This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind."
 

In all of these verses I see that the wicked sinner's wealth will be paid to the good, righteous man who pleases God.  And I thought to myself, "Then why do I worry about inheritance?"  And I tried to think like Christ. 

He gives me everything I need.  He will give my girls everything they need.  And my future grandchildren.  Because God is a good God who promises to take care of his children.  (Matthew 6:25-34)

I don't think that money is the issue of the inheritance but the passing on of the example of a family who pleases God.  A family who does His will regardless of their own will. 

I'm pretty sure God is not fretting about my girl's inheritance.  They'll receive it and more when they see him face to face.   Which reminds me that I need to keep storing up my treasures in heaven not worrying about my treasures on earth.  (Matthew 6:19-21)

Candie

The "I" in W-I-L-L

We have a saying in the coaching world: There's no "I" in TEAM. 

I've been saying that over and over these past day with an addition: But there is an "I" in WILL.

Frankly I've been sick, I've been irritable, and I've been too tired to care.  So as I've been mulling silently in my head this saying a part of me says back, "WHO CARES!"  Until I read Matthew 7:21.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." 

Did you notice it's God's will we're suppose to do?  Not whatever I feel like doing, even if it is good and righteous.  But the will of my Father.  How much easier would life be if I took myself out of the equation and just did God's will?  I wonder what that would look like? 

I suppose some would say, "That's EASY, life would go smoothly."  But I think I'd have to challenge that.  Is it easy to love those who hate us?  Is it easy to turn the other cheek time and time again?  So just because it's God's will for us, doesn't mean it's going to be easy. 

One of my favorite things to do when I'm looking for meaning in a word is to look at different bible versions to see the richness of a word.  You know what I found when I looked up the word "will" in the different versions?  WILL.

"That's a lot of help!."  (NOT!)

Then I looked at the concordance. 

Thelema means:

1) what one wishes or has determined shall be done

     a) of the purpose of God to bless mankind through Christ

     b) of what God wishes to be done by us

1) commands, precepts

2) will, choice, inclination, desire, pleasure

But how do we know what God wants us to do?  Does he want us to adopt?  This of course is the big question. 

 

John Piper has the following to say about the will of God, which requires the renewing of our minds to think like Him:

Three Stages of Knowing and Doing the Revealed Will of God

Stage One
"First, God’s will of command is revealed with final, decisive authority only in the Bible. And we need the renewed mind to understand and embrace what God commands in the Scripture. Without the renewed mind, we will distort the Scriptures to avoid their radical commands for self-denial, and love, and purity, and supreme satisfaction in Christ alone. God’s authoritative will of command is found only in the Bible.
 

Stage Two
The second stage of God’s will of command is our application of the biblical truth to new situations that may or may not be explicitly addressed in the Bible. The Bible does not tell you which person to marry, or which car to drive, or whether to own a home, where you take your vacation, what cell-phone plan to buy, or which brand of orange juice to drink. Or a thousand other choices you must make.
 
What is necessary is that we have a renewed mind, that is so shaped and so governed by the revealed will of God in the Bible, that we see and assess all relevant factors with the mind of Christ, and discern what God is calling us to do. This is very different from constantly trying to hear God’s voice saying do this and do that. People who try to lead their lives by hearing voices are not in sync with Romans 12:2. There is a world of difference between praying and laboring for a renewed mind that discerns how to apply God’s Word, on the one hand, and the habit of asking God to give you new revelation of what to do, on the other hand. Divination does not require transformation. God’s aim is a new mind, a new way of thinking and judging, not just new information. His aim is that we be transformed, sanctified, freed by the truth of his revealed Word (John 8:32; 17:17). So the second stage of God’s will of command is the discerning application of the Scriptures to new situations in life by means of a renewed mind.
 

Stage Three
Finally, the third stage of God’s will of command is the vast majority of living where there is no conscious reflection before we act. I venture to say that a good 95% of your behavior you do not premeditate. That is, most of your thoughts, attitudes, and actions are spontaneous. They are just spillover from what’s inside. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” (Matthew 12:34-36).  Why do I call this part of God’s will of command? For one reason. Because God commands things like: Don’t be angry. Don’t be prideful. Don’t covet. Don’t be anxious. Don’t be jealous. Don’t envy. And none of those actions are premeditated. Anger, pride, covetousness, anxiety, jealousy, envy—they all just rise up out of the heart with no conscious reflection or intention. And we are guilty because of them. They break the commandment of God. Is it not plain therefore that there is one great task of the Christian life: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. We need new hearts and new minds. Make the tree good and the fruit will be good (Matthew 12:33). That’s the great challenge. That is what God calls you to. You can’t do it on your own. You need Christ, who died for your sins. And you need the Holy Spirit to lead you into Christ-exalting truth and work in you truth-embracing humility.
  

Give yourself to this. Immerse yourself in the written Word of God; saturate your mind with it. And pray that the Spirit of Christ would make you so new that the spillover would be good, acceptable, and perfect—the will of God."

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/what-is-the-will-of-god-and-how-do-we-know-it

My prayer today is that my mind would be like God's mind.  That the Scriptures will be written on my heart and that every time I open the Bible revelation will be made so that I can know the good and perfect will of God.  I pray that for you too!

Candie

 

Dreams

Do you know women who always want to have a baby?

I was never one of them. 

Or when their child leaves one stage they are sad and wish it would never have to end? 

I'm not that woman either. 

I have always loved the new stages and ages of my girls, and I guess you could say have always been satisfied with the season they entered.

I remember when Abbi was born 13 years ago I had no desire to have another baby.   Today while I thought about her, I heard Sid the Sloth from Ice Age say, "She completes me."  And that's what Abbi did.  Not only did she complete our family, but she was born of my heart and completed me.

Which is exactly why Stacy and I have never wanted to adopt another child. 

This season we are in...one in college...one starting the teen years is perfectly fine with us!  Comfortable you might say.  I even got a new car that doesn't look like a mini-van.  I love Antonio!  (He's my Murano who drives me around town.)  I am working on building my nutritional consulting business.  We downsized when we moved and are dreaming of what we want the next decade of life to look like.

Adopting is not in that picture.  Surely God can understand that we have hopes for our children? We want to break the spiritual chains that have taken down our families of the past.  We want to be available to them. We want to buy music lessons for future grandchildren, take our family on trips.  If one day our girls marry and move away, we want to have the financial freedom to visit multiple times a year.  We want to lavish them with love, not just monetary things but give them a new generation of Christian family that they will be able to pass on to their children.  We have dreams....

Pretty sure our heart motives our pure, and God would honor that, right?

Well the other night Stacy received a word of prophecy.  (I hope to do it justice since I wasn't present.)  His friend saw a kite and the tail kept getting added on to.  Evidently the longer the tail of a kite the more stable it becomes.  And he heard the word LEGACY. 

Well crap.  Is the addition to the tail a picture of us adding to our family?  I got the legacy part.  I like that word.  I'm not certain I like the other part. 

Actually to coin Stacy's words, "My will is totally screaming NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"

And so today as we both struggle with not only missing our coffee, we struggle more with our will.  Do we really want to hear God?  Are we willing to put aside our dreams?  Our will? 

You see, I've never seen God give someone the whole game plan for their life in one day.  Regardless of this outcome, it is always the road that we are willing to travel that matters.  This journey called faith isn't a "one and done", it's an everyday choice to walk his path. And as I type this I see us walking the journey looking at a hill ahead. I'm thinking we might need to lose some weight to make it up this climb.  But is it weight or is it our will that needs to go?

Candie

Lessons from Riley

I've learned in life that often when God is speakng to me He will use other situations to show me truths.  Case in point: Riley our new Mi-Ki.

The girls had been begging us for a dog and we were not being moved by their pleas.  Then suddenly one day we thought, "Maybe we should look at getting a dog."  Both Stacy and I looked at each other like, "Who said that?! Are we crazy?!"  Then Abbi found out we had been covertly talking about a puppy and the rest, as they say, is history.  (HINT: delete important private text messages.)

We drove 2 hours to look at some Mi-Kis and while on our way we prayed, "Lord, would you make it really obvious which dog we should take home?"  The breeder had sent us pictures and oh how I wish I still had the picture of Riley!  He had a crazy look to his eye and we thought, "LAST CHOICE".  When we pulled into the driveway the breeder was waiting in the yard with three puppies.  Guess who came running to me?  Riley!  The other two dogs wouldn't give us the time of day.  Well none of us wanted Riley.  (I know, this sounds terrible....bare with me.)  Abbi tried her hardest to get the other puppies to play.  Nothing.  And all Riley kept doing was licking us and rolling on his back wanting us to pet him. 

I kept thinking, "Really God, this dog?  The wild-eyed one? How could this be?  Are you sure?"  But I also kept hearing the Spirit say, "You asked me to make it obvious." 

Why do we ask something from God and then when He answers we question him?  Silly people.

Despite what we thought was best for us, God made it so obvious that Riley came home with us that day.  And we're thrilled we listened to His voice.  Riley has brought such joy and laughter to our family.  We're in love. 

Reminded when I'm tempted to think I know what's best, I look at Riley and think to myself, "No, God knows what's best."

So Lord we ask you again:  Make it obvious.

Candie

p.s. Update on basement:  Stacy found a $200.00 fix to enable us to make the bedroom happen.

Sweet Devotions

After my post last night admittedly I thought, "Yeah juice!"  (Not sure how to show sarcasm in fonts.) Which I know is such a human thing to think especially after being certain it was the best offering I had.  But God, despite me, was so good to show up with my juice! 

The girls and I were having devotions this morning and since I'm sick I wasn't going to read out loud, however Abbi insisted I read Psalm 91.  When I asked her why I would read that she responded, "I saw one of the Raven football players had a tattoo with that scripture on his chest."  That's all I needed to hear!  Imagine our amazement when we found the following verses:

"He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge, his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."
 

Besides the fact I posted that verse yesterday this verse was a foundational verse we clung too when we found out we were moving last year.  Faith and I had been doing a Kay Arthur study and both of us had pictures or words from God surrounding this verse!  For me the words were gathering our family together.  I sensed Him saying, "I'm going to gather you under my wings and bring your family closer than ever."  We have felt God perform this work time and again since we moved almost 14 months ago. :)

A bit down in the chapter, verse 14-15 says:

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him."

Yes, I think I LOVE JUICE for breakfast!  God is so faithful to answer  prayers.

A couple answers for our questions today:

• Are we too old to adopt in the U.S.?  We talked with our friend at Special Link, an adoption clearing house we used when we adopted Abbi.  Carri's answer was, "No, you guys are not a bit too old. I've placed with couples in their 50's."
• Can we get our plumbing moved in the basement to get back to a future bedroom?  The plumber's answer: "Very, very costly to move the existing plumbing."

Candie

 

FASTING

I had a friend ask me this question (actually she asked if it was okay to ask this question cause it might be wrong to ask it!):

What are you fasting from?

Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE breakfast!  I love getting up, making eggs and toast, maybe a sausage, and most of all my mocha.  Then I love sitting at the table.  Not just a breakfast table...our formal table with placemants and cloth napkins to read the paper.  I like to plan 45 mins for this ritual.  It's my best-way-to-start-a-day routine.  Right now as I write this it's late and breakfast is a few short hours away.  It's honestly made me happy just thinking about my breakfast as I write this.  But guess what I gave up to God? 

My breakfast routine.

For the next 3 weeks I will be having vegetable juice for breakfast.  And toast.  And no paper.  Instead I'll be reading God's Word and praying.  Not that that's a horrible thing to do in the morning.  It's just not my routine.

I'm already missing my mocha.  It's so bad that when we prayed with Abbi tonight she asked if I wanted to adopt and I said, "I'm not worried about that right now, I'm worried about not having my mocha for 3 weeks."

I'm certain I need help.  And prayers.  But I'm also certain that I found the biggest offering I could give to God.  And I'm counting on him to faithfully hear my prayers and pour out his blessings upon me for the next 20 mornings. 

I know I don't NEED my breakfast routine, but I do NEED God! 

How about you?  What have you fasted and how were you blessed? 

Candie

 

DAY ONE

Today marks the 1st day of our family's journey to seek the Face and Wisdom of our GOD.  As our church begins a 21 day fast we feel led to fast and pray to hear the will of God in the matter of adopting.  We have SOOOOO many questions!

• Should we adopt?
• From where? U.S. or Overseas?
• Boy or Girl?
• How old?
• Special Needs?
• How would we pay for it?
• Sibling group?
• And so many more questions.....

Our life has been a bundle of changes for the past year as God first told us he was going to gather us under his wings and move our family to Illinois.  But how we love to hear his voice because it's only at that point, when we know we are doing what he wishes, that we can have peace.  And so here we are.  Day one.

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."  Ps. 91:4