Looking back to see ahead
Tags: Adoption, Foster Care
Posted: May 18, 2008 at 1:13 am
I stumbled across this old post tonight and was reminded again of God’s infinite power. This is a prayer I feel was truly answered – we did build a decent relationship with the birthmom and have continued that in limited ways over the past two years. I pray it will continue through this next leg of our journey.
In the endless wondering about baby Mathew, the questions pop into my mind with rapid fire: Is baby healthy? When will baby be born? IS baby a boy or a girl? Will baby come home to us? Will we get to see baby soon after he/she is born? Will baby be in the NICU for long? Will we get to see birthparents again? Will there be family visits this time around? Will CPS do what it should and follow through?
Soooo many questions. I only have one answer and it is from Jesus who said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible .” Mathew 19:26.
EVERYTHING is possible with God. We are praying for a healthy baby. We are praying we get to bring baby home soon after he/she is born. We praying the process runs very smoothly. All we can do is trust that God is in control and fully submit to His authority and His wisdom.
Prayer
Posted: December 8, 2007 at 6:43 pm
How badly do you want your child to talk to you about his/her day at school? Every time I pick Carter up from school or Granny’s or wherever, I try everything I can to get him to tell me about his day. Asking direct questions doesn’t work – I have to let him talk at his own pace and sometimes that means I don’t hear from him on the subject.
It’s funny, because most of the time i know what he did while I was gone. He played with the water hose at Grammy’s, or the rocks at Granny’s or he saw Santa at school. I know the jist and sometimes even the details of what his day was like. But I still want him to tell me. Even if I know he had a blast and loved every minute of it, I want to hear it from him. I want to hear the way he describes and watch his face as he does so.
Just like God wants to hear from me about the details of my life. He wants to see my face and hear the way I describe what is happening. He longs for me to just talk to Him. Even though he already knows every detail.
This just occurred to me yesterday and I don’t think my prayer life will ever be the same again. Just as I wait for Carter to talk to me, God waits for me to talk to Him.
tags: Love for us, prayer 2 comments
Prayer Request
Posted: September 17, 2007 at 2:55 am
Hey guys, I have a huge favor. A friend who is near and dear to my heart is facing some special challenges and needs some prayers. Please pray that God will put a hedge of protection around her and her husband. Pray that they will experience His grace and His hospitality in new ways every day. Pray for Godly friends to encourage them and build them up during this trying time. Most of all, pray for the work I know He is doing in them and through them in the midst of it all.
As for you, my friend, I am claiming Jeremiah 29:11 for you guys (I know, big shocker with the verse) “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘They are for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.’”
tags: prayer Add a comment
Protected: Protected: FMHO
Tags: Adoption
Posted: January 2, 2007 at 1:31 pm
tags: Birth Parents, prayer Add a comment
The “C” Word
Posted: July 13, 2005 at 10:13 am
It’s an ugly word and an even uglier truth. Now, it’s our reality.
Isa 41:10 Fear not , for I am with you;Be not dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you,Yes, I will help you,I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’NKJV
Isa 41:1313 For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand,Saying to you, ‘Fear not , I will help you.’NKJV
Ps 54:22 “Listen, God — I’m desperate .Don’t be too busy to hear me.”(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language)
I keep thinking that I’ll wake up any minute now. It must all be a bad dream. I know it’s not a dream because I haven’t slept in days but I pray I’ll wake up from this nightmare. The “C” word has infected my family, has inched its way into all of our hearts. The “C” word that is so hard for me to say will now be part of my daily conversation.
Fear not, for I am with you.
Cancer. The past few days have been spent at the hospital with my family as we have held on to each other, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. We’ve laughed and we’ve cried, and we’ve laughed at each other for crying.
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
They say it is very treatable and should respond well to chemo or radiation. They also say that it doesn’t look like it is anywhere else, and that is a very good thing. Praise God.
I will strengthen you, I will help you
It’s hard to see the man you’ve come to love as your father in so much pain. It’s hard to know what he will go through, still.
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
I have to tell you, friends, that in the midst of the pain, the worry, and the fear yesterday, God was with us. We could feel your prayers. I felt as though we were in the palm of His hand yesterday.
In the waiting room, me, my mom and three of my sisters were sitting in a corner area. There was a man and his son sitting across from us waiting on one of their loved ones. When the doctor came out and told us it was for sure cancer, it was like the wind had been knocked out of us. Mom stood up and held out her arms and the five of us huddled together and cried. When we sat down again, the man who was across from us got up and knelt before us. He said, “I’m sorry I overheard your bad news. I got good news and I’m choked up for you because you didn’t. I want you to know that I will be praying for each of you and your loved one. God is in control.” He gathered his things and as he was walking away he said, “remember, God has the last say in this.”
For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand,Saying to you, ‘Fear not , I will help you.
God was definitely there with us, friends, and He will carry us through this. Please keep praying for our dad.
tags: prayer 6 comments
In the blink of an eye…
Posted: July 11, 2005 at 12:29 am
..everything changes.
Jeremiah 29:11 “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘they are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.’”
That verse brings me comfort, it reminds me that God is in control even when life feels so out of control.
My heart is broken tonight – that sick, gnawing ball of pain that fills your middle when something isn’t right. I physically ache with worry. Yet just the other day the verse I posted :
Phil 4:6-76 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. NLT
Just rereading that gives me peace. God is in control, even when life seems so out of control. I appreciate your prayers for God’s peace, comfort and strength to surround my family.
tags: UnCategorized, prayer 6 comments
Happy Birthday
Tags: Adoption, Foster Care; Adoption
Posted: June 15, 2005 at 9:44 pm
So tomorrow (Thursday) is actually our birthday. Yes, I said “our”. If you didn’t know already, Daddy-O and I share a birthday. I can’t think of a better birthday present than to be making progress toward adoption. Happy Birthday to us!!!!! Woo- Hoo! What are we doing for our birthdays? Well, we are both working all day (yes, I am REALLY working) and then we have class tomorrow night. Not too exciting but we’re going to celebrate next week sometime.
We had our first home visit tonight and it went pretty well. The worst thing about it was that the lady tried to scare us to death. I guess part of her job is to make sure we are really committed to this. Sadly, part of her job must also be to try and get us to adopt older children because they are so hard to find homes for. One thing that is heavy on our hearts is the fact that it is possible that we’ll have kids placed with us, then they’ll go on to live with a relative or something. It is a very real possibility that we have to be prepared for.
Please pray that God will prepare our hearts for whatever lies ahead. Pray that we will “trust in Him with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding.” A friend recently reminded me of 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” We know that we would be devastated to lose a child that was placed with us, but we also know that God will carry us through any hardship we face. We trust Him to give us what we need to get through and part of what we need is you! We know we have friends and family who love and support us and we are so incredibly grateful for that. Thank you for your prayers, your words of encouragement, and for your genuine excitement! We love you!
The second part of the homestudy is where we do our individual interviews. Daddy-O goes for his on Friday morning at 9:30 and I go on Tuesday at the same time. After those, we’ll have to make sure we get everything done on our list for “childproofing” and then the case worker will come back out to go over everything. Once we have that final meeting, she’ll present us to a committee who will either approve, deny, or ask for more information. Assuming we are approved, all that’s left is for the case worker to come back out one last time along with our adoption worker and introduce us. From there, they starting looking for our children!
just think, next year, I should be able to get Daddy-O a Father’s Day present! Woo-Hoo!
Statistically speaking
Tags: Adoption, Foster Care, Foster Care; Adoption
Posted: June 3, 2005 at 3:51 pm
There are so many children in and around the Houston area who are awaiting adoption. We hear about the statistics in class but i never remember them so i’ve finally looked them up. You can see for yourself the sad reality of these orphans. They are, in fact, orphans. They have no parents – if they are awaiting adoption, their parents’ rights have been terminated. We don’t often hear about orphanages here in the US, but we definitely have orphans. These are the kids in the Houston area – this list does not include even all of Texas. 800 kids awaiting adoption. 800. Eight hundred children without families to call their own. 800 reasons to pray. I ask you often to pray for us and our children – today I’m asking you to do something different. Stop right now, wherever you are and whisper a prayer for these kids. Many of them will never have parents to call their own. Sure, they’ll be taken care of “by the system”, they’ll be prepared for life on their own. Where will they go for the holidays?
What traditions do you have for the holidays? Many of these kids have none. Where did you go to first grade? Do you remember your teacher’s name? Do you have a photo of your first day of school? Many of the kids do not. Do you know stories of things that happened when you were born or were a toddler? Maybe funny things you said or did? Many of these kids do not.
A few days ago, i was having a hard time thinking of something to inspire me. Today, i can think of 800 reasons.
PS Here are the statistics for all of Texas.
tags: Foster Care, prayer 1 comment
Dashing through the snow…
Tags: Adoption, Foster Care, Foster Care; Adoption
Posted: May 24, 2005 at 10:07 pm
….in a one horse open sleigh, or in our case, in a white mini-van! If you’re confused, you probably haven’t read Here Comes Santa Claus. Christmas is coming – though the minivan can hardly be compared to a sleigh, soon it will carry the most precious gifts!
I look in the rearview mirror at the empty seats behind me and I smile. Six months ago, those empty seats would have been a reminder of an empty womb and a bottomless hole in my heart; time and perspective can change everything. Now I look at those empty seats and I see hope – I see a future – I see God’s Grace.
We attended our fist “real” parenting class tonight and focused mainly on how a child feels when he or she is removed from his/her home. Think about that for a minute – what plans do you have for tomorrow and the next day? Imagine being taken away from everything that is familiar to you – the birthday party that was scheduled for next Saturday, your best friend next door, even your mom and dad. It’s all gone in a heartbeat. Regardless of the condition you live in, you are terrified when you’re taken away. I wonder what that is like for a 1 year old….a 2 year old? Pray for our kids, wherever they are tonight. Pray that God will protect them and give them a sense of peace in whatever situation they are in. Pray that someone is hugging them and showering them with kisses.
Christmas is coming not only for us, but also for them. Pray that God paves the way for us to find each other. Pray that God prepares us to be as much of a gift to them as we know they will be to us.
*We bought the minivan to make room for our growing family – to make room for the gifts we believe God has for us. I wonder how often I’ve missed out on His blessings because I wasn’t willing to make room for them? Is there something you need to get rid of to make room for more of Him?