| 7/17/2006
Lamentations 3:21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. Today as I was having my quiet time, I read these verses. I don�t think I have ever noticed them before. Honestly, I don�t read Lamentations often�the name isn�t exactly appealing. It is sad. Here is Jeremiah, the �weeping Prophet�. In the verses before these, he �laments� about the things going wrong in his life. Boy, can I identify! There are SO many things going right of course, but it is difficult to see them when I look at what is not. (PGN J) Then when he is feeling lower than an ant�s belly, Jeremiah remembers that God IS faithful. He is good to those who hope in Him. And that would be me too. I do remember God�s faithfulness. It is what is getting me through each day, why my hope is renewed each morning, and why we continue to wait. Thank you, God. When you pray for us, if you think about it, please pray for Deb, Angie, and Paula. They are also in the adoption process and waiting just like us. (Deb and Angie are adopting from the same orphanage in fact) Each day we all hope that today is the day. I pray that their day will come soon. And, yes, I mean that�even if it is before ours. I keep reminding myself that God�s timing is perfect. And His timing for Maria is NOT going to be the same as for the other children. They have their own perfect timing. I can�t guarantee that I won�t feel a little �slighted�, like �God, when will it be our turn?� But deep down, we remember His faithfulness. Oh, before I go, I am going to leave an �Adoption Tip�. I will try to do this periodically. I have learned a lot being on THIS side of the process. So, here goes. J Acknowledge special days/holidays for anyone waiting for their child. Simple days like the 4th of July, Mother�s and Father�s Day, and even birthdays are VERY difficult when you are waiting for your little one. It is just another reminder that part of your family is incomplete and not with you on your special day. One of the most special gifts I got was an e-mail from Mark on Mother�s Day with a picture of Maria and a Spanish �Happy Mother�s Day� from Guatemala message. Thank you for waiting with us! |
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| 7/13/2006
Hello! Sorry it has been a couple of days. I have been quite busy with class and family and stuff. :) I don't really have much "deep stuff" to report. We haven't changed positions...still in the same place we have been. I have had a couple of "revelations" though... 1 Samuel 2:27-28 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there. My first revelation (and this is a no brainer that I sometimes forget) is that Maria is not ours. She never has been and technically never will. She is God's child. And today anytime I started to fret over her, feel sad, etc., I tried to picture us handing her over to God much like Hannah did with Samuel. She is God's child. While we obviously want her home, God has a plan for Maria. And for right now it doesn't seem to involve us. That is hard to stomach sometimes. But it is the way it is. And if you really get us to stop and think about it, we want only the best for Maria. That means we want what God wants. It may not always feel good when our self is wrestling and arguing about God's plan, but she is His child. We will trust in Him...especially since I think it will be at least September before we get the call (my estimate, not anybody else's...) Next revelation: I am getting too stressed out over a phone call (or rather lack of). So I am going to ask the agency to contact MARK if/when the time comes. Then he can think of creative ways to share with me instead of vice versa. :) He is used to getting phone calls. My heart stops every time the phone rings. That cannot be healthy. Last revelation: Maria is ahead developmentally in some ways. She follows directions very well. She has good sleeping habits. But she is behind in oral language (which becomes more apparent as I take my class). However, I have been blessed to have a professor give me some WONDERFUL tips on ways we can help Maria's language development. God is good...all of the time! Thank you for waiting with us! I will probably not update until Sunday night. |
| 7/16/2006
John 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. Sometimes I forget that God is not just our Father�He is our friend too. When I complain that I am being tortured (teasingly, but not always) or think that God is punishing me for every sin, Mark reminds me that He is also a loving God. He is our friend. If that doesn�t make me smile, what else can? We had a wonderful weekend away. We spent the weekend in Branson. I will say it was HOT, HOT, HOT at Silver Dollar City. However, we were able to spend the day with my sister and her family which was worth the heat. Then the cousins went swimming together which was a big treat for them. And we experienced �Build-a-Bear� for the first time. What a fun place! I stuck pretty true to my word�very little shopping for Maria. Just a pair of shoes and one cute top. I can always send them to her if she doesn�t come. We very much enjoyed the family time, but of course, we do miss our little girl. Every time we go, we hope it is the last time without her. I didn�t really get to share our �update�. We got pictures (see below). Again, she is not smiling. We understand, Maria. We aren�t smiling without you, either. J I love the shirt she is wearing. �I am no angel� It is in English no less. I think that is why she isn�t smiling. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. J Anyway, the update is that we are still in PGN. Obviously we wish we were approved and out, but we are praising God for that report anyway. It didn�t say we were kicked out. We are still in. And we continue to pray that the PGN director will be moved to approve her case very soon. We are still praying at 10�thank you to everyone who is praying with us, no matter what time or day! |
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