Love

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35

God will judge us not by how 

much we endured, 

but by how much we could love. 

Richard Wurmbrand

Not willing that any should perish....

Could it be that God could use our love to change to change the world?

Waiting.....

Waiting on God is never wasted time....

Well since my family started our adoption journey....we spend a lot of time waiting....it seems its always hurry up! and wait....hurry up! and wait....with no end in sight yet.
So what do you do while you're waiting? Waiting is hard! It can wear you out quickly....so here is a look at what its like to wait for the person that is suppose to be part of your family.

We are always getting prepared! Classes, paperwork, passports....

Sometimes it gets a little messy..making candy bars, doing bake sales...

At the end of the day you just have to commit it to the Lord again, and keep going...

Its the small victory's that you learn to celebrate!

We are usually in over our heads..

It gets a little hairy at times...

Always alert and ready to pounce on the next project...

Everyone gets a little confused sometimes...

She's always on our hearts and minds...

Sometimes we need someone to hold us up....

Sometimes we just have to crow a bit...

Sometimes we look a little sad...

here we go with the messy thing again...

But we are all waiting anyway...

Because we know that God is seeing this faith thing through...

Sometimes its plum exhausting!!

We spend a lot of time doing this...

But life keeps going....

We keep loving...

Everybody keeps growing...

Paperwork keeps coming and going...

We keep expanding our horizons...

God keeps sending us comfort when we need it most!

We are all in this together!

 We keep making new friends...

Keep the jokes coming!

Still celebrating milestones... (28 years)

(60 years)

Birthdays...

We keep rejoicing with the ones we love!

Even when its a little scary...

We keep our chins up!

Keep smiling...

Because we will do whatever it takes!

No matter how it looks!

To accomplish everything we can!

We know we're not perfect...

But we laugh at ourselves anyway!

Because this little girl has changed my family....

Somehow we just are not quite complete anymore....

It can get a little confusing...

But we know that in the end it will be right...

Because we know that someday she will be more than an ache in our hearts and a folder in our home...because on the inside she has changed us so much...but from the outside you might not be able to see it...but just bare with us because we are trusting God that someday you will....

What about the children?

Have I forgotten about the wonderful children who made such an impact on my life?

NO WAY!!

I eagerly await news and updates about these precious children and so many others that I met or have read about or heard about. These children are always on my heart, it is my joy and privilege to bring them before the Father and love them in every way I can.

Its such a joy to hear that the children I love so much are being adopted, but its still hard to let them go in my heart. I want to be there and see them with their new families. I want to be there and see the faces of joy. I want to see as the children grow and change....they are growing up without me....

Each and everyday is a new day. We don't have to go over seas to see the people that are in need...to find people that Jesus loves...souls that He died to save....lives that He will rescue...to find people and resources to invest in...so whether its here or there....far or near....Will you serve God today?

Adoption is Forever...cont.

I just finished reading the rest of the articles on counting the costs of adoption. I have enjoyed reading it and believe it would be very beneficial for everyone to read these whether you have adopted or not. So that we can encourage, pray and support the ones that have been called to bring another child into their home, and call them family.

You can read the last article on counting the costs of adoption here.

I am so thankful for all the family's that I know that have adopted, I know that it has not been an easy journey for them, but we know that His grace is sufficient in ALL things....

Walk With Me: Reflections on Ecuador!

I met a dear girl in Shell, Ecuador, who was a volunteer teacher at Casa De Fe. She blogged along the way and I enjoyed reading her blog especially after I came home! I really enjoyed her last post about Ecuador, you can read it below...

Walk With Me: Reflections on Ecuador!: Saying goodbye to the kids and missionaries in Ecuador was incredibly difficult, I was so touched by each and every one of their lives which...

Adoption is forever continued...

More about adoption...
I know its something that you can never be prepared for, but I hope and pray that my family will be as prepared as we can be!

This is a continuation of the article I posted July 9, about Counting the Costs of Adoption, so read more about it here.

So much of this article reminds me of other things in life, I pray that it will be as informative and encouraging to you as it was to me.

THE PINEAPPLE STORY

This past week my brother wanted me to listen to this...I have listed to it before but honestly I couldn't remember what it was about....so as we were listening and laughing, God brought my attention to a few of my own pineapples I haven't allowed God to have ownership of. So this simple story helped me to lay aside a few of the things that have been wearing me down lately....