The hubby and i have been Fasting now for 30 days! We are doing a partial extremely restrictive fast... Our fast will conclude on thursday as we committed to the month of march. I have had Many people send me questions about fasting, and i dont have very good answers to give... ill be honest this is my fist fast (i know its a lot to take on for the 1st one... but hey Go BIG or GO HOME!!! ;o) so i found this list of explinations with scripture....
I thought this summary by Richard LaFountain was very helpful in summarizing some of the questions I get about fasting!
Fasting is going without food to pursue and/or focus on something more important.
1. Fasting helps subject our bodies to our spirits. (I Cor 9:27)
2. Fasting is disciplining the body, mind, and spirit. (Prov. 25:28)
3. Fasting is subordinating our flesh-desires to our spirit-desires. (Gal 5:17)
4. Fasting helps set the priorities in our lives. (Mt 6:33)
5. Fasting is longing after God. (Ps 63:1-2)
Why Should We Fast?
1. Honor God -
Mt 6:16-18, Luke 2:37, Acts 13:2, Mt 5:6
2. Humble Yourself -
2 Chron 7:14-15
3. Discerning Healing -
I Cor 11:30, James 5:13-18, Isaiah 59:1-2
4. Deliverance from Bondage -
Mt 17:21, Is 58:6-9 (loose bands of wickedness)
5. Revelation - God’s vision and will -
Dan 9:3, 20-21, Dan 10:2-10, 12-13
6. Revival - personal and corporate -
Acts 1:4, 14 / 2:16-21, Joel 2:12-18
7. Repentance - personal failures -
Psalm 51: Jer. 29:11-14, James 4:8-10
We started this journey to pray over our adoption and God has MOVED in SO many ways in our lives the last 29 days!!!! We both feel like completely different people... my outlook on life has changed completely and i am so grateful!!! We have found our church family, WoooHoooo and have become much closer to one another and our Heavenly Father!!! We have also made some increadible strides in our adoption journey.... HE has brought some AWESOME people in the adoption world across our path!! PRAISE HIM!!!! We have also had some physical benefits too.... I have lost 16.5 lbs & the Hubby 13lbs... a definate AWESOME bounus to this awesome awesome month that we will forever remember!!! As our fast draws to a close.... my "flesh" is excited lol but my spirit is extremely heavy.... it has been a challenge, but SO SO SO rewarding, we are forever changed!!! If you feel your being called to Fast... DO IT!!! dont think abt it "JUST DO IT"!!!! it will forever change you, for the BETTER!!!! :D:D:D
[the specific fast we participated in was The Daniel Fast]
http://daniel-fast.com/about.html
this is a great link to How to fast...
http://www.ccci.org/training-and-growth/devotional-life/7-steps-to-fasting/01-personal-guide.htm
Monday, March 29, 2010
Memorial Box Monday - Crazy Love
Over and over again God told the Isrealites to take stones and build a memorial to remember what He had done. They were to tell the stories to their children and their children's children. Why did He do that? Because He knew just how forgetful people are, and He wants us to remember that He is always loving, always protective, always providing, always caring, always and forever faithful. [taken from A Place Called Simplicity... http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/
This is my first Memorial Box monday post and i am SUPER excited to write it!! I have wanted to start doing them for a while, and am so glad i have a GREAT blessing to discuss today!! First tho ill explain briefly what a Memorial Box is... It is a box that can be placed in your home to place little "reminders" in of how God has worked in your life... preferably it is in the main part of your home and is open in the front or has glass doors so that when you have guests it gives you a great opportunity to share God's love and provision with your friends and family!!! How cool is that?? :)
So this Monday our fist Memorial Box Monday post. I want to tell you abt somthing that happened quite recently... just this past friday afternoon actually...
The day before Linny [the author of the blog mentioned above] challenged all of her blog readers to a Crazy Love challenge - which i explained in a previous blog...
Her post struck a fire in me and i wanted to be apart of it... but didnt know if i could, after all we ourselves our in a time of great need in our family! How could i help?? so i went to bed that night and all night i felt the Lord speaking to me... "Liz YOU have to do somthing... NOWWWWWWW!!!" the next day i thought abt it all some more and got caught up in the daily chores, but her post kept coming back to me... around 2pm in the afternoon i sat down to check my emails and i happened across her post again.... and as i was reading it for the second time, i felt the intense urge to ACT!!! so i went to my knees... i was praying for the Lord to tell me what he have me do... and almost immediately i knew that he wanted me to give! and then i began to pray for him to show me who i was to give to... by this time there were SO many blogs of people who were in need! How would i choose Lord?? and his anwser??? "i dont have to choose, because since they all have a need i will give to them ALL!!!"
"ummm wait a minute Lord... ALL of them???????????? WHAT??????????????? how on earth will i do that?????????" and then i realized what a dumb question that was... He is GOD, if he wants to make somthing happen HE WILL!!! so then i began to pray (admittedly terrified of his response...) "ok Lord i will give to everyone... but how much??" and his response left me very UNCOMFORTABLE, if youve read the post before this one we have great needs right now (which btw- after reading all the others needs, i realize our need really isnt that Great...thank you jesus)
He revealed to me that i was to go through ALL of the Blogs and give $5.00 to each one!!!! i will shamefully admit that i argued and stamped my feet a little.... at the time there were abt 30 posts listed... 30 x 5 = 150$... that is ALOT of money to us right now... ALOT ALOT!!! So i went to my paypal account to see what i had in there.... 122$.... "ok Lord well i will give what i can but i cant empty my account and i dont have enought to give EVERYONE 5$" then i realized that again i was limiting My HUGE AWESOME God to the means of this world... and i was extremely humbled and asked him to forgive me...
So i went back to the list... and started with the first... i read it then went to the little "donate" button and gave 5$... and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th... and so on.... Some didnt have buttons for instant donations so to those i sent a comment or an email requesting thier address to i could mail it to them...
I was going through these story and donating, and before long i was completely wrapped up in the stories and the people and the Joy i was recieving from allow the Lord to use me... Very humbling!!! suddenly i realised i was on the 20somthingth post... i paniced and thought [i dont think i have enough money in there for all of this... i wasnt sure whether paypal would let me overdrawl and charge me or whether they would just stop me when i didnt have enough... and what if i did spend every cent??? would they close my account if it were empty??? - i remembered what a pain it was to open it in the first place] i wanted to stop and go and check me account, but as if someone was yelling at me, i felt the Lord speaking through every fiber of my being... "TRUST ME!!!!" so i continued..... sending donations writing emails and sending comments... praying for these people right then and there... families who were adopting like us, some who lost thier jobs, some heading for forclosure, and some heading into the mission field... amazing people, living amazing lives!!!
i got to post 32 the last one... (yes 2 more than i had originally calculated) and worried i went and checked my account...
AND WHAT TO MY WONDERING EYES DID APPREAR?????
THE AMOUNT WAS ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME AS BEFORE I STARTED GIVING.... foolishly i was extremely confused and went to check and see if there was a delay in processing all the donations... but nope there wasnt!! and that is when i noticed that a total of about 8 people....
HAD GIVE US OVER 100$$$$$
i feel to my knees crying... realizing that God just wanted me to trust him!! and follow his commands! over the course of the next 48 hours.... we got more donations and now the balance in my paypal account is exactly the same as before!!!!
This was a VERY eye opening exp. for me!!!! i have always tried to have GREAT FAITH!!! but sometimes its hard for my little human mind to grasp.... i now know with every single fiber of my being that NOTHING IS IMPOSIBLE WITH GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! he has shown me in a tangile way... and i am forever grateful!!!
This Crazy Love challenge has really inspired us to just give more and more... just the fact that we live in the United States makes us some of the the richest in the world!!! [yes even with our current economy *wink*] and we dont have to worry about our needs... because HE will provide for them!!! Our concern needs to be about others needs!!! and we are praying for God to show us and put us in these [uncomfortable] situations way more often and allow us to give more and more to show others chrits love through our actions!!!
WoooHoooo JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D
btw- we are currently wanting to sponsor some needy children overseas, but were a little overwhelmed when looking around as there are SO many organizations... we want to make sure we pick a GOOD one that is really in it for the children and they do what they say they will do... Any Suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!!! :)
So there will be some little paper money in our memorial box to remind us of God GREAT PRovision!!! (btw- would you pray for us that God would direct us to find the right place to find the right memorial box... we have yet to find it) So friends... how have you given and served and how has God shown himself to you through your service???? please share... :D:D:D
Thursday, March 25, 2010
"Crazy Love" ADOPTION LOVE!!!!!
I know i havent written in a while... things have been so crazy around here....
But after reading Linny's blog (below) i felt God urging me to swallow my pride and join in...
I have been wrestling at whether to write this or not... since i read a challenge my one of my favorite adoptive mom's at http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/ her name is Linny and she has really challenged us as a family to give more! (please read her blog for more info) and... (this is very humbling for me to write...) also to share our need with you all!
First ill answer a few of Linny's questions...
We joined our new church Harvest Pointe Community Church recently and do tithe faithfully, and are quickly getting involved. The past 2 years we have been kind of"floating" and not really members of a specific church but during that time we tithed by giving to local and international charities and individuals in need!
(now the humbling part)
We have struggled with infertility and loss for our entire marriage! From the very beginning we knew we wanted a Huge family, and always knew that would include adopted babies! last summer we decided to stop all treatments and stop trying to have a biological children!! it was a huge decision for us, but one that i am SO glad we made... In september 2009 we started the homestudy process, and a few days before thankgiving we were officially homestudy approved. We dont have a large savings account or income... and we are kind of at a stand still with our adoption because the money just isnt there, we had a major leak in our home from a big snow fall this past winter that left some major damage! We have had to pay out a lot for things that (*surprisingly*) the insurance company didnt cover, and there are still lots of things that need repair...(it is very hard for me to write this) but we havent been able to do any marketing of ourselves or advertising to find any birthmothers or situations! In fact, and this really kills me, (and we havent shared this with anyone!!)... but, we have had to turn down a few last minute newborn situations we have come in contact with because we didnt have the money together!! it absolutly broke our hearts, but we know that our Sweet Jesus has an awesome plan for us!! I have only ever envisioned myself as a mother, and i am SO SO grateful for my infertility and feel blessed to have expirenced it!! (wow i never thought i would ever say that lol) but i am... because i know that i was always meant to adopt and be a mother to those who already need one!! James 1:27 "Religion that the God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." While we may not all be called to adopt a child, God commands us to do something about the orphan crisis!!!! So....
**DEEP BREATH**
(*GULP*)
Our need is around $8,000.... (when we started it was $12,000, and through donations and fundraising we were able to raise $4,000... :D Yippee Jesus!!) this will cover advertising/searching fees, and once we are matched... legal fees, medical fees, birthmother fees, and travel expenses... If you would like to donate to our fund you can email me at thedarlings06@comcast.net for our address or donate through the paypal button on the righthand side of this blog, (everthing donated will be used for our adoption).... BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING WE ASK THAT YOU COMMIT TO PRAY FOR US!!!!! God has been working like crazy in our lives and we arent worrying about the money because we believe that HE will provide just the amount we need to bring our babies home and fix our home!!
So for now we wait hanging on faith, and God's promises... Anxiously awaiting to see how our Mountain Moving God will bring us together with our babies... :D :D :D
Love & Blessings,
Liz
But after reading Linny's blog (below) i felt God urging me to swallow my pride and join in...
I have been wrestling at whether to write this or not... since i read a challenge my one of my favorite adoptive mom's at http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/ her name is Linny and she has really challenged us as a family to give more! (please read her blog for more info) and... (this is very humbling for me to write...) also to share our need with you all!
First ill answer a few of Linny's questions...
We joined our new church Harvest Pointe Community Church recently and do tithe faithfully, and are quickly getting involved. The past 2 years we have been kind of"floating" and not really members of a specific church but during that time we tithed by giving to local and international charities and individuals in need!
(now the humbling part)
We have struggled with infertility and loss for our entire marriage! From the very beginning we knew we wanted a Huge family, and always knew that would include adopted babies! last summer we decided to stop all treatments and stop trying to have a biological children!! it was a huge decision for us, but one that i am SO glad we made... In september 2009 we started the homestudy process, and a few days before thankgiving we were officially homestudy approved. We dont have a large savings account or income... and we are kind of at a stand still with our adoption because the money just isnt there, we had a major leak in our home from a big snow fall this past winter that left some major damage! We have had to pay out a lot for things that (*surprisingly*) the insurance company didnt cover, and there are still lots of things that need repair...(it is very hard for me to write this) but we havent been able to do any marketing of ourselves or advertising to find any birthmothers or situations! In fact, and this really kills me, (and we havent shared this with anyone!!)... but, we have had to turn down a few last minute newborn situations we have come in contact with because we didnt have the money together!! it absolutly broke our hearts, but we know that our Sweet Jesus has an awesome plan for us!! I have only ever envisioned myself as a mother, and i am SO SO grateful for my infertility and feel blessed to have expirenced it!! (wow i never thought i would ever say that lol) but i am... because i know that i was always meant to adopt and be a mother to those who already need one!! James 1:27 "Religion that the God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." While we may not all be called to adopt a child, God commands us to do something about the orphan crisis!!!! So....
**DEEP BREATH**
(*GULP*)
Our need is around $8,000.... (when we started it was $12,000, and through donations and fundraising we were able to raise $4,000... :D Yippee Jesus!!) this will cover advertising/searching fees, and once we are matched... legal fees, medical fees, birthmother fees, and travel expenses... If you would like to donate to our fund you can email me at thedarlings06@comcast.net for our address or donate through the paypal button on the righthand side of this blog, (everthing donated will be used for our adoption).... BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING WE ASK THAT YOU COMMIT TO PRAY FOR US!!!!! God has been working like crazy in our lives and we arent worrying about the money because we believe that HE will provide just the amount we need to bring our babies home and fix our home!!
So for now we wait hanging on faith, and God's promises... Anxiously awaiting to see how our Mountain Moving God will bring us together with our babies... :D :D :D
Love & Blessings,
Liz
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
On my knees....
There are days,
When I feel
The best of me
Is ready to begin
Then they're days,
When I feel
I'm letting go,
And soaring on the wind
But I've learned in laughter or in pain,
How to survive
I get on my knees
*On my Knees by nicole mullen*
I remember hearing this song as a young child and not really understanding the feeling of having no other alternative but collapsing to your knees and pleading with the Lord... Other the last few years, i have found a permanent place on my knees (i really should just break down and get some knee pads ;)
I really am at a loss as to how to update you all on the last 2 weeks, so I'm going to do the best i can...
A few hours actually after my last post was written (i just realized that, *how ironic*) we got a "call" and a match! exactly 1 day after our home study was officially finished and approved... this is absolutely unheard of... and we felt as tho we were witnessing a miracle! We began preparing for this little one, who arrived 1 week and 1 day later! We were parents!! "Unto us a Son is born!" We decided to call him Levi (James Levi) and we fell madly in love with him, in no time fast! 2 days after his birth we headed to the hospital to bring our son home, and we headed straight into the face of a disruption!!! It a very long story, that frankly isn't worth telling yet again... (for my sanity) but it has been a very long last few days of court hearing and lawyer meetings... and things ended yesterday... (not in our favor)
Understandably we are absolutely DEVASTATED!! I am praying that the Lord will heal my heart, as he has done many times before and that he will take hold of this situation and hold our son in his precious, strong hands... I pray that he will keep him safe, and that he always know he is loved!! I also know that God can do ANYTHING, and if this little boy is meant to be with us... HE WILL BE!! i believe that with all my heart...
Ive had quite a few people say to me through this last 4/5 days of struggle that this "must be Gods will" (that he will grow up with another family) I don't know that i believe that... maybe its my grief, but knowing this situation as well as i do... and the type of people he is with... i truly DO NOT believe that it is "Gods Will" for our son to be there!! *i know some of you are thinking, ohh poor girl is so grief stricken she cant accept the truth**
But hang on a sec...
Bad things happen in all of our lives!! We have all experienced these devastating life happenings.... I don't believe for one minute that God wills all of these things on us! (maybe some of them) but other things i think he just allows to happen.... Maybe so we will learn to cling more to him, or so that we can learn some other lesson... But i believe that HE is saddened by the horrific things of this world, and HE weeps with us!! What a comfort that God is right here, shedding tears beside us... with his arms around us!! I am SO SO grateful for that!!! Some people say "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" but i say that isn't true! because "with God you can handle anything!!"
i have been clinging to a verse the last few days...
here's an exerpt...
"making the barren woman to be at home - the joyful mother of children" (Psalms113:9)
I totally and completely believe that i have been given these completely overwhelming intense desires to be a mother for a reason! and MY GOD will not leave me with empty arms with these feelings!!! He has given me these desires in my heart, and HE WILL FULL FILL Them!!!
Throughout this journey, all of our preconceived notions about what our "perfect" family would look like has been dashed... The Hubby always thought 2 kids would be perfect... I always thought 7 (lol yes Ive always wanted a BIG family).... After about a year of marriage we decided that 5 was our number!! yes a big family to some, but its seemed perfect to us! 3 boys 2 girls "Perfection"
After the years of losses, infertility treatments and depleting savings accounts! We have (both independently) come to realize that children are a blessing... and that God is the best one to decide how many blessings we have!! It is completely in his hands....
i know i havent been very consistent blogging here, but i am going to try to do so more often... writing is an excellent way for me to reflect and its VERY therapeutic for me, and maybe a long the way i can help someone else!
Thanks for reading & Blessings to all!
*please keep us n prayers over the coming weeks as we mourn our most recent loss and deal with the holidays without our little man*
Xoxo
~Liz
When I feel
The best of me
Is ready to begin
Then they're days,
When I feel
I'm letting go,
And soaring on the wind
But I've learned in laughter or in pain,
How to survive
I get on my knees
*On my Knees by nicole mullen*
I remember hearing this song as a young child and not really understanding the feeling of having no other alternative but collapsing to your knees and pleading with the Lord... Other the last few years, i have found a permanent place on my knees (i really should just break down and get some knee pads ;)
I really am at a loss as to how to update you all on the last 2 weeks, so I'm going to do the best i can...
A few hours actually after my last post was written (i just realized that, *how ironic*) we got a "call" and a match! exactly 1 day after our home study was officially finished and approved... this is absolutely unheard of... and we felt as tho we were witnessing a miracle! We began preparing for this little one, who arrived 1 week and 1 day later! We were parents!! "Unto us a Son is born!" We decided to call him Levi (James Levi) and we fell madly in love with him, in no time fast! 2 days after his birth we headed to the hospital to bring our son home, and we headed straight into the face of a disruption!!! It a very long story, that frankly isn't worth telling yet again... (for my sanity) but it has been a very long last few days of court hearing and lawyer meetings... and things ended yesterday... (not in our favor)
Understandably we are absolutely DEVASTATED!! I am praying that the Lord will heal my heart, as he has done many times before and that he will take hold of this situation and hold our son in his precious, strong hands... I pray that he will keep him safe, and that he always know he is loved!! I also know that God can do ANYTHING, and if this little boy is meant to be with us... HE WILL BE!! i believe that with all my heart...
Ive had quite a few people say to me through this last 4/5 days of struggle that this "must be Gods will" (that he will grow up with another family) I don't know that i believe that... maybe its my grief, but knowing this situation as well as i do... and the type of people he is with... i truly DO NOT believe that it is "Gods Will" for our son to be there!! *i know some of you are thinking, ohh poor girl is so grief stricken she cant accept the truth**
But hang on a sec...
Bad things happen in all of our lives!! We have all experienced these devastating life happenings.... I don't believe for one minute that God wills all of these things on us! (maybe some of them) but other things i think he just allows to happen.... Maybe so we will learn to cling more to him, or so that we can learn some other lesson... But i believe that HE is saddened by the horrific things of this world, and HE weeps with us!! What a comfort that God is right here, shedding tears beside us... with his arms around us!! I am SO SO grateful for that!!! Some people say "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" but i say that isn't true! because "with God you can handle anything!!"
i have been clinging to a verse the last few days...
here's an exerpt...
"making the barren woman to be at home - the joyful mother of children" (Psalms113:9)
I totally and completely believe that i have been given these completely overwhelming intense desires to be a mother for a reason! and MY GOD will not leave me with empty arms with these feelings!!! He has given me these desires in my heart, and HE WILL FULL FILL Them!!!
Throughout this journey, all of our preconceived notions about what our "perfect" family would look like has been dashed... The Hubby always thought 2 kids would be perfect... I always thought 7 (lol yes Ive always wanted a BIG family).... After about a year of marriage we decided that 5 was our number!! yes a big family to some, but its seemed perfect to us! 3 boys 2 girls "Perfection"
After the years of losses, infertility treatments and depleting savings accounts! We have (both independently) come to realize that children are a blessing... and that God is the best one to decide how many blessings we have!! It is completely in his hands....
i know i havent been very consistent blogging here, but i am going to try to do so more often... writing is an excellent way for me to reflect and its VERY therapeutic for me, and maybe a long the way i can help someone else!
Thanks for reading & Blessings to all!
*please keep us n prayers over the coming weeks as we mourn our most recent loss and deal with the holidays without our little man*
Xoxo
~Liz
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
So Much to be Thankful for....
So WOW... I haven't updated in a while, i apologize for that!
The Last month since i last updated has been crazy to say the least... Rushing to get all our paperwork in and of course having to "redo" a few things lol This process thus far has been a huge learning exp. not just about the adoption process (that's a given) but about me, my marriage, and my faith! Dealing with the infertility process was maddening, and even though i felt "out of control" i still had a fair bit of control over the situation... Not over whether i would bare a child or not, but i could do everything in to take care of myself to help that process along!! But there isn't much i can do to control this situation... With adoption.... we are completely relying on others... Well and our Creator!! I have never been more grateful for my faith. If we were going through this process without it, i know, I would be much more of a wreck than i am, lol just to float through and "hope" that by chance, a baby will cross my path????!!!???? WOW that would be really HARD!!
But we get to go through this process, and as hard as it is to wait for our child... We can pray specifically for him/her daily! Because we believe that they are already out there somewhere!!! We know that before we even thought about starting this process, our LORD already knew who he/she was... We BELIEVE that it is only a matter of time before a series of seemingly unimportant events occur and lead us to our child! Although we are extremely anxious to be united with our child/children... We know how and when it happens it will be more perfect than we could have even imagined!!!
I have come to realize lately that i have never relied on God more in my life than i am right now through this journey.... and I'm beginning to realize that i had to go through all that i have to come closer to HIM!! It is sad that "human" me had to exp. such intense hardship before i gave everything over to God, but He knew what i needed all along!! It really took me until recently to "forgive" myself for turning my back on God after our losses... I kept thinking i was not worthy of his love, that he was "angry" with me and would never bless me again.... because of the things i had said in anger and the way i had acted.... at times i didn't even feel worthy enough to apologize! I was praying one day about 2 months ago (feeling very unworthy to even be speaking to Him) and i had this over whelming feeling that His arms were around me (first time i felt this in a long time)... I felt him tell me He loved me, and that He DOES NOT hold grudges... HE will always forgive... and that HE understood my anger!! A huge wait was lifted!!! I really cant believe that my silly human nature let me, really truly believe that God would hold a grudge against me for the rest of my life!!
How crazy is that??!!??
HE understands... and will always be there! No matter what! Once you are HIS child, you are NEVER again ALONE!! * what a comfort that is... *
The Last month since i last updated has been crazy to say the least... Rushing to get all our paperwork in and of course having to "redo" a few things lol This process thus far has been a huge learning exp. not just about the adoption process (that's a given) but about me, my marriage, and my faith! Dealing with the infertility process was maddening, and even though i felt "out of control" i still had a fair bit of control over the situation... Not over whether i would bare a child or not, but i could do everything in to take care of myself to help that process along!! But there isn't much i can do to control this situation... With adoption.... we are completely relying on others... Well and our Creator!! I have never been more grateful for my faith. If we were going through this process without it, i know, I would be much more of a wreck than i am, lol just to float through and "hope" that by chance, a baby will cross my path????!!!???? WOW that would be really HARD!!
But we get to go through this process, and as hard as it is to wait for our child... We can pray specifically for him/her daily! Because we believe that they are already out there somewhere!!! We know that before we even thought about starting this process, our LORD already knew who he/she was... We BELIEVE that it is only a matter of time before a series of seemingly unimportant events occur and lead us to our child! Although we are extremely anxious to be united with our child/children... We know how and when it happens it will be more perfect than we could have even imagined!!!
I have come to realize lately that i have never relied on God more in my life than i am right now through this journey.... and I'm beginning to realize that i had to go through all that i have to come closer to HIM!! It is sad that "human" me had to exp. such intense hardship before i gave everything over to God, but He knew what i needed all along!! It really took me until recently to "forgive" myself for turning my back on God after our losses... I kept thinking i was not worthy of his love, that he was "angry" with me and would never bless me again.... because of the things i had said in anger and the way i had acted.... at times i didn't even feel worthy enough to apologize! I was praying one day about 2 months ago (feeling very unworthy to even be speaking to Him) and i had this over whelming feeling that His arms were around me (first time i felt this in a long time)... I felt him tell me He loved me, and that He DOES NOT hold grudges... HE will always forgive... and that HE understood my anger!! A huge wait was lifted!!! I really cant believe that my silly human nature let me, really truly believe that God would hold a grudge against me for the rest of my life!!
How crazy is that??!!??
HE understands... and will always be there! No matter what! Once you are HIS child, you are NEVER again ALONE!! * what a comfort that is... *
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Yummy coffee & Adoption!! Can it get much better?
As we get closer and closer to our home studys completion. We are thinking more and more about different ways to raise money for our adoption! I was referred to this website by a friend, and we prayed about it and decided to give it a go! I actually had the opportunity to taste their coffee myself, and it is fantastic!!! Andrew and I will receive 5$ for every bag of coffee purchased towards our adoption. So we are asking all of you to consider buying a bag for yourself or for someone you know! You could even consider giving bags as gifts for Christmas... they also sell tee shirts and other things as well, and we get proceeds from each of those too!
http://www.justlovecoffee.com/TheDarlings
Thanks for all the Prayers & Support! and keep them coming :)
Blessings
Liz
http://www.justlovecoffee.com/TheDarlings
Thanks for all the Prayers & Support! and keep them coming :)
Blessings
Liz
Thursday, October 22, 2009
What a relief!!
its been about an hour since our social worker Brenda, left our house! She spent about 3 1/2 hours here....
i seriously have been going crazy! SO SO nervous about this meeting and how things would go, we cleaned and cleaned.... and cleaned lol but after she was here about 10 minutes, we were laughing and talking very freely and openly... She said, "wow i feel like ive known you guys for years!" haha funny enough i felt the same way! Im SO impressed with her knowledge and how caring she is... She really does do this for "the children", not the money... this isnt a "business" to her, its a cause! I LOVE THAT!!! she was very open and honest with us, and was very encouraging!! After we had talked for a while and shared basic information and paperwork... We took her on a tour of our house! She made lots of positive comments and really didnt have anything negative to say... :) We made our way upstairs and showed her all the rooms, when we got to the nursery full of all the baby things... she stood in the middle of the room with her mouth open just looking around! she walked over to me with tears in her eyes... she gave me one of the warmest hugs ive had in a long time, then she cupped my face in her hands, and said with tears rolling down her cheeks "you have my heart, we need to get you a baby NOW!!!" i was so shocked and felt so cared for in that moment! We arent just some family on a list to her... you can tell that she takes this very personally, and i LOVE that!
After the tour we went back to the kitchen for more talking, and she asked us what we were looking for in a child... what are we open to as far as race and gender! when we said "ANY" she asked us if we were sure? and then got this HUGE grin on her face and said, "OOOOOO this will be fast!!! you wont wait long" she went on to tell us how she gets calls about babies all the time, and if we are open... it wont be long at all! i couldnt believe what i was hearing... and from then on the rest of her visit was smooth sailing..... we are SO increadibaly excited that we could have a baby soon, and WE are SO SO ready!! I have such peace about this situation, such calmness.... I know that our baby is out there, and we will be together soon!!
Our next meeting with her is on November 7th, and we're going to meet her in Deep Creek at andrews parents house! (we have to cover her milage expenses and its much closer there, plus she will get to meet them!!) We have our physicals and chest xrays on the 10th and then we just have to wait for our clearences to come back, and then we're ready for a baby!! :) She also has lots of other adoptive families right in our area, and she is going to connect us with them!! :):):):)
So now we begin looking for adoption grants and different fundraising options! We trust that God will provide this need for us.... I believe that our baby has already been chosen and nothing or no one can stop the will of the OUR LORD!!!!!! if anyone has any suggestions on fundraising ideas or organizations that give grants please let me know!
thanks for reading & for the prayers!!! They are SO working... So keep emm coming!!! :):)
ill update soon!
Blessings
~Liz
i seriously have been going crazy! SO SO nervous about this meeting and how things would go, we cleaned and cleaned.... and cleaned lol but after she was here about 10 minutes, we were laughing and talking very freely and openly... She said, "wow i feel like ive known you guys for years!" haha funny enough i felt the same way! Im SO impressed with her knowledge and how caring she is... She really does do this for "the children", not the money... this isnt a "business" to her, its a cause! I LOVE THAT!!! she was very open and honest with us, and was very encouraging!! After we had talked for a while and shared basic information and paperwork... We took her on a tour of our house! She made lots of positive comments and really didnt have anything negative to say... :) We made our way upstairs and showed her all the rooms, when we got to the nursery full of all the baby things... she stood in the middle of the room with her mouth open just looking around! she walked over to me with tears in her eyes... she gave me one of the warmest hugs ive had in a long time, then she cupped my face in her hands, and said with tears rolling down her cheeks "you have my heart, we need to get you a baby NOW!!!" i was so shocked and felt so cared for in that moment! We arent just some family on a list to her... you can tell that she takes this very personally, and i LOVE that!
After the tour we went back to the kitchen for more talking, and she asked us what we were looking for in a child... what are we open to as far as race and gender! when we said "ANY" she asked us if we were sure? and then got this HUGE grin on her face and said, "OOOOOO this will be fast!!! you wont wait long" she went on to tell us how she gets calls about babies all the time, and if we are open... it wont be long at all! i couldnt believe what i was hearing... and from then on the rest of her visit was smooth sailing..... we are SO increadibaly excited that we could have a baby soon, and WE are SO SO ready!! I have such peace about this situation, such calmness.... I know that our baby is out there, and we will be together soon!!
Our next meeting with her is on November 7th, and we're going to meet her in Deep Creek at andrews parents house! (we have to cover her milage expenses and its much closer there, plus she will get to meet them!!) We have our physicals and chest xrays on the 10th and then we just have to wait for our clearences to come back, and then we're ready for a baby!! :) She also has lots of other adoptive families right in our area, and she is going to connect us with them!! :):):):)
So now we begin looking for adoption grants and different fundraising options! We trust that God will provide this need for us.... I believe that our baby has already been chosen and nothing or no one can stop the will of the OUR LORD!!!!!! if anyone has any suggestions on fundraising ideas or organizations that give grants please let me know!
thanks for reading & for the prayers!!! They are SO working... So keep emm coming!!! :):)
ill update soon!
Blessings
~Liz
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