Watch and Be Astounded....

“Lord, increase my faith. Teach me how to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Give me strength to stand strong on Your promises and believe Your every word. Help me to believe for Your promises to be fulfilled in me. Increase my faith daily so that I can move mountains in Your name.” (Parts of a prayer I have been praying from “The Power of a Praying Woman”)

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6-7

I find it interesting that when you are driving on a lengthy trip through the desert…or mountains…or wherever, the weather can change so quickly. It’s sunny and then all of the sudden you are in the midst of a thunderstorm, depending upon which direction you are going, and then you are back in the sunshine! At one point on our trip (the same point my camera was packed in the BACK of the truck instead of in my purse) we were driving through some mountains, there was a rainstorm up on the mountain. You could see the dark clouds and the rain coming down fiercely upon what looked like a small portion of the mountain. (I am sure had we been closer it would have been a much larger area.) But on both sides of the mountain receiving the rain, there was sunshine. (Again…this illustration would have been MUCH better with a picture! SORRY!)

It made me think about how God is with our lives. I could see the part of the mountain in front of the storm, and after the storm. I could see that there was sunshine on either side. I knew from my vantage point that the storm would soon pass and the sun would shine again. How hard it must be for the mountain in the midst of the storm to see the outcome. Kind of like us. When the storms come, and you are in the midst of the downpour, it’s hard to see from where we are that the sun is coming. If we can just hang on for a little while, the sun is over there…we just can’t reach it yet. But, just as I could see the mountain, God sees the storms in our lives the exact same way. He knows the outcome because He sees the big picture.

I have found myself praying lately for a place of quiet rest. I am not complaining, please do not get that from what I am about to say. The last 4-5 years have been very stressful and emotional. Trying to follow God’s will is not always easy. It’s not always laid out for you in black and white. There are times of waiting…LOTS of waiting and times of working toward the goal. Because I believe without a doubt we were promised Emma Claire, we are still in that waiting mode. I just want to gather all of my kids up (including Jacob and Emma) and go to the zoo. That’s what I want. But God’s plan has been much different and in that I will find my peace and rest. I suppose the prayer should be for a place of quiet rest, or strength for the journey.

Before we left for our trip, we sent the foster baby we had for 6 weeks to live with her brothers in another foster home. It was God’s will and to be honest, I was okay with it all. It was very nice going on a 7 day trip, 6 different hotels, without a newborn that wasn’t very happy! Since we got home, DHS has changed all of the rules for us…again…and we were told that we would never adopt out of our county because they would not allow us to take a baby for more than 30 days.

Yesterday, about noon, I received a phone call from another state. I almost didn’t answer as I have been receiving wrong numbers lately, but I did. The man introduced himself to me, stating he was from NATHHAN/Chask and received a phone call from Oklahoma City. I knew of NATHHAN/Chask as I had referred homeschooling parents with special needs to them before. But I wasn’t sure why they were calling me. He told me there is a pregnant woman in OKC who wants a nice family to adopt her baby and when he put in the information, our name was the only one to pop up on his computer. He gave me some more information before I stopped him and asked how he had my information. Evidently, I signed up and sent our profile information to him back in October! I did not remember at all! (I had looked at so many websites!)

I asked him what our cost would be (since he mentioned the word “agency”) and he said they do not charge, they just want to share the gospel with birth moms. He said I would need a home study (check) and an attorney (check) and travel expenses, which with her being here in the city are minimal (check).

After talking some more (and becoming more aware of how many little prayers were being answered in this one phone call) I told him that yes, he could send her our profile. I updated it with current pictures and within an hour, the birthmother was calling me. She said she read our information and she wants us to adopt her baby. (Can I get a PRAISE GOD???)

The baby is African American/Caucasian. We have been told it is a girl. I get to go to her doctor’s appointment/ultrasound on Monday. The baby is due the week of August 17. (Jacob died on August 23.) God is truly showing us His redeeming love. August no longer has to be a sad month for us. Instead, it will be a reminder of new life.

Our birthmom is homeless. We are looking for a room/apt to put her in for 3 months. (Something CHEAP!) So if anyone has any ideas, the information would be appreciated. This is our one obstacle. But God already knows how this is going to work out. I would appreciate prayers for the following:

1-Healthy birth mom “E” and baby
2-Finances when we need them
3-Any issues that arise would be taken care of quickly and smoothly
4-“E” would see Jesus through us

I cannot tell you how excited we are. This also means we can officially close our home with DHS. This is such a relief. (This post was originally going to tell you how I have been fighting with them for the past week!) God promised to do this for us. He promised to do it in a way I would never expect. We still have 12 weeks to go and I know nothing is a guarantee, but I am going to enjoy the wait and move joyfully through this door that God has opened for us.

Oh yeah...we will be having a garage sale in a few weeks (even though I would rather walk on crushed glass or even give up PEPSI!!!) to raise funds for adoption expenses. If you hate garage sales like I do but have things you would like to get rid of, please contact me (if you live close) and we will come pick it up! I will let you know when and where the garage sale will be soon.

“The Lord replied, ‘Look at the nations and be amazed! Watch and be astounded at what I will do! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it!” (Habakkuk 1:5)

(FYI…I posted about our trip today, too, so don’t miss that one!)