Hope Through the Heartache

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." ~Jeremiah 29:11 

OK, Lord. I'll follow and trust. Such a simple reply, but this has been such a struggle lately. Sometimes I think it's easier to just pity myself and move on. I tend to forget, or choose to move the fact to the nose bleed seats of my mind, that there is a beautiful truth in that verse. Even when we are going through the deepest, darkest pits of life, God has complete control of the plans for our lives. In the midst of darkness, He is the Light. He has no pleasure in seeing us hurt, but He knows that there is an amazing outcome to the icky, sticky situations we get in to in life. You want to know something even greater? He is even with us in the good times. Rejoicing with us. Even in the best times, we must rely on God. He deserves all the attention in any situation. He is so good and so mighty and so unbelievably loving. Isn't it great?! 

Then why is it so hard to trust and follow? Like I said, this has been weighing on my heart lately. Adoption, the past, the future plans, finances, health, our students, and you fill in the blank for your own lives. So many things to 'worry' about, but what is so perfect is that God is so almighty! He turns our worries into mush when we can just be content in Him and know that every teeny-tiny situation to the biggest inconvenience ever, is part of a beautiful plan for our life. Believe me friends, I am struggling with this right now. My idea in sharing, is that maybe you to will be reminded of how precious we are to God and every case of cancer, sickness, family death, friendships lost, bullying, infertility, and just plain heartache is part of a plan not to hurt you, but to grow you closer to a God who has an amazing future planned for you. How can that not make us smile? Even in the valley! 

"Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." ~1 Peter 5:7

Adoption Update~Prayers would be a huge blessing, friends. As of right now, our adoption agency and many others are not accepting new families for Ethiopia adoption. It has become a slower process than normal so they have chose to wait a couple months to open it back up. They are hoping that it will not be a permanent thing, but they mentioned that it possibly could be. Just a bump in the road, right? I would be lying if I said that it isn't disheartening. Now you can see why my thoughts above have been a constant thing lately. My hope and a dream I'm often thinking of is that sooner than later, we will be sitting in our home with our sweet baby and reading back to this and thinking, 'I'm glad we just trusted in Him.' It's not easy, to worry about this on top of many other things that have had me up at night, but life isn't easy. With God it is possible though. Our eyes are focused on Him.

A special shout out to my precious husband who designed such a cute blog for me. I thank God for such a sweet person to go through all of life's twist and turns with. Thank you for placing God first and for leading us through. You're great best friend! I love you!

Adoption IS Possible!

Adoption is expensive. There, I said it. I decided to be blunt and straight to the point for once in my life. There are so many families out there that have considered adoption, but won't pursue it because of the cost. Of course the answer that comes straight to most of our minds is, don't worry about the cost! It's a small price to pay considering what you get in return, right? Well, right. But that big amount of $28,000 can be the scariest thing ever. It has been to us. So, here's a little encouragment if you're like we were and wondering how we will ever fulfill what God has called us to do. Let me start out by saying, it IS possible. Really. While browsing one of my many go-to blogs, I came upon a book that a family had recommended reading that had given there family ideas on how to cover their adoption costs. The book is called Adopt Without Debt: Creative Ways to Cover the Cost of Adoption. The women that wrote it, Julie Gumm, has gone through the adoption process twice through Ethiopia. I decided to order it and got it a couple days later. I read it all in one day. I couldn't put the thing down! Whether I was making bottles, doing laundry, or sewing, I was reading. At the turn of very page I was thinking of all the things we could do to help us save up enough money. There are many, MANY helpful tips. Ways to fund-raise, grants to apply for and simply making a budget and cutting back on the things you can do without. I'm telling you, pure genius. ;) Anyways, here is the link to buy this fabulous book.

My hope is that if the Lord has called you to adopt, that you won't let the big, scary $ sign keep you from that. Yes, this book can help you find ways to achieve that, but we have a mighty God that will never leave you. I have no doubt that He will be with us every step of this journey and will provide in those times that seem like we will never make it. He is ALWAYS faithful. Thank goodness. :)

If you like coffee and like trying new, different kinds then please think about clicking on the link on the left of this blog. Just Love Coffee is willing to give us $5 for every coffee that is purchased from our page. So, if you are interested, please click the link to the left of this page and enjoy!
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We are beyond thankful for each one of your prayers and kind words. Thank you a million times!

Ethiopia or Bust!

Ethiopia it is! We have finally(what a long two weeks!) decided, after much prayer, investigating, and weighing our options, that we will pursue adopting from Ethiopia. Now, like I said in my last post, I believe God sometimes closes one door and opens another. We are putting complete trust in Him and if that means allowing us to adopt from another country instead of Ethiopia, then that's what we whole heartily do! We are beyond excited. My nights now consist of putting Ellie to bed, immediately grabbing my computer and researching anything and everything about Ethiopia, adoptions and blogs from families who have either adopted from Ethiopia or are in the process. I can't lie when I say they give me hope and encouragement. Please continue to be in prayer for our family as we go through this wonderful journey. We are so thankful for your love and support. Here are some interesting facts about our future baby's birth country:

There are an estimated 6 million orphans in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia's primary religion is Muslim. 

With living in poverty and diseases like AIDS their life expectancy is 49.

They have a literacy rate of 40 percent.

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. ~Isaiah 1:17

              

             

               

Go love...

I must confess something. Writing is not my thing. It would take me five hours to write one paragraph for an assignment in college. Sitting down and concentrating on something is difficult for me. I get easily distracted. It's true. While just writing the last two sentences I saw fireworks out my window, realized my favorite show was coming on and decided I needed a snack. So, with that said, please forgive me for not updating as often as I would like. Hopefully, I am not talking to myself and my last post encouraged you in some way. Now for the good stuff...

As a youth pastors wife, one of the coolest things about the 'job' is all the awesome experiences we get to have. My favorite thing in particular are the mission trips. This past week we got the opportunity to take our Middle School students to Memphis, Tennessee. Two words describe that trip. Life changing. I believe that most everyone that went on that trip would agree with me. Seeing the faces of beautiful, smiling little ones everyday ,who just wanted some love and attention , couldn't help but pull at your heartstrings. We started off with worshiping with a Sudanese church on Sunday morning. We would be spending most our time with them through out the 3 days we were there. Their service beautifully depicted their culture in many ways. So glad our students got to be a part of that.  We were able to hold a VBS at their church, the River Nile, on Monday and Tuesday. Getting to love on kids and teach them about our Father's love is one of my hobbies, so that was a highlight. 

We were able to spend some time at an apartment complex that housed many Sudan, Somalia and Kenya refugees, and do the same on Monday night. The children would run to us from every direction. More times than not the first thing out of their mouths would be, 'can I ride on yo back?' or 'can I get on yo neck?'. Our Middle School students didn't mind that at all! 

Tuesday night may have been the most 'out of your comfort zone' part of the trip. We served food and held a chapel service for about 150 men at a homeless shelter. We told our students that is why we came. To love God and love people. Getting out of your comfort zone is what it's all about my friends! 

Now, I need to brag on our students for a minute. We have the coolest, most loving, awesome Middle School students around. The one's that were able to go really stepped up and shared the love of Christ with everyone they saw. They never complained about anything. They did awesome! So proud of each one of them and every sponsor that took time out of their lives to help love our students and love Memphis. I think I could write pages and pages of our experience there. God was really shown to those wonderful people. 

 Here are a couple picture of our trip that one of my best friends, the very talented Kourtni Reynolds took. She captured the trip beautifully, but you can't fully understand until you actually experience it yourself. I encourage you to GO. Share Christ with every person whether they're small, old, young, big, African, Mexican, American, or Asian. Just GO.

   

Now for the part I have been waiting to scream from the mountain tops! My heart is happy my friends. Well, mine AND Dustin's hearts are very happy. Remember how I said this trip was life changing? If you don't, then shame on you. Go back and read all those words again! ;) God worked in our hearts this trip. I believe that when God shuts one door for a while, He opens another and that is exactly what He has done in our family. God gave us a burden while we were in Memphis and that burden was for orphans. For children who need a family to love them unconditionally and to take care of them.There are approximately 143,000,000 orphans in the world. My mind can't even comprehend that number. 

So, if you haven't figured it out already, Dustin and I have decided to adopt. Adoption was something that was always a part of the 'plan', but we never thought would over whelm our hearts so quickly. We understand that most people keep this between their families and don't really let it out there until it's closer. We both believe in the power of prayer. So in telling you all this exciting part of our lives we hope that you will start to pray with us as we begin the journey of raising money and the roller coaster ride of the adoption process. 

We believe that this is God's will for us. We believe that He will provide. It will take work and sacrifice, but in the end we get the precious gift to raise up a child for the Kingdom of Christ. Please be in prayer for our family, and I will use this blog to update along the way of this new journey we are starting. God is good my friends. So unbelievably good. Thank you for taking the time to read this and get a glimpse in to how wonderful this past week has been. 

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.

Proverbs 31:8-9

I am Treasured, I am Sacred, I am His

Do you ever feel like you are drowning in a sea of emotions? You just can't find any happiness. Almost as if there is no way out. Yeah, I've been there too. When the world seems as if it will eat you alive, look to Him who rescues all. 'Easier said then done' you say. I know. I struggle with this. It seems easier to pity yourself and sulk in your sadness. But, we have a God who is so loving and so caring and He wants to hold you in every moment of pain and hurt. Having a relationship with Christ, serving Him, loving Him and consuming our selves with Him doesn't mean we won't go through hard times. I believe we go through things BECAUSE God loves us, BECAUSE He cares for us. Whether we know it or not during those hard times God cares for us not just before, and not just after, but He never leaves us DURING those times... 

Psalm 37:39,40 39  The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.40  The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him. 

He is our hope and our strength...

Psalm 46:1 1  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

When you feel weary and tired and feel as if the world is against you, look to this...

Psalm 142:3-6 3  When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. 4  Look to the right and see:there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul. 5  I cry to you, O Lord;I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living." 6  Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!

God IS there. He is ALWAYS there. He fights for us! He adores us! He loves us! The hard times will pass, and with God's steadfast love and strength, we WILL get through. Did you know that steadfast means loyal, never changing. He will NEVER move! I know what's like to feel so hurt that it feels like you will never stand up again. If you've never heard my testimony, please ask me. I would love to share it in hopes that you will see how good God is and that He never fails and never makes a mistake. He does make beautiful things out of our circumstances. Writing this was really more for a help and reminder to myself. But my hope is that if you are hurting and feeling like there is no way out of the darkness, that you will look at these truths from God's 'love letter' to us. Is it a struggle to truly believe? Yes. Is it impossible? No. Does it take work and dedication? Yes! Consume your self with Him. Surrender your heart to Him.  'Our God IS stronger. Our God is Greater. Our God is higher than any other." He and He alone will lift you up.