Necessary

Coby and I are still awaiting word from Russia. It has been pretty quiet here on the home front and I look at that as a good thing. I look at it as God is allowing us to rest and reserve our energy and be ready for when the call comes. The call that will change our home front forever!

I have been really encouraged these past few weeks and I thought I might just blog why?

I am still in my BSF study of Matthew and we are closing in on the end and it is getting pretty exciting! We just finished chapter 24 & 25 about Christ's return and looking and waiting for it. Not to fear it, but look to it as a day of true redemption for the church! Now we are getting into Jesus' last days and how He is instructing His disciples before He is crucified. It all just amazes me and encourages me also. God knew the plans of His son Jesus just as He knows the plans of my life, His daughter...adopted daughter! To me, that brings joy and yet calmness through a smile!

I am also encouraged by my friends! My sister's in Christ! To be with me on this challenge and not giving up on the Lord when we see His delay...is very inspiring. We as sinful people want to say that this is crazy and this delay is unnecessary...but it is necessary for my growth in the Lord. I can sit and say thank you Lord for your perfect delay in giving us our child because it has been through this delay that He has equipped me with more of His grace, encouragement, strength, love, endurance, selflessness, patience and longing for Him. If Coby and I were handed our child at any other time, but the unknown time ahead of us, then that would have taken away all the necessary truths that we have seen.

Necessary....there is a word that you don't use a lot in adoption. Unnecessary is always heard followed by 'why', 'what', 'how come' and a popular one..'that makes no sense.' Well, to look at part of a picture and ask those questions is normal....but to sit back and unveil the entire picture to see ALL of it at it's entire glory and beauty and wonder...most people are drawn to silence. What more can be said when you step back and look at what the Lord of Host's has made?

Isaiah 55:11 says, "So shall My word be that goes from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please! And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." What God is doing here and what He continues to do in our adoption will not be returned void. He called us to this ministry and it will prosper because it is His doing.

This is my encouragement in my life and I hold onto this when things are uncertain around me because I have the certainty of Christ in me and that is all I need until his delay is no longer!

Happily Waiting Still...

Well, we have been home for 3 1/2 weeks and we have not heard anything yet. But that's OK! We were contacted about 3 days after we got home from Russia and were asked for some paperwork. We are getting those together and getting them ready to send over to Russia.

There is one form that we are waiting on that we have not received yet. It is probably the MOST important form that is needed in the adoption process. The form that we had expired on March 22 and we have still yet to receive the new updated one. But again....that's OK. God knows the exact date that the form will come to our home and the exact day that we will get our court date and ever better...the exact date that we will get our baby Neil!! We are making a few calls and sending a few e-mails to get an idea of when the form will be coming to us and at this time, everyone is telling us possibly another 2 weeks.

Well, Coby and I are heading to California in about 2 weeks for about a week. We are going for a family wedding and can not wait. I can tell you honestly that has kept us busy and looking forward to something exciting!!

Coby has been crazy busy with work and real estate and I have been working on my photography, working at the pre-school at my church and staying busy. We also have joined an ADOPT class at my church (First Baptist Hendersonville) and we really have been enjoying it and it has been helping us TREMENDOUSLY!!! We meet once a month with other families who are in the process or have adopted children into their family. There are families with young babies, and ones who adopted babies who are now teenagers. It is great and encouraging! I really recommend anyone who lives in this area, to come join our class, it is the first Sunday night on the month. Coby and I were asked to talk last week at the meeting. We talked about some of our current issues and what we have learned and that we can look back and say that God alone is to be given the glory for pulling us through these past years.

Well, keep us in your thoughts and we ask for your prayers to continue.