Praying Through Pre-Adoption Day 2

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

~1 Timothy 2:1-2

Today we are led to pray for those in authority over our adoption. God is the ultimate authority in all things, but there are a number of people that He has purposed to direct or influence our adoption in one way or another.

We want to pray today specifically for the staff at All God's Children, the government of the United States, and the government of Ethiopia.

We are very thankful for the effort they will be providing to help us on our journey of adoption. We pray that God will bless them and that He will be looked to for direction in all decisions.

God has placed all these people in their positions for a reason, and we pray that God's plan be lived out in their lives and actions.

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for those you have called to leadership. Please surround these people with Your love and strength. Guide them to do Your work and provide them with unending blessings.

Praying Through Pre-Adoption Day 1

God is calling me to a month of prayer for our adoption. For every day in April, I will choose a verse that coincides with my prayer focus, and write a post on praying through pre-adoption. I am excited for this journey, and I hope that you will walk with me through it! We are looking ahead to May 1st--the day we we will prayerfully send in our application to All God's Children for the Ethiopian adoption program and begin our process!

Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling,

fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

~Hebrews 3:1

While searching for a verse to meditate on, I came across this beautiful one. Today, I want to focus on praying about fixing my thoughts on Jesus, and giving God glory through His weaving of our adoption.

Today, our church did a theatrical production of The Borrowed Tomb. The storyline, coupled with the amazing acting, brought to life Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. It truly brought Jesus to LIFE for me! It reminded me that Jesus WAS alive, walking this very earth, and Jesus IS alive today.

Hebrews 3 goes on to say that the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. EVERYTHING!

He is building our adoption. He is starting with the foundation, building us a "house". A family!

Prayer: Jesus, help us to fix our thoughts on You daily. We want to reflect on the blessings You have given us. Breathe in us Your liveliness! Revive us and let us always give You honor and praise!

It's Hard



I am reading Kisses From Katie and recently read some of her words on adoption. Her thoughts are so beautiful and true, I want to share some with you. Through reading her book, I thought about highlighting admirable or fascinating quotes, but I am glad I chose not to, because her entire book would be colored in lemon yellow.

Adoption is wonderful and beautiful and the greatest blessing I have ever experienced. Adoption is also difficult and painful. Adoption is a beautiful picture of redemption. It is the Gospel in my living room. And sometimes, it's just hard.

As a parent, it's hard not to know when your daughter took her first steps or what her first word was or what she looked like in kindergarten. It's hard not to know where she slept and whose shoulder she cried on and what the scar on her eyebrow is from. It's hard to know that for ten years yours was not the shoulder she cried on and you were not the mommy she hugged.

As a child, it's hard to remember your biological parents' death, no matter how much you love your new mom. It's hard to have your mom be a different color than you because inevitably people are going to ask why. It's hard that your mom wasn't there for all the times you had no dinner and all the times you were sick and all the times you needed help with your homework. It's hard when you have to make up your birthday. It's hard when you can't understand the concept of being a family forever yet, because your first family wasn't forever.

Adoption is a redemptive response to tragedy that happens in this broken world. And every single day, it is worth it, because adoption is God's heart. His Word says, "In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will." (Ephesians 1:5). He sets the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6). The first word that appears when I look up adoption in the dictionary is "acceptance." God accepts me, adores me even, just as I am. And He wants me to accept those without families into my own. Adoption is the reason I can come before God's throne and beg Him for mercy, because He predestined me to be adopted as His child through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will--to the praise of His glorious grace.

My family, adopting these children, it is not optional. It is not my good deed for the day; it is not what I am doing to "help out these poor kids." I adopt because God commands me to care for the orphans and the widows in their distress. I adopt because Jesus says that to whom much is given, much will be demanded (Luke 12:48) and because whoever finds his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for His sake will find it (Matthew 10:39).

Linguine with Tomato-Almond Pesto

My boyfriend husband, Colin, cooked this delightful meal for me last night! He chose it out of a huge cooking binder I have--I stockpile recipes I find through blogs. This was a winner!

Colin said it was pretty simple to make. The aroma of almonds toasting and fresh basil made my mouth water. Colin served it alongside roasted garlic bread. Do try.

3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 large handful fresh basil leaves
3 garlic cloves
Several sprinkles of sea salt
6 ripe plum tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup grated Pecorino or Parmesan
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil
1 pound linguine

In a large skillet, sauté the almonds in a little olive oil until toasted. Let cool, then blend them in a food processor or blender until they are in coarse pieces. Scoop them out of the processor and set them aside.

Put the basil, garlic and a few pinches of sea salt into the food processor and chop. Add the almonds back to the food processor with the tomatoes, cheese and olive oil and whirl briefly. Season it with freshly ground black pepper.

Cook your linguine until it is al dente and could use another minute of cooking time. Reserve one cup of pasta cooking water and drain the rest. Immediately toss the hot linguine with the pesto and mix quickly so that it drinks the sauce up a bit. Add more pasta water if needed. Serve this lukewarm, or at room temperature.

Arms Open Wide Giveaway!

Ladies:

My friend Lindsey and her husband Adam are adopting from Ethiopia. They have two beautiful girls and are fundraising to bring their third child home!

What is this giveaway, you ask? A $50 gift card to Noonday Collection! They sell a variety of colorful treasures, including jewelry, scarves, sandals, and other goods.

Jump on over to Arms Open Wide to enter into the giveaway! It ends Friday, March 16th, so act quickly.

Lindsey is a fun blogger to follow--she has a heart for Jesus and His children, and she is going on a missions trip to Ethiopia in two months! I love reading about how God is transforming her heart and calling her to share His love with others!

Made For Another World

I have been feeling...restless.

The feeling is.....intricate and woven.

The feeling is.....whooshing left and right through the ventricles of my life.

The feeling is.....difficult to clarify.

Perhaps the unsettledness comes from the weave of routine.

Maybe it is because my heart is aching to become a mother.

And I know it will take years to adopt.

I am looking ahead to May, the month Colin and I are going to begin our adoption process.

Oh May, please come quickly.

Daily I feel twinges of, "Is it time?", almost like a child saying, "Are we there yet?" every 15 minutes.

I daydream of our children.

Big brown eyes, sweet curls.

Playing, taking a bottle, sleeping in our arms.

I want to feel settled.

But, C.S. Lewis reminds me that I will never fully feel settled.

Because we were made for another world.

And, it is an awe-inspiring, lovely, beautiful world.

No tears, Jesus said.

Rest.

Radiance.

Love.

KONY 2012

2012 is the year to make history,  to save lives.

To be a part of it...

begin by watching the video below.

The 30-minute documentary, which has had more than 7 million YouTube downloads, was made by Invisible Children, a charity that wants Joseph Kony, head of the Lord's Resistance Army, to face trial in an international court on charges of using children as soldiers and other human rights crimes in Uganda. (Source: MSNBC)

 

Make the name Joseph Kony a popular topic.

 

If this EVER happened in the United States it would be an outrage and on every news stand in the world.

 

Spread the word.

 

Bunnies for Buganda

   

How sweet are these bunnies?

For every bunny you buy from Bunnies for Buganda, a twin one is sent to a child in Uganda!

What started as a creative way to raise money for a missions trip and spread love for the advancement of the Gospel in Uganda, has now become a multi-continent effort to comfort children, provide sustainable employment for mothers and young women in Uganda, and raise funds for a Gospel-centered crisis pregnancy center in Jinja.

Check out this video of children being delivered their bunnies in a Ugandan hospital.

Precious.

Now all glory to God, who is able,

through His mighty power at work within us,

to accomplish infinitely more

than we might ask or think.

~Ephesians 3:20